Archive for March, 2008
Copywriters – So What’s On Your Customer’s Mind?
Posted by: | CommentsJust back from Pete Godfrey’s “Master Class 2.0″ in Brisbane this weekend. Great stuff and I’ll be sharing a few tips with you over the coming days.In the meantime, here’s a great little illustration of legendary copywriter Robert Collier’s principle of “Entering the conversation already going on in your prospect’s mind”.
On my morning walk I pass a branch of the mortgage broker Mortgage Choice. They have video screens in the shopfront window playing relevant advertising messages.
Today, the ad playing went something like this…”Interest Rates Are Going Up…Time To Manage Your Mortgage…The Mortgage Choice Maximizer Will Save You Money”.
Now, in Australia at the moment, rising interest rates are a big issue (might seem strange to, say, North American readers where rates are going down, but the economy here remains strong and inflation is a problem). So that first line immediately connects with the reader and there’s a logical progression from there to the call to action (call in and see your friendly Mortgage Choice broker).
Simple, but I think very effective. Looks like the copywriter knew what they were doing.
Got some more headline “Mini Case Studies” for you from my recent travels coming up. The next one will most likely offend some sensitive readers (!). You have been warned!
Sphere: Related ContentClassic Copywriting – The Power Of A Good Headline
Posted by: | CommentsI often talk about headlines on this blog and noticed this little gem of an ad on the net the other day…
“Struggling To Play Guitar? Amazing New Method Makes Traditional Tutoring Obsolete”
Then there are some bullets and of course a “Click Here” call to action.
Nothing terribly original about this ad, but my guess is it’s working well. The main headline “calls out” to the audience and identifies the problem and the subhead teases with the promise of a radical solution. The “Amazing New…” might seem a little hackneyed, but it works!
Lesson for copywriters – no need to reinvent the wheel! Use what’s proven to work.
On a different topic, you may have noticed that there is an avalanche of new programs and products being launched in the “Internet Marketing” arena at the moment. And with good reason. There just seems to be a ton of money available in that market.
Quick example. Eben Pagan has just launched his “Guru MasterMind” program. In the first morning he sold over 100 memberships at a minimum of $497…per month. The high end option is $997 per month so the guy has done between $500,000-1,000,000 per month already!
Marketing lesson – the B2B market is a great market if you can get it right. More observations about that in a future post.
Pete Godfrey is holding his “Copywriting Master Class 2.0″ up in Brisbane this weekend. I’m attending and heading off later today. I’ll provide an update and report when I get back.
Sphere: Related ContentHappy Easter!…Plus Some Marketing Observations
Posted by: | CommentsTomorrow is Good Friday and marks the start of the Easter long weekend holiday. A happy and peaceful Easter to everyone.
Easter is one of the big holidays of the year and brings forth a wave of promotions and holiday-themed events second only to Christmas. The most obvious signs of that are Easter Eggs and other chocolate indulgences. I mentioned the very delicious Haigh’s Chocolates before. Needless to say, they have a full range of Easter Eggs and other related items! I was astonished on Tuesday when I passed by their shop in Sydney that mid-afternoon the shop was full with a long queue of people waiting to pay for their purchases!
Hot Cross Buns are the other big Easter food item, at least in Sydney. I was chatting with the manager of a “Baker’s Delight” store and she told me that today (the Thursday before Easter) is their biggest day of the year, even busier than Christmas. Thinking about it, I’m not surprised. There’s a frenzy of buying Hot Cross Buns, even places that don’t normally carry such items seem to have them! They come in 6-packs, 2 packs and different varities (I can highly recommend the “Baker’s Delight” chocolate chip version!). Not surprisingly, “Krispy Kreme” have their own special Easter versions I noticed the other day when passing by.
It’s a bit of a tradition on this Thursday to have Hot Cross Buns with “Morning Tea”. Many companies buy in Hot Cross Buns for staff today.
So what’s the lesson for marketers and copywriters? Well, events and holidays give you a “reason why” to have a promotion if you can legitimately tie in your product or service with the event. There are plenty of events throughout the year (St. Patrick’s day recently, for example) so map out a marketing calendar now and start planning.
In the meantime, once again “Happy Easter” to you and your family.
Sphere: Related ContentToday’s “Terrible Headline Award”
Posted by: | CommentsAs a copywriter and profits strategist, I am constantly observing advertising and marketing out there in the “real world”.
I particularly keep an eye out for good headlines. Why? Well, as marketer you will be aware that the whole sales process starts by getting someone’s attention and the headline is one of the most important ways to do that.
Anyway, this morning on my morning walk I notice this ad on the back of a bus…
“If you feel crushed, spare a thought for our fruit”
Underneath was a picture of a bottle of fruit juice.
Anyone feel compelled to rush out and buy a bottle of juice? Nope? Didn’t think so.
The ad is for a company called “Nudie” and their products are great. I’m a big “Nudie” fan! They’ve established themselves as a slightly quirky company and most of their marketing is pretty good. They originally grew (the company is less than 10 years old, I think) largely through “word of mouth” and other viral type marketing.
But this ad – oh dear! Whoever came up with this was obviously trying to be “witty” or clever, appealing to the poor commuter “crushed” on the bus or standing in line. However, this is a classic example of the writer thinking they are terribly clever but the message falling flat.
Where’s the benefit to the consumer? Call to action? From the ad, it’s hard to even know that the ad is for “Nudie” rather than some other fruit juice.
The great copywriter John Caples talks a lot about headlines in his books such as “Tested Advertising Methods”. To try and sum up his findings…
1. Curiosity or “humour” on their own in a headline rarely produces a good result
2. If you’re going to use curiosity or something quirky, combine it with a benefit to the consumer. This kind of combination can be very powerful.
Whoever wrote this ad either doesn’t know about these classic advertising principles or forgot them. Either way, they get today’s “Terrible Headline” award! Shame on them for wasting the client’s money.
Sphere: Related ContentMarketing With Coupons Or Vouchers – New Twist On An Old Marketing Tactic
Posted by: | CommentsCame across the following item in the UK’s “Daily Telegraph - “Threshers relaunches viral voucher promotion”. Threshers is a UK “Off Licence” (a retailer selling alcohol) and has launched a 40% off coupon, following up a previous successful marketing campaign.
The article goes on to talk about the various other companies that have conducted similar campaigns. Indeed there are a number of sites on the internet where various discount vouchers are available.
I was prompted by this article to dip into my copy of “Scientific Advertising” by the great Claude Hopkins. Few marketing tactics are new and I recalled that there was a chapter in the book about “Use Of Samples”. Now discount vouchers aren’t exactly the same (they’re more like a limited sale) but I think what Hopkins had to say has some interesting lessons.
He was an enthusiastic advocate of using samples but with one very clear condition. That was…
“Give samples to interested people only. Give them only to people who exhibit that interest by some effort. Give them only to people to whom you have told your story.”
As with all the principles that Hopkins laid out, this was based on experience in the field and testing. In this case, Hopkins had worked on a campaign for a cereal company promoting “Puffed Grains” (see “My Life In Advertising” for more details) where he discovered that the samples themselves did not win many users. They first had to establish an interest or respect for the product.
Now, I wondered how many advertising or marketing executives know about that case? Sure, it was a long time ago but human nature basically doesn’t change. How many times have you seen companies running a campaign to promote their products with free give aways at train stations or similar busy sites? I’m guessing that those campaigns aren’t very effective.
Now, back to the original story about discount vouchers. In the Threshers case and others I’m familiar with, the vouchers have been aimed at existing customers. In some ways this is akin to a “loyalty” program and has much to commend it. However, care needs to be taken that there isn’t leakage to non-customers.
It’s always a good idea to put some sort of condition on these promotions. One of my favourite companies, Lands End, often uses vouchers and usually with the condition that you need to spend over $50 to get the $10 discount or whatever.
So, a useful tactic to keep in the marketing bag of tricks. But keep in mind what Hopkins had to say and beware of devaluing your product.
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