Saturday, November 13, 2010

Cheesehead for a day: Marketing lessons from the mecca of pro football, Lambeau Field

I’ve heard it’s on some people’s “bucket list”—to see a Packer game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Well, last Sunday night I had the privilege of going to the Packer/Dallas game at this mecca of pro football.

It included tailgating with some serious Packer fans for six hours (wow, those brats were delicious)…getting an on-field pre-game pass to watch the players warm up, close up (yes, they are strong)…visiting the Packer Hall of Fame and getting my photo with the Lombardi Trophy for Super Bowl winners)…and watching an exciting game without freezing.

Long day—left Sunday mroning at 9:00 am…back to hotel at 2:00 am Monday morning! But well worth it.

What I learned: The Green Packers have a hugely successful franchise—and from my short visit, I picked up some important marketing lessons.

One, whatever it is you’re selling, make sure it’s a superior product.

Not mediocre. Not average. But something better. For Green Bay, it’s about putting a winning team on the field each year. In pro football, win, and the fans will come, support and spend money on your team like nothing else. You must have a great product or service to succeed.

Two, make your customers feel part of your “team”.

As you may know, the Green Bay Packers are the only franchise owned by the public.

In 1950, 1,900 local residents each put up $25 a share to buy the team. Green Bay Packers, Inc., has been a publicly owned, non-profit corporation since Aug. 18, 1923, when original articles of incorporation were filed with Wisconsin's secretary of state. A total of 4,750,937 shares is owned by 112,120 stockholders -- none of whom receives any dividend on the initial investment. All money earned goes back to the club.

The Packer fans, many of whom are stockholders, have a vested interest in the team. They wear green, bleed green and have a passion for their team like no other pro football franchise—because they are the owners!

My friend Paul, a diehard Packer fan, owns one share which he bought a few years ago for $300. As a shareholder, he’s invited to special events at Lambeau field.

What are you doing to help your customers feel special, to feel more than just a buyer—but a valued customer? What special deals and/or privileges are you giving your best customers?

Three, give customers every opportunity to buy related products or services.

The Packers have this down pat. They have a HUGE store inside the stadium loaded with Packer gear ranging from jerseys to cheeseheads, from books to hats, from t-shirts to underwear. And an hour before kickoff, the line going into the store was backed up like crazy.

Walk around Lambeau for a Packer game, and it’s a sea of green.

I always tell my clients that their customers may buy from them, but are likely buying similar products from other companies. The goal? To get customers to buy one product from you, then multiple products as well.

What else can you upsell or cross-sell to your customers? How can you make them customers for life.

Four, use the “limited supply” secret to its fullest Season tickets for Packer game are like gold—actually better than gold. They are in such demand, there is a 30-year waiting list! These tickets are so valuable, they are part of divorce settlements and wills. That’s because there is a limited amount of seats (72,500) and no more.

Do you have special products or services for your best customers? How can you put a limit on the number you’ll see to heighten its value? How do you create an “inner circle” limit—an opportunity for only your premiere customers?

The Packers have it right. Sell out after sellout, passionate fans and millions of dollars in sales and profits. It’s a business model with great lessons.



Here I am as a Cheesehead!





Saturday, October 16, 2010

Post Mortem of a Failure?

You’ve heard it said that we often learn our best lessons in life when we have setbacks, problems, even failures. We learn more during those times then when everything is going along just fine and dandy.

Same holds true for direct marketing. More often than not, we can learn the big lessons when things don’t go as well as expected.

I’ve had the opportunity to create many hugely successful promotions for my clients—home runs—and many others that were big, big winners as well.

But I’ve also had a few strikeouts—promos that never lived up to expectations.

What went wrong with those promos? Here are a few of my thoughts…

The promo did not have a clear Unique Selling Proposition (USP) of the product.
As you may know, the USP is what makes the product better and more unique than any other product. It’s what fills in the blanks: “Nowhere else will you find______” and “It’s the only widget with _______.”

If the USP is not powerful enough, fix the product so it becomes more unique.

Case in point is nutritional supplements. If a nutrient, supplement or formula is not clearly superior to anything else in its field based on ingredients, processing, mechanisms of action or some other factor, making it a big winner is going to be hard, if not impossible. It must stand out, stand alone, as the #1 choice for prospects.

The promo did not have enough compelling proof to make a persuasive sale of the product.
If you’re not armed with an arsenal of proof elements, it’s going to be hard to sell enough of the product.

For nutritional products, that means loads of clinical studies, scientific research and medical findings that prove that this nutrient or supplement works. It’s not just my word—it’s proven to work by doctors, scientists and researchers. The more proof, the more sales. The less proof, the less sales.

Not enough proof? Dig deeper.

The promo did not have an offer that motivated prospects to buy and buy now.
Direct marketing 101 states that the offer is 40% of the success or failure of a promo. If a promo falls short, one place to take a hard look is the offer.

For nutritional supplements, the offer is vital for success. If the offer is loaded up with FREE bottles of the product with purchase, plus FREE Premiums (usually special reports or books on the subjects), FREE shipping PLUS special savings, you can drive the average order way up.

But if the offer is lacking, the promo may falter, even fail.

In the case of nutritional supplements—products customers buy once and hopefully keep buying—getting the initial offer is more critical than ever. If a client is willing to make a generous offer to get in new customers, it will usually pay off in the long run.

But a short-sighted offer usually leads to poor results.

What to do? Test offers regularly and let the market decide what works best. Then track buyers to see how much they re-purchase.

The promo’s main theme was not on target.
This is one of the most overlooked factors in the success or failure of a direct marketing promo. If the main theme is off track or if it completely misses the prospects’ needs, hurts and problems, the promo will likely fall short.

That’s why it’s vital you learn everything you can about the prospects. Their likes, fears, worries, biggest problems, biggest needs. Read everything you can about them from surveys, testimonials or from anything else.

The main theme needs to hit prospects right between the eyes—so they pay attention and read what you’re writing.

Work extra hard on the right main theme. It’s that important!

The promo did not solve an urgent problem.
People are inundated with marketing and advertising messages all day long. But they always want to know, “What’s in it for me?” This is the question you must answer as you promote a product to customers.

If you fail to answer it well and in a timely manner, you’ve lost them.

But if you address the urgent problem head on, you’ll likely gain a reader and a customer.





This I’ve learned: Any one of these factors can either make or break a promotion. So if I’m not satisfied with any one of them, I need to step back, take a hard look and get what I need before I write the promo.

Putting it another way…the most successful promotions I’ve written in the past 20 years had all of the factors above—and the results proved how vital they were for success.

Friday, October 1, 2010

The Two-Headed Baby

Remember the old Carnival Sideshows? Boy, did they have a way of getting you to STOP and ENTER their tent to see SOMETHING UNUSUAL.

Like this actual transcript from a famous carnival company…

BARKER: “Step right up to see a real two-headed baby, with two perfectly normal heads, four perfectly formed arms and hands, and only two legs and two feet on the single body. Born or normal parents of a normal birth, the same as you and I. Come in now and visit with the baby just as long as you like…”

Gotcha, right? Despite all the distractions of a carnival—the music, the crowds, the foods—you stop, pull out your wallet, pay and go in. You have to see the unusual baby.

Same challenge I face in marketing a product or service and breaking through all the clutter and the distractions.

What can I write that’s just not the same old thing? What can I write that makes the reader say, “I’d better check this out—now.”

Recently, I had to write a promotion for a new resveratrol product. As you may know, resveratrol is the molecule found in the grapes of red wine that helps fight off aging.

One of the biggest challenges was there have been many mailings marketing resveratrol—so it’s not a new story.

Fortunately, the new formula I was marketing included resveratrol and a new, little-known nutrient that works together with resveratrol to give even better anti-aging benefits.

So I came up with this cover copy :

The Next Resveratrol

You’ve heard about red wine resveratrol on 60 Minutes, Oprah, ABC News and CNN. Maybe you’ve taken it, but haven’t gotten the results you want.

But now, is there a better way for you to get the resveratrol you need to help you…
*Outlive your doctors? *Avoid most “old age” ailments?
*Add an extra decade or two of healthy living to your life?

More than 30 clinical studies say, “Absolutely!”



I was able to catch readers attention…

By promising something new, i.e., “The Next”
By piggybacking on something they knew about: Resveratrol
By making a big promise: A better way to get resveratrol

This was a new story, something they’d want to read.

It worked! On initial response, this cover was the winning cover from a three-way test…and well on its way to being a successful mailing.

A question to always ask myself: Am I getting my prospects’ attention and making sure they put down whatever they’re doing to read what I write.

Come one, come all—and see the two headed baby!

Monday, August 23, 2010

The Power of Leverage

In the financial or real estate worlds, the word leverage is defined as “The use of various financial instruments or borrowed capital, such as margin, to increase the potential return of an investment.”

Investors might use leverage for futures trading and homebuyers use leverage for a home mortgage.

But have you ever thought about leveraging your marketing copy to get more bang for your investment?

Let’s say you create a successful direct mail package for a product or service that mails millions of pieces and brings in tens of millions of dollars in sales.

A one-and-done project? Not if you leverage the great copy and graphics.

Here are some examples.

*Covert the direct mail copy and graphics into an online microsite. A microsite sells this one product or service in a focused, easy-to-follow website that showcases the problem(s) this product or service overcomes, the unique features and benefits offered and more.

I’ve had excellent success by leveraging copy I wrote for a thyroid supplement—first for direct mail, then for an online microsite.

*Convert the direct mail copy and graphics into an online landing page. This presents the story in a linear fashion, like a letter with sidebars.

I’ve had a number of very successful direct mail promotions converted to online landing pages—for a continuous stream of sales and profits beyond just mailings.

*Convert the direct mail copy and graphics into a space ad for a newspaper or magazine. The challenge here is you have to cut quite a bit of copy to make this ad cost effective. Best results usually come with a “Risk Free Trial” that motivates readers to call an 800 number where they are given the offers—and ideally, upsold to a bigger offer or automatic shipping plans.

I’ve seen and heard of some great successes, and I’m currently working on a few of these ads myself—soon to be tested.

*Convert the direct mail copy and graphics into back-end promotions to get buyers to buy more of the same product.

I’ve had great success doing this for some nutritional products. I’ve taken some of the key copy points that caused the prospect to buy in the first place and used them for the back-end promos to buy again.

The point is: There are many different ways you can use powerful, proven copy and graphics to leverage your investment and set up additional streams of sales and profits.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

The Law of Supply and Demand

I live in Los Angeles, and it’s June—NBA Playoff time. This year, it’s Lakers vs.Celtics…and it’s madness in LA LA Land.

For example, my neighbor who is a TV cameraman who’ll be at Staples for the first game, knows the people who have the four seats next to the Lakers bench.

They sold their tickets for tonight’s Game 1 for $18,000 per ticket! Crazy!

But that’s the Law of Supply and Demand. There are only so many tickets on the floor at Staples…and apparently, some people will pay top dollar to sit next to the Lakers and be seen on worldwide tv.

The same Law of Supply and Demand holds true in direct marketing.

If you have something truly unique to sell…that prospects can only get from you by purchasing direct…you control the supply.

Then, if you create a promotion that sells the “demand” for the product, you have a winner.

Take the case of a successful promotion I wrote to women for a breakthrough natural thyroid supplement.

The hook to attract readership was twofold:

First, a headline that revealed “The surprising truth why so many women can’t seem to lose weight…are tired for no reason…and always have cold hands and feet.”

Second, the cover included a cartoon illustration of a woman looking tired and beat as the BEFORE picture, then dancing with renewed vitality for the AFTER picture.

This painted a picture of how women felt when run down…and how they hope they could feel.

The truth? Many of these health problems are linked to a low or underactive thyroid.

The payoff: A unique, scientifically researched supplement that helped nourish and revitalize a woman’s thyroid.

When I first took on this assignment, I knew there were not many thyroid promotions like this in the mail. The market was wide open.

But by finding an area of great demand (as many as 40% of Americans have a balky thyroid and doctors miss 90% of low thyroid cases)…I was able to tell a story that hasn’t really been told…and supply a unique, doctor-approved solution.

The piece has been very successful both in the mail and online.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Make It Personal

I’ve been fortunate to write promotions that have been mailed, emailed or read or seen by millions and millions of prospects.

But I have always remembered, when I'm writing a promotion to sell a product or service, that it's really like I'm writing to ONE PERSON.

If you focus in on one person, then it forces you to think about that person: Who is he? What are his post urgent problems? What are his biggest needs? And how can the product or service you're selling help him, benefit him and make his business, his life--everything--better.

This is why, one of the first and most important questions I ask my clients is: "Who is your best prospect?"

Get this right, and you've taken a big step to creating a successful promotion.

Take the case of a very successful mailing I wrote for a company that specializes in creating personalized, signature line of hair and skincare poroducts for independent salon owners.

To prepare for writing this promotion, I did research on salon owners, picked the clients' minds, studied testimonials and even talked to a few salon owners.

The whole idea is, offer each salon owner an opportunity to sell top quality products in his/her salon with the salon's name on each bottle. No more selling somebody else's products--but your own.

To make an impact, I created an envelope with a bottle of shampoo with the salon's name "personalized" on the bottle--so the prospect would immediately get the idea that he could offer a line of products like this to his customers.
As you can see, "David Shitman Hair Shack" was imprinted on the bottle. This, of course, matched the same name personalized on the order card.

The promotion included a letter that made clear the challenges of salon owners, explained the many benefits of a private label and motivated prospects to order a sample kit.

It also included "Profit Tips for Salon Owners: 7 ways you can take control--and boost your retail profits."

By showing the possibilities of a private label brand of shampoos and skin care products, this piece generated a lot of attention--and many oders for a sample kit.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Layers of Proof, Part II - "Show Me the Dirt"

Earlier this week, my wife and I sat in on a demonstration of unique vacuum cleaner as a favor for a friend who had bought one. (The more friends who see the demonstration, the more of a discount she gets.)

I had heard only that this was a vacuum cleaner that also purifies the air in your home, but had no preconceived ideas about it.

The demonstrator, Leon, showed us this vacuum using the “demonstration” form of proof.

For instance, he showed us the suction and air flow of our current vacuum vs. his super vacuum. Very impressive. He told us that “suction” had nothing to do with a vacuum’s cleaning power. It was air flow that really mattered.

He took out an air flower meter (a harmonica) and compared the air flow of our vacuum vs. his. No comparison! His had way more power (sound volume coming out of the harmonica).

Then, he had me vacuum our area rug with our vacuum. I thought I did a good job. But then he had me vacuum the same area with his super vacuum.

Now the key this super vacuum is the dirt and dust goes into a container of water, not a typical vacuum bag. You should have seen how much MORE DIRT was in the water after I used the super vacuum. Yuck!!!! Leon “showed me the dirt”—and boy, did his vacuum clean better! Very impressive!

Leon sells a lot of these super vacuums because he understands the power of proof. The more proof, the more you sell. His proof was very convincing, and I probably would have bought this super vacuum, but it was too pricey for me.

Now, my task as a writer is to “demonstrate” the uniqueness and benefits of a product or service, usually in print—whether that be in direct mail, a space ad or online.

How can you show more “unquestionable proof” as I mentioned in my last entry?

For one, you can show proof of a big problem.

Take the case of a very successful magalog I wrote for people worth $3,000,000 or more.

In a nutshell, the magalog was to sell the services of Barry Kaye, who helped the rich create and preserve wealth with innovative life insurance and investment strategies.

I’m not sure of the current estate tax situation now, but when I wrote this piece, there was the risk that upon death, the good ol’ US government could take a lion’s share of your estate in taxes.

So I demonstrated this point by…


















Showing a photo of a Fabregé egg, cut in half. The point: more than ONE HALF of your estate will be gobbled up by Uncle Sam upon death.

Showing a chart of "Estate Taxes, the American Tragedy." This showed that at a high net worth, you could lose up to 60 percent of your estate to Uncle Sam.

Showing a photo of a once wealthy CPA who lost over $7 million of a $12 million to taxes.

Showing examples of famous people like John D. Rockefeller Sr. whose estate's value plummeted 64 percent after estate taxes and expenses were paid after death, and Marilyn Monroe whose estate lost 55 percent upon death.

This "demonstrated" to readers that the problems of estate taxes at death was a big problem, even if you had a will.

For example, I demonstrated why an irrevocable trsut is the "single best way to recover estate tax costs, get a 5-to-1 or better return, and legally transfers nearly all of your worth to heirs.

Of course this magalog didn't just prove the problem. It also was laden with proof of solutions by Barry Kaye.

This was shown in a chart that promise an "89 percent discount on estate tax costs.















The promotion included a number of other wealth creation and perservation strategies, each backed with solid proof.

Leon proved the power of his super vacuum by showing me the problem with my own vacuum and the superiority of his. this magalog proved the problem of estate taxes and the superiority of Barry Kaye's innovative tax and investment strategies.

Remember, the more proof you can demonstrate, the more you sell.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Layers of Proof

If I told you I once caught a lot of coho (silver) salmon in Alaska, you’d likely believe me. After all, you’ve probably heard the salmon fishing is good in Alaska.

But what if showed you a photo of the fish I caught (with my brother and best friend). See photo below. Now that’s proof.
Don’t just take my word we caught a slew of fish. See the photo. Yes, that’s me on the right with the Nike hat.

Even better, the photo shows us with our catch, so you can see how big the fish really were. They ranged from 8 to 14 pounds, and that day, we caught 30!

My point is that, in marketing we can make a statement trying to prove a point, but when we back it up with proof, we make a much stronger argument—and ultimately, more people buy. And when you can add layers of proof, you sell more.

This is why the great copywriter Gary Bencivenga says “Unquestionable Proof” is a key part of this Persuasion Equation. The more proof, the more sales.

I once had an assignment to sell a stock newsletter called Ground Floor Stocks.

Fortunately for me, the client had an outstanding track record picking stocks, ranking No. 1 by the independent Hulbert Financial Digest which tracked stock picking newsletters.

As you can see in the envelope below, I trumpeted this proof element right out of the gate, and drew even more attention to it by putting the layout on the side, not in the typical fashion.

Note the copy was flipped on its side to draw even more attention to the key proof element.

But I laid on the proof even further, showing the actual rankings of the top five stock picking newsletters.

Anytime you can show the proof in a chart or illustration or drawing, all the better. It’s another layer of proof.

The results? The promotion was so successful it won The Newsletter on Newsletter Gold Award in 1998!

Find proof elements to sell your products or services, then find more and add the proof on thick. Your sales will likely soar.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Are You Calling Out Your Best Propsects?

In order to write a hard-hitting, money-making “mega” promotion—one that will mail or run for years—you need to make sure you’re targeting your best prospects.

Your ideal prospect needs to know the direct mail piece, space ad, online promotion or TV spot is just for him or her—like a laser zooming in on one and only one customer.

Space ads pose the incredibly tough challenge of getting the prospect’s attention in literally seconds—that’s all the time you have to see if you can get that prospect to stop—read—read on and call to buy.

Combine the calling out of that prospect with a unique benefit, and you have a winning ad.

Eugene Schwartz is considered one of the greatest copywriters of all time, and time and time again, he had the knack of writing a space ad that did just that.

Take for example his famous ad for the book, How to Increase Your Money Making Power. His headline, seen in the ad below, magically reads:

DO YOU HAVE THE COURAGE TO EARN HALF A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR?





















What man who was ambitious and wanted more money could resist this ad?

Then, this subhead made the ad even more targeted and exclusive: “This is a private advertisement. It is meant for the tremendously ambitious man only.”

Sheer genius.

For a successful ad I wrote that ran in Individual Investor magazine, my target prospect was a frustrated futures trader. In the ad below, the headline calls out:

For Futures Traders Who Hate Losing Money!






















Calling out the prospect’s main frustration was the key to this ad’s success.

The ad promised the reader could STOP LOSING money and START MAKING futures profits, while limiting risk to the exact penny. What kind of profits and risks:

*$975 gain in 2 weeks. Maximum risk: $190
*$3,500 gain in 6 weeks. Maximum risk: $493
*$8,077 gain in 4 weeks. Maximum risk: $1,027

Another very successful ad I wrote that ran in Forbes dramatically outpulled the previous ad by calling out millionaires and a problem many of them faced. The headline:

The 4 Most Costly Estate Planning Mistakes Made By Those Worth $3 Million to $250 Million





















This ad was targeted to the rich—and many of them responded for the FREE Special Report.

The ad revealed four common estate planning mistakes the rich often make, and promised them a FREE Special Report that would help them avoid each one and reduce estate tax costs up to 90 percent. The result? They’d preserve the lion’s share of their hard earned wealth.

How well do you know your prospects? And how well are you calling them out in your promotions?

Monday, March 15, 2010

The Amish Do It Better

At the recent Natural Health Expo, a client and I were talking about successful marketing, and the topic came up about how important is it to “have a story.”

You can have the greatest product or service, but if you don’t have a “story” about it—a story that’s unique, quirky, controversial or attention-getting—nobody will care or buy.

Take the Amish people. You may have seen the full page ads in newspapers offering a “FREE Miracle Heater” if you buy a handmade Amish mantle made from real wood.

















Miracle heater ads with handmade Amish mantles have been hugely successful.

The ad even shows a barn where these handmade mantles are made.

Hmmm… a “FREE” heater inside a beautiful Amish fireplace—sounds good right?

Well, I’ve heard from a very reliable source that these have sold like hotcakes—only these sell for about $300 a pop!

This company had a product and created a story to sell it—and people have responded like crazy.
But imagine if the fireplace mantles were built by craftsmen who lived…outside to Topeka, Kansas…or Carson, California…or Atlanta, Georgia. Not much of a story there.

Yet the idea of a handcrafted mantled created by Amish woodworkers …wow…that sounds so authentic, so solid, so beautiful, so long lasting.

Of course you need a great story to sell tons of a product.

Take for example a launch package I wrote for a new breakthrough CoEnzyme Q10 supplement.
The “story” that made this a blockbuster was two fold: One, most typical CoQ10 formulas were hard to digest and therefore worthless and two, a new, scientifically proven form of CoQ10 was three times more bioavailable and therefore three times more powerful.

It was a story based in science and technology, combined with the appeal of a safe, all-natural supplement for strengthening the heart, for keeping blood pressure and cholesterol healthy, for supporting a sound immune system and for flooding the body with natural energy.
















The cover drew prospects in with “the truth” angle—like something was being covered-up.

The piece was a runaway success!

One of the greatest challenges as a copywriter and creative director is seeing if I have a “story” that grabs readers. If I do, it can shape the whole piece and make it a big, big winner.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Why People Buy or Don't Buy

One of the biggest challenges I face as a copywriter and creative director is how to tap the “emotional triggers” that cause a prospect to buy what you’re selling.

To be frank, I’m strong on seeking out the unique feature and benefits of a product or service. I love to dig deep into the research to find a story.

But when it comes to finding the “emotion” behind why people buy or don’t buy, I have to work a lot harder.

Yet without understanding and using emotion, sales will be limited.

In this excellent book, Triggers: 30 Sales Tools You Can Use to Control the Mind of Your Prospects to Motivate, Influence and Persuade, direct marketing guru Joseph Sugarman writes that an estimated 95% of the reasons a prospect buys involves a subconscious decision.

And to fire up a prospect’s subconscious mind, you have to hit his emotional buttons.

Two of the strongest emotions that can trigger responses—and a flood of orders—are fear and greed.

Fear is a huge motive, often tied to financial loss, but can also be linked to losing freedom and independence that comes with good health.

Take for example a highly successful piece I wrote for PS—The Ultimate Brain Food™.

The headline was:

The New Pill
For Memory Loss
that helps make sure you
don’t end up a mental “vegetable”

Anybody struggling with memory loss and loss of cognitive decline fears the worse—becoming a “vegetable” and losing freedom and independence.

The inside spread started off with the story of an Arizona woman who was saved from the nursing home with this remarkable natural breakthrough.

This cover and lead-in hit the emotion of fear—and made this piece a big, big winner.



































Another dominant emotion that can drive people to read your promotion and order is greed.

The desire for gain can be anything that puts the prospect ahead: Money, health, relationships. To put it another way, people have something good and they want more.

Here’s a good example of a winning piece I wrote selling the book, The Complete Guide to Offshore Money Havens. The front cover featured promises such as…

*How to make, protect and keep MORE OF YOUR MONEY with your own 100% legal offshore wealth haven…

*Make all your dreams come true with profits, privacy, protection and pleasures found offshore…and enjoy tax-free living and secure retirement.

The back cover teased the reader with “greed” copy such as…

*The secret to paying little or no taxes

*A strategy that pays 5-to-1 returns

*“Safe money” yields that are three times higher

*Two ways to keep your assets untouchable from a lawsuit

The theme: How to make more money and keep it from the clutches of the government, lawyers and anybody else.



















Both the front and back cover of this wining piece focused on the emotion of greed.

Fear and greed. Greed and fear. Both work like magic to stir up prospects, get them to read and most important, get them to buy.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

The King and His Private Secretary (The synergy of great copy and great graphics) Part II

Last week, I wrote about how great copy is enhanced and brought alive by great graphics. You can’t have one without the other.

If “Copy is King,” then graphics, as top designer Rob Davis states, would be the King’s Private Secretary who makes sure the King looks great.

Today, I want to share a few more insights and secrets of Rob Davis that help him create memorable, winning direct mail packages for me and other copywriters.

Big mistakes designers unknowingly make
I asked Rob what are typical mistakes he sees in graphic design.

He said that he often see violations of direct mail basics, such as using too much sans serif type, reversing large amounts of copy out of solid backgrounds or making line lengths too long for the page. Things that obviously impede readability.

Rob says another mistake some graphic designers make is not reading the copy seriously or thoroughly—so they miss some big ideas or graphic themes. As a copywriter, I would hope all of my graphic designers would read my copy carefully—but maybe I can’t always assume that.

A pet peeve of Rob’s is graphic designers who make copy subservient to pictures. No matter how attractive a picture or photo, or how good you think the very faint copy looks over that very beautiful but busy nature scene…readability of copy should never be compromised in favor of a graphic element. Amen, to that!

Rob believes graphics should be there to complement the copy, not vice versa.
Speaking of readability, he says that poor placement of copy and graphic objects that interrupt natural eye flow is another mistake he often sees. Design that creates barriers to how one would normally read or forces the eye to skip haphazardly across a spread isn’t helpful.

Rob says that time is the direct mail designers “enemy,” and the more time you make your prospect spend trying to navigate through your design, the less likely that prospect is to make it to the back of your piece and order something.

Secrets of the best designed direct mail packages
I also asked Rob what elements are common to his best designed (i.e. most successful) packages.

He said that his best packages all share a few things in common.

First off, they all have a very striking cover, with a bold, attention-grabbing headline. They usually have one main, very creative cover image to complement that headline. The kind of cover that just demands to be opened. He spends a great deal of time on covers. (See below for samples of covers for packages Rob designed for me and for other copywriters.)

Another common trait of successful graphic design is some kind of unique story or compelling personality that Rob can build the package around to help us connect with the reader and help drive him through to the end for the sale.
Rob says establishing that connection right up front is critical. If you can do this early, your odds of getting the whole package read and acted on go up tremendously.

However, as important as the first few pages are, it’s important not to try and do too much too soon. Rob’s tips? Ease your reader into the piece with compelling, easy-to-read, uncrowded copy and a few well placed focal point graphics. Once you have the reader intrigued, you can start to throw greater amounts of information.

The next critical element of a successful package, according to Rob, is the offer—I agree! Compelling copy and great design all work hand in hand with a great offer.

The successful packages that he has been a part of generally start to subtly build the offer as they make the case for the product. As the prospect moves along in the package and his confidence and belief in the package starts to build, Rob starts to increase the frequency of little sidebars that show graphically how much the prospect is going to save or all the great things he’s going to get when he orders. At the moment the prospect says to himself, “yep, I’m ready to stop reading and start buying,” he can move immediately to the order form and be ready to act.

Rob says the order form is the last critical element. You’ve worked the whole package to get your prospect to this point so the order form, in Rob’s words, needs to be “simple, simple, simple from top to bottom.”

Ordering options are spelled out clearly with the most desirable ordering option for the prospect (usually a “Best Value”) highlighted in such a way as to make it the most obvious choice. Payment options and modes of ordering are crystal clear as well. Second to the cover, the order form is where Rob spends the bulk of his page layout time.

Like me, Rob Davis loves what he does: To create memorable, winning, highly successful promotions that people pick up, read, enjoy and order!

Two covers of successful packages I wrote and Rob designed


















































Other winning packages Rob designed for other copywriters



































Saturday, February 20, 2010

The King and His Private Secretary (The synergy of great copy and great graphics)

As a copywriter, I believe, as many of us writers believe: “Copy is King!” No matter how great your lists or offers, without great copy, you don’t have a winning promotion.

But the truth is, we copywriters usually need great graphic design to make our copy come to life—so it can produce massive sales and profits.

What’s the secret of merging great copy and great graphic design?

To get the answer, I decided to interview one of the top graphic designers in our business, Rob Davis. Rob and I have collaborated on some highly successful promotions, so I know first hand, “Rob gets it!”

Here are a few of his thoughts.

He writes, “If Copy is King, then graphics would be the King’s private secretary. Whoever that guy is who makes sure that whenever the King goes out in public, he’s suitably dressed for the occasion. That his manner and voice are at all times optimally regal and appropriate. If a King were to appear to address his royal subjects in a tattered, wine-stained shirt and spoke in a high, squeaky voice, no matter how great his words were, his message would be lost on those how might otherwise been keen to follow him.”

Geez…I’m a copywriter and I couldn’t have said it better myself. Great insights, Rob!

Rob is right. Great graphics brings great copy alive.

How does Rob go about creating great graphics.

One secret of his—now are you following closely?—is Rob reads the copy. Yep, he actually sits down in a comfortable chair with a pen and bright yellow highlighter and a cup of tea and reads the copy.

He says he’s looking for the story behind the product—whether it be how it’s made or some unique personality behind it. Rob looks for the USP (he defines this a Unique Selling Points) that makes this product different than any other. He says that tapping into the USP graphically is essential to designing a great package. (No wonder this guy’s great—he’s a graphic designer that thinks like a copywriter!)

Rob literally scours every paragraph and identifies as many USPs as possible. Once he’s done reading, ideally, he has a graphic theme and a manuscript of scribbled notes and yellow ink highlighting the things he wants to emphasize.

He believes if you pay attention to the story behind the product and know your target audience, the unique graphic theme tends to emerge.

For instance, here’s Rob thinking behind a promo he designed for direct mail package I wrote for a krill oil product.

Rob says, “The product had a very unique selling point in that it came from krill harvested in the deep, pure waters of Antarctica.

“Of course, I’m going to pick up on the whole Antarctic theme and show lots of deep blue oceans and generally keep my color palette pretty cool, with occasional sprays of beautiful pinky orange color of the krill.

“To choose a lot of those colors, I actually sampled portions of images of blue oceans and krill in Photoshop and brought those color percentages directly into my document color palette.”

The result? Rob designed a package for me that’s been very successful!

Here are some sample pages from the promotion.

Front cover
























Opening spread


















Key closing section















One thing’s for sure: If you merge great copy and great graphics, you dramatically increase your chances of hitting a home run.

Prospects will read the copy because of a compelling story…promise of benefit…or solving of a problem AND they’ll keep reading because of graphics that draw them in and keep them reading.
More to come on this subject.

Friday, February 5, 2010

How to Write a Blockbuster Headline

If the Big Idea is worth a million dollars, than a Blockbuster Headline may be worth even more.

This week, I was thinking back, reviewing some of the best headlines I've ever written--the question--what do they have in common, if anything? And what can I draw from those successful headlines to make sure my newest headlines are big winners, too?

First, a few of some very successful headlines I've written, some that have been blockbusters:


1) For a unique Co-Enzyme Q10 formula, I wrote:

The Surprising Truth About Co-Enzyme Q10

This piece revealed that while CoQ10 is a vital nutritional supplement, studies showed that in tablet or capsule form, it's not easily absorbed. But there is a new solution--a scientific breakthrough that floods your body with up to three times more CoQ10.


2) For a microsite that's had good online success for a thyroid supplements:

The Secret Cause of Stubborn Fat

The microsite revealed that many people, especially woman, have a underactive thyroid. This causes the build up of stubborn fat, and it dooms most diets and exercise to fail. Fix it, the safe, natural way, and you're on you're way to a slimmer, trimmer you.


3) For a small space ad that produced big results:

They laughed when I poured beer on my lawn. But you should see my golf-course- green grass now!

Jerry Baker is famous for his "crazy" homemade lawn and garden remedies. Beer for greener lawn? You betcha!


4) For a new source of omega-3 fatty acids--the deep, pure waters of Antarctica

The new miracle "heart and brain" saver that's 48 times more powerful than fish oil!

Scientific testing showed this discovery, krill oil, was 48 times more effective at squelching free radicals than fish oil...not to mention 11 times more effective at reducing LDL cholesterol...3 times more effective at improving brain health, 6 times more effective at reducing facial wrinkles, etc.


5) For the "ultimate brain food:

The New Pill For Memory Loss that helps make sure you don't end up a mental "vegetable"!

This natural memory-boosting, memory-saving breakthrough was proven in 64 clinical studies and 2,800+ research papers and by leading experts at Stanford and other medical centers to boost brain power and protect the brain from memory loss.


6) For a natural prostate breakthrough:

The "BIG GUNS" that banish urination troubles and prostate problems for good!

The piece went on to expose how many typical natural prostate products are weak and watered down, "like trying to use a BB gun to stop an elephant"--and how you need something with stronger dosages and stronger nutrients if you wanted relief.


7) For a remarkable green energy drink:

62-Cent Green Energizer keeps you OUT of the doctor's office!

So many people enjoying this drink wrote in thanking the company for super health and less dependence on doctors.


***


Now, what do these headlines have in common?

For one, I think they all, in some degree, meet the criteria for a great headline as described by copywriting legend Victor Schwab in this classic "How to Write a Good Advertisement. "

He says the headline as two main goals: (1) to get attention and (2) to give a reward for reading...that is, reading on.

When I think about writing a headline, I also ask myself, does it offer: News? Benefits? Or spur Curiosity? News, benefits, curiosity.

As a kicker, does it add a Twist--something unexpected, something counter intuitive.

Also, is it specific in making a promise or giving a benefit?

To be frank, I don't always write the best headlines at the beginning of a project. Sometimes the headlines come to me while I'm doing the research and I get the headline from day one. Other times, the headlines come later in the process.

There is no magic formula for a great headline. It takes a lot of hard work and sweat--but as you can see, when the headline is powerful, you're on your way to a blockbuster promotion.

Monday, January 25, 2010

The Big Idea Part 3

If you've read my first two posts on The Big Idea, then you'd know that a Big Idea can come from identifying The Next Big Thing and from gleaning a great idea from Testimonials.

But it can also come by focusing in on something Controversial. Writing about something Controverial can 1) get the reader's attention and 2) be great lead-in to a product.

For example, over the years I've written a number of successful promotions for a remarkable health product from Japan called Sun Chlorella. Derived from a water-based plant, chlorella is may well be nature's most powerful detoxifier, energizer and immune booster--and tens of thousands of customers and numbers clinical studies and medical test prove its benefits.

When I was asked to create a new promotion for Sun Chlorella, I needed a Big Idea that would be fresh, exciting and effective--I knew it would be mailed to many people who've seen the other promotions I created.

This one had to stand out.

The Big Idea came from an interview I did with one of the doctors who recommend Sun Chlorella, Dr. David Nelson.

As I was talking to him, he said something that jumped out at me. It was something like this: "I've been practicing nutritional medicine for over 20 years, and I thought I could get all the extra nutrients I needed from vitamins and supplements. But was I ever wrong!"

Then, Dr. Nelson went on to tell me how there was a whole new world of nutrients to be found in whole foods--and chlolrella was one of the most exciting whole food breakthroughs he discovered. He took Sun Chlorella himself and recommended it to his patients--and the results have been amazing.

From this interview, I came up with the Big Idea: A DOCTOR'S SHOCK!

The copy read: "I was shocked to learn my trusted vitamins and minerals had been shortchanging my body and my health for years! Then I discovered what I really needed..."

Of course, the payoff was what he really needed was whole foods which give the body nutrients in the way nature intended--and the best whole food: Sun Chlorella!

Here's the cover I created for this piece.


The results? This Big Idea became a Big Winner, a new control, and a piece that mailed successfully for years generating a huge number of new customers.

A Big Idea can be worth a million dollars--or more.

Finding them is like mining for gold. It's a lot of hard work, but when you find a Big Idea, it's Eureka!!!!!!!

Friday, January 22, 2010

The Big Idea, Part 1

How do you find a BIG IDEA for a direct marketing promotion?

Choose wisely, and you can hit a home run...mail millions of direct mail pieces year after year (or be hugely successful online)...generate millions of dollars in sales for your client...and be rewarded handsomely.
Choose unwisely, and the promo may fall flat on its face, no matter if the rest of the copy is strong.

A BIG IDEA is literally worth a million dollars--or more!

Here's one example of how I discovered a BIG IDEA that translated into a BIG WINNER!

In searching for a BIG IDEA for a launch promotion I wrote for Joint Advantage, a natural pain relieving supplement, I discovered something very interesting in the research I did. I found out that while glucosamine and condroitin were two of the most popular natural breakthroughs for pain relief and joint comfort, new research showed they were hard to absorb and failed for as many as half the people who tried them. So many people were taking these best-selling nutrients and not getting the relief they wanted or needed.

What made Joint Advantage unique was its ingerdients: rare, little known Australian herbs used for centuries by native Aborigines. The discovery of these herbs was something very exciting because the man who found them, Dr. David Williams, had seen them work even when other natural solutions failed. So Joint Advantage was something new, something beyond the ordinary solutions.


Here's the cover copy I wrote:



People want the next big thing, they want something superior that's beyond and better than what's been available. In this case, prospects wanted and needed more pain relief. And the message spoke loudly and clearly to them.



This promotion went on to mail successfully for nearly five years, making it one of the all-time most mailed pieces in the nutritional marketplace.

The Big Idea Part 2

As I mentioned in my last post, the BIG IDEA for a direct marketing campaign can be worth a million dollars--literally!

Another good source of BIG IDEAS is customer testimonials.

When you read testimonials, you get a first hand view of the customers needs and wants--plus how the product or service meets those needs and wants.

Testimonials are so valuable because they are like a "focus group"--you can glean a tremendous amount of BIG IDEAS from them

Some of my clients supply me with pages and pages of testimonial. One client sent me over 400 pages of testimonials on one product--amazing!

For a project called All Day Energy Greens, I came across a testimonial that was so great, I wrote a big WOW! next to it!

In a nutshell, a 63-year-old woman from Pennsylvania wrote that this product (an all-natural "green" energy drink) was so good it made her feel like the Energizer Bunny. Even better, she feels great, takes no medications, has no aches and pains and only sees her doctor...at church.

The last part of her testimonial really hit me.

From the seed idea of "only see my doctor at church" came the BIG IDEA: "62-Cent Green Energizer keeps you OUT of the doctor's office!"

This remarkable "green" drink, rich with 38 all natural fruits and vegetables and guaranteed to exceed five servings of fruits and vegetables a day is making people so healthy, they can stay OUT of the doctors office.

See the cover below.

The results? This piece has been a big success, beating the long-standing control piece and rolling out in very large numbers.

Sometimes, if you look hard enough, one testimonial can spark a Big Idea that becomes a Big Winner!