Who else wants a measurable result?

While I was sitting down this morning having a cup of coffee and reading the sports section, I noticed two golf ads. One ad was for some golf seminars...learning Hogan's Secrets, etc. The other was for a golf course in Virginia. I live in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Here's the seminar ad. Here's the Virginia ad.

The ads, which were stacked on page 6C, provide a classic example of direct response versus branding.

The direct response ad isn't perfect...there are some things I would change. But it's got some good elements...like the low price and the irresistible offer...a greens fee if you go to the seminar.

If you opened the ads, the seminar ad looks like the one in the paper. The Primland ad looks terrible in the paper; I think it's a massive mistake to run color in the newspaper; I can go with some spot color but no four color.

The Primland ad is completely terrible from a response standpoint. It's not even good from a branding standpoint. In the paper, the massive clubhouse looks like something from a Hitchcock movie and there's what can only be a nuclear missile launch silo next to the clubhouse. The headline is "The views are stunning. Then you look outside." It's clever, perhaps, but the view is not stunning, it's awful. The row of small photos at the top of the ad cannot be discerned in print; online, the ad looks like it includes a photo of a bidet. NICE!!!!!

OK - so Primland's USP is...WE HAVE THE NICEST BIDETS!

The body copy for the Primland ad is about 8 point and set on a yellow background and cannot be seen. It's a good thing: it's sheer drivel and the writer has clearly never even seen a golf club. The phone number is the phone number on the website, so there's no way to measure response, which is a good thing...for the agency and the newspaper, who cannot now be held accountable.

The people putting on the golfer's seminar will know their response and their ROI. I imagine they're trying to sell something else but who cares? At least the seminar boys are not flushing money straight down the toilet.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE...if you're in the golf business, do not run ads like the Primland one. Use direct response techniques and measure your response. The beauty of direct response is...you can get a response AND position your ad.

I'm sorry Primland but you're totally wasting your money and I hope you can make some changes or get out of your contracts. Doubt me? OK...how much revenue did your ad in today's paper generate? How may emails did you harvest from the ad?

I solve the web copy bottleneck problem...I'm the fastest direct response copywriter. For my copywriting website, go here.

Charlotte copywriter: www.scottmartinwriting.com

North Carolina copywriter: www.scottmartinwriting.com

Direct response copywriting; direct response copywriter.

How to judge direct response copy

Every day, I spend at least an hour reading about direct response copywriting. It might be a book by a famous direct response copywriter or a blog. I bounce around. Last night, I was reading "On the Art of Writing Copy" by Herschell Gordon Lewis. In Chapter 26, Lewis hammers some direct response copy...nothing new there. BUT the copy Lewis pounds is copy that another famous copywriter, Drayton Bird, praises.

It's rare that two successful direct response copywriters disagree. Most of the content in books about direct response copywriting is the same. So...why read these books?

It's always good to have the best writers buttress the fundamentals.

Each book has something new...something I can use to increase response.

I like Bird's book because it has so much common sense. I like HGL's work because he stresses tight writing and I need to tighten my work; I like the way he spends pages detailing when to use "if" and when to use "when."

Who is right about the letter? Bird or Lewis?

The letter ran for 10 years so it must have worked. Ultimately, that's what matters. But Lewis has a point...the premise of the letter seems a bit contrived. Would a more straight-ahead letter produced even better results?

You be the judge. The letter is below. Pay close attention to the first paragraph.

My website is here. www.scottmartincopywriting.com

Dear...

On a beautiful late spring afternoon, twenty-five years ago, two young men graduated from the same college. They were very much alike, these two young men. Both had been better than avenge students, both were personable and both–as young college graduates are–were filled with ambitious dreams for the future.

Recently, these men returned to their college for their 25th reunion.

They were still very much alike. Both were happily married. Both had three children. And both, it turned out, had gone to work for the same Midwestern manufacturing company after graduation, and were still there.

But there was a difference. One of the men was manager of a small department of that company. The other was its president.

What Made The Difference

Have you ever wondered, as I have, what makes this kind of difference in people's lives? It isn't always a native intelligence or talent or dedication. It isn't that one person wants success and the other doesn't.

The difference lies in what each person knows and how he or she makes use of that knowledge.

And that is why I am writing to you and to people like you about The Wall Street Journal. For that is the whole purpose of The Journal: To give its readers knowledge–knowledge that they can use in business.

A Publication Unlike Any Other

You see, The Wall Street Journal is a unique publication. It's the country's only national business daily. Each business day, it is put together by the world's largest staff of business-news experts.

Each business day, The Journal's pages include a broad range of information of interest and significance to business-minded people, no matter where it comes from. Not just stocks and finance, but anything and everything in the whole, fast-moving world of business... The Wall Street Journal gives you all the business news you need–when you need it.

Knowledge Is Power

Right now, I am reading page one of The Journal. It combines all the important news of the day with in-depth feature reporting. Every phase of business news is covered, from articles on inflation, wholesale prices, car prices, tax incentives for industries to major developments in Washington, and elsewhere.

And there is page after page inside The Journal, filled with fascinating and significant information that's useful to you. A daily column on personal money management helps you become a smarter saver, better investor, wiser spender. There are weekly columns on small business, marketing, real estate, technology,regional developments. If you have never read The Wall Street Journal, you cannot imagine how useful it can be to you.

Much of the information that appears in The Journal appears nowhere else. The Journal is printed in numerous plants across the United States, so that you get it early each business day.

How to end job description confusion

For a freelance writer, the job of finding work has changed dramatically. I guess I'm old school because I still believe you have to FIND the work you want instead of waiting for it to come to you. Looking for work through websites is somewhat in the middle of all this mess and I've been exploring this middle ground.

There are corporate sites and sites like eLance; the latter is somewhat organized but other sites are pretty much the Wild West. The other day, I bid on a project, won the work, and discovered that the "client" was a pimp. I'm not joking. And I respectfully declined even though it was great money. There's no food in the fridge and no gas in the car but I feel morally superior.

But let's get back to job descriptions.

I go through at least 30 job descriptions a day, maybe more. A job description is copywriting: the person advertising the job is trying to persuade the best candidates to apply...or that's the theory. There's some interesting writing. Three examples (fair use).

OK--so you don't take this direct response copywriter to client meetings. But, if he's writing copy that produces amazing results, who cares what he looks like?

"The writer will collaborate to define the content needed and then refine it through stakeholder feedback, legal and compliance reviews and usability testing."

"I'm interested in affordable and dependable. Someone who is honest and eager to be involved in a large web project, that has plenty of work - and consistent, predictable pay schedules."

"You’ll work closely with your Creative Director to ensure that the team’s creative efforts are as efficient and impactful as possible."

I find all of the above confusing and vague.

As a direct response copywriter, here's the job description I want to see.

WARNING: ONLY APPLY FOR THIS DIRECT RESPONSE COPYWRITING JOB IF YOU CAN WRITE TO SELL AND CAN PROVE IT

We're a profit-driven direct response advertising agency that's looking for a direct response copywriter who can write copy that produces great big globs of cash. Your work WILL help us make more dough than we're currently making. DO NOT SEND A VAPID RESUME AND MILQUETOAST COVER LETTER but, instead, send samples of work and please detail how much money the writing produced.

Yes, we know that our mission statement says that we care about the community and corporate philanthropy. Let the people who work in that department worry about that stuff. Your job is to generate money by writing revenue-generating copy.

If you want to commute, work in our trendy exposed brick office, and spend most of the morning deciding where to have lunch, that's fine. If you want to move to Siberia and communicate with us by semaphore and morse code, that's perfectly OK. If you want to write between ski runs on Aspen Mountain, that's beautiful. We really DO NOT CARE. In fact, we don't really care about any of the following.

• What you look like


• Length of experience (agency or otherwise)


• Age


• What sort of pants you wear


• Political leanings


• What sort of car you drive


• Where you went to university


• IF you went to university


• Collaborative experience in a team-oriented environment


• How well you work with others


• What type of dog you own

There's only one thing we care about...CAN YOU WRITE COPY THAT PRODUCES A RESULT? PREFERABLY A HUGE RESULT...

Because you're confident that you can actually write really well, we're going to base at least 30 per cent of your compensation on what you actually produce, with no limit. If your copy makes a ton of money, you'll make a pile of cash. If not, we'll find another writer. WE WANT YOU TO MAKE A BIG STACK OF BILLS EVERY DAY. In fact, if you want a deal that's based totally on revenue, that's fine. After all, as a direct response copywriter, you're a salesperson in print and all great salespeople want to work on commission WITH NO LIMITS.

One more thing...because we're a totally money-grubbing and results-driven agency, we attract only the most money-grubbing and results-driven clients and customers. We only sell great products that solve real-world problems. So the potential is huge if you want to go royalty only.

Send those writing samples NOW as speed is extremely important to us. And send something that tells us why we should hire you.

All we care about is making sure that you can produce revenue for us. LOTS of revenue. Email here or send your samples via morse code to....

Now THAT'S a job description that interests me. If you're in human resources and you're the person who writes the job descriptions, please lose the verbosity and corporate-speak and LEVEL with all of us. Or at least me.

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

Charlotte copywriter: www.scottmartinwriting.com

North Carolina copywriter: www.scottmartinwriting.com

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.