Don't let anyone tell you your copy is 'too long' or that 'no one will read all that.'
Sometimes we become so entrenched in our business, so caught up in the day-to-day operations and deadlines, which we neglect to stand back and view our work with a critical eye. This perspective sometimes reveals that we are failing to follow the basics. So, here's a little direct mail refresher course. Grade yourself, using your own results.
- Create your mailings to provide information to genuine prospects (forget about the 'suspects'). Prospects need and want information to help make a buying decision. Give it to them. Answer every reasonable question they might have. That means you're going to be lengthy.
- Don't let anyone tell you your copy is 'too long' or that 'no one will read all that.' Your concern is not with the 98 percent who won't respond anyway. It's with the one percent or two of 100 who can be persuaded to buy what you're selling. Long copy works. It works because it's complete, not because it's long. You're asking someone to part with their money. That requires information and persuasion. It's not done with a brief message.
- Listen to what Don Kanter, a creative direct marketing pro says, 'Copywriters think their job is to write copy. That's equivalent to a salesperson saying, 'My job is to talk.' The job is not to talk, the job is to sell. Selling is the end result. Writing is the means we use to reach that end.'
- Test, test, test. Let's say a sale results from one our of 100 people receiving a particular mailing - a one percent return. Now, let's say a test gives you information that leads to a sale of one of the 99 percent who didn't buy. Success! You've improved your results by 100 percent-cut your advertising cost-per-sale in half. (But when you test, make certain you test an area with potential for a dramatic increase in results.)
- The brochure is not your salesman, the letter is. So sell with it. Because your brochure costs so much more, you think it's more important than a letter. Wrong! The letter is far more important. (I'm talking about the type of letter you should be using.) Put into the letter those great sales points buried in the brochure. And don't be afraid of three- or four page letters.
- Relax. Be natural. Forget all those 'our's' and 'we's.' (You're really not that pompous.) But use as many 'you's' as you can. And remember that your letter is one person talking to another person.
- Use short words, short sentences, short paragraphs. They communicate best. But don't try to sell with a short sales story or a short letter. A short letter can get sales leads, but not sales decisions. * Make your copy look easy to read. That's another reason for the short words, short sentences, and short paragraphs. Try an opening paragraph that's one short sentence. On every new paragraph, indent the first word five spaces. Use wide margins. Underline key words and phrases. Use subheadings to break up a lot of copy.
- Never set your letter in a typeface other than a typewriter face. (Consider having an excellent typist actually type out the letter.) The more your letter looks like an actual letter, the better it will work. (Don't be 'done in' by an art director who doesn't understand this principle.)
- Be direct. Come to the point fast. And the 'point' is the main benefit you offer your readers. You're direct when you answer the reader's unspoken questions, 'What's the deal? What's in it for me?'
- Use a good checklist to make certain you cover all key points. And don't fail to make an important point just because you made it in previous mailing. Say it again and again - in different words.
- Don't ever throw out a successful 'old' mailing to start using a 'new' one, unless the new letter has out-pulled the old one in a split run test. Granted, you and your coworkers are sick-to-death of the old one. But your prospects aren't. And new and different don't necessarily mean better. Frequently, they mean worse.
- Use a P.S.-a strong one. Use it to restate your most important point, or for a testimonial, or to give a reason to act now.
- Do everything you can to get action! Can you offer a free look? A time limit? Money-back guarantee? An easy payment plan? Billing to a bankcard, American Express, Diner's Club, or Carte Blanche?
End your letter by telling the reader exactly what he should do, when he should do it, how he should do it, what he stands to lose if he doesn't do it.