Direct Response Copywriter on Passion

By Scott Martin, Direct Response Copywriter

As you know, if you’ve read this blog or my blog for Crazy Egg, I’m passionate about direct response marketing. I understand why the world’s biggest companies spend millions on “brand integrity” and the like. But I fail to understand why most companies, of all sizes, ignore direct marketing.

In direct marketing, you measure results. As a direct response copywriter (and direct marketer) there’s nowhere to hide. At times, the results can be brutal. So you simply avoid making the same mistake and you try something else. Eventually, you’ll find what works. And “what works” means the formula that earns you the most money.

But in the world of branding, even small companies pay ad agencies thousands to create “brand awareness” and other such nonsense. I can see spending some money on creating a logo and maybe a tagline but that’s a luxury. Branding agencies specialize in the ethereal world of “feel” and “image” and you can NEVER directly measure ROI … which is exactly how they want it.

Only people in direct marketing relish accountability. And branding ad agencies typically look down their noses at direct response copywriters: we’re vulgar and non-creative.

Whatever.

Meanwhile, here in direct response, we measure ROI in order to help clients maximize their revenue. We don’t seek prizes. We seek money for the people who invest in our services. Branding people love prizes. It’s a vindication of their expertise. Yet the people handing out the prizes never ask about ROI. The judges are in the branding camp.

One of these days, I’m going to take a break from being a direct response copywriter and conduct a little research. I will look at the winners from the local ad club prizes and see how the companies are doing. I won’t be able to find the ROI (of course) from the ads but I can likely tell if the companies are still in business.

Many of my fellow direct response copywriters spend way too much time writing about the chasm between the worlds of direct response and branding. Quite frankly, it gets a bit boring. So from this point on, I’m going to leave the fray and simply focus on helping my clients make globs of wedge.

Unless of course, I run into a branding person who is boasting about winning a prize.

Then the gloves are back off. That’s because I’m passionate about direct marketing.

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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 ... 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 What It's All About

By Scott Martin, Direct Response Copywriter.

As a direct response copywriter, my job is to sell stuff. Sometimes, people are actively searching for a product or service I’m helping to sell. Other times, people do not wake up with a desire or need for what I’m trying to sell.

I also write blogs. I read blogs. And I have to admit, I read a lot of super-boring blogs. As such, I’m guilty as charged of the same crime. A friend turned me on to a superb blog about my favorite sports team. Here’s the blog.

Notice the originality. Take note, also, of the controversial tone. So … from this point on, I’m going to put more oomph into my blogs. More originality. Intricate yet slightly crazed phrasing. Taking a stand.

Should I use the same approach in my direct response copywriting? Yes – I have to admit to a certain “straightforward-ness” when writing copy. I’m the salesman in the hardware store who answers your questions quickly and precisely … the guy who gets to the point and points out the benefits without a lot of showmanship.

I’ve purchased stuff from hyper-crazed salespeople and low-key salespeople. I remember a car salesman at my local VW dealership. His name was Richard and he had a sort of “Deputy Dawg” demeanor with a wry sense of humor. He went through all the usual car salesman machinations with an ironic sense of duty … “let me talk to the sales manager about that offer …” and “I’m here to represent your interests and get you the best possible price, Mr. Martin.” I played along with a nod and a wink. As you do.

Yet I have to admit having a soft spot for the “Level 11” salesperson who takes caffeine through an IV. It’s a show, of course.

My natural demeanor somewhat determines my copy. No nonsense. That somewhat ironic sense of humor with the odd burst of craziness. So I often have to work on increasing the volume. Not a problem, usually, for this direct response copywriter.

A client recently told me I have a highly straightforward style. But he was also looking for a “brand voice” for his product. I understand what he was saying. A company like Apple has a voice in its copy; ditto MailChimp – with its quirky commentary.

Finding that voice can take months of hard and expensive labor. Quite frankly I avoid clients who want to go through what’s essentially a beard-stroking branding exercise. I seek clients who are more concerned with selling stuff.

But, as usual, I’ve moved away from my point. What makes for copy that works? Testing will tell you but, ultimately, the focus has to be on answering the key question the customer is asking, “what’s in it for me?”

I like to include some similes and some color into my copy but on a limited basis. Too many metaphors and too much color can be like a cup of coffee with too much sugar … or a cake that’s too rich to eat.

Being boring is the cardinal sin of the direct response copywriter – or any writer.  But being obnoxious can be a huge turn off, as well.

I know two extremely successful direct response copywriters. One of them is the most obnoxious person in the world. And I’m not exaggerating. The other is so shy that some type of therapy might be in order. They both write copy that generates tens of millions in revenue. I’ve heard both of them speak and both, in their own way, are extremely engaging. When it comes to direct response copywriting, start with a mostly straightforward approach to establish a control. Then adjust the volume and test.

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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 ... 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 Young Geeks Who Run Marketing

Technology has created a massive change in the demographics of marketing departments – plus it’s changed the dynamics of start-up companies.

Before the Internet became a viable marketing platform, older and more experienced people ran marketing departments and provided marketing advice. Today, it’s often bearded and bespectacled “geeks” in their 20s and early 30s who run the show.

Bob Bly talks about this in a recent newsletter when discussing today’s battle between youth and experience.

“It does not mean that in a dispute on marketing between a graybeard like me and the young kids today who run marketing in most corporations, I am always right - or even mostly right."

I’m in my 40s (I know … I look younger) so I’m sort of between the weathered veterans and the youngsters.

If I were a young marketing decision maker, I would listen to Bob and other veteran direct response copywriters.

Here’s why.

The core principles of direct response marketing transcend technology. Technology simply provides new platforms for the direct response copywriter and direct marketers.

Why do companies, large and small, give the keys to the marketing car to the young “geeks" instead of the veterans with 35 years of direct marketing experience?

And by saying “geeks” I’m not being rude. They call themselves geeks, too, and in my experience, try to out-geek each other with the latest hoodies, sneakers, and video games … the core elements of the geek culture.

But I digress.

Executives give these youngsters a lot of width because they’ve been seduced by two marketing fallacies …

1. Social media is the next “big thing” and it will transform marketing and render traditional direct response marketing obsolete.
2. Technology is the answer to every marketing problem.

Because the geeks grew up with social media and because they know how to use the technology, many companies give the geeks a lot of leverage, width, and money.

The current obsession with social media as a marketing tool will come to an end in the next 12 to 24 months. Why? Because it’s so difficult to measure ROI from Facebook posts, Twitter feeds, and the rest of that guff. Accountants run big companies these days and they demand marketing ROI.

Maybe you’ve heard of Klout – which might be the poster child for the lunatic excesses of social media.

Sign up for Klout and Klout gives you a ranking based on your social media influence.

The more influential you become, the higher your Klout score.

If you "earn" a high score, Klout’s partner companies (clients) send you stuff to try and test. Could be an Audi to try. Could be a $5 coupon for chicken nuggets.

Either way, Klout hopes you will send your thoughts about the Audi or chicken nuggets to your social media followers.

At that point, your social media followers drop everything to buy an Audi or they gorge themselves silly on chicken nuggets.

Really.

Yes – it’s bonkers crazy and perhaps the most lunatic marketing model I’ve seen (and I’ve seen plenty of lunacy). But Klout gets traction (and clients) because it’s hip and revolves around social media. "FINALLY! Here's your way to make money from social media!" they bleat.

OOOOOOHHHHHH!

Because they understand how to use the tools, here’s what the really smart geeks are starting to discover. Direct marketing principles generate more money than social media marketing. Or at least they can measure the results from direct marketing.

I recently worked for a company run by three 20-something geeks and they hired me primarily for my direct response copywriting skills and direct marketing know-how. They were smart enough to test like crazy and, marrying their technical skills with a direct response copywriter, they TONNED it and the owners have cars and condos costing well into the ‘2 comma’ range.

In my experience, there are two types of marketers. The “branding” boys and girls who want to create warm fuzzy feelings and something called brand awareness. Their idea of success is a wall in the agency that’s full of awards. The other marketer is the direct response marketer who creates marketing that generates a direct result and is constantly striving to improve revenue and conversion. The latter is accountable.

We’re now seeing this bifurcation among the geeks. On the one hand, you have geeks who are obsessed with technology, social media, and bizarre marketing models (Klout). But there’s a new type of geek emerging from the dark ashes of social media campaigns … the direct response marketer. The second type of geek doesn’t necessarily realize they’re a direct marketer … but they will … as they continue to earn vast quantities of cash through the application of direct response principles.

The “smart” geeks, driven by data, will soon discover (if they haven’t already) that a direct response copywriter is much, much more valuable than any blog poster, social media “guru” or other pretender who is trendy, hip, and not much else.

Sadly, there are plenty of well-respected geeks out there who say things like “copy is dead” and “it’s all social media now” and "nobody reads long-form copy anymore." They speak at seminars and on webinars and they collect huge consulting fees for being dead wrong.

Don’t believe a word they say. I recently wrote a golf campaign for some wedges. Each wedge cost $149. The campaign generated over $1.6 million in sales. I wrote long-form copy. Message to geeks (and others) … social media could not … and will not … EVER produce that type of result.

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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 ... 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 4.

There were some big names at the AWAI Bootcamp. One of them was Clayton Makepeace, a well-known direct response copywriter.

Makepeace gave a couple of talks, one of them about headlines. In direct marketing, you see a wide range of headlines although most of them are long-ish. However, Makepeace typically likes a shorter main headline ... but surrounded by mini headlines.

Here’s an example. (Click the image to enlarge).

 Note the following:

• A pre-head (also called an eyebrow)
• The main headline … rarely more than 8 words
• A sub-head and/or some bullets

Here’s an example of copy with a much longer headline.

There’s no one way to write headlines. They can be long or short. They just have to work! As a direct response copywriter, testing tells me which headlines are resonating. The Makepeace headline session at AWAI bootcamp was especially interesting.

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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 ... 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.

Direct Response Copywriter on Super Bowl Ads

Today, the Monday after the Super Bowl, is the day football pundits weigh in on the game. It’s also a day for advertising "experts" to rank the ads.

My local newspaper, The Charlotte Observer, asked local advertising executives to choose their favorite Super Bowl ad. Here’s the article.

Predictably, none of these "experts" even mentioned ROI. That’s because most of Charlotte’s advertising community is brand-oriented so they're more concerned about "brand authority" and they're not so concerned about how much money an ad actually generates.

I work in advertising as a direct response copywriter but I watched the game for … the football. I love football and study the game. Personally, I would have run a lot more 12 and 22 formations against the Seattle defense. But there you go.

And yes – I can tell you all about 12 and 22 formations. Denver goes with a lot of 11, which obviously didn’t work.

But I watch the ads in the Super Bowl because I’m in advertising. I was especially keen to see the Squarespace ad because I use and like the platform.

My reaction to the ads is the same every year. They all fail. Place them all in the “L” column. I may have missed an ad that asked for a measurable response but here’s the salient question: “which ad produced the highest measurable response?”

That’s the winner.

And no, a Super Bowl ad that makes a YouTube video "go viral" is not a success unless you have way to measure revenue.

Last week, a well-known ski resort breathlessly tweeted about an award for an ad campaign. My reply, “Congrats on the award. What was the ROI?”

Turns out results were not measured.

"Why not?" I would ask if I were the big banana/CEO.

In my world, direct response copywriting, my job is to write copy that produces revenue for my client. I’m accountable. The copy goes live or gets into a mailbox and everyone knows the results. I recently wrote a promotion for a golf company that generated $1.6 million in sales.

I’ve had my failures, too. But the smart direct marketers accept failure as part of discovering what’s going to work.

Last night, I saw hugely contrived ads striving to be shocking, funny, clever, witty, or touching. The ads quickly became a miasma of mixed metaphors, bizarre images, strange connections, and pure pulp. The “experts” who created these ads gave me a migraine-inducing mix of bad Saturday Night Live comedy combined with a vomituous surrealism that wins awards, but not customers.

Even Luis Buñuel must be scratching his head.

So you liked the Doritos ad? Are you rushing to the convenience store with your credit card to buy 12 bags of Doritos? You liked Newcastle's strategy? Drinking one now? Going to buy a keg of Newcastle tomorrow?

What were the people at Maserati thinking? Do the few people who can afford this car really want a bizarre feel-good message? NO! They want to look cool and/or join an exclusive club and/or go from 0-60 in under 4 seconds. Plus they probably want a powerful concert hall-quality sound system. If the buyer is young, male, and wealthy, he's buying the car to annoy his friends and impress potential dates.

Give me a list of people with the right demographics and psychographics and I’ll write six letters that will generate tons of qualified leads for Maserati salespeople. And I'll start by asking Maserati salespeople why people buy the car. How's that for strategy?

And what were the people at Squarespace thinking? As I mentioned earlier, I love Squarespace and regularly recommend the platform to friends and colleagues. I choose Squarespace for the service, the ease of use, the community of web developers who can fix my HTML mistakes(!), the rock-solid “back room” stuff, and the sensible price. I believe the platform has helped me rocket up the SEO rankings.

The Squarespace ad, quite frankly, gave me the creeps and made me question what the company is really trying to achieve.

Here's the ad.

For the same money spent on the ad and the media, a competent direct response professional could have generated a measurable – and superior – response. Send traffic to a web page I'll write about Squarespace and I’ll smash the ROI from that look-away-awful TV ad.

Wanna bet?

I bet you 12 bags of Doritos and a pint of Fuller’s London Pride at The Churchill Tavern on E. 28th I can outperform your Super Bowl ad. Or give me a percentage of the sales from the landing page. I'm a direct response copywriter. I will happily work on a royalty.

Everyone in advertising can agree David Ogilvy knew what he was talking about. If you can’t stand what I’m saying, watch the video below. NOW.

While those of us in direct response are busy generating revenue, and being accountable, you guys in the branding world are “worshipping at the altar of creativity” (as Ogilvy so beautifully puts it) and wasting billions on advertising that fails to produce even a fraction of the ROI we in the direct response world can produce.

Want proof? Watch the Super Bowl ads again.

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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.