In marketing, there are many strategies to win the competition.
For example, by giving image to the product as lifestyle can encourage consumers
To buy the product. The other strategy, by adding more values to product,
by joining the product with the other product to get competitive advantage.
What about green marketing?
Green marketing is combination of publicity and marketing. It can be said
As soft marketing. What is the advantage of green marketing?
Green marketing is giving an image that the company cares to the environment
as social contribution. It is hot issue about global warming, any business should care
environment to avoid nature disaster. Then, many people in the world think
seriously about environment and solution. Green marketing creates positive image of
The product to people indirectly, softly but deeply. It is long term strategy. The positive effect is soft but will be long time, because this strategy touches the human feeling. Positive action will result positive response as like Newton law.
How to do green marketing?
Firstly, company or industry should care to the environment around them. Then, the industry should avoid to produce non-recycled products. The other example, by giving trees to people to plant, educating to students at school about the important to sustain forest life, and many other ideas to save our earth while sustaining our business or industry .
What is your opinion?
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Friday, June 1, 2007
TIPS : How to Write More Effective Ads(PArt 2)
3. Push Their Emotional Hot Buttons
This is where research really pays off. Because in order to push those buttons, you need to first know what they are.
Listen to this story first, and I’ll tell you what I mean: Once upon a time a young man walked into a Chevrolet dealer’s showroom to check out a Chevy Camaro. He had the money, and he was ready to make a buying decision. But he couldn’t decide if he wanted to buy the Camaro or the Ford Mustang up the road at the Ford dealer.
A salesman approached him and soon discovered the man’s dilemma.
“Tell me what you like best about the Camaro,” said the salesman.
“It’s a fast car. I like it for its speed.”
After some more discussion, the salesman learned the man had just started dating a cute college cheerleader. So what did the salesman do?
Simple. He changed his pitch accordingly, to push the hot buttons he knew would help advance the sale. He told the man about how impressed his new girlfriend would be when he came home with this car! He placed the mental image in the man’s mind of he and his girlfriend cruising to the beach in the Camaro. How all of his friends will be envious when they see him riding around with a beautiful girl in a beautiful car.
And suddenly the man saw it. He got it. And the salesman recognized this and piled it on even more. Before you know it, the man wrote a nice fat check to the Chevy dealership, because he was sold!
The salesman found those hot buttons and pushed them like never before until the man realized he wanted the Camaro more than he wanted his money.
I know what you’re thinking…the man said he liked the car because it was fast, didn’t he?
Yes, he did. But subconsciously, what he really desired was a car that would impress his girlfriend, his friends, and in his mind make them love him more! In his mind he equated speed with thrill. Not because he wanted an endless supply of speeding tickets, but because he thought that thrill would make him more attractive, more likeable.
Perhaps the man didn’t even realize this fact himself. But the salesman sure did. And he knew which emotional hot buttons to press to get the sale.
Now, where does the research pay off?
Well, a good salesman knows how to ask the kinds of questions that will tell him which buttons to press on the fly. When you’re writing copy, you don’t have that luxury. It’s therefore very important to know upfront the wants, needs, and desires of your prospects for that very reason. If you haven’t done your homework, your prospect is going to decide that he’d rather keep his money than buy your product. Remember, copywriting is salesmanship in print!
It’s been said many times: People don’t like to be sold.
But they do like to buy.
And they buy based on emotion first and foremost. Then they justify their decision with logic, even after they are already sold emotionally. So be sure to back up your emotional pitch with logic to nurture that justification at the end.
And while we’re on the subject, let’s talk a moment about perceived “hype” in a sales letter. A lot of more “conservative” advertisers have decided that they don’t like hype, because they consider hype to be old news, been-there-and-done-that, my customers won’t fall for hype, it’s not believable anymore.
What they should realize is that hype itself does not sell well. Some less experienced copywriters often try to compensate for their lack of research or not fully understanding their target market or the product itself by adding tons of adjectives and adverbs and exclamation points and big bold type.
Whew! If you do your job right, it’s just not needed.
That’s not to say some adverbs or adjectives don’t have their place…only if they’re used sparingly, and only if they advance the sale.
But I think you’d agree that backing up your copy with proof and believability will go a lot farther in convincing your prospects than “power words” alone. I say power words, because there are certain adverbs and adjectives that have been proven to make a difference when they’re included. This by itself is not hype. But repeated too often, they become less effective, and they take away (at least in your prospect’s mind) from the proof.
Which brings us into our next tip…
4.Incorporating Proof and Believability
When your prospect reads your ad, you want to make sure he believes any claims you make about your product or service. Because if there’s any doubt in his mind, he won’t bite, no matter how sweet the deal. In fact, the “too good to be true” mentality will virtually guarantee a lost sale…even if it is all true.
So what can you do to increase the perception of believability? Because after all, it’s the perception you need to address up front. But of course you also must make sure your copy is accurate and truthful.
Here are some tried and tested methods that will help:
• If you’re dealing with existing customers who already know you deliver as promised, emphasize that trust. Don’t leave it up to them to figure it out. Make them stop, cock their heads, and say, “Oh, yeah. The ABC Company has never done me wrong before. I can trust them.”
• Include testimonials of satisfied customers. Be sure to put full names and locations, where possible. Remember, “A.S.” is a lot less believable than “Andy Sherman, Voorhees, NJ.” If you can also include a picture of the customer and/or a professional title, that’s even better. It doesn’t matter that your testimonials aren’t from somebody famous or that your prospect does not know these people personally. If you have enough compelling testimonials, and they’re believable, you’re much better off than not including them at all.
• Pepper your copy with facts and research findings to support your claims. Be sure to credit all sources, even if the fact is common knowledge, because a neutral source goes a long way towards credibility.
• For a direct mail letter or certain space ads where the copy is in the form of a letter from a specific individual, including a picture of that person helps. But unlike “traditional” real estate letters and other similar ads, I’d put the picture at the end near your signature, or midway through the copy, rather than at the top where it will detract from your headline. And…if your sales letter is from a specific individual, be sure to include his credentials to establish him as an expert in his field (relating to your product or service, of course).
• If applicable, cite any awards or third-party reviews the product or service has received.
• If you’ve sold a lot of widgets, tell them. It’s the old “10 million people can’t be wrong” adage (they can be, but your prospect will likely take your side on the matter).
• Include a GREAT return policy and stand by it! This is just good business policy. Many times, offering a double refund guarantee for certain products will result in higher profits. Yes, you’ll dish out more refunds, but if you sell three times as many widgets as before, and only have to refund twice as much as before, it may be worth it, depending on your offer and return on investment. Crunch the numbers and see what makes sense. More importantly, test! Make them think, “Gee, they wouldn’t be so generous with returns if they didn’t stand behind their product!”
• If you can swing it, adding a celebrity endorsement will always help to establish credibility. Heck, if ‘ol honest Abe Lincoln recommended your product and backs up your claims, it must be true! Ok, you get the idea, though.
• When it makes sense, use 3rd party testimonials. What are 3rd party testimonials? Here’s some examples from some Web site copy I wrote when there weren’t many customer testimonials available yet:
“Spyware, without question, is on an exponential rise over the last six months.”
- Alfred Huger, Senior Director of Engineering, Symantec Security Response (maker of Norton security software)
“Simply clicking on a banner ad can install spyware.”
- Dave Methvin, Chief Technology Officer, PC Pitstop
A deployment method is to “trick users into consenting to a software download they think they absolutely need”
- Paul Bryan, Director, Security And Technology Unit, Microsoft
Do you see what I did?
I took quotes from experts in their respective fields and turned them to my side. But…be sure to get their consent or permission from the copyright holder if there’s ever any question about copyrighted materials as your source.
Note that I also pushed an emotional hot button: fear.
It’s been proven that people will generally do more to avoid pain than to obtain pleasure. So why not use that tidbit of info to your advantage?
• Reveal a flaw about your product. This helps alleviate the “too good to be true” syndrome. You reveal a flaw that isn’t really a flaw. Or reveal a flaw that is minor, just to show that you’re being “up front” about your product’s shortcomings.
Example:
“You’re probably thinking right now that this tennis racket is a miracle worker—and it is. But I must tell you that it has one little…shortcoming.
My racket takes about 2 weeks to get used to. In fact, when you first start using it, your game will actually get worse. But if you can just ride it out, you’ll see a tremendous improvement in your volleys, net play, serves, …” And so on.
There’s a tendency to think, with all of the ads that we are bombarded with today that every advertiser is always putting his best foot forward, so to speak. And I think that line of reasoning is accurate, to a point.
But isn’t it refreshing when someone stands out from the crowd and is honest? In other words, your reader will start to subconsciously believe that you are revealing all of the flaws, even though your best foot still stands forward.
• Use “lift notes.” These are a brief note or letter from a person of authority. Not necessary a celebrity, although that can add credibility, too. A person of authority is someone well recognized in their field (which is related to your product) that they are qualified to talk about. Lift notes may be distributed as inserts, a separate page altogether, or even as part of the copy itself. As always, test!
• If you are limiting the offer with a deadline “order by” date, be sure the deadline is real and does not change. Deadline dates that change every day are sure to reduce credibility. The prospect will suspect, “if his deadline date keeps changing, he’s not telling the truth about it…I wonder what else he’s not telling the truth about.”
• Avoid baseless “hype.” I discussed that in my previous tip. Enough said.
This is where research really pays off. Because in order to push those buttons, you need to first know what they are.
Listen to this story first, and I’ll tell you what I mean: Once upon a time a young man walked into a Chevrolet dealer’s showroom to check out a Chevy Camaro. He had the money, and he was ready to make a buying decision. But he couldn’t decide if he wanted to buy the Camaro or the Ford Mustang up the road at the Ford dealer.
A salesman approached him and soon discovered the man’s dilemma.
“Tell me what you like best about the Camaro,” said the salesman.
“It’s a fast car. I like it for its speed.”
After some more discussion, the salesman learned the man had just started dating a cute college cheerleader. So what did the salesman do?
Simple. He changed his pitch accordingly, to push the hot buttons he knew would help advance the sale. He told the man about how impressed his new girlfriend would be when he came home with this car! He placed the mental image in the man’s mind of he and his girlfriend cruising to the beach in the Camaro. How all of his friends will be envious when they see him riding around with a beautiful girl in a beautiful car.
And suddenly the man saw it. He got it. And the salesman recognized this and piled it on even more. Before you know it, the man wrote a nice fat check to the Chevy dealership, because he was sold!
The salesman found those hot buttons and pushed them like never before until the man realized he wanted the Camaro more than he wanted his money.
I know what you’re thinking…the man said he liked the car because it was fast, didn’t he?
Yes, he did. But subconsciously, what he really desired was a car that would impress his girlfriend, his friends, and in his mind make them love him more! In his mind he equated speed with thrill. Not because he wanted an endless supply of speeding tickets, but because he thought that thrill would make him more attractive, more likeable.
Perhaps the man didn’t even realize this fact himself. But the salesman sure did. And he knew which emotional hot buttons to press to get the sale.
Now, where does the research pay off?
Well, a good salesman knows how to ask the kinds of questions that will tell him which buttons to press on the fly. When you’re writing copy, you don’t have that luxury. It’s therefore very important to know upfront the wants, needs, and desires of your prospects for that very reason. If you haven’t done your homework, your prospect is going to decide that he’d rather keep his money than buy your product. Remember, copywriting is salesmanship in print!
It’s been said many times: People don’t like to be sold.
But they do like to buy.
And they buy based on emotion first and foremost. Then they justify their decision with logic, even after they are already sold emotionally. So be sure to back up your emotional pitch with logic to nurture that justification at the end.
And while we’re on the subject, let’s talk a moment about perceived “hype” in a sales letter. A lot of more “conservative” advertisers have decided that they don’t like hype, because they consider hype to be old news, been-there-and-done-that, my customers won’t fall for hype, it’s not believable anymore.
What they should realize is that hype itself does not sell well. Some less experienced copywriters often try to compensate for their lack of research or not fully understanding their target market or the product itself by adding tons of adjectives and adverbs and exclamation points and big bold type.
Whew! If you do your job right, it’s just not needed.
That’s not to say some adverbs or adjectives don’t have their place…only if they’re used sparingly, and only if they advance the sale.
But I think you’d agree that backing up your copy with proof and believability will go a lot farther in convincing your prospects than “power words” alone. I say power words, because there are certain adverbs and adjectives that have been proven to make a difference when they’re included. This by itself is not hype. But repeated too often, they become less effective, and they take away (at least in your prospect’s mind) from the proof.
Which brings us into our next tip…
4.Incorporating Proof and Believability
When your prospect reads your ad, you want to make sure he believes any claims you make about your product or service. Because if there’s any doubt in his mind, he won’t bite, no matter how sweet the deal. In fact, the “too good to be true” mentality will virtually guarantee a lost sale…even if it is all true.
So what can you do to increase the perception of believability? Because after all, it’s the perception you need to address up front. But of course you also must make sure your copy is accurate and truthful.
Here are some tried and tested methods that will help:
• If you’re dealing with existing customers who already know you deliver as promised, emphasize that trust. Don’t leave it up to them to figure it out. Make them stop, cock their heads, and say, “Oh, yeah. The ABC Company has never done me wrong before. I can trust them.”
• Include testimonials of satisfied customers. Be sure to put full names and locations, where possible. Remember, “A.S.” is a lot less believable than “Andy Sherman, Voorhees, NJ.” If you can also include a picture of the customer and/or a professional title, that’s even better. It doesn’t matter that your testimonials aren’t from somebody famous or that your prospect does not know these people personally. If you have enough compelling testimonials, and they’re believable, you’re much better off than not including them at all.
• Pepper your copy with facts and research findings to support your claims. Be sure to credit all sources, even if the fact is common knowledge, because a neutral source goes a long way towards credibility.
• For a direct mail letter or certain space ads where the copy is in the form of a letter from a specific individual, including a picture of that person helps. But unlike “traditional” real estate letters and other similar ads, I’d put the picture at the end near your signature, or midway through the copy, rather than at the top where it will detract from your headline. And…if your sales letter is from a specific individual, be sure to include his credentials to establish him as an expert in his field (relating to your product or service, of course).
• If applicable, cite any awards or third-party reviews the product or service has received.
• If you’ve sold a lot of widgets, tell them. It’s the old “10 million people can’t be wrong” adage (they can be, but your prospect will likely take your side on the matter).
• Include a GREAT return policy and stand by it! This is just good business policy. Many times, offering a double refund guarantee for certain products will result in higher profits. Yes, you’ll dish out more refunds, but if you sell three times as many widgets as before, and only have to refund twice as much as before, it may be worth it, depending on your offer and return on investment. Crunch the numbers and see what makes sense. More importantly, test! Make them think, “Gee, they wouldn’t be so generous with returns if they didn’t stand behind their product!”
• If you can swing it, adding a celebrity endorsement will always help to establish credibility. Heck, if ‘ol honest Abe Lincoln recommended your product and backs up your claims, it must be true! Ok, you get the idea, though.
• When it makes sense, use 3rd party testimonials. What are 3rd party testimonials? Here’s some examples from some Web site copy I wrote when there weren’t many customer testimonials available yet:
“Spyware, without question, is on an exponential rise over the last six months.”
- Alfred Huger, Senior Director of Engineering, Symantec Security Response (maker of Norton security software)
“Simply clicking on a banner ad can install spyware.”
- Dave Methvin, Chief Technology Officer, PC Pitstop
A deployment method is to “trick users into consenting to a software download they think they absolutely need”
- Paul Bryan, Director, Security And Technology Unit, Microsoft
Do you see what I did?
I took quotes from experts in their respective fields and turned them to my side. But…be sure to get their consent or permission from the copyright holder if there’s ever any question about copyrighted materials as your source.
Note that I also pushed an emotional hot button: fear.
It’s been proven that people will generally do more to avoid pain than to obtain pleasure. So why not use that tidbit of info to your advantage?
• Reveal a flaw about your product. This helps alleviate the “too good to be true” syndrome. You reveal a flaw that isn’t really a flaw. Or reveal a flaw that is minor, just to show that you’re being “up front” about your product’s shortcomings.
Example:
“You’re probably thinking right now that this tennis racket is a miracle worker—and it is. But I must tell you that it has one little…shortcoming.
My racket takes about 2 weeks to get used to. In fact, when you first start using it, your game will actually get worse. But if you can just ride it out, you’ll see a tremendous improvement in your volleys, net play, serves, …” And so on.
There’s a tendency to think, with all of the ads that we are bombarded with today that every advertiser is always putting his best foot forward, so to speak. And I think that line of reasoning is accurate, to a point.
But isn’t it refreshing when someone stands out from the crowd and is honest? In other words, your reader will start to subconsciously believe that you are revealing all of the flaws, even though your best foot still stands forward.
• Use “lift notes.” These are a brief note or letter from a person of authority. Not necessary a celebrity, although that can add credibility, too. A person of authority is someone well recognized in their field (which is related to your product) that they are qualified to talk about. Lift notes may be distributed as inserts, a separate page altogether, or even as part of the copy itself. As always, test!
• If you are limiting the offer with a deadline “order by” date, be sure the deadline is real and does not change. Deadline dates that change every day are sure to reduce credibility. The prospect will suspect, “if his deadline date keeps changing, he’s not telling the truth about it…I wonder what else he’s not telling the truth about.”
• Avoid baseless “hype.” I discussed that in my previous tip. Enough said.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Tips: How to Write More Effective Ads for Your Business(Part I )
What is advertising?
Is it something to be regarded as a work of beauty or art? Is it clever
slogans or amusing prose? Is it workmanship to be judged for an
award or recognition?
It’s none of the above.
Advertising is salesmanship multiplied.
Nothing more.
And advertising copy, or copywriting, is salesmanship in print.
The purpose of a copywriter’s job is to sell. Period.
The selling is accomplished by persuasion with the written word,
much like a television commercial sells (if done properly) by
persuading with visuals and audio.
As Claude Hopkins wrote in his timeless classic, Scientific Advertising:
“To properly understand advertising or to learn even its rudiments one must
start with the right conception. Advertising is salesmanship. Its principles
are the principles of salesmanship. Successes and failures in both lines are
due to like causes. Thus every advertising question should be answered by
the salesman's standards.
“Let us emphasize that point. The only purpose of advertising is to make
sales. It is profitable or unprofitable according to its actual sales.
“It is not for general effect. It is not to keep your name before the people. It
is not primarily to aid your other salesmen. Treat it as a salesman. Force it
to justify itself. Compare it with other salesmen. Figure its cost and result.
Accept no excuses which good salesmen do not make. Then you will not go
far wrong.
“The difference is only in degree. Advertising is multiplied salesmanship. It
may appeal to thousands while the salesman talks to one. It involves a
corresponding cost. Some people spend $10 per word on an average
advertisement. Therefore every ad should be a super-salesman.
“A salesman's mistake may cost little. An advertiser’s mistake may cost a
thousand times that much. Be more cautious, more exacting, therefore. A
mediocre salesman may affect a small part of your trade. Mediocre
advertising affects all of your trade.”
These points are as true today as they were when they were written
nearly one hundred years ago!
So the goal then becomes: how can we make our advertising as
effective as possible.
The answer is to test. Test again. And then test some more.
If ad “A” receives a two percent response rate, and ad “B” receives
three percent, then we can deduce that ad “B” will continue to
outperform ad “A” on a larger scale.
Testing takes time, however, and can be expensive if not kept in
check. Therefore, it’s ideal to start with some proven tested known
ideas and work from there.
For example, if testing has shown for decades or more that targeted
advertising significantly outperforms untargeted advertising (and it
does), then we can start with that assumption and go from there.
If we know based on test results that crafting an ad that speaks
directly to an individual performs better than addressing the masses
(again, it does), then it makes little sense to start testing with the
assumption that it does not. This is common sense.
So it stands to reason that knowing some basic rules or techniques
about writing effective copy is in order. Test results will always trump
everything, but it’s better to have a starting point before you test.
So this starting point is the essence of this book.
The ten tips expressed here have been generally time-tested and
known to be effective.
But I can’t emphasize enough that when using these
techniques, you should always test them before rolling out a
large (and expensive) campaign.
Sometimes a little tweak here or there is all that is needed to
increase response rates dramatically.
And with that, let’s move onward…
Tips 1: Focus on Them, Not You
When a prospect reads your ad, letter, brochure, etc., the one thing
he will be wondering from the start is: “what’s in it for me?”
And if your copy doesn’t tell him, it’ll land in the trash faster than he
can read the headline or lead.
A lot of advertisers make this mistake. They focus on them as a
company. How long they’ve been in business, who their biggest
customers are, how they’ve spent ten years of research and millions
of dollars on developing this product, blah, blah.
Actually, those points are important. But they should be expressed in
a way that matters to your potential customer. Remember, once he’s
thrown it in the garbage, the sale is lost!
When writing your copy, it helps to think of it as writing a letter to an
old friend. In fact, I often picture a friend of mine who most closely
fits my prospect’s profile. What would I say to convince this friend to
try my product? How would I target my friend’s objections and
beliefs to help my cause?
When you’re writing to a friend, you’ll use the pronouns “I” and
“you.” When trying to convince your friend, you might say: “Look, I
know you think you’ve tried every widget out there. But you should
know that…”
And it goes beyond just writing in the second person. That is,
addressing your prospect as “you” within the copy. The fact of the
matter is there are many successful ads that weren’t written in the
second person. Some are written in the first person perspective,
where the writer uses “I.” Other times the third person is used, with
“she,” “he,” and “them.”
And even if you do write in the second person, it doesn’t necessarily
mean your copy is about them.
For example:
“As a real estate agent, you can take comfort in the fact that
I’ve sold over 10,000 homes and mastered the tricks of the
trade”
Although you’re writing in the second person, you’re really still
focusing on yourself.
So how can you focus on them? Glad you asked. One way is to…
Tips 2: Emphasize Benefits, Not Features
What are features? They are descriptions of what qualities a product
possesses.
• The XYZ car delivers 55 miles per gallon in the city.
• Our ladder’s frame is made from a lightweight durable steel
alloy.
• Our glue is protected by a patent.
• This database has a built-in data-mining system.
And what are benefits? They are what those features mean to your
prospects.
• You’ll save money on gas and cut down on environmental
pollutants when you use our energy saving high-performance
hybrid car. Plus, you’ll feel the extra oomph when you’re
passing cars, courtesy of the efficient electric motor, which they
don’t have!
• Lightweight durable steel-alloy frame means you’ll be able to
take it with you with ease, and use it in places most other
ladders can’t go, while still supporting up to 800 pounds. No
more backaches lugging around that heavy ladder. And it’ll last
for 150 years, so you’ll never need to buy another ladder again!
• Patent-protected glue ensures you can use it on wood, plastic,
metal, ceramic, glass, and tile…without messy cleanup and
without ever having to re-glue it again—guaranteed!
• You can instantly see the “big picture” hidden in your data, and
pull the most arcane statistics on demand. Watch your business
do a “180” in no time flat, when you instantly know why it’s
failing in the first place! It’s all done with our built-in datamining
system that’s so easy to use, my twelve year-old son
used it successfully right out of the box.
I just made up those examples, but I think you understand my point.
By the way, did you notice in the list of features where I wrote “steel
alloy?” But in the benefits I wrote “steel-alloy” (with a hyphen). Not
sure off-hand which one is correct, but I know which one I’d use.
Here’s why: you are not writing to impress your English teacher or
win any awards. The only award you’re after is your copy beating the
control (control being the best-selling copy so far), so take some
liberty in grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. You want it
to be read and acted upon, not read and admired!
But—back to benefits…
If you were selling an expensive watch, you wouldn’t tell your reader
that the face is 2 inches in diameter and the band is made of leather.
You show him how the extra-large face will tell him the time at a
glance. No sir! He won’t have to squint and look foolish to everyone
around him trying to read this magnificent timepiece. And how about
the way he’ll project success and charisma when he wears the
beautiful gold watch with its handcrafted custom leather band? How
his lover will find him irresistible when he’s all dressed up to go out,
wearing the watch. Or how the watch’s status and beauty will attract
the ladies.
Incidentally, did you notice how I brought up not squinting as a
benefit? Does that sound like a silly benefit? Not if you are selling to
affluent baby boomers suffering from degrading vision. They
probably hate it when someone they’re trying to impress sees them
squint in order to read something. It’s all part of their inner desire,
which you need to discover. And which even they may not know
about. That is, until you show them a better way.
The point is to address the benefits of the product, not its features.
And when you do that, you’re focusing on your reader and his
interests, his desires. The trick is to highlight those specific benefits
(and word them correctly) that push your reader’s emotional hot
buttons.
How do you do that? Read on!
To be continued
Is it something to be regarded as a work of beauty or art? Is it clever
slogans or amusing prose? Is it workmanship to be judged for an
award or recognition?
It’s none of the above.
Advertising is salesmanship multiplied.
Nothing more.
And advertising copy, or copywriting, is salesmanship in print.
The purpose of a copywriter’s job is to sell. Period.
The selling is accomplished by persuasion with the written word,
much like a television commercial sells (if done properly) by
persuading with visuals and audio.
As Claude Hopkins wrote in his timeless classic, Scientific Advertising:
“To properly understand advertising or to learn even its rudiments one must
start with the right conception. Advertising is salesmanship. Its principles
are the principles of salesmanship. Successes and failures in both lines are
due to like causes. Thus every advertising question should be answered by
the salesman's standards.
“Let us emphasize that point. The only purpose of advertising is to make
sales. It is profitable or unprofitable according to its actual sales.
“It is not for general effect. It is not to keep your name before the people. It
is not primarily to aid your other salesmen. Treat it as a salesman. Force it
to justify itself. Compare it with other salesmen. Figure its cost and result.
Accept no excuses which good salesmen do not make. Then you will not go
far wrong.
“The difference is only in degree. Advertising is multiplied salesmanship. It
may appeal to thousands while the salesman talks to one. It involves a
corresponding cost. Some people spend $10 per word on an average
advertisement. Therefore every ad should be a super-salesman.
“A salesman's mistake may cost little. An advertiser’s mistake may cost a
thousand times that much. Be more cautious, more exacting, therefore. A
mediocre salesman may affect a small part of your trade. Mediocre
advertising affects all of your trade.”
These points are as true today as they were when they were written
nearly one hundred years ago!
So the goal then becomes: how can we make our advertising as
effective as possible.
The answer is to test. Test again. And then test some more.
If ad “A” receives a two percent response rate, and ad “B” receives
three percent, then we can deduce that ad “B” will continue to
outperform ad “A” on a larger scale.
Testing takes time, however, and can be expensive if not kept in
check. Therefore, it’s ideal to start with some proven tested known
ideas and work from there.
For example, if testing has shown for decades or more that targeted
advertising significantly outperforms untargeted advertising (and it
does), then we can start with that assumption and go from there.
If we know based on test results that crafting an ad that speaks
directly to an individual performs better than addressing the masses
(again, it does), then it makes little sense to start testing with the
assumption that it does not. This is common sense.
So it stands to reason that knowing some basic rules or techniques
about writing effective copy is in order. Test results will always trump
everything, but it’s better to have a starting point before you test.
So this starting point is the essence of this book.
The ten tips expressed here have been generally time-tested and
known to be effective.
But I can’t emphasize enough that when using these
techniques, you should always test them before rolling out a
large (and expensive) campaign.
Sometimes a little tweak here or there is all that is needed to
increase response rates dramatically.
And with that, let’s move onward…
Tips 1: Focus on Them, Not You
When a prospect reads your ad, letter, brochure, etc., the one thing
he will be wondering from the start is: “what’s in it for me?”
And if your copy doesn’t tell him, it’ll land in the trash faster than he
can read the headline or lead.
A lot of advertisers make this mistake. They focus on them as a
company. How long they’ve been in business, who their biggest
customers are, how they’ve spent ten years of research and millions
of dollars on developing this product, blah, blah.
Actually, those points are important. But they should be expressed in
a way that matters to your potential customer. Remember, once he’s
thrown it in the garbage, the sale is lost!
When writing your copy, it helps to think of it as writing a letter to an
old friend. In fact, I often picture a friend of mine who most closely
fits my prospect’s profile. What would I say to convince this friend to
try my product? How would I target my friend’s objections and
beliefs to help my cause?
When you’re writing to a friend, you’ll use the pronouns “I” and
“you.” When trying to convince your friend, you might say: “Look, I
know you think you’ve tried every widget out there. But you should
know that…”
And it goes beyond just writing in the second person. That is,
addressing your prospect as “you” within the copy. The fact of the
matter is there are many successful ads that weren’t written in the
second person. Some are written in the first person perspective,
where the writer uses “I.” Other times the third person is used, with
“she,” “he,” and “them.”
And even if you do write in the second person, it doesn’t necessarily
mean your copy is about them.
For example:
“As a real estate agent, you can take comfort in the fact that
I’ve sold over 10,000 homes and mastered the tricks of the
trade”
Although you’re writing in the second person, you’re really still
focusing on yourself.
So how can you focus on them? Glad you asked. One way is to…
Tips 2: Emphasize Benefits, Not Features
What are features? They are descriptions of what qualities a product
possesses.
• The XYZ car delivers 55 miles per gallon in the city.
• Our ladder’s frame is made from a lightweight durable steel
alloy.
• Our glue is protected by a patent.
• This database has a built-in data-mining system.
And what are benefits? They are what those features mean to your
prospects.
• You’ll save money on gas and cut down on environmental
pollutants when you use our energy saving high-performance
hybrid car. Plus, you’ll feel the extra oomph when you’re
passing cars, courtesy of the efficient electric motor, which they
don’t have!
• Lightweight durable steel-alloy frame means you’ll be able to
take it with you with ease, and use it in places most other
ladders can’t go, while still supporting up to 800 pounds. No
more backaches lugging around that heavy ladder. And it’ll last
for 150 years, so you’ll never need to buy another ladder again!
• Patent-protected glue ensures you can use it on wood, plastic,
metal, ceramic, glass, and tile…without messy cleanup and
without ever having to re-glue it again—guaranteed!
• You can instantly see the “big picture” hidden in your data, and
pull the most arcane statistics on demand. Watch your business
do a “180” in no time flat, when you instantly know why it’s
failing in the first place! It’s all done with our built-in datamining
system that’s so easy to use, my twelve year-old son
used it successfully right out of the box.
I just made up those examples, but I think you understand my point.
By the way, did you notice in the list of features where I wrote “steel
alloy?” But in the benefits I wrote “steel-alloy” (with a hyphen). Not
sure off-hand which one is correct, but I know which one I’d use.
Here’s why: you are not writing to impress your English teacher or
win any awards. The only award you’re after is your copy beating the
control (control being the best-selling copy so far), so take some
liberty in grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. You want it
to be read and acted upon, not read and admired!
But—back to benefits…
If you were selling an expensive watch, you wouldn’t tell your reader
that the face is 2 inches in diameter and the band is made of leather.
You show him how the extra-large face will tell him the time at a
glance. No sir! He won’t have to squint and look foolish to everyone
around him trying to read this magnificent timepiece. And how about
the way he’ll project success and charisma when he wears the
beautiful gold watch with its handcrafted custom leather band? How
his lover will find him irresistible when he’s all dressed up to go out,
wearing the watch. Or how the watch’s status and beauty will attract
the ladies.
Incidentally, did you notice how I brought up not squinting as a
benefit? Does that sound like a silly benefit? Not if you are selling to
affluent baby boomers suffering from degrading vision. They
probably hate it when someone they’re trying to impress sees them
squint in order to read something. It’s all part of their inner desire,
which you need to discover. And which even they may not know
about. That is, until you show them a better way.
The point is to address the benefits of the product, not its features.
And when you do that, you’re focusing on your reader and his
interests, his desires. The trick is to highlight those specific benefits
(and word them correctly) that push your reader’s emotional hot
buttons.
How do you do that? Read on!
To be continued
Friday, March 30, 2007
SELLING 10.000 COPIES of MY BROTHER’S ONE DOLLAR SIMPLE BOOK INSPIRED ME TO SELL ON THE INTERNET
My brother, as English teacher at home used his spare time to compile thousand of words, then he arranged and divided words into what he called “Instant Vocabulary” (terminology). Then, I promote the books offline obtaining more than 5.000 copies.He only used a dictionary and a pen to write. But he can pay the account of telephone and electric charge without doing anything until now. From this case, I was inspired that creating book isn’t difficult. Ideas can come around us. After reading some books, I try to analyze and conclude that to be a writer; we must not have experience like Robert Kiyosaki. But we can also write after interviewing some experts. Below, some ideas that we can use to be a writer although we don’t have experience about the topic to write:
1. Around us (or in our city), I am sure there are many people who have skill about a technique, business, management, agriculture, sport, etc. Asking permit to interview on Sunday to give tips about his success and experience is one of some ways. And we can also ask some questions at the forum on internet to complete our book.For example, if you have interest to create a book “How to make money with mushroom “, we can prepare some questions. Then, buying some books or some magazines about mushroom is necessary, then read them and rewrite some information by yourself without copying at all to complete our book. So, our book isn’t composed only some pages, but many pages and more detail.
2. Compiling address list is also an idea to create a book, not only 10, but try more than 100 information or addresses. For example, “200 addresses of University that give scholarship for international students”. “300 addresses of website giving any free on internet” is the other example.
3. The third way, If you are lazy to make a book, but you still have skill about internet marketing,who have skill in writing but they don’t know how to sell. Sometimes, it’s difficult to offer our book to publishing companies for printing, then being sold at bookstores.There are some qualification and also selection. But, it must be easier to sell on internet. On the internet, we don’t need to print or using hard cover. We just save at PDF format, what it is called e-book. Then, I think, it’s not difficult problem about profit sharing of selling e-book, but you should talk about it first.Above are only a fewideas to make e-book for selling on the internet, but I think, still there are other ideas that we can do. We can also find new ideas to make e-book by using search engine,Google. May be this one of the keywords is: “How to make e-book”.I always welcome comments, article contribution, and any business information to share each other. Thank you for reading.
1. Around us (or in our city), I am sure there are many people who have skill about a technique, business, management, agriculture, sport, etc. Asking permit to interview on Sunday to give tips about his success and experience is one of some ways. And we can also ask some questions at the forum on internet to complete our book.For example, if you have interest to create a book “How to make money with mushroom “, we can prepare some questions. Then, buying some books or some magazines about mushroom is necessary, then read them and rewrite some information by yourself without copying at all to complete our book. So, our book isn’t composed only some pages, but many pages and more detail.
2. Compiling address list is also an idea to create a book, not only 10, but try more than 100 information or addresses. For example, “200 addresses of University that give scholarship for international students”. “300 addresses of website giving any free on internet” is the other example.
3. The third way, If you are lazy to make a book, but you still have skill about internet marketing,who have skill in writing but they don’t know how to sell. Sometimes, it’s difficult to offer our book to publishing companies for printing, then being sold at bookstores.There are some qualification and also selection. But, it must be easier to sell on internet. On the internet, we don’t need to print or using hard cover. We just save at PDF format, what it is called e-book. Then, I think, it’s not difficult problem about profit sharing of selling e-book, but you should talk about it first.Above are only a fewideas to make e-book for selling on the internet, but I think, still there are other ideas that we can do. We can also find new ideas to make e-book by using search engine,Google. May be this one of the keywords is: “How to make e-book”.I always welcome comments, article contribution, and any business information to share each other. Thank you for reading.
WHAT I HAVE LEARNT ON INTERNET BUSINESS IN A YEAR
I know that internet give chance to many people to make money. I was also tempted to try. Firstly, Hyip is the first program I have joined in early months of 2006. This program is easy to join. But that program is very speculative. One day, what I worried happened, I lost several dollars. And I never get back again on this business. I was also interested to some affiliate business on the internet. But so far, I get nothing. May be the reason is I am still beginner in this field. But I don’t give up. I have been learning affiliate business about 3 months. Many experts recommend this business. It needs learning internet marketing. What I learn is I must have website, I must optimize my website to get rank at search engines. Then, I think, learning web design and basic web programming are also needed. Minimum elementary level or intermediate. Next, I learn about what html, php and mysql are and how to install. It makes website more interesting and interactive. Then, having marketing and promotion software is better. I usually search software at download center to find software. If I have enough money, I buy software on the internet.Secondly, learning from the coach or expert is important. I usually find the free source and references at search engine (which I like most is Google), business forums, and any websites that provide free article,e-books and tips.I don’t give up what I do on the internet although I haven’t teacher beside me. In my mind, I still have many”teachers” on the internet about how to run business on the internet. I learnt by subscribing some mailists, learning much to some successful internet marketers like Brad Callen about Search engine optimization by subscribing his mailist, Joel Comm’s forum, and some others. I usually save the article, and As the beginner of internet business, one important phrase to remember: learning by doing as soon as possible!I always welcome comments, article contribution, and any business information to share each other. Thank you for reading.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Contact Info
Ardi P.
Jl. Anyelir 2, Pare district, Kediri, East Java
Indonesia 64213
phone: 6285856466377
e-mail address: content_manager@gawab.com
Jl. Anyelir 2, Pare district, Kediri, East Java
Indonesia 64213
phone: 6285856466377
e-mail address: content_manager@gawab.com
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