I confess, I’m a bit of a “Nerd” when it comes to things like fonts and typefaces. So, when I was doing some work on a Powerpoint presentation recently, it was a good excuse to refresh my memory on the topic. While browsing through YouTube, I came across a very interesting presentation…”The Importance of Layout”…from Drayton Bird. The video is at the top of this post.

Layout is an important element in any advertisement or marketing piece. That’s because the layout has a BIG impact on how easy it is to read what you’ve written…and hence if you manage to get your message across to the reader.

The job of the layout (and any artwork) is to…in effect…frame the copy, make it as easy as possible for the reader to understand and (if possible) enhance the message.

Effective layout will assist in getting a good response. Poor layout will reduce response…sometimes dramatically.

Unfortunately, all too often there is a disconnect between the copy and the layout. Here’s what Drayton has to say about this…

“What’s interesting to me, fascinating to me, almost mystifying to me is that most art directors…they are the people who are in charge of the pictures, don’t know anything about what makes it easy to communicate...They are far too interested in doing stuff that looks fantastic…looks different…looks unusual.”

In other words…”Art for Art’s Sake”…rather than being concerned about response.

So, it’s essential for copywriters…and smart direct response marketers…to understand what makes an effective layout.

I’ve sung the praises of Drayton Bird many a time before. That’s because he has a VAST experience and knowledge of what works in marketing. That knowledge is the result of decades in the business and working across a large range of industries.

In this 17 minute video, Drayton shares what he has learned over the years…based on research and real-world results.

The video is a fantastic primer on the topic and well worth watching if you want to get the best results from your copy.

Here are some of the key points… [Read more…]

Every so often, I will cast my eye over my large collection of copywriting and direct response marketing books. I sometimes do this when I’m in search of inspiration for a new project. Other times, like this one, it’s more for the purposes of a general reminder of the copywriting lessons provided by the greats of the past.

On this occasion, my interest was captured by two books by the great John Caples…the copywriter perhaps best known for his advertisement that started with the legendary headline…

“They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano…But When I Started to Play!”

The book most associated with John Caples is “Tested Advertising Methods” but his earlier work “Making Ads Pay” is also packed with great tips and information.

What makes Caples’ advice so powerful is that it was based on years of testing with actual ads. And his methods remain relevant to copywriters and advertisers today.

Here are 9 copywriting principles that Caples emphasised… [Read more…]

I recently came across this article…

“Corporate flat art proves big business is infatuated with ugliness”

…and it caught my attention.

That’s because there’s was something bugging me about a number of online sales letters that I had read in the last week or so.

This article made me realise what it was…the letters contained a ton of corporate flat art style images…and they annoyed me.

If you’re not familiar with the term…corporate flat art is a flat, geometric art style. It commonly features flat human characters in action, with disproportionate features such as long and bendy limbs, and minimal facial features.

There’s an example at the top of this post.

These type of graphics are everywhere in corporate communications. Public sector organisations, in particular, use them.

But…as mentioned above…they also seem to be quite widely used in sales letters by marketers….who may be missing out on sales, conversions and response as a result. [Read more…]

“If the headline is poor, the copy will not be read. And copy that is not read does not sell goods.”

– John Caples, writer of the classic headline “They laughed when I sat down at the piano…but when I started to play…”

Headlines are one of the most important parts of any piece of copy or sales message. That’s because the headline has the vital task of attracting attention and getting a person to actually start reading the copy.

One of the masters of writing “Eyeball grabbing” headlines was the late…and much missed…Gary Halbert. Often referred to by friends and colleagues as “Sir Gary Halbert”…he stressed the headline as being crucial to how well a piece did at getting prospects to take action.

According to some experts, the headline accounts for 80% of the success of an ad. Naturally, Gary was a diligent tester of his own copy and headlines. In his own experience, he found that a different headline could increase results by anything up to 475%! 

He put more creative effort into writing headlines than he did into any other aspect of his copywriting.

So it’s well worth paying attention to his guidelines on writing what he liked to call “Killer” headlines. He stressed 4 principles… [Read more…]

Very sad to hear that copywriting giant Clayton Makepeace passed away yesterday (25 March 2020) as a result of an unknown virus.

Clayton was one of the giants of the modern day direct marketing business.  For a while, he was very active in the teaching of direct response marketing and copywriting. The “Makepeace Total Package” site provided a wealth of information and his various books and programs on copywriting are real treasures.  While I never met Clayton, I have quite a number of his programs and have found them invaluable.

A while back I published a number of interviews that Clayton conducted with other copywriters and they proved to be very popular with readers.  So as a modest tribute to a great copywriter…and a great individual…here are the links to a fascinating conversation between Clayton and one of the other all-time greats…Gary Bencivenga… [Read more…]