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Keep them reading from the headline to the response deviceby Linda WestphalOne of the most important marketing tools you will use to sell your products or services is a sales letter. Let’s say you’ve written a dynamite headline and opening paragraph for your letter and now you need to write the body copy. How do you make the copy compelling? How do you take the reader by the hand, introduce him to your selling points, tell him what other people think of your product, and urge him to buy? Try these successful techniques. Technique #1: Subheads I enjoy using subheads in a sales letter. And I believe it is one of the most effective techniques a writer has in his toolbox. A subhead will typically support the overall message of the main headline in your letter. So if your reader only wants to see the highlights of your sales letter, he should be able to get them by scanning your headline and subheads. Take, for example, the headline and subheads in this ad: Ogilvy & Mather Direct Response The advertising agency with the secret weapon (headline) Direct mail—our most powerful tool (subhead) Specialists in our own right (subhead) Measurable performance (subhead) How to find out more (subhead) Notice that even without the body copy, you understand: 1) what Ogilvy & Mather Direct Response is offering, 2) the benefits of its services, and 3) how to contact them. (Note: Many readers will jump from the headline, to the subheads, to the response device without reading anything else, which is a good reason to perfect these three elements of your letter.) Here is another example: Do you make these mistakes in English? (headline) Sherwin Cody’s remarkable invention has enabled more than 100,000 people to correct their mistakes in English. Only 15 minutes a day required to improve your speech and writing Why most people make mistakes (subhead) What Cody did at Gary (subhead) 100% self-correcting device (subhead) Only 15 minutes a day (subhead) FREE—Book on English (subhead) Technique #2: Drop-initials Readers are comfortable with drop-initials, so don’t be afraid to use them sparingly in your sales letter. When you start a new paragraph, drop the first initial, as I did in the first word of this article. A drop-initial is an invitation to start reading; it communicates “start here” to the reader. Your readers have been taught to start at a drop-initial in books, newspapers and magazines; therefore, they will be comfortable seeing one or two in your sales letter. Likewise, feel free to use them in your response device, such as a reply card. It will encourage readers to start reading the card. The late David Ogilvy discovered that readership increased by 13% when body copy was started with a drop-initial. Try it and see if you too get great results. Technique #3: Boxed text Adding a simple box around a section of text is another very successful way to attract readers’ eyes as they scan your sales letter. For instance, you can box testimonials to ensure they are read. You can box a headline or subhead at the top of the first page of your letter. You can box a special bonus offer you don’t want readers to miss. In summary, wrap a simple box around any chunk of vital information your readers will need to make a buying decision. Technique #4: Lists Perhaps you have a few unrelated text items that you don’t want to group together with connectives. What should you do? Try numbering the items and allow readers to pick-and-choose what they want to read (bullets may also be used). For example, this advertiser chose to number three important steps to follow when using its product: 1. Dry skin thoroughly with … 2. Blend butter oil and … 3. Apply to skin … Keep your list short in order to communicate simplicity and allow readers to absorb small chunks of information. In addition, you can help readers grasp ideas quickly when you start each item with an action word: Help, Remove, Minimize, Ease. Or start bulleted items as you would headlines: “Easy way to … ,” “Quick way to … ,” “How to … .” Technique #5: Highlight, underline, bold, indent, words in the margin Of course you also have at your disposal the old tried-and-true methods of calling out words, sentences and paragraphs—highlight, underline, bold, indent, words in the margin. These methods will politely point readers to areas of your letter that are important, and will help make the sale. Here is an example of how one advertiser used bold text to make a paragraph stand out: You will be 15 pounds lighter in four weeks. Even if you have tried everything to lose that extra 15 pounds, we can help you lose it in four short weeks—the healthy way. Caution! While you have a whole host of techniques available, I must caution you to not overuse them. Too many bold words, boxes, underlines and highlights in your sales letter will cheapen the presentation, give it a “junk” mail look, and make it appear “busy” to the eye. These techniques, while powerful, must be balanced just right. I highly recommend hiring a graphic designer with direct response experience to help you reach the right balance. Linda Westphal is a freelance copywriter who works with advertising agency creative professionals, business owners and other marketing professionals from her office in Sacramento, California. She can be reached at Linda Westphal Copywriting, P.O. Box 2033, Citrus Heights, CA 95611, (916) 752-5443, E-mail: LindaWestphal@earthlink.net, or visit her Web site at www.lindawestphal.com |
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Linda Westphal |