Direct Response Copywriter on What Really Matters

Copywriters who write anything but direct response copy have it pretty easy.

I think about the “fluff” copy I see on 99.9% of websites and sometimes think about writing copy like this …

“Our award-winning Creative group engages customers by developing inventive ways to bring each brand’s personality and positioning to life. Beginning with a research-based understanding of customer attitudes and behaviors, our designers, writers (sic) and developers create compelling, integrated experiences.”

I mean ... it can't be hard to write THAT.

The copy above comes from a “top” advertising agency in Charlotte, North Carolina. I’m not singling out Wray Ward, necessarily, because you can read the same nonsense on the websites of most advertising agencies.

Why the sic(s)? No comma after writers. Why is ‘Creative’ capitalized?

I have no beef with copywriters who want to write non-direct response copy. There’s a market for it. But the page has no call to action and the copy breaks all the rules of direct response copy.

Instead of writing the “fluff” above, I write direct response copy. This makes me accountable. Most copywriters don’t want to go anywhere near accountability … and that’s fine.

But my copy must produce results for my clients. And that’s what direct response copywriting is all about: generating results.

It’s a blood sport. There’s success. And there’s failure. When things don’t go right, I pick myself up off the floor and keep testing.

Let’s go back to my brothers and sisters at Wray Ward. Here’s a headline …

“We create meaningful relationships between brands and consumers.”

I have no idea what that means. Here’s my headline … “I help you sell your stuff and measure the results so you sell even more stuff.”

Here’s what really matters to a direct response copywriter: revenue. Not awards … not fluff … not a pat on the back … not a nice lunch with the client … not offsite strategy sessions … REVENUE.

*

I'm a direct response copywriter working for clients around the world. Enter your information to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here when you have a project you'd like to discuss. I'm also a Dan Kennedy certified copywriter for information products.

Direct Response Copywriter on Hype

It’s easy to accuse direct response copywriters of a rather low-level activity.

The activity?

Hype. Something like …

TAKE THIS ALL-NEW DIETARY SUPPLEMENT AND YOUR JOINT PAIN WILL BE GONE FOREVER!

I’ve seen other examples.

“How Does An Out-of-Shape 55 Year-Old Golfer Crippled by Arthritis and 71 lbs. Overweight, Still Consistently Humiliate PGA Pros in Head-to-Head Matches by Hitting Every Tee Shot Further and Straighter Down the Fairway?”

That’s a headline for a golf product.

Here’s yet another ...

RUB AWAY BELLY FAT IN JUST 15 MINUTES A DAY!

I made the first one up but the second two are real … and written by super-famous direct response copywriters.

Compare this to a headline I recently wrote for a golf ad.

Save At Least 5 Shots a Round by Getting Super-Accurate Yardages for Every Shot … PLUS Get Compliments from Friends on “Your Super-Cool New Watch.”

This headline was for a watch that also provides yardages on the golf course. A cool gadget.

There are copywriters and companies who will push things when it comes to hype. But there are copywriters, like me, who like a headline that’s believable. I want all the copy to be totally believable.

The very second I see an ad like the first golf one, I switch off. But others don’t. The writer of the first golf headline told me the ad was extremely successful.

So the question becomes, “how far can you go … and should you go … with hype?”

I define hype as unsubstantiated claims … or claims nobody could really make. Others might use a word beginning with a ‘b’ and ending with a ‘t’ … a word I would never use in my blog.

I have to make claims. I have to make promises. I have to focus on the offer. The offer is “here’s what you get in return for your money.” A weak promise won’t sell anything. But a crazy promise might not sell anything either. Plus that crazy promise can easily get you into hot water legally.

So here’s my approach.

Make a promise and make it believable. Then back it up with tons of proof. In fact, I like to reverse engineer my copy, basing the claim in the headline on my research. Then I know for sure that I’m not lying. There’s no need to lie in direct response marketing … just find the truth and tell the truth. I like to put the truth in the best possible light but I’m not going to make things up. The customer knows when you’re making things up.

Ironically, I see a TON more hype in the world of general advertising. This comes in the form of vacuous claims that really mean nothing.

Here’s an example from a ski resort website.

“It is a risk-free adventure that we are certain you will not forget.”

There’s plenty of risk when it comes to skiing. And someone might forget the lesson.

Here’s another headline.

“America’s Best-Dressed Car Puts on Running Shoes!”

Who said it was a best-dressed car? Nobody.

A headline for a soft drink.

“Pick Your Energy Up!”

Meaningless drivel … AKA hype. So I get a little annoyed when the general advertising crowd says, “oh you guys in direct marketing are just making stuff up all the time.” No we’re not.

I know a lot of direct response copywriters who will happily write a lot of hype. I’m not one of them. There’s no need for hype.

*

I'm a direct response copywriter working for clients around the world. Enter your information to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here when you have a project you'd like to discuss. I'm also a Dan Kennedy certified copywriter for information products.

Direct Response Copywriter on Creativity

I work in advertising so people think I’m creative. What does that word “creative” really mean?

My admittedly somewhat rudimentary dictionary defines creativity as …

“The use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work.”

In many advertising agencies, you’ll find someone called a “Creative Director” and this person is often in charge of the copywriter. Sometimes they rose from being a lowly copywriter to the exalted position of Creative Director. Woo-hoo! But the Creative Director has to come up with ideas for ads.

What does a direct response copywriter do when it comes to creativity? I see two problems, going back to that definition: original ideas … artistic.

Every direct response copywriter knows that being original and artistic is a huge mistake. The “branding” copywriter can be original and artistic because they don’t really have to sell anything. They’re not accountable.

I love those beer ads featuring “The Most Interesting Man in the World.” But they don’t make me buy Dos Equis beer. I also believe they took the idea from “The Man in the Hathaway Shirt” created by Ogilvy and Mather. Whatever.

My “creative” work has to motivate people to buy the products and services being sold. But how creative can I be? In direct marketing, 80% of the work is following the usual methods that have worked for decades. Then 20% is creative, coming up with a fresh way of selling the product or service … coming up with a fresh narrative and/or big idea. I also like to be involved in the graphics by providing ideas and thumbnails.

But I don’t want to be too creative. The foundation of great copywriting is following the tried and tested tactics and strategies of direct response copywriting and direct marketing. Anyone who deviates from this is doomed.

Yes … I get to be creative and it’s fun coming up with new headlines, subs, and body copy. But I have to remember that I’m a direct response copywriter. I’m selling a product or service and NOT trying to win awards for creativity.

*

I'm a direct response copywriter working for clients around the world. Enter your information to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here when you have a project you'd like to discuss. I'm also a Dan Kennedy certified copywriter for information products.

Direct Response Copywriter on a Myth About Conversion Percentage

A client just sent me an email about the conversion rate from a letter I wrote. The client sells consulting services to a specific niche.

The conversion rate is low for the letter.

But what is a “good” conversion rate? I’ve heard 3% … or thereabouts. But it’s generally a mistake to focus on conversion rates and related data. Conversion rate is only really useful when it comes to establishing, then beating, a control.

I’m more interested in the actual revenue the copy generates. You can put money in a bank account but you can’t put conversion rate in the bank. I currently have a VSL that’s generating a TON of money for a client. I don’t know the conversion rate. It’s irrelevant until I try to beat the control. Even then, conversion rate is just a number, a statistic.

Back to my client with the low conversion rate. If the conversion rate means he gets just one new client for his services, then the letter has been a raging success. That’s because the lifetime value of that new client will be tens of thousands of dollars. Plus there could be a “knock on” effect as the client tells other potential clients.

As a direct response copywriter, I’m interested in conversion rate … but I’m much more interested in the actual revenue.

*

I'm a direct response copywriter. I write direct response copy for clients around the world. Enter your information to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here when you have a project you'd like to discuss. I'm also a Dan Kennedy certified copywriter for information products.

Direct Response Copywriter on Who is Right and Who is Wrong

I got some great news from a client. A video sales letter (VSL) I wrote for them is making over 300 sales a day. The product is a health-related ebook plus there’s an upsell. I won’t go into the details but that’s a chunk of change in that client’s bank account every day.

In full disclosure, the client is great with traffic and testing. They’re a full-on direct response company and it shows. I tweaked the copy several times based on some testing data and, after a lot of hard graft, the VSL is rocking. I don’t know the conversion rate but 300 sales a day is … 300 sales a day plus an upsell that converts at around 25%. Good news for the client and this direct response copywriter.

Personally, I don’t like the VSL when I’m buying something but that’s just me. In many verticals, the VSL works. But in others, it’s a total fail.

But here’s the important point.

The client showed the copy to another copywriter who they hired to critique the work of other copywriters. The “other” copywriter panned the copy.

I stuck with my guns and the client let me do that … with a few minor changes. I can’t wait to see that consultant and tell them about the 300 sales-a-day result.

When it comes to copy, it doesn’t matter what I think. And it doesn’t matter what someone else thinks. The only person who matters is the potential customer. Will they buy? Or will they not buy?

I’ve written direct response copy that’s failed. But I’ve also written copy that’s worked astonishingly well. The “copy police” might have found the former copy wonderful but the latter copy laughable.

My approach? I always follow the proven fundamentals of direct response copywriting. That’s the starting point. This means research, finding out what’s worked before, and then patient testing.

A lot of copywriters now spend their time training other copywriters. And that’s fine. But that gig isn’t for me, although I have a series of “look over my shoulder” copywriting videos as part of my client-finding service you can discover here.

*

I'm a direct response copywriter. I write direct response copy for clients around the world. Enter your information to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here when you have a project you'd like to discuss. I'm also a Dan Kennedy certified copywriter for information products.