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

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.

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.