SMA Winter 2005 Newsletter

USPS Direct Mail Certificate Classes to Resume on 2/15/06
Here's an easy way to boost your direct mail knowledge: the Postal Customer Council will again present a series of 6 morning seminars starting on February 15, 2006, that will earn you the USPS Certificate in Direct Mail Marketing. If you didn't get to complete all 6 classes in 2005, you can take the classes you missed in 2006 and still earn your Certificate.
	Karen Marchetti will be presenting the first 4 classes, including:
	How to Test Your Way to Success (Testing, Tracking, Financial Analysis) on 2/15 Copywriting Workshop (expanded to a 2 ½-hour session) on 3/15 Creative Review (format, package elements, design, and entire package review) on 4/12 Offers that Sell on 5/17
For more information, visit www.sdpcc.org.

CREATIVE CORNER:
Do the Copywriting Principles of Direct-Response Apply to Web Pages?

"No one reads a web page with a lot of copy on it. I can't believe that web pages should be written the way you'd write a sales letter."

Actually . . .

	visitors to your web site won't read POORLY WRITTEN copy - or copy that LOOKS difficult to get through.
	But people are NOT PERSUADED DIFFERENTLY just because the medium is a web site.
	People do not make decisions differently, just because it's a web site.
	And the sales process isn't different, just because it's a web site.

Every medium has its nuances - television can demonstrate, radio can make creative use of sounds, mail can be highly personal, web can make information available in as much depth as the visitor wishes. But people still want to know:

Why should I do it now?

What will visitors "read"?

Part 1: 85% of them will SCAN, so . . .

Put a headline on every page
You want a headline on your home page and on every landing page, to deliver the answer to "What's in it for me?". The headline should deliver the BENEFIT (to the visitor) of your site, or of the particular topic of that page.

Use frequent subheads to help the scanning reader

Break up your copy into small pieces - so it LOOKS easy to get through. No one wants to wade through big long paragraphs. This is called, "nesting short copy within long copy." In other words, within a long sales message, you want to present your key points in small bites.

Headlines and subheads help communicate the key points to the scanning visitor. And they also help scanners locate the particular points they're looking for.

Part 2: People will read well-written copy, so . . .

Get to the point with your copy
Edit your copy to remove all the junk that doesn't need to be there. Evaluate every word for effectiveness. If you can remove a word, a phrase, a sentence - even an entire paragraph - and not weaken the selling message, you don't need those words.

If you include a lot of useless "warm-up" copy, copy that's too general (remember: specifics SELL, generalities do not), or copy that doesn't tell the visitor something they didn't know, the visitor will stop reading.

Get the "YOU" in there

Be sure you talk directly to your visitor in your copy. Copy should be written exactly the way you'd say it if speaking face-to-face. And face-to-face, you'd use a lot of "you will find", "you will save", etc. in your speech.

Copy that's written from a "what's in it for me?" perspective - with a lot of benefits, and a lot of "YOU" is easy to read, and will get read.

Part 3: The steps to the action don't change because it's the web

A sales pitch - whether face-to-face, via phone, email, direct mail, print ad, television, radio, or web page - usually begins with a "pain/pleasure" statement or question.

This "are you having trouble with . . . wouldn't it be great if you could" statement likely belongs on your home page, landing page, and product pages (in the headline, and then developed in your lead paragraph)

Step 2 is presenting the solution - you introduce your web site, your company, or your product or service solution.

Step 3 is "sizzling your solution" - by pitching all the benefits of YOUR solution, answering the question, "Why should I buy yours". Each key benefit should probably be at least a subhead.

The next step is usually building credibility and answering objections. This can be done on your web site by:

Testimonials (best woven through your site, as well as organized by topic on a separate page)
Case studies
FAQs (note: don't just present a long list of questions. ORGANIZE them by logical topic, so the scanning reader can easily find what he or she is looking for. Few visitors read every FAQ.)
Headlines and subheads that address key objections (to help the scanning reader locate the issue they're concerned with)

Finally, you want to "go for the close". In a face-to-face or telephone selling situation, the salesperson frequently will know when to wrap up and go for the order. On the web, that function is handled by:

     Order Now button
     Request your FREE (whatever) button or text link

Your response device should be in multiple locations - ideally at least once at the top of your page, and then periodically throughout your copy.

     In a face-to-face, telephone, or even a television infomercial selling situation, the salesperson will periodically go for the close. Your copy should do the same - deliver a small bite or two of copy, then include an "Order Now" or "Request your FREE" text link.

     Then deliver some additional small bites of copy, and repeat your response link(s).

     For an example of how this might work, see: http://www.examprepcentral.com

Feedback?

          Have a question you'd like addressed in this newsletter? Need clarification of something mentioned here? Do you know someone else who might benefit from receiving this newsletter?

          Email Karen at: info@smaresource.com

Are you planning for 2006?
Do you need some guidance on new directions to test for 2006? Do you need help developing your Direct Marketing plan or programs? Could your web site use a careful review? Would a planning session be helpful with your staff? Or would an in-house workshop on a Direct Marketing topic be helpful? Does your agency have a Direct Marketing challenge that you'd like some help with? Karen does: In-house planning sessions with your staff In-house workshops with your staff Review and recommendations for package, program, or web site improvement Copywriting, copy revisions, and editing Design direction Direct Marketing plan development Hourly consulting If your package, ad, program, plan, or web site could use a year-end "tune-up", contact Karen at 858-456-5894 or info@smaresource.com. Hourly rates, or by the project.
	Copyright © Strategic Marketing & Advertising, Inc. 2005. All rights reserved. You may reprint or copy or distribute "SMA Resource November 2005 Newsletter" with this copyright notice included.