Archives for 2008

“Scientific Advertising In The 21st Century” – Part 8 “Tell Your Full Story”

Welcome to the next part in my series “Scientific Advertising In The 21st Century”.

In chapter 8 of his classic book, Claude Hopkins deals with what might be described as the “long copy” versus “short copy” issue. His conclusion…

“There is no fixed rule on the subject of brevity. One sentence may tell a complete story on a line like chewing gum. It may on an article like Cream of Wheat. But, whether long or short, an advertising story should be reasonably complete.”

What’s important is that the copy needs to be long enough to do the job. And why is this? Because once you have someone’s attention, that is the time to put your case. It may be the ONLY time you can put your case.

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Copywriting And Emotional Triggers

As a copywriter or marketer, you’ll be aware that much of the power of a sales letter comes from hitting the “emotional hot buttons” of the prospective customer. People buy primarily for emotional reasons, but may use logic to justify their decisions.

Now, these “emotional hot buttons” or “triggers” aren’t just important in the sales letter. They’re crucial at every step of the sales process. From the very first contact, all the way through to closing the sale (and then continuing the relationship to ensure the sale sticks).

I spent a couple of days last week going through a high-end internet marketing programme. After many hours my eyes were beginning to glaze over after plowing through seemingly endless mindmaps and checklists. One of the key checklists was for emotional triggers.

It occurred to me, as I was furiously scribbling notes, that in fact I already had a number of different checklists for triggers. It might actually be a good idea to settle on one checklist to use in any situation.

And when I thought for a moment, I realised I already had such a list, in the form of Joe Sugarman’s “Triggers” book – “30 Sales Tools You Can Use To Control The Mind Of Your Prospect To Motivate, Influence And Persuade”.

So if, like me, you have numerous checklists all covering the same topic, you may find this a useful way to consolidate those lists.

That then makes it a little easier to search for the triggers that apply in each selling situation.

Copywriters And Marketers – Are You Guilty Of These “Internet Marketing Sins”?

If you’ve been involved in online marketing for any length of time, you’ve probably come across certain marketing practices that seem, shall we say, questionable.

They don’t quite seem or “feel” right to you.

I’m talking about things like endless upsell offers and continuity deals that aren’t quite what they seem.

And despite your misgivings, you may have simply accepted them as “How things are done”. After all, “Big Name” internet marketers (and some copywriters) promote these tactics so they must be OK. Right?

Well, if you’ve had some doubts, you are not alone. And now someone has decided to speak out.

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Copywriting Notes – The Importance Of Being Connected

Just a short edition of “Copywriting Notes” this week. I mentioned in a previous post that I’ve spent a couple of days “Out of the office” with a client.

Now, the original intention was to have something of a “mini-seminar”. Reviewing an internet marketing programme that has recently been released and figuring out how best to apply the information.

It ended up turning into a bit more than that and produced a number of very useful ideas and strategies.

The experience reminded me of the value of getting together with like-minded people to discuss ideas and simply swap notes. There really is a “synergy” effect when you have the right group.

The “Mastermind Group” was one of the key concepts that Napoleon Hill discussed in “Think And Grow Rich”, of course.

Being a freelance copywriter tends to be a somewhat solitary endeavour. I’ve found it’s most worthwhile to ensure that I connect with clients or other writers on a regular basis. You don’t necessarily have to be part of a formal mastermind group (although that can be very worthwhile). But it’s important to be connected in some fashion that suits you.

The Woes Of Starbucks…And Lessons For Marketers

Apologies for not posting the last couple of days. I’ve been locked away at a “super secret” session with a client (he’ll probably laugh if he reads this!).

Anyway, following on from the last post, my fears have been confirmed and my local Starbucks store is closing. Not too surprising given the scale of the cutbacks announced by Starbucks Australia. In fact, in Sydney there will only be a handful of stores remaining, mainly in the City (there will be no stores at all on the North Shore, amazingly).

Couple of observations.

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