Secrets of getting a dentist to smile

I've been working on the new copy for the new website for Ballantyne Center for Dentistry, which is owned by Dr. Christian Yaste and Dr. Joseph Hufanda. Dr. Yaste handles the marketing and he's a direct response fanatic, which makes him a dream client for a direct response copywriter.

First things first...their current site has white type reversed out on a plum background. They are changing that to black on a white background so that it's much more readable. Excellent move.

Scott Martin--writing copy for websites and making dentists smile from ear to ear.

The new headlines and the new body copy are direct response--straight out of the textbook. I'll put together another blog when then site is ready so that you can see it.

The copy is close to 11,000 words, which is about 10,000 words more than the typical website. Why? Is it because I like to type? Not really. There are two reasons...

Search--if there's more copy, there's more for the search robots to find and this helps search results significantly.

Results--when someone wants their bad smile turned into a radiant smile, they want a lot of information. Salient copy, and tons of it, is more likely to keep potential patients on the site and more likely to get them to the next step in the sales process.

Think about it...if you're going to get cosmetic surgery, will you go with a dentist who offers a few paragraphs of information or a dentist who offers pages and pages plus special reports, testimonials, etc.? When you're talking to a dentist in person, you will choose a dentist who spends some time with you explaining everything over a dentist who mutters a few vague sentences packed with cliches.

Remember...the copy on your website MUST be a conversation between you and a prospective customer...a conversation that must end with the prospect buying what you have to offer, or at least moving rapidly toward signing a contract.

You cannot give someone who wants their teeth fixed enough information--especially when it comes to their smile and the subject of pain (physical and otherwise).

I turned the copy around quickly--in three days. The website designer was particularly grateful because he now has copy and can get the site up and running in a few days. I like making people smile--especially a cosmetic dentist in Charlotte like Dr. Christian Yaste who understands and appreciates the power of direct response copy.

I solve the web copy bottleneck problem. For my copywriting website, go here.

Charlotte copywriter: www.scottmartinwriting.com

North Carolina copywriter: www.scottmartinwriting.com

How to get a superb result

A few weeks ago, a former intern who is currently a student at the University of North Carolina, asked me to email a letter of recommendation to a potential employer. The former intern was trying to get a sought-after internship with a TV station. Instead of writing a normal and boring "I would like to recommend...." letter, I wrote the DR copy below. I put myself in the shoes of the decision maker. My former intern got the interview then got the job. I did not help with the latter, but I helped with the former. Here's the email (with the name changed).

Dear (Decision Maker):

My name is Scott Martin. I was formerly the publisher of Ballantyne Magazine in south Charlotte. I am still involved in the area as a digital publisher.

I hired Denise as an intern two years ago; she worked for me for a summer.

Here are 18 reasons you should hire Denise as an intern.

1. She is very intelligent and will quickly grasp the requirements of the work you ask her to do. You will not have to spend much time and energy monitoring her.

2. She is a good writer; so, if you need her to write something, you will not have to spend much time editing the work. Her writing has improved (partly with my help!). I found her eager to learn and she takes direction and instruction well.

3. She is naturally curious and will help you find new angles for stories.

4. She knows Chapel Hill like the back of her hand so she will come up with story ideas from that part of the world.

5. She is a student at UNC so will come up with story ideas related to Chapel Hill.

6. Her father owns a business and is one of the top entrepreneurs in south Charlotte--so she understand business and can tackle some small business stories.

7. I gave her some "grunt" work which she took care of very successfully. So, if you have a project that's been nagging you for a while, give it to Denise and she'll take care of it.

8. She is hard-working--you can put a lot on her plate and she will devour it.

9. She understands all the technology and how technology is part of a student's life. You won't have to spend days training her to use your technology.

10. She will show up on time--not always a given these days.

11. If you need her to work on your website, I'm confident that she will be able to take care of that work and learn your technology quickly.

12. She is polite and professional and will represent you and the station very well with the public and with advertisers.

13. She understands marketing...no...she understands direct response marketing. How? I made her read a book about direct response advertising and marketing.

14. I don't know what you pay interns but I'm confident that it's fair. For the money that you pay Denise, you will get tremendous value and she will enhance your station/operation and it will not blow up your budget.

15. She can work independently with no "baby sitting."

16. She has a sunny disposition and will make the workplace a happier place.

17. If you want her to work in the advertising part of the operation, she can work successfully there. If you want her to work on the content side, she will be excellent there as well.

18. You will enjoy working with Denise and having her around you will make your day more enjoyable.

Denise is young and learning and she does not know as much as someone who has been in the business for several years but she has a lot of potential. You will enjoy helping her launch her career.

IT WORKED

For my direct response copywriting site, go to www.scottmartinwriting.com.

If you are a direct response writer, you can write a radio ad

I contacted a direct response advertising agency a couple of weeks ago. The agency is based in the Los Angeles area. They had a couple of clients who have experienced success with their advertising. However, things change and now, the ads are not getting the results of previous months. Remember, this agency is a direct response agency so they measure everything...excellent lesson there. They asked me to write some "spots" and, even though I had never written a radio ad, I simply used the time-tested fundamentals of direct response copy.

Here's the result. Thank you to Natalie Hale at Media Partners Worldwide for the opportunity.

URC-UNCERTAIN-2650

For my website, www.scottmartinwriting.com, go here.

Who else wants to be popular and sought-after?

On Thursday night, I watched TV. I rarely watch TV but I was somewhat interested in the first round of the NFL Draft. (For those of you who don't follow professional 'American' football, the draft is the event where the professional teams pick college players.) The draft continued on Friday and Saturday. The teams chose the most sought-after players on Thursday then the less sought-after players on Friday and Saturday.

Size, strength, speed, and physical characteristics are obviously important. But, physically, there's often very little difference between a player picked early and a player picked late. One guy is 300 pounds and the other is 310 pounds.

So...what really makes a player highly sought-after or not highly sought-after? Listening to the pundits, the difference is effort. From the pundits...

"This guy has a great motor."

"He's relentless."

"He never takes a play off."

"He's full speed all the time."

In the NFL, having all of the above is the difference between tens of thousands and millions. Literally.

In the latter stages of the draft, here's what I heard...

"Great physical talent but I've got questions about his work ethic."

"Takes plays off..."

"Big but needs to spend more time in the weight room getting stronger. I'm not sure he's proven he wants to do that."

As I move forward with my direct response copywriting and selling my services, I'm going to have to be relentless, full speed, etc. I've been that way to a certain extent but I have to be more relentless, more persistent, and work harder. I know it will pay off.

The NFL is classic 80/20: 20 per cent of the players make 80 per cent of the money. I learned a lot from the NFL draft and it had nothing to do with football.

For my direct response copywriting site, go here. Or visit www.scottmartincopywriting.com.

Are you persistent?

Several years ago, I wrote a book with Jim McLean, the golf teacher and founder of the most successful chain of golf schools in the world. I'm working on a digital version of that book...more on that later.

One of Jim's mentors, and we talk about this in the book, said:

I NEVER SAW A PERSISTENT MAN FAIL

Let's make this positive...because I'm a copywriter and I'm always trying to sell happiness.

PERSISTENT PEOPLE ARE MORE LIKELY TO SUCCEED

There's a company in Charlotte that I'd like to do business with. After two emails and about seven phone calls I got the appointment and met with the decision maker today. This person said, "you're persistent."

Music to my ears.

When you need direct response quickly, visit my web site here.

www.scottmartinwriting.com