If you write sales copy you might fall in to the trap of thinking you are a writer. Technically, you are not.
Sure you write. And you might enjoy waxing lyrical from time to time. But please, for your own sake and for the sake of response, save your artistic writing flare for poetry and fiction writing. Here’s why:
I recently did two separate launches for almost identical products to almost identical lists. Both lists were small — very small. And both products sold for $67.00.
In the first promotion (to a list of around 600 readers) I was careful to use correct grammar. To phrase my sentences in a manner that made them flow from the page like a river of silk — to tiptoe across the screen like a ballet dancer pirouetting across the stage. “Surely“, I thought as I sat proudly at my keyboard, “people will read these emails and respond in droves because of my brilliant writing!”
They did respond. But not in droves. We made about $7,500 from the promo and spent a lot of time carefully scripting videos, emails and sales letters to sell the product. Hours and hours of work over a two week period. We were pretty happy with the result. But I had a niggling feeling I could do better.
And so, in the second promotion — which was almost the same as the first in every way, same type of product, same price range, similar list — I took a different approach.
I wrote an email alerting my list to the fact that I was releasing a new product in a few days time. The language of the email can only be described as the kind of chatter you’d offer up over a burger while strolling aimlessly through the park with a friend or companion.
A couple of days later I sent a second email inviting my readers to watch a simple video I scripted. Again, very simple, straightforward language was used.
Two days later a third email was sent. This time telling the reader they could now buy the product. I told them also that they only had eleven days to get it at a special reduced price.
Over the course of the following eleven days I continued to send emails — just like I did in the first promotion. Only this time, each email was written in much the same way as I would speak to my neighbor over the fence.
I told them, in essence, get the product because it’s good. If you’re not happy send it back and I’ll send back your cash. All the usual copywriting elements but muttered in a far less formal manner. I made spelling mistakes in these emails. Instead of correcting them I left them in. Long story short: I spoke through the written word with colloquial tones. No airs and graces. Just telling it like it is. More akin to gutter talk than the usual eloquence some copywriters strive for.
The result: With a lot less work and a lot more fun I brought in around $10,000 in eleven days — $2,500 better than the previous promotion.
Lesson: Copywriting is a lot less like formal writing and a lot more like talking to your friends about something cool they should buy. A lot more like gutter talk than an eloquent speech you might make at toastmasters or somewhere.
Author Info: Michael Low is a professional copywriter specializing in Internet sales letters, traffic generation, website conversion and email marketing campaigns. He’s also the author of the popular ebook “How to Write Articles People Want to Read” which he now gives away free to readers of this blog.
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I agree with your lesson here, offering something in written form needs to be direct and casual. Most prospective customer respond to this kind of neighborhood chatter.