====================================================== "The Tampa Bay Marketer's Report" December, 2002 ====================================================== Published by Renae Gregoire Freelance Commercial Writer The Write Idea Make Your Message Clear. Concise. Creative. Visit me at http://www.ineedcopy.com ------------------------------------------------------ Subscribe and un-subscribe information at the bottom! ----------------------------------------------------- Table of contents: 1. Message from the Editor 2. Secrets of a Successful Sales Letter 3. A Perfect Example 4. About The Write Idea ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Readers, Thanks for inviting me to your e-mail box - I hope enjoy this issue of "The Tampa Bay Marketer's Report". Actually, this issue was due in November, but business is booming so I'm a bit behind. And for that same reason, this is a short edition, covering my biggest pet-peeve in the copywriting business--sales letters. Well, the letters themselves aren't my pet peeve. It's clients who don't understand what makes for a successful sales piece. If you regularly try to attract new business with direct mail or email letters, or even web page sales letters, this article is for you. Please contact me with any questions or comments. I'm here to help. Hope to be of service to you! Cordially yours, Renae Gregoire service@ineedcopy.com ------------------------------------------------------- ---> Secrets of Successful Sales Letters by Renae E.Gregoire ------------------------------------------------------- OPEN NOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE! Does the subtitle of this article sound familiar to you? Probably, because it’s a common ploy direct marketing writers use to get you to open their direct mail envelope or email letter. Can you recall the last really good mail piece you received? One that lit a fire inside you and made you pick up the phone, or get out your checkbook? How about the last time you opened an email letter from a well-known company (read: a marketing-rich company), and actually took the time to read the whole thing? Or, more importantly, followed the instructions at the end of the letter, and clicked through to learn more or to order? Now how do you suppose that successful letter came to be? Do you think the company hired a copywriter who churned out one letter that brought them instant success? Sorry to burst your bubble, but successful direct mail and email letters usually don’t happen that way. But successful letters DO happen-- they CAN happen--and I’m going to tell you how. Testing, Testing, Testing Now I’m not going to tell you how to write a great sales letter. There’s plenty of information available on the topic. Besides, if you’re hiring a writer to create your sales piece for you, you just have to make sure they know what goes into a successful sales letter. Make sure they understand direct marketing concepts, and that they know what works--and what doesn’t. You Are Here Instead, we’re starting at the point where you have a final sales letter in hand--ready to mail. It’s already been tweaked and polished, and has all the elements that should make it a success. Your next step is called a test mailing. No matter what your list size, use equal portions of up to 20% for testing. Note the results. Now, change ONE variable in the letter. Any variable. In fact, before you hire a writer, ask if their fee includes multiple variables so you can work through your testing phase. Another alternative is to create and mail two letters simultaneously, and test them against each other. When you have a winner, begin tweaking the variables. What variables can you test? --Headline/subheadings --Opening paragraph --Offer (1/2 off or buy 1 get 1 free?) --P.S. --Font size --Placement of offer --Subject line (for email letters) --Appeal (benefit focus) --Illustrations/graphics This list is not all inclusive. You can also change price or incentive offers like free booklets or other giveaways. The point is to change one variable, and one variable only, and then send out another test run. Are the results better than before? If so, keep the change. If not, change it back, and try another variable. I’ve been asked before: Can we change more than one variable? I want to change the whole thing! My reply? If you change two variables, how will you know what increased or decreased your response? And sure, you can change the entire letter, but then you’re starting from scratch. If you’re writing yourself, or if you’re using a copywriter who has not studied successful direct mail advertising, then you may as well sent out a one-shot letter and hope for the best. Or, read up about what works in successful direct mail advertising, and implement those ideas into your very first letter. (If you hire a good copywriter, your initial letter will have all the success elements to begin with, although you’ll still need to test.) And the Winner Is... When you’ve completed several testing cycles, the letter with the best mix of variables--the one that brings the greatest results--is considered your control. Once you’ve got a control letter that’s proven to bring you the results you’re looking for, your goal becomes to KEEP TESTING...and to beat the control! By the way, these concepts also apply to web page sales letters, and print advertisements. How Variable Changes Boost Results 1. Change Headline Appeal. Resort in the Berkshires ran a full page ad with a headline “Feel pleasure in places you never knew existed.” It generated 97.4 percent more inquiries, and converted 50% more inquiries into sales. Previous headline? “New life form discovered in Massachusetts." 2. Change Font Size. Email sales letter campaign by popular clothier brought a 10% increase in response by changing the headline from a size-10 font to a size-12 font. 3. Change Offer. Web service seller with single page web sales letter boosted sales by 5.5% after offering free sample of services. Don’t Delay. Order Today. Testing your letters, web content and advertising is time consuming, but it pays rich dividends in the end. But don’t fall prey to the common misconception that hiring a writer is the end-all-be-all extent of your sales letter campaigns. Think about it. If you’re paying a writer $750 for a sales letter, you’re paying for a starting point only. If you’d like your copywriter to work through the testing phase, expect to pay extra. Or, hire an advertising agency for $6,000, and let them do the testing for you. Winning sales pieces happen with testing. Since you owe it to yourself to develop sales pieces that perform, test, test and test some more. ------------------------------------------------------- ----> The Marketer's Bookshelf ------------------------------------------------------- If there's a book on marketing out there, chances are, I've read it. In this column you'll find out which books to buy, and which to avoid. And if you know of a great book that's helped you get more customers for less money, by all means, let me know! DECEMBER'S READING LIST I know almost everyone's busy with holiday preparations, so here's one must-read book that will bring you success in 2003. TESTED ADVERTISING METHODS Fifth Edition John Caples Revised by Fred E. Hahn PUBLISHED BY Prentice Hall, 1997 In my opinion, the BIBLE of successful direct mail. If you're into do-it-yourself advertising, you must read this book. You'll learn what has been proven to work, and what doesn't. ------------------------------------------------------- --->A Perfect Example, by John Caples ----------------- -------------------------------------- ***Note that I am copying this directly from John Caple's book, Tested Advertising Methods. It's a perfect example of why fluffy advertising is a waste of your money. "Imagine for a moment that you are interested in buying a TV set. You see a good-looking set in a store window. You walk into the store to look at it. Uppermost in your mind are these questions: How many channels will it receive? What is the quality of its reception? Does it have true stereo sound? And, of course, How much does it cost? Suppose a clerk should walk up to you and say, "This is an age of beauty...charm...style." Wouldn't you be flabbergasted? Wouldn't you suspect that there was something wrong with him? After all, you're there to see about buying a television set. Yet the statement, "This is an age of beauty...charm...style," are the exact words of the opening paragraph of a $16,000 magazine advertisement for a television set. This sort of copy is not exceptional. You have become accustomed to it because you see so much of it." ***Pretty good, huh? :) ------------------------------------------------------- ------------->> About The Write Idea ------------------ ------------------------------------------------------- OK, SO WHAT IS THE WRITE IDEA? The Write Idea supports small to mid-sized business owners in their desire to look and sound professional and increase profits by means of well-written and persuasive promotional materials. WHO'S RENAE GREGOIRE? That's me. Owner and President of The Write Idea, a commercial freelance writing firm serving clients in the Tampa Bay area, and all around the world! I'VE GOT SOME QUESTIONS. HOW CAN I CONTACT YOU? Easy. Call me at (727) 302-0232. I'm available Monday through Friday, from around 8 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon. (Well, I'm here later than that, but if you call then you might hear my kids in the background!) If you get my machine, that means I'm out with a client, or stretching my legs! Leave me a message and I'll call you back as soon as I can. Or, email me at service@ineedcopy.com. To find out more about how The Write Idea can enhance your image-- and your profits, check out my web site at http://www.ineedcopy.com. You can email me from there too. I look forward to hearing from you! ------------------------------------------------------- ------------->> Subscription Information -------------- ------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to The Tampa Bay Marketer's Report. It's Free! You'll find lots of information on promoting your business in our area, including resources for actually doing it! The Tampa Bay Marketer's Report is issued bimonthly, and is free to business owners who request it. Unsubscribing is easy too. Just let me know and I'll promptly remove your name from the list. Subscribe by sending an email to tampamarketer@replypro.com Unsubscribe by sending an email to service@ineedcopy.com. Just say "unsubscribe," and you won't hear from me again :) And if you enjoyed this issue, please pass it along to a friend who might also like to learn more about marketing in the Tampa Bay area. ------------------------------------------------------- And that's all for this time. Thanks for reading. Wishing you all my best, Renae Gregoire, Freelance Commercial Writer service@ineedcopy.com Make Your Message Clear. Concise. Creative. The Write Idea (727) 302-0232 Visit me at http://www.ineedcopy.com ------------------------------------------------------- ---------Subscribe & Un-subscribe Instruction --------- ------------------------------------------------------- * To subscribe email tampamarketer@replypro,com. * To unsubscribe, send a message to: service@ineedcopy.com, and say "unsubscribe." ======================================================