If you follow all these disjointed ramblings you know I vented a little spleen last week about an e-mail I got, and said I would run a series of webinars on better writing.
- Many people realise that bad writing holds back careers, plays havoc and bedevils business.
- The people who want to improve are often the people who are good already. The useless carry on regardless. So, the good get better and the bad fall further behind.
- Quality matters more than technique. If what you offer is appealing even bad writing, within reason, won’t kill it as long as the benefits are clearly described, which they were in this case.
A delightful story was told by the great cartoonist and writer Thurber about the eccentric editor of the New Yorker magazine, Harold Ross.
Ross was a gloomy nit-picker, hardly ever satisfied, and with little apparent sense of humour. On the rare occasion when he saw a contribution he liked he would murmur, “I am encouraged to go on.”
Well, I am encouraged to go on – I have a few other subjects that may interest you like positioning, fund-raising, briefing, research and testing, brand building, how to present, how to be a good creative director, creative analysis and so on.
Let me know if any of those sound interesting, please – or if you have any other suggestions.
I will now prepare the better writing webinars. They will chiefly be concerned with writing to persuade – but cover everything from what to do before you write and how to manage your time to how to get ideas, with advice on better writing from George Orwell and much more.
So if more of you are interested, let me know that too.
Best,
Drayton
Websites: www.commonsensedirectmarketing.com / www.eadim.com
Filed under Copywriters, copywriting, Creative Analysis, Creative Director, Denny Hatch, Drayton Bird, E Mail, New Yorker Magazine, Quality Matters, Webinars by on Jun 10th, 2010. Comment. 
Recently I’ve been stressing the absolutely critical
importance of powerful headlines in all your copy.
Here is another Ted Nicholas headlines secret. I call
this headline style (number 8 out of 11 headline
types):
“If…Then”
Here are some examples.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
If You Are Fed Up With Advertising Copy
That Doesn’t Bring in Profitable Sales,
We Offer Proven, Results-Oriented Copywriters
and Guarantee Our Results!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
If You’re Tired of Your Old Sofa and
Thinking of a Change, We Offer a Superb
Selection, Helpful Design Consultants and a
Comfortable Shopping Experience – At The Best
Possible Prices!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
If Your Car is a Wreck and You’d Love to Own a
Cream Puff, This Free Report Will Show You a
Guaranteed Way to Get the Best Price, and How to
Avoid Getting Stuck With a Lemon!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
If You’re Looking for One Convenient Source For
All Your Business Needs, We Provide a Huge
Selection of Office Supplies, a Fully Equipped Print
Shop – Even a Postal Outlet Right on the Premises
…Plus Ridiculously Low Prices Every Day!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
If You’d Like to Dump Your Present Romantic
Partner, This Confidential Free Report Will Reveal
How to Do it Humanely While Exploring the Best
Source of Single Men on the Planet – All at a
Reasonable Guaranteed Price!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Here is the formula of how the “If…Then”
approach can be turned into a fill-in-the-blank
system.
If You’re (describe the prospect’s biggest want) We
Offer (Benefit #1) (Benefit #2) (Benefit #3)…
AND (bonus benefit)
When you begin achieving huge sales breakthroughs
with this valuable technique, please let me know
about it.
I’d love to feature your success story and perhaps
provide you helpful publicity as well on these
pages.
Your correspondent,
Ted Nicholas
—————
“This article appears courtesy of THE SUCCESS
MARGIN, the Internet’s most valuable success and
marketing e-zine. For a complimentary
subscription, visit http://www.tednicholas.com/
Filed under Copywriters, copywriting, Publicity, Ted Nicholas by on Apr 2nd, 2010. Comment.
A friend of mine, Roger Millington, is one of the funniest and most able copywriters I know.
So I will let him introduce this idea in his inimitable fashion: don’t treat the customer like a ****.
You can fill in the asterisks to suit yourself. They probably stand for “clot” or “fool”.
What is really a shame is when a firm which has always treated customers well stops doing so.
Since 1993 I have shown in seminars an excellent example of a thank-you letter from Viking Direct to my old PA, Denise.
However, before she moved to greener pastures she showed me three more letters from Viking that arrived at once, all addressing her as Valued Customer.
This phrase in fact means precisely the opposite of what it says.
It means “even though you’ve been buying things from us for fifteen years we can’t be bothered to make a note of your name.”
Don’t use the phrase, whatever you do.
A much better example of this sort of folly came from Jack Barclay who wrote to me a while ago. Click here to see their letter – it raises a number of interesting questions:
1) Can’t they be bothered to write personally to somebody who has squandered countless thousands on their wretched vehicles?*
2) Can’t they be bothered to find out what I drive. (I don’t drive at all actually – my wife does) – especially bearing in my mind that they seem to think I am a member of their family?
3) Just as a matter of interest when they wrote I had a flat 100 yards away from their offices and my wife was perfectly able to tell you the name of their service manager – and a quite a few other members of their staff.
The great American merchant Julius Rosenwald who built up Sears, Roebuck and Co to be the world’s biggest retailer said his ambition was to stand on both sides of the counter at once.
This is hard to do, but at the very least I recommend the following three part helpful hint which I first coined for a talk at American Express in New York some years ago:
1) Respect your customer
2) Stay close to your customer
3) Use your imagination
Best,
Drayton
P.S. This is number 22 of Drayton Bird’s 101 free helpful marketing ideas. You can sign up on the link below for the rest.
—————————————–
Website: www.draytonbird.com / www.eadim.com
Click here to get 101 free helpful marketing ideas. Marketers from all over the world think they’re a pot of gold.
The Drayton Bird Blog – please do not visit if you are easily offended.
Filed under Ambition, American Express, business, Copywriters, Drayton Bird, Jack Barclay, Julius Rosenwald, Sears Roebuck And Co by on Mar 13th, 2010. Comment.
One of the best known copywriters of all time, Joe Sugarman wrote Advertising Secrets of the Written Word and Triggers: 30 Sales Tools You Can Use To Control the Mind of your Prospect to Motivate, Influence and Persuade.
If you wanto to discover the secrets of writing copy that sells, listen to this copywriting expert being interviewed by Bob Sommers.
Filed under advertising, Copywriters, copywriting, Copywriting Expert, Joe Sugarman, marketing, Sales Tools by on Feb 21st, 2010. Comment.
How responsible is the headline for the success of any piece of copy?
At least 90%!
I have proven over and over again the indispensible role a headline plays. How? By testing every style headline I could possibly create.
I’ve also invested over $100,000,000 of my own money on refining copy strategies along the way. Besides headlines, these include sub-headlines, opening sentences, closing sentences, the all-important P.S., and the offer.
But headlines are in a special category of their own. The fact is, without a strong headline, the copy simply will not work.
I have run numerous split tests, testing one headline against another. And it’s so important, presently I continue to run comparative headline tests.
Powerful headlines are, in fact, a big reason why I’ve sold over 6 Billion Dollars worth of products and services online and offline.
The fact is, I never “roll out” with an offer without several headline tests. Reason? With exactly the same body copy, the winning headline alone can pull 8 to 15 times compared to the losing headline.
But, in spite of all the evidence and proof demonstrating the crucial importance of a powerful headline, most completely miss the mark.
The majority of headlines are woefully inadequate. And, most surprising, many are written by experienced marketers and copywriters.
Like shortcuts? This article is about a real shortcut to creating perhaps the most powerful headline you could prepare.
I call it “the fill-in-the-blank method.”
I believe if you apply the simple steps which follow, you will increase your sales many fold.
There are 11 major headline types which I’ve identified. Each type, properly implemented, is extremely potent.
They are:
1. How to (Blank)
2. Secrets of (Blank)
3. Stacked Benefits
4. Problem/Solution
5. How to/Guaranteed
6. Get Benefit Fast, Regardless…
7. Solve a Problem…
8. Visualize it…
9. Ways To/Reasons Why
10. Problem Solver…
11. If…Then
Today I’m focusing on Problem/Solution. This method surprisingly is seldom used. But as you’ll see, it is extremely effective.
Here are several examples of a Problem/Solution headline:
*****
No More Butterflies! No More Fear! Learn the Tricks Pros Use to Speak with Ease to Any Size Audience!
*****
No More Wet Beds! An Amazing Technique from Europe for Training Your Child in Just One Week! Try it Risk Free – a 98.7% Success Rate!
*****
No More Bad Hair Days! Here’s a Proven Way to Maintain the Perfect Look Any Day of the Week!
*****
No More Lost Sales! Here is an Automatic System for an Effective and Timely Follow-Up
with Every Prospect!
*****
No More Job Worries! Here is a Proven Guaranteed No-Risk System to Earn Big Money in Your Spare Time Beginning Without Capital!
*****
No More Confusion About Vitamins! Here is a Proven Doctor Approved System that Provides an Individualized Program Just for You!
*****
Tired of Small or Sagging Breasts? Finally, a Natural Remedy for Stimulating and Tightening the Bust – Guaranteed!
*****
Are you beginning to get the idea?
The strategy behind the Problem/Solution technique is this.
No more (major pain or anxiety.) Here’s a quick and easy (remarkably simple, little-known etc.) way to (achieve the ultimate benefit.)
Your correspondent,
Ted Nicholas
—————
“This article appears courtesy of THE SUCCESS
MARGIN, the Internet’s most valuable success and
marketing e-zine. For a complimentary
subscription, visit http://www.tednicholas.com/
Filed under Copywriters, copywriting, Headlines, Marketers, Money, Success, Ted Nicholas by on Jan 31st, 2010. Comment.
