| |
| |
|
Copywriting Information |
|
|
|
12 Copywriting Tips to Make Your Advertising More Profitable
Year after year people make the same mistakes in direct-response copy and advertising. You can avoidthe most common and costly blunders by following these profit-enhancing tips... 1. WRITE IN DIRECT RESPONSE LANGUAGE: * Use short paragraphs and short words. This articlehas 68% short words-five letters or less. Strive forat least 65%-75%. Never go under 50% unless you arewriting to Ph.D's. * Make your sentences and paragraphs flow like a breeze. * Ignore good grammar when you have a good reason. * Keep the bucket brigade going: Start paragraphs withAnd, But..., So you see..., However... * Use the freshest concepts and the most colorful languageyou can without disturbing the flow. * Use hot words: free, profit, new, now, secret, easy, save, guarantee, today... and the hottest word of all: YOU! * Use bullets... lots of them. 2. WRITE LOTS OF HEADLINES. Always think up dozens of alternative headlines. Put your strongest benefits in them and test your best alternatives. When writing headlines for web sites make sure they include key search words and phrases along with the benefits. 3. DROP THE WARM-UPS... You'll destroy your entire letter/ad by starting off, "As a homeowner, you know how maintenace costs are climbing every day...". Take your first draft and try cutting out the first two to three paragraphs... you'll usually find the real "meat" starts to appear in your copy after you have started to "warm-up" to the writing. 4. STAND OUT. Separate yourself from the competition as clearly as you can. Discover, isolate, and dramatize all the reasons for doing business wity you...today..., instead of your competitor. Build your entire package or ad around these reasons (benefits). 5. SELL BENEFITS, NOT FEATURES. Readers don't buy products or features of products. They buy the benefits-of-use of the product or features. Be humble enough to realize that a buyer will not give you one red cent for any product or feature until you convert the features into benefits-of-use. 6. LEARN TO GIVE. Most advertisers and charities think of direct response strictly as a device to "get". Unfortunately, most readers also want to get. So, to succeed, you must adopt a "give" attitude... beyond what you offer in the product or service. Give them something immediately in your ad, your letter, your web page. Give them news, business tips, interesting stories, resources, freebies, special deals. 7. USE TESTIMONIALS. They're proof that you're as good as you say you are, and that you'll do what you say will do. Like... "I increased profits by $100,000 last year using your services..." Joe Smith, President, Smith Corporation The more specific the testimonial the more power it has. Give full attributions whenever possible. Testimonials give you believability and credibility. You can't do successful direct-response without these two essential factors. 8. OFFER A MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE. Whatever you are selling, make sure you offer a money-back guarantee. It's a critical factor in getting someone to send in their money to someone they don't know or maybe never heard of. 9. CREDIT CARDS, TOLL FREE NUMBERS. Credit card purchases and toll-free "800" numbers can increase your response by as much as 50%. If you're on the web make sure you opt for secure on-line transmission (SSL) of credit card orders... or allow other means for your customer to provide theircredit information to you. 10. ASK FOR ACTION. It's amazing how often otherwise good copy never gets around to asking for the order. If you don't ask for action... you won't get any. 11. BUDGET YOUR TIME. Devote about one third of your writing time to the lead elements, headline, subheads, teasers, opening paragraphs. 12. KEEP CURRENT. Direct-response is more scientific than other types of advertising. Like any fast-moving science, it has it's discoveries daily. This is especially true of writing for the Internet/World Wide Web. Subscribe to industry trade journalssuch as Target Marketing, DM News, Direct, and other relevant publications. (C) Copyright 2004-05 Thom Reece All Rights Reserved Thom Reece is the CEO of On-Line Marketing Group, a direct response marketing agency with headquarters in Hawaii. He is the creator of the Online Marketing Resource Center [ http://www.e-comprofits.com ] & the major portal for the network marketing industry- MaxxMLM.com [ http://www.MaxxMLM.com ]. Thom canbe reached by email at: thom@e-comprofits.com or by phone at: 1-808-929-7377
MORE RESOURCES:
Copywriting - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
10 Keys to Copy That Sells! Whether you're selling a product or service, the 10 tips below are your keys to writing great copy that communicates and persuades .. Some Important Tips On Proposals And Price Here's a critically important copywriting technique I use when writing sales letters and proposals for our own direct marketing services and for our clients.It's all about "price". Copywriting for the Web: Do You Have What It Takes? In the world of web copywriters, many will try, but few will succeed. What category will you be classified as? Hopeless failure, or smashing success?Well, that's a foolish question, right? You want to be successful, of course! You know that you can razzle-dazzle 'em with your knock-'em-out, drag-'em-down copywriting skills. Deciding What Voice to Use in Copy You have to choose a character or an angle that you, the copywriter plays. Copy is interactive. Art Of Writing Profitable Classified Ads The art of writing profitable classified adsEverybody wants to make money. In fact most people would like to hit upon something that makes them instantly rich! And seemingly, one of the easiest to the fulfillment of these dreams of wealth is mail order or within the profession of the business, direct mail selling. Copywriting: Drafting Rules for Professionals As a professional contractor who wears many hats, you owe it to yourself and your clients to be as organized as possible. In a previous article, I discussed the importance of delivering an organized draft that your co-creators can easily work from. Dont Be Satisfied With Your First Draft Sometimes it's a struggle to figure out what's the best thing to say. You're writing a heading, the first sentence of an email, the introduction to a newsletter, a short description on a homepage. Why Is FREE The Most Powerful Marketing Word You Can Use? As the famous cowboy Will Rogers once said, "Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there".So what does that have to do with "FREE"? Quite a lot really. 3 Tips For Writing Better Headlines The single most important element of your website's copyis the headline. Take away practically everything elseand you can still manage a sale (if the headline's good enough and you have a strong enough call to action). Hey, Client, This Is Me! Sell With Your Writing Voice In a crowded market, clients will be seeking personality as they read what you've written -- they'll click right past pages that feel "been there, read that." They're looking for a voice that says, "Hey, client, this is me!"They want to know not just what you deliver -- but how. Boost Your Conversion Rate In Three Steps When I critique, edit or rewrite sales copy, I discover that many clients commit common errors. Granted, not all of them are writers. How to Build Benefits from Features Fast and Easy with the Solution Approach Every salesperson and fledgling copywriter hears the harangue: DON'T SELL the FEATURES of a product - SELL the BENEFITS those features bring!!!The concept's important but it confuses a lot of people. Many sellers don't understand how to build a benefit from a feature. Advice for Copywriters: How to Win the Freelance Bidding War Are you a freelance copywriter working from home? If so, you've probably been on the project bidding war sites, like elance.com. Writing Copy for Voiceovers As with any of the performing arts, an effective voiceover begins with a well-crafted script. You don't have to have many years of writing experience to create copy that is both effective and a pleasure for the voice actor to perform. Five Steps To Online Copywriting Success One of the most important priorities of evey online business should be their copywriting. Online copywriting skills are a "must have" for anyone who is thinking about real success with their online business. Segmenting Your Target Audience Through Your Copywriting Ask any copywriter what the first commandment of copywriting is and they'll quickly tell you "Know Thy Target Audience." In order to write effectively you have to know this one group of people and know them well. Copywriting Makeover: Search Engine-Friendly Can Also Mean Visitor-Friendly When it comes to search engine optimization, copywriting plays a big role. You want to have excellent copy that appeals to both your visitors and the engines in order to create pages that will rank highly. Sowing the Seeds of Opportunity: How to Multiply Your Freelance (Writing) Work You can turn your $200 fee to write a press release into $2,000 to carry out an entire PR campaign simply by convincing clients to invest in campaigns, instead of individual assignments. Campaigns achieve better results and cost less in the long-term for clients, compared to individual assignments. Progressive Headlines Guide Customers To Buy Headlines are, without a doubt, one of the most important elements in copywriting. As has been said countless times before, if you don't get your readers' attention with the headline, the chance of them reading your copy is virtually none. Impulse Writing for Better Ad Headings Writing headlines for your ads is the most important part of your online presence.When posting your ad to classified sites, directories, message boards, newsgroups or mailing lists, the only part of your ad that is showing is the heading.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |