Why Copywriters Shouldn’t Rush to Go Digital Because 60% Prefer Print

July 23, 2009 | 7 Comments

It appears as though the printed word is on its deathbed. The Yellow Pages is now more widely used as a doorstop, whilst many newspapers are wheezing their final breaths.

Many expect direct mail to go the same way.

So is learning how to write direct mail, brochures and sales letters a waste of time for aspiring copywriters?

Are people so plugged into the digital world that they won’t turn away long enough to read your printed words?

Print advertising in freefall, whilst internet marketing grows nearly 20%

According to recent Advertising Association figures, last year in the UK press advertising fell 11.8% and TV fell 4.9%. Spending on the internet, however, shot up a recession busting 19.1%.

eMarketer has also poured more fuel onto print’s funeral pyre, with estimates that online spend should grow a further 10% by 2011, as companies chase after eyeballs focused on pixels.

So should your copywriting expertise follow the same trend?

Does print marketing need to be recycled permanently?

60% are more likely to respond to print than email

In the face of such relentless attacks on print, Pitney Bowes has come charging to the rescue whilst sounding its bugle on research of its own.

In a pan-European study it found that 60% of people are more likely to visit a website in response to direct mail, compared to 24% who’d respond to an email or sponsored web link.

This follows on from previous research in which Pitney Bowes found that 73% prefer to receive offers and promotions in the mail, rather than their email inbox.

So, whilst print is indeed expensive and should shuffle its feet in embarrassment at its ROI, Pitney Bowes’ research indicates there’s life left in the old warhorse yet.

In fact, print can be the introduction to digital campaigns, and its ROI can be improved by being more targeted, personalised and relevant.

So copywriters shouldn’t rush to abandon the printed word just yet.

Posted by Matt Ambrose | Filed Under Blog, Copywriting, Marketing 

Long copy Vs. Usability? What About Relevance and Design?

July 17, 2009 | 1 Comment

With time being such a valuable commodity these days, what’s the best way of providing people with the information they need on your website?

Do they really want to wade through thousands of words of carefully composed, sales driven copy?

Or would they prefer bulleted lists and tidbits of info that communicate your product’s benefits as quickly as possible?

Well, this was the debate on Bob Bly’s blog recently, when he challenged web usability guru Jakob Nielsen’s view that people don’t read much on the web, and typically only read about 20% of your website’s text.

Obviously, there are a lot of facets to this argument, and what works in selling to one website visitor won’t necessarily be as effective for another.

But as a copywriter, I have to stand on Bly’s side of the fence and join the crowd chanting in support of the power of words.

Emotionally driven long copy can take readers on a carefully woven psychological path until they’re jumping up and down in their seats and reaching for their credit cards.

Copy can never be too long as long as it’s relevant, compelling and interesting.

After all, would you prefer your shop’s salespeople to talk to your customers as briefly as possible or for as long as the customer is interested in what they have to say?

Copywriting should be wielded with a website’s design

Even on brochure style websites, high quality copywriting serves many purposes: it reflects your branding, builds trust in your expertise and enhances the perceived quality of your products.

However, copy shouldn’t be expected to do everything on its own. How it’s presented and how it works with the rest of the website’s images, navigation and layout is also vitally important in generating sales.

Unfortunately, a website’s copy is often the last element to get ticked off the list during an overhaul.

And this is when copy often fails to be as effective as it could be, when it’s hammered into blocks of white space like a mismatched jigsaw.

So the debate shouldn’t merely be about long copy Vs. usability.

But about how websites are created in the first place, and that more thought needs to be put into how all the elements work together.

Posted by Matt Ambrose | Filed Under Blog, Copywriting 

Free Copywriting Swipe Files and Audio Interviews with Two Copywriting Legends

July 2, 2009 | 6 Comments

The simple act of copying sales letters and ads written by master wordsmiths should be part of every aspiring copywriter’s daily routine.

Copying them word for word can ingrain into your mind what it feels like to compose high converting landing pages and emails. It’s almost as though you can plug into the writer’s mind and see through their eyes how they constructed a compelling argument on the page.

Studying different styles of copywriting can also help develop your own. Just as music composers are influenced by other musicians, you can evolve your writing style by sponging up the techniques and wordplay written by some of the greats.

Here are a few links to examples of high impact sales letters to add to your swipe file, as well as inspirational audio interviews with a couple of copywriting legends:

Info marketing blog Gary Halbert swipe file- this blog offers an analysis of some of the ads written by master copywriter Gary Halbert, which you can download as pdfs.

Perry Marshall interviews John Carlton + Three Sales Letters– in exchange for your email address you can access three John Carlton sales letters and audio interviews, all for free. You can’t say fairer than that.

Michel Fortin interviews Gary Halbert and John Carlton- If the previous interviews left you begging for more, direct response copywriter Michel Fortin’s website (which I’m sure you’re already subscribed to) has interviews with Gary Halbert and John Carlton for you to enjoy. Plenty of lessons to be learned from both (and not just about the words you put on the page).

Swipe file on Clayton Makepeace’s website – you can download free samples written by masters, such as Gary Bencivenga, Dan Rosenthal and Jim Rutz from the Clayton Makepeace website.

Laurence Blume portfolio samples – visit UK based copywriter Laurence Blume’s website for a treasure trove of sample DM sales letters, email copy and landing pages.

So whilst the sun is out, grab a sheet of paper and a pen and start copying.

Feel free to paste links to high converting sales letters and other examples of great copywriting in the comments.

Posted by Matt Ambrose | Filed Under Blog, Copywriting