Howdy friend,
Yea,
yea you've read all the hype . . . good advertising copy must have
headlines, headlines in everything you write. And what about a call
to action, you gotta have this, right? What about weaving a brilliant
story about your product or service . . . surly that'll nail it,
right? Can I get a witness?? Yes, oh yes you certainly need
testimonials.
Just
follow the ADIA brick road, follow the ADIA brick road.
Follow,
follow, follow, follow,
Follow
the ADIA brick road, follow the ADIA brick road.
Sorry
'bout that, I had a flash-back to the Great OZ . . .
But
seriously, you should
be aware of the ADIA copy writing formula.
ADIA
is:
Attention
Desire
Interest
Action
. . .
And
this formula works wonders. You really should try it sometime!
OK,
well where was I?
Well .
. . and it's a deep well, my friend, yes it's true all good direct
response copy needs to have some or all of those elements. But we all
may be missing the mark here.
Let me
explain.
Many
gurus believe the most important part of your marketing is the
headline. I hate to burst someone's bubble, but consider this:
Two of
the most mailed letters in the history of advertising did NOT
have headlines. Whoa there partner . . . say what??
That's
right. No headline. But do you what they did have?
Give
up yet? OK!
They
each contained an offer . . . that's right! Why?
Because
your offer is absolute key to the success of your marketing campaign.
Bar none!
Before
I get into the “how's” of creating killer offers, let me share a
quote from one of the best direct response copywriters and straight
up marketing geniuses ever-- Gary Halbert.
"Strong
copy will not overcome weak offer... but... in many cases, a strong
offer will
a
succeed in spite of weak copy written by marketing morons! Also, what
you have to say is enormously more important than how you say it.”
- Gary Halbert
Side
Note: Gary passed away peacefully in his sleep on April 8, 2007.
Though I never met him in person, I learned tons from him through his
books, courses and newsletters. Thankfully, his two sons Bond and
Kevin keep his website alive at http://thegaryhalbertletter.com/
There
are lots of great offers you can make to your prospects. The key is
to make the very best, most irresistible offer you can make.
Here's
a few ideas to help you write irresistible offers.
Free
Offers. Free is still a power word and should be used when
appropriate. When you combine “free” with a kick-ass offer, now
you're cooking with peanut oil. Not to rain on your parade, and while
I'm a huge fan of free offers, you must remember that your prospect
is hit with marketing messages, ringing phones, urgent requests and
all sorts of other business during their day. So to really make this
FREE offer work, use this formula:
Free+limited
time+at least one big benefit the prospect gets by using what is
free.
Does
this make sense? Prospects buy solutions that fix their problems. So
really think about how you can be part of the solution and not part
of the problem.
Let's
sweeten the deal. One of the best ways to sweeten the deal is to
offer FREE Bonuses.
Make
sure the bonuses are high-perceived value and and appeal to your
prospect . . . you know something she wants or something that will
fix her problems.
A
colleague recently reminded me of the old Ginsu knife infomercials .
. . boy how they heap on the bonuses to get you to buy.
“But
wait, there's more. If you order in the next 30 minutes, I'll not
only send you the entire 36-piece set of Ginsu knives, I'll also
include a second set absolute free. And you still get the free
fisherman's friend fillet know, the free cutting board. . . and . . .
etc., . . . etc.
And can
you guess why smart marketers do this? Cuz it works . . . and not
only does it work. . . it works like crazy!
Make
Your Offers Believable
Powerful
offers are great, but make them believable. Just take a look at
nearly any and every ad you see or hear today. Most of the ads fail
miserly because they are filled with hype, make no offer of any kind
and do not ask for action. You be different. Tell your prospects why
you're make such a great offer and see your sales soar. You know how
skeptical folks are . . . after all we've all been 'bit' before. The
best way to overcome our natural skepticism is to tell why you are
you offering such a huge price cut. . . maybe you are coming out with
a new model, or you order too many widgets or the video covers are
botched up and you are not able to sell them at full price, etc.
Here's
a short letter written by Joe Karbo that illustrates this concept
perfectly. Note the misspelling of “Cadillac” as you read this
example. This give a humanizing touch, making the letter seem even
more real. . .
Dear
Friend,
I
have a new Caddilac that I got to sell because I'm leaving for the
Service next week. It cost me $14,000 and has only 732 miles on it.
Rather than sell it to some thief of a car dealer or going to the
trouble of advertising, I'll let you have it for $7,000.
If
you don't have the cash, don't worry about it because I only owe the
$7,000 and you can take over payment which are about $275 a month.
You
know I drive careful, but I'd feel better if you'd have your mechanic
check it out before you buy. In fact if you'd like to drive it for a
couple of days, I'll be glad to deliver it to you with a full tank of
gas. And if you don't like the car, I'll take it back and you've had
a free ride. No obligation.
One
thing—it's an awful green color (but you could have it painted).
If
you're interested, call me at (714) 826-1313 between 7 and 9 tonight.
Your
friend,
Roger
Atbury
Here's
you homework assignment.
Study
the above letter. Think about how you could adapt it to your product
or service and see results multiply. What's the very best offer you
can offer your prospects and clients.
Ok,
this it for this edition. Until next time, may your profits rise and
your loses be few.
Warmly,
Emette
Massey
P.S.
Want to put your business into hyper
drive? Click Here to Get my
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