Posted by:
Bob Bly
March 3, 2009
Issue #623
Recently the head of a large public relations agency said to me, “Boy, I don’t envy you being a freelance copywriter. That’s got to be a tough job, writing copy and then having clients make all those changes and revisions.”
To a degree, he’s right. H.G. Wells once observed there is no greater human urge than the desire to rewrite someone else’s copy. And certainly, if you’ve been in this business for any length of time, you know that the most tedious portion of any promotional campaign is routing the copy around, making changes, generating revisions, and getting approvals.
And that raises a question: Namely, if the standards of professionalism in our industry have risen dramatically over the last several decades, as many experts claim, then why is there still so much revising and rewriting of copy by clients?
Aside from the possibility that the copy being submitted is simply bad copy, I think there are two major reasons why so much ad copy is revised and rewritten to the point where it only faintly resembles the original submission.
The first reason is that copywriting is one of the few activities in the business world where there is no RFP (request for proposal) — no predefined and agreed-upon specification to which the work must conform.
If I order a computer system, part of the vendor’s selling process is to precisely define my needs and requirements. In their proposal to me, the vendor will spell out exactly what is to be delivered — down to the dimensions of the computer screen, the size of the hard drive, even the brand and type of modem. As a result, it’s rather simple to determine whether the vendor has fulfilled my requirements.
But in the copywriting business, it’s different. It would be absurd for the client to request, in advance, a piece of copy with so many headlines, so many subheads, so many commas, so many sentences beginning with the words and or the, so many paragraphs of such and such length. In fact, one could argue that even specifying the type of copy required — e.g., an ad vs. a sales letter, self-mailer, or telemarketing script — is often done prematurely, without the proper thought and analysis.
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Posted by:
Bob Bly
January 6, 2009
Issue 583
In one of his lectures, AWAI co-founder Michael Masterson told his audience – mostly new and aspiring direct response copywriters – “I highly recommend you have children.”
Copywriter John Forde also advised his readers to have children in a recent issue of his Copywriter’s Roundtable e-zine.
Michael and John want you to have children not just to experience the joys of parenting, but because it will make you a better copywriter.
How so?
The most crucial part of copywriting is your ability to understand your readers — and reach them on a deep, emotional, personal level. And the more you are like the people you are writing to … the more experiences you have shared with them … the easier it is to be empathetic with them.
I call it “experienced-based empathy.” It means being able to relate to a person because you are in their group or have common experience or background.
Experienced-based empathy is a powerful technique. Not only does it enable you to get inside the minds of your prospects in a way other marketers can’t. But you can actually use it in your copy to forge an instant connection with your reader, e.g., “As a CPA, I know all too well how time-consuming it is for a busy accountant like you to keep up with constant changes in the tax code.”
Of course, you cannot become a member of every target market you write for: you can’t be all things to all people. A man, for example, can’t be a woman (for the most part). Therefore, one can argue that a female copywriter is a better choice to write ads for feminine hygiene products, bridal gowns, or cosmetics.
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Posted by:
Bob Bly
November 11, 2008
Issue #543
A common concern among would-be information marketers is illegal copying. Because their products are downloadable and easy for their customers to share, many think that will be the downfall of their business.
The reality is, only a tiny and insignificant fraction of your customers will even attempt to rip you off by copying and distributing your info products without paying for the right to do so. The incidence of this type of fraud is so rare that you can just shrug it off as a small cost of doing business.
However, there are steps you can take to reduce the pirating of your content to near-zero - and even make money from the few copies that do get pirated.
Let me explain …
There are all kinds of high-tech systems and devices for foiling would-be bootleggers of content - from music and movies to software and information products. But, eventually, all of them are defeated by hackers.
A better way to prevent your customers from illegally copying your e-books, audio CDs, and DVDs is to ask yourself what motivates them to steal your content in the first place.
Answer: Aside from the Internet making it easy to duplicate and distribute digital content, the main reason a customer will illegally copy an information product they have bought has to do with its price and value.
By that, I mean that customers are less motivated to pirate content that is (a) reasonably priced and (b) gives a fair value for its cost.
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Posted by:
Bob Bly
October 7, 2008
Issue #518
The other day, one of my online subscribers, CR, complained about a famous Internet marketer. "I unsubscribed from his list," she told me haughtily. "As soon as I joined, I got e-mails from him once or twice every day - and there’s no one I (or anybody else) need to hear from that much."
This begs the question: How frequently can you e-mail your online subscribers?
Or, said another way: How much e-mail is too much?
People have lots of opinions about this issue, which they support with arguments that are both passionate and logical.
The problem is: Their opinions are wholly subjective.
The fact is: There’s an easy way to objectively and accurately determine the optimal e-mail frequency for your online subscribers.
How does it work?
Well, every time you send another e-mail blast to your list, a small portion of your subscribers will opt out.
Why?
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Posted by:
Bob Bly
September 2, 2008
Issue #494
Many marketers, both large and small (and I include myself among the latter) go bonkers when customers return products for a refund.
As BK, an executive with one of the biggest and most famous direct-marketing publishing companies, told me, "Our books contain great information, incredibly valuable. Why should we allow someone to read the book, benefit from all that great content, and then cheat us by sending it back for a refund?"
If you feel the same way, let me share with you a few important facts about refunds:
1. First of all, a refund request doesn’t mean your product is bad or the customer doesn’t like it.
Example: A customer returns your $300 DVD set on investing in foreign currencies. "It actually seems like a great program," the customer says in his refund request. "But after watching it, I’ve decided this isn’t a business I want to get into. It’s just too much work!"
To me, this is a perfectly legitimate - and reasonable - position for a customer to take … don’t you agree? In this case, offering a refund is not only a legal requirement but also eminently fair: Why would you want your customer to be out of pocket $300 for something he can’t use?
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