Direct Response Copywriter on Revealing All

By Scott Martin, Direct Response Copywriter

In the past, I have written about my local hardware store, Blackhawk Hardware in Park Road Shopping Center here in Charlotte. You can find a Home Depot and a Lowe's nearby but I always visit Blackhawk, even though, unfairly, some locals believe Blackhawk is more expensive.

Visit Home Depot or Lowe's and good luck finding service from someone who really understands the products. However, at Blackhawk, the store literally wedges you through an area where you must be greeted by two people who welcome you back then guide you to the correct part of the store. By the time you've arrived at said correct part of the store, there's an associate ready to assist. In my humble opinion, every company of any size should visit Blackhawk then model their service after what they discover.

Last week, because I have a semi-blocked drain in my kitchen, I went to Blackhawk looking for a drain snake. I thought I would handle the blockage myself because I generally dislike asking a plumber to come to my home...for reasons I'll crack into at a later date.

Anyway, the man at Blackhawk patiently listened to me, asked salient questions, then persuaded me NOT to buy the snake and try to solve my plumbing problem myself. Yes...the store lost a $35 sale but they buttressed my trust. The man told me how difficult it can be to solve what might seem like a simple plumbing issue. In short, the associate provided honest advice.

There's a copywriting parallel...and it's important. I call it disclosure of limitations. Readers are naturally and understandably skeptical when they read copy. So I believe it's always vital for a direct response copywriter to detail what the product or service WILL NOT do.

For example, if I'm writing about a weight loss product, I will state, "you will not lose 20 pounds in 3 days but you can lose 1-3 pounds a week." Or even when speaking with a potential client, especially one who wants to test, I will say, "I will routinely fail to beat a strong control...but when I do, it will positively impact your revenue and profit." When I write golf copy, I might say, "no, you will not become Tiger Woods tomorrow but if you take the Acme swing trainer to the range for the next 3 weeks and learn to use it, you will discover the joy of longer and straighter drives."

The "admit your limitations" copywriting technique is all too rare...especially in certain niches notorious for terrible copy. Admittedly, there's little or no data to back up my claim but I regularly see the top copywriters use this advanced technique.

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I'm a direct response copywriter. I specialize in providing direct response 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.

I'm also a Dan Kennedy Certified Copywriter for Info-Marketers.

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Disclaimer for the above.

The Dan Kennedy Copywriter for Info-Marketers Certification is awarded to professional copywriters who have successfully completed a course of study of preparation for such copywriting.  This Certification has not been provided by an accredited education institution.  It does not constitute endorsement of or liability for any individual copywriter by Mr. Kennedy or any companies or organizations affiliated with Mr. Kennedy. The client's relationship is solely with the individual copywriter retained via any agreement.

Direct Response Copywriter on the AWAI Bootcamp. Part 3. B2B Copywriting

One of the more interesting sessions at the AWAI Bootcamp was about B2B copywriting. The speaker was Steve Slaunwhite, a copywriter who specializes in B2B copy. Steve's also an author and consultant.

As a direct response copywriter, I've written plenty of B2B copy although the bulk of my work today is B2C. Perhaps my biggest B2B success comes from my own website, which routinely persuades business decisions makers to contact me.

Some marketers, especially those on the branding side, believe B2B is a totally different animal. I'm on the direct response side and I believe, like Dan Kennedy, that the core fundamentals of B2C direct response marketing apply to B2B. The main difference is time and the gestation period. A business decision maker who buys toner cartridges will not take much time to buy toner cartridges. But when a distribution company needs 50 fork lift trucks costing hundreds of thousands, they will take their time before signing a contract.

So it's not so much the product but the cost of the product and the ramifications of the decision that determine buying habits...and copy approaches. And Steve Slaunwhite essentially buttressed all this. Many B2B companies need to spend more time in front of potential clients. Some clients will make a quick decision while others will move slowly. A major B2B buying decision is not an impulse buy. This places a premium on premium content...newsletters, press releases, infographics, white papers, and more...a B2B company needs to massage potential clients with outstanding content.

However, a major B2B buying decision places a premium on long-form direct response copy. The decision maker is making a huge decision and will want as much information as possible before making that potentially multi-million dollar decision. And, as every direct response copywriter will attest, it's important to appeal to the key emotional triggers...whatever the product.

Yes -- Steve Slaunwhite gave an excellent presentation about B2B copywriting and its nuances. Ultimately, direct response copywriting is direct response copywriting...the core elements remain the same whatever the product, category, or niche.

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I'm a direct response copywriter. I specialize in providing direct response 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.

I'm also a Dan Kennedy Certified Copywriter for Info-Marketers.

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Disclaimer for the above.

The Dan Kennedy Copywriter for Info-Marketers Certification is awarded to professional copywriters who have successfully completed a course of study of preparation for such copywriting.  This Certification has not been provided by an accredited education institution.  It does not constitute endorsement of or liability for any individual copywriter by Mr. Kennedy or any companies or organizations affiliated with Mr. Kennedy. The client's relationship is solely with the individual copywriter retained via any agreement.

Direct Response Copywriter on the AWAI Bootcamp. Part 2. Drayton Bird.

By Scott Martin

One of the highlights of the AWAI 2013 FastTrack to Copywriting Success Bootcamp and Job Fair was Drayton Bird's speech.

Drayton Bird is a famous direct response copywriter. He's based in the UK and has worked for numerous agencies including Ogilvy. You can see his full info here.

A veteran of many direct response copywriting wars, the spry and youthful Bird gave a witty presentation. Here's what I took away ...

• Be careful if you decide to get married. Three of Bird's wives tried to kill him. I suppose the title of Bird's next book could be: Bird on Birds.
• Focus entirely on results.
• Keep pounding away until you get the results you really want.

Later, I had a chance to meet Bird and we talked about his excellent book, How to Write Sales Letters that Sell. In addition to providing salient advice about copywriting, Bird details how to approach potential clients -- the ones you want. The book is out of print now and copies cost around $50. Maybe I should sell mine!

If you get a chance to study Bird's work, it's worth the effort.

And here I am with Drayton Bird.

Thank you to the people at AWAI for getting Drayton Bird to Delray Beach.

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Before the bootcamp, I entered one of the competitions: the Clayton Makepeace Spec Challenge. I came 3rd out of 48 entries which was fun.

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I'm a direct response copywriter. I specialize in providing direct response 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.

I'm also a Dan Kennedy Certified Copywriter for Info-Marketers.

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Disclaimer for the above.

The Dan Kennedy Copywriter for Info-Marketers Certification is awarded to professional copywriters who have successfully completed a course of study of preparation for such copywriting.  This Certification has not been provided by an accredited education institution.  It does not constitute endorsement of or liability for any individual copywriter by Mr. Kennedy or any companies or organizations affiliated with Mr. Kennedy. The client's relationship is solely with the individual copywriter retained via any agreement.

Direct Response Copywriter on the 'How To' Headline

By Scott Martin

At a copywriting conference I attended in April, the speaker said he loves the "how to" headline. Why? Because, in testing, a "how to" headline outperforms other headlines 9 times out of ten.

The "how to" headline is one of the most basic and I love its simplicity...plus it usually works. I'm sure you've seen dozens of "how to" headlines. For a direct response copywriter, the "how to" headline is a staple.

"How to Sovle Bad Breath Forever"

"How to Get First Class Tickets for the Price of Coach"

You also see "how to" headlines without the "how to."

"Look Taller Today"

"Get Cable TV for 60% Less"

You get the picture and speaking of pictures, I was recently in a large northeastern city visiting a hostelry. The men's room was plastered with cut outs from various and "sundry" magazines. This "how to" headline caught my attention, not becuase it relates directly to me...

In case you can't see it, the headline reads...

"How to Tell Your Girl You've Got Herpes"

Magazines are replete with "how to" headlines...because they get readers to read. If you're scratching your head wondering how to start the copy, trust the "how to" headline.

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I'm a direct response copywriter. I specialize in providing direct response 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.

I'm also a Dan Kennedy Certified Copywriter for Info-Marketers.

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Disclaimer for the above.

The Dan Kennedy Copywriter for Info-Marketers Certification is awarded to professional copywriters who have successfully completed a course of study of preparation for such copywriting.  This Certification has not been provided by an accredited education institution.  It does not constitute endorsement of or liability for any individual copywriter by Mr. Kennedy or any companies or organizations affiliated with Mr. Kennedy. The client's relationship is solely with the individual copywriter retained via any agreement.

Direct Response Copywriter on How Not to Advertise

By Scott Martin, Direct Response Copywriter

If you're like me, you would rather have nails nail-gunned into your head than visit an office supply store for ink cartridges.

However, I needed ink so I got ready to visit my local 'big box' office store. Before making that ugly trek I remembered there's a specialist ink cartridge store less than 400 yards from my office. So I went to the company's website to check the price. As a direct response copywriter, I'm always interested in how a company organizes its site.

First, it was almost impossible to find a price comparison. To get a price, the company wanted me to complete a form asking for pretty much all my personal details. No thanks. However, once I found the right page and entered the number of the ink cartridge, here's what I got.

(Click for a larger image if you can't see this...)

This company is a locally-owned franchise. I hope they improve their website.

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I'm a direct response copywriter. I specialize in providing direct response 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.

I'm also a Dan Kennedy Certified Copywriter for Info-Marketers.

*

Disclaimer for the above.

The Dan Kennedy Copywriter for Info-Marketers Certification is awarded to professional copywriters who have successfully completed a course of study of preparation for such copywriting.  This Certification has not been provided by an accredited education institution.  It does not constitute endorsement of or liability for any individual copywriter by Mr. Kennedy or any companies or organizations affiliated with Mr. Kennedy. The client's relationship is solely with the individual copywriter retained via any agreement.