Direct Response Copywriter Reads The New York Times and Sees Something Missing

On Sunday, while getting my coffee in the local Starbucks, I splashed out $6 for the elephantine Sunday edition of The New York Times. I love visiting New York and, periodically, I like the full ‘old-school’ feel of a big city newspaper.

From a content standpoint, the sheer depth and breadth is impressive. A lot of typing. The quality of the writing surprisingly varies from the sublime to the shoddy. And the writers, fully supported by the copy editors, are never afraid to insert an adverb or adverbial clause between the infinitive version of a verb.

Memo to said writers and editors...a split infinitive is poor writing.

But moving on…

After reading chunks of the content, I read every page looking at the ads.

This exercise coincides with going through Gary Bencivenga’s 7 Master Secrets of Wealth Creation for Marketers and Copywriters DVD product.

Full disclosure: no affiliate deal here.

Much of Gary Bencivenga’s work appeared in newspapers. Here’s an example.

Direct marketers, armed with a direct response copywriter, earned millions through these relatively simple space ads. The copywriter charged a lot and the space was expensive but the ROI was through the roof…on the front end and back end.

I saw just ONE ad in The New York Times that may have qualified as a direct response ad…for The Great Courses. I saw a lot of expensive branding ads and it was hard to find an offer, CTA, or arresting headline.

And all of this in a city that remains the epicenter of direct response advertising.

Yes—circulation numbers are down for print versions of newspapers but I still think there’s a massive opportunity for the serious direct marketers to generate leads and revenues in newspapers.

Direct Response Copywriter Makes Bold Predictions

It's early in the year, the time when pundits and various others make bold predictions; mine for 2013...

1. Headlines will draw the reader into the copy.
2. The highest converting copy will clearly show the reader how you solve their problem or scratch their itch.
3. Simple, clear copy will be (mostly) more effective than hype-y copy. But test.
4. Easy to understand offers will pull more than complex and convoluted offers that even a Mensa member would be find confusing.
5. Mitigating risk will be vital.
6. Avoiding words like ‘mitigating’ in copy will be vital.
7. Strong subheads will be important because readers initially skim the copy.
8. Somebody will try to be creative, break all the rules of direct response copy, fail miserably, and look like a dolt.
9. Friendly, warm, conversational copy will prove more effective than dull copy.
10. For any copy that tries to convince the reader to pull their credit card out of their wallet, even for a trial offer, long copy will be more convincing than short copy.
11. Clear and precise PROOF will be extremely important.
12. Those who view a direct response copywriter as an investment will thrive. Those who view direct response copywriting as an expense or commodity will fail.
13. Direct response copywriters who 'check their egos at the door' and tweak and change based on data will get work; those who fail to pay homage to visual website optimizer, etc. will starve.
14. Direct response copywriters will look for clients who understand (and love) direct marketing.

“BUT WAIT!” you say, "that’s ‘old’ stuff. Surely there’s something NEW and INNOVATIVE coming up!

First, don’t call me Shirley.

Second: the core principles of direct response copywriting haven’t changed for 200 years. They won’t change in 2013. And they won’t change for another 100 years.

And that's my FEARLESS prediction.

*

I'm a direct response copywriter. I specialize in providing content and copy for the direct marketing environment for clients around the planet. I specialize in sales page copy, landing page copy and copy that persuades readers to pull out their credit card and buy. Enter your info to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here if you have a project you'd like me to quote.

Direct Response Copywriter Admits He Knows Nothing

I’ve been writing copy professionally since 1989. I’ve specialized in direct response copy for 10 years. I’ve read all the ‘must read’ books and I’ve attended seminars; I recently watched the Gary Bencivenga DVDs.

Like most direct response copywriters, I’m always trying to get a little bit better every week.

I use the ‘proven techniques’ and follow the rules of direct response copywriting. I have enough creativity to make a direct response promotion stand out from the crowd. Many of my promotions have established solid controls or beat established controls.

Yet I’m the first to admit I really know nothing…until the copy is tested.

If you’re a direct response copywriter, get ready for blood. Copy can sometimes fail miserably. I’ve had plenty of successes but I’ve written copy I thought would rock only to see it miss the mark by a vast distance.

Direct response copywriters are, ultimately, salespeople. People who sell can come across as brash and arrogant, and, as such, I’ve met copywriters who are…well…confident.

There must be a lot of arrogant copywriters. In fact, one copywriter gives 14 reasons to hire him.

"Reason #6: I’m not a jerk."

No copywriter knows anything until the copy goes live and the real experts weigh in. Arrogance in copywriting is believing you're an expert.

The real experts?

Potential customers who read the copy. Are they providing valuable information? Are they pulling out their credit cards and buying? Are they making a telephone call?

When the real experts have spoken, then I know something.

*

I'm a direct response copywriter. I specialize in providing content and copy for the direct marketing environment for clients around the planet. I specialize in sales page copy, landing page copy and copy that persuades readers to pull out their credit card and buy. Enter your info to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here if you have a project you'd like me to quote.

Direct Response Copywriter on Getting to Simple

Getting to simple. It’s hard.

As a direct response copywriter, I usually spend a chunk of time researching the product and its market. I have a strong record writing copy that drives response. One reason: the product or service almost sells itself. I wish I could say “it’s the copy” but it’s much easier to write copy for a strong product than a product that makes the reader go ‘uhhh…what?’

Products or services with a poor value proposition are extremely difficult to sell. And poor comprises:

• Useless
• Difficult to grasp even after a couple of hours
• Not immediately obvious
• Bizarre

I spend quite a bit of time on Linked in and I see some very weird job descriptions. A few: 

• Relationship Development Professional
• Founder of The Rainmaking Academy
• Lifestyle Entrepreneur
• Consultant - Digital Consumer Engagement

I’m not sure what these people do. I once worked with a company that specializes in corporate engagement. It’s a successful company but I’m not sure I ever really grasped what they actually really do! Get people engaged, I guess, but not in a marriage sense.

If you’re about to hire a direct response copywriter to write copy for a product or service, I recommend you create a strong value proposition. 

1. Does the product or service solve an obvious problem?
2. Is the price right?
3. Can you make an elevator speech that details precisely what the product or service does?
4. Is the product really focused on a specific problem/niche?

In my career, I’ve made the mistake of trying to be too many things to too many people. Not any more. Here’s my value proposition:

I’ll write direct response copy that persuades the reader to take the next step in the sales process. I focus on nutritional supplements, information products, and golf...although I'll take on pretty much any project when I feel the product provides significant value.

There…that’s pretty simple.

*

I'm a direct response copywriter. I specialize in providing content and copy for the direct marketing environment for clients around the planet. I specialize in sales page copy, landing page copy and copy that persuades readers to pull out their credit card and buy. Enter your info to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here if you have a project you'd like me to quote.

Direct Response Copywriter on How Readers Actually Read Copy

I just read a couple of long-form pieces of direct response copywriting. And these were LONG…

One was 30,000 words; the other was 12,000 words. That’s 42,000 words and the literary world has produced shorter novels.

Reading these two behemoths reminded me of how potential buyers look at sales pages and how copy should be organized.

For both pieces, written by top copywriters, I looked at the headline, the deck, and the lead, and looked for how much the products cost.

Once I had a sense of the price, sorry…investment…I started to read the copy. The first time around, I looked mostly at the subheads. Then, because I was extremely interested in the products, I read every word of the copy. It took a while!

I was looking for two things:

1. What I was going to get.
2. If the listed features and benefits were going to solve my problem and produce an ROI.

I was also interested in the guarantee in case the products turned out to be poor.

So…here’s what we can we discover from this experience.

1. The headline and deck must quickly and clearly spell out the clear benefit and the product. It’s not a time to be clever. It’s a time to be straightforward, lucid, and clear.
2. If people are genuinely interested in the product or service, they will instantly look for the price. If the price is high, then having a “three easy payments of” option is important. There must be TONS of copy to justify an expensive purchase.
3. Pay close attention to the subheads. These should be every bit as strong as the strongest headlines.
4. It’s unlikely that someone will sit down and read every word of long-form copy right away. But, to justify an expensive purchase, they will read every word—especially when it comes to key features and benefits…plus the full description of what you get.

It’s sort of like car buying. Some people will buy a car because they like the color or the stereo. Others will buy because of the engine’s torque and/or efficiency. Others will buy because of the payments. Others want to know everything they can discover. The advertising for the car has to provide information for every type of buyer.

Strong long-form copy written by a long-form copywriter will satiate every type of potential buyer.

And yes—I bought the two products…persuaded by the long-form copy written by a top direct response copywriter.

*

I'm a direct response copywriter. I specialize in providing content and copy for the direct marketing environment for clients around the planet. I specialize in sales page copy, landing page copy and copy that persuades readers to pull out their credit card and buy. Enter your info to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here if you have a project you'd like me to quote.