A 24-7 salesman that makes you money and charges no commissions:
One of the biggest mistakes made by business people is operating with prejudice based on ignorance. In the crucial areas of sales and marketing, this mistake is made most often by neglecting the absolute most effective vehicle for obtaining new customers and reigniting the interest of existing ones. An important mentor of mine, Dan Kennedy calls it “writing your own check”. This vehicle is known commonly as a sales letter.
By definition a sales letter is something in print that is meant to influence someone to buy your product. Without getting caught up in formality, a sales letter just has to work to earn the title of good sales letter. Most businesses never get around to even writing a bad one.
Fail to use the awesome power of well done advertising copy at your own risk. Don’t be concerned about formality or following the herd of how it “should” be done. Just adopt the mindset that even bad copy is ok because it can be made great, often with minor changes.
To get started: Go to the nearest library and pick up a pile of magazines from the popular genres. The areas you are most interested in are sports, fitness, health, fashion, and entertainment. Pick a specific category within the genre and then a more general one. In the area of health and fitness, pick up Men’s Health and then more specifically one dealing only with getting bulky through weightlifting. Read through them and focus on the ads.
The sales letters are often full or half page. They sometimes can be half page. Many times they offer a free written or audio material when you get in touch with them. You’ll notice that the sales letter focuses heavily on the service or product offered and not at all on the company name. It is an unfortunate false perception that the big corporations are masters of advertising. In reality, most have not clue about how to draft or use a good sales letter.
When you find really good sales copy you’ll know it. You’ll know it because it is interesting in that it makes you interested in the thing they are selling. Mark it with page tag and go get two or three of the previous issues of that magazine. If the ad is in there again, it is safe to say that it likely has been a success.
By way of comparison, the ads you see during a popular prime time show are focused on mass marketing of products to a generally large audience. They use things like talking horses and the like. Keep in mind that they usually have no clue of the effectiveness of their millions spent. That is not wise advertising. They have the millions to spend. You must bring the general public who has never heard of you what the benefit of your product is and make it clear right away.
Rule #2 is to convey a unique benefit to your customer. The question to answer is: “Why should I be doing business with you and not others offering the same product or service?” What can you do for them? The ultimate question.
It is widely documented that a simple USP can have a powerful impact on a business. When Tom Monaghan started Domino’s Pizza, he basically took a fledgling mom and pop and turned it into an empire based on the USP: “Fresh Hot Pizza delivered in 30 minutes or Less, Guaranteed”.
By conveying a unique benefit, unlike any other in the marketplace, Dominos moved to the head of the pack.
But you might have noticed that having a powerful USP is strategy # 2. Where is strategy 1?
It is the headline. The headline is the first thing that captures the reader’s attention. It is vital. How to put together a good headline is a great topic for future discussions.
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Tags: Copywriting, Copywriting
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