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Don’t tell anyone I revealed this. I’ll get enemies left and right. But here’s the reason I always talk about missing 20% of your best opportunities. Because even the best copy only accounts for 20% of your results. There are two other factors that are twice as important: Your list, and an offer.

But before you even get started writing copy, or especially before hiring someone else to write copy for you, get clear on the two things that may account for up to 80% of your marketing success: The right offer to the right people.

Be the demanding client for a moment, and let’s see how this works.

The backpacker principle

Suppose you’ve earned some free time, and you want to do something special. You’ve always wanted to go backpacking in the remote parts of Hawaii. You want to climb volcanoes and watch them erupt at night. Hey, you’re even going to sleep in a lava tube if you get the chance.

Four hundred travel agents are competing for your business. But they’re not all on a level playing field. After some initial research, you start getting emails from 100 travel agents that are based in Hawaii, and specialize in travel there.

Which one will you choose? Out of 100 possible agents, fifty of them advertise on outdoor adventure websites. You now have 50 agencies that specialize in outdoor Hawaiian adventures. They know where to find the most comfortable lava tube beds. They can get your camping gear safely on and off the plane, and bring you to the best trailhead.

Ten of these companies are offering special discounts or premiums for the month you want to travel. Guess what? Out of 400 competitors, these 10 are the only ones in the running, based on choosing the right list and the right offer.

Who will be the winner? Assuming the 10 finalists offer comparable value, then and only then will the copywriting make a difference.

What the research says

A lot of market research over the last 30 years has produced the same conclusion. Getting the client is 40% list-building, 40% the offer, and only 20% the copy. A good copywriter will help you write a good offer, and could therefore contribute 60% to your success. But finding the right list is critical. Don’t waste your time selling lava tubes to clients who want a 5 star hotel.

Does copywriting still matter?

These are tough times. There are still plenty of people spending money, but everyone is more careful about where and how they spend it. Focusing on a narrow list is critical. (You can have multiple lists, but you need to market to each one separately.) Constructing a worthwhile offer is vital.

But then, in the end, when you’ve done all your hard work and research and you’ve made the right offer to the right market, all of your efforts can go to waste. Because when you’ve fought your way into that last handful of carefully-selected candidates, you’re competing with businesses that did all of their homework too. You’re up against the toughest and smartest competitors, and they’re going to fight you with everything they’ve got.

This is when you need a copywriter at your back.

Response Magazine often talks about a low-cost way to test your infomercial, before you spend a fortune on DirectTV.

They suggest running a long radio spot with the same or similar script that you plan to use for your infomercial. Many long-copy radio spots have been successfully morphed into high-yielding infomercials. And if your radio spot bombs, you can change the script or the concept before you’ve spent a fortune on TV advertising.

But even a simple radio ad will cost your company thousands of dollars but the priciple is useful no matter how small your advertising budget may be: It’s better to discover a failing campaign before you when the costs are low.

Since copy is the backbone of every ad campaign, along with a solid offer, you’re best off testing your copy and your offer as cheaply as possible. If it’s successful, you can invest more money to get your message out there on the expensive media.

Start with a sales letter, and make 2 slightly different versions so you can compare the response.  Maybe change the headline, or they layout, the “p.s.” at the end or the call to action.

Mail each one directly to 100 or 1,000 of your most likely prospects. Send out the different versions as an email to everyone on your list. Post them on your blog, and link a few relevant Google ads to the pages.

Track your results, and find out what works This is the time to tweak and test your message. Copy is the foundation of every effort. Once you’ve got it right, then you can re-apply it–with amplified results, over other media such as radio and TV.

I was putting the finishing touches on a sales letter, and almost didn’t use my  “secret ingredient.” But I’m glad I did. Let me share it with you. Read more…

You might have heard marketers and sales professionals, and especially copywriters, pitching the idea of a story. But they skipped one essential that can shoot your results into the stratosphere.

You see, a good storyteller does have a distinct edge in copywriting and selling. You’ll be more original, more real, if you can tell a good story. But anyone can tell a story and find a way to sew it onto their sales message. That’s the crude way of doing things.

The most savvy copywriters actually reverse-engineer their story so the sales message is embedded into every stage of the story. Here’s how it works.

First, look at your basic pitch. There are several specific statements that you want your listener/viewer/reader to believe to be true. The typical sequence goes something like this:

1. The listener has a problem or a need (you want them to believe that they suffer from this)

2. Your product can solve the problem/fill the need (you want them to believe this to be true)

3. Your product is the best way or only way to solve the problem/fill the need (you want them to believe this is true)

4. In fact, right now is the best time to solve the problem (you want them to believe this is urgent)

Now, go back to your story. Instead of just using it as an “opening” or attention grabber, find as many elements in the story as possible that support each of the above points. You might have to take some poetic license, embellish the story, or change the way you tell it.

The result is irresistable, because human beings are wired for listening to stories. Instead of just telling a story that segues into a sales pitch, your story now is the sales pitch.

This is a very advanced copywriting secret. It doesn’t take long to explain, but it’s very hard to do. Start practicing.

I just finished up the April Fools edition of “Bored Words.” It’s a joke (I hope people laugh at it), but if you read between the lines you might find it to be one of the most useful rants I’ve ever published.

However, it’s for subscribers only. Why not sign up for your FREE subscription to Bold Words? Just click here and you’ll be on your way.

Hey what’s going on here? I’m a copywriter, not a burger joint! In fact, I’m a vegetarian most of the time.

But this historic ad took some boring yet critical information, and made it funny. Ask yourself, if there’s one thing you want everybody to know about your business, what is it? And how can you tell everybody, in a way that they’ll get it, remember it, and even go around reminding others?

Maybe you would do it like this. Read more…

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You’ve just written a world-changing promotion. Time to mop the blood off your keyboard, and send your grand opus to your graphics person.

But wait! Wouldn’t a second opinion be useful?

Maybe, you think, but there’s no time. It’s 2 a.m. and this has to be ready at six. If you drag somebody out of bed and ask them what they think of your copy, you know what kind of opinion they’ll give you.

But when you can’t get a reading from somebody who loves you, works for you, or owes you money, you’ve still got a good option. Read the piece out loud.

You’ll probably find you’re a better listener than you think. Especially when you’re listening to yourself.

I find typos and grammar problems that the spell-checker missed. I dig out dead words and phrases that don’t seem to carry their weight. I may even get an idea that takes the copy in a new direction that will work a lot better, if I can stay awake long enough.

The best sales copy is conversational. That’s why one of the easiest tests is to read it out loud. I do this with all my copy. Try it, and you’ll be surprised how often you’ll find something that doesn’t sound right.

Ask me some time why some words just don’t sound right. And also why they mind not look right. Or if you’ve ever had a marketing piece that didn’t feel right, I can tell you why this happens. And how to turn it into a powerful marketing advantage.

To get ahead in business, you have to stand out from the competition. You have to do something different.
You have to be bold.

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