Call Stephen Hawking!

I've just proved the theory of multiple, parallel universes to be true!

Hello again,

Who would have thought a copywriter could answer once and for all one of the great imponderable questions of the cosmos? And who would have believed it would be so easy?

I'm sure you know the theory...

Every time something happens, when something else could have happened, both things actually occur and one universe carries on in one way while another carries on in another. Since these maybe/maybe not events happen all the time, new universes are constantly being created.

Although that doesn't give us an infinite number of universes, it does give us an awful lot!

It turns out that copywriting works in exactly the same way. And that's how I proved it to be incontrovertably true.

There I was, pondering on ideas for a headline, when I remembered I really should be saving every idea that came to me, rather than trying to pick a 'winner' straight off. And that the same thing applies to the opening paragraph of the sales letter. And every paragraph that follows. And every decision about how long or short, what benefit to focus on, how to frame the offer, etc, etc... Almost an infinite number of sales letter possibilities could be 'calved' from the original, in just the same way as universes are 'calved' from one original universe.

Now, whether you believe in a 'creator' or 'designer' on a cosmological level, it's probably just as well there is such a thing as a 'creative' or copywriter, in the salesletter cosmos, or we could be here forever, trying to decide.

So, if God exists, do you think he ever has trouble deciding which universe to pick? Or maybe we're all part of one giant, multivariant split test!

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

Boom is Busting Out All Over

Hello, once again.

From great ideas going missing (see last Thursday's post), I suddenly have three slightly less stupendous things I need to talk about. I'll stick to one for now...

On Friday, I mentioned the recession that's about to hit, and told you how great an opportunity that can be, as long as you know how to make the best of it.

But thoughts of recessions, depressions and weary, worn-down people reminded me of a story I heard quite some time ago, possibly from Dan Kennedy, possibly not.

It concerned a salesman of the old school (still with us, of course, despite 'everything' being online now), who was selling encyclopedias door to door. At one run down looking home, he was invited in. The couple sat him down and offered him a drink, making him feel very welcome. Clearly, they had very little money and hardly any possessions that didn't look old and tired. The carpet was threadbare, the cups and saucers didn't match, there was an ancient radio in the corner of the lounge, etc, etc.

But the husband wanted to buy his encyclopedias - the complete set of which would probably cost as much as the combined value of all their other possessions.

The salesman doubted they could afford them. More importantly, he didn't think they should. They should spend what little money they had on essentials, like food and fuel.

Still he wanted the books.

The salesman, very politely, said no, and decided he should leave.

At which, the gentle, mild mannered husband flew into a rage, chased him out of the house and down the street, shouting after him: 'Who are you to say what I can and can't afford? What business is it of yours to tell me what I should spend my money on?'

Who indeed?

There are people today, who insist they are trying to sell their products, but who nonetheless get squeamish about actually asking people for their money. 'They might not be able to afford it' is just another excuse we make for not trying very hard.

Our concern is whether the product is worth the money we ask for it - not whether someone else 'should' spend that money. It really is none of our business. We really know next to nothing about them. We must offer them good value and let them choose.

That's our job and that's all our job is...

And as an aside, who knows what value we might now put on all the information in those encyclopedias? They were probably a bargain, and it shows information marketing is nothing new!

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS. Speaking of progress (and valuable information), 'Web 2.0 Stampede' represents a large dollop of both, at a very affordable price, even in these apparently straightened times. Clck on the blue banner to the right, and take a look.

Why Long Copy Works

(and why it needn't matter if it doesn't)

It seems to be a perennial debate: long copy versus short copy. But most copywriters know from experience (and from reading the copywriting gurus) that long copy far outsells short copy, especially for high-ticket items.

Why?

Well, first let's look at why short copy might sometimes be better.

Business people are busy people. They don't have time to spend reading page after page of sales material, however excitingly written, before they decide whether or not to spend a few pounds or dollars. It just isn't cost effective – their time is too precious.

They'd be better off buying something a little less than perfect than wasting that precious time.

So, for a low priced item, short copy is the way to go. In fact, it might not be worth investing in a copywriter’s fees for a low cost item. Of course, if the item sells by the million it would be worth every penny, but that's another matter.

In short copy, there's a headline, a story, an offer and a call to action. Call them by other names if you will, but they're the essential elements, and the advantage to the customer is that they know exactly what your offer is, almost at a glance.

For higher-priced items, it's different. When someone is contemplating spending a lot of money (for them) they need to be convinced it's worth it. They may take a fair bit of persuading, but the time spent - yours and theirs - will be worth it if they can save or make the value of that time, plus the price of the product, many times over.

They may not make that calculation consciously, but on some level or other they will be making a judgement on whether you're wasting their time. Even before, that is, they decide whether they'll be wasting their cash buying your product.

Which is why, perversely, it needn't matter. So long as your long copy is constructed properly they can get all the short copy benefits, while you offer all the reassurance and potential persuasiveness of long copy.

You may spend page after page extolling the virtues and numerous irresistible benefits of your product, but a hurried and harassed businessperson needs to be able to scan your copy in seconds and deduce exactly what you're offering, how it can solve their problem and the price they'll have to pay.

Then, if they're interested, they’ll go back and read in more detail. And study after study shows that while long copy outsells short copy, it's the short copy 'scanned' version that the buyer actually sees first and on which they'll most likely base their decision to buy or not buy.

So, when you produce your long copy it needs to have exactly the same elements as your short copy.

In fact, at first sight it should actually look like short copy with a lot of extra detail between the essential bits!

So, you'll need:

· a headline, emphasising the main benefit

· body copy, explaining the product and its benefits

· the offer, which is the price plus bonuses and guarantees

· the close or call to action, made as easy as possible.

Each of these elements must be highlighted with a sub-heading so the busy reader can pick them out at a glance.

And here’s the critical part: those sub-heads must tell a coherent story on their own, to get the message across to the quick-scanning reader.

Here’s how legendary John Caples put it recently: “[Long or short] depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. Generally speaking the more explaining you need to do to get your reader to understand the product’s benefits fully, or the more money it costs, the longer the copy you’ll need.
In many cases, longer copy will work best. But remember, it’s not because it’s long that it works. It still needs to be brief and succinct in the sense that it packs maximum meaning and benefit into each sentence … Distil it down as much as possible without omitting any of the points … of interest to the target market …then render the copy in logical chunks prefaced with powerful, curiosity inducing sub-heads that stop skimmers and skippers, drawing them into the copy. Finally … edit your sub-heads into a logical summary of your entire sales argument.”


So the details (detailing benefits remember), the credibility-building testimonials and explanations of why this is such a terrific never to be repeated offer, etc, all fit in between these compelling sub headings.

End with a PS - the ultimate short copy summarising all the above - and there you have it - long copy that works like short copy. But better!

Roy Everitt, Writing For Results

PS. I’ll be giving you more tips of the copywriter’s trade right here in the days and weeks to come. But you can make sure you don’t miss a single one by subscribing to this site – it's free and the sign up is top right on this page – AND you’ll also get occasional, exclusive information for subscribers only, PLUS a member’s only free offer in the very near future. But you’ll have to subscribe to find out what that is!