The Power of Prose

Whatever media outlet you frequent, it's likely filled with relentless prognostications of doom and gloom. High gas prices…home mortgage foreclosures…I could go on and on.

As reported here last issue (“On the Rebound,” August), marketers must focus on DM basics and employ emotional appeals if they want to succeed in a tough climate. But there's another fundamental you can't forget: copy.

When crafting mailing pieces, print ads or Web banners, you have to focus on the specific words you choose to get your readers involved. This will stimulate them to overcome reluctance — and respond the way you want them to.

POSITION IT RIGHT

• A rose, with a different offer positioning, would smell even sweeter

  With apologies to Shakespeare, let's remember that offer positioning is responsible for at least 30% to 40% of any direct program's success. You can't afford to be lazy. You can't get away with doing the obvious thing simply because it's what you've always done or because it worked in the past. “Thinking outside the box” is a cliché, but that's what you have to do when positioning — or repositioning — offers in difficult economic times.

  For example, look at what the car companies have been up to recently. With dealer lots full of gas guzzlers and no expectation that the unprecedented oil prices will go down anytime soon, the tried-and-true “rebate” approach to traffic generation has lost much of its pulling power.

  So how to move the unmovable? Instead of offering, say, $2,500 back at the time of purchase, why not capitalize on the current consumer mindset with this: Guaranteed $2.99 gas for three years! The buyer saves about as much as with a traditional rebate but the perception is entirely different. And you can bet the response will be, too.

  Granted, the automobile business is in a bad way even by comparison with the rest of the economy, and drastic marketing innovation is needed. But anyone selling anything these days had better be prepared to look at alternative offer positioning — even when an item is considerably more mundane than a shiny new car.

  Then consider the humble magazine subscription. Let's say a publisher is faced with stagnating sales and needs to generate new subscriptions immediately. The magazine normally offers 12 issues for $48. To juice subscription sales, the marketing team decides to run a promotion offering 12 issues for $24 — a hefty 50% savings.

  CHOOSE YOUR WORDS CAREFULLY

  Would you believe there are at least six different ways to position that offer? Which of these options would most likely prompt you to subscribe?

• Present the savings as a percentage

  Get 50% off now, when you buy a one-year subscription.

• Present the savings in monetary terms

  Save $24! Buy The Kern Monthly at half the price of a full year's subscription.

• Present the value over time

  Save $2 a month — a total savings of $24 — when you subscribe today.

• Present the quantity of savings

  Get six issues FREE of The Kern Monthly… or Get 12 issues for the price of six.

• Present the minimal cost over time

  Get 12 issues of The Kern Monthly for less than 7 cents a day… or Get 12 issues for just $2 a month.

• Present the new cost per unit

  Now just $2 an issue (regularly $4).

Most readers probably will have to remind themselves the savings are exactly the same in all six. All of which supports the theory of copywriting guru Herschell Gordon Lewis, who notes that good salesmanship is a combination of communication and psychology. The action we take as consumers is a psychological reaction to what the copy is telling us to do. No logic involved. Well, not much, anyway.

One of Lewis' favorite rules to write copy by is the “generic determination rule,” which maintains people react more to the generic form of something than they do to its numeric form. Which is why one month (generic) seems longer to folks than 30 days (numeric). Half an hour seems longer than 30 minutes. One pound seems heavier than 16 ounces. Conversely, 60 minutes seems like less time to wait around than one hour. And 4 ounces of food seems like a smaller portion than a quarter pound of the same serving.

This means if you want to position an offer as delivering something that's comparatively less or shorter, you'd be wise to express it in its numeric form. (Example: In just 60 minutes, you'll have all the answers you need.) If, on the other hand, you want to present an offer as delivering something more or longer, you'll want to couch it in generic terms. (Example: We'll spend an hour together reviewing your issues.)

Nowhere is this dichotomy brought into sharper relief, as it were, than in the promotion of pain medication. Consider the following choices:

• Get fast headache relief in just 1 minute! vs. Get fast relief in just 60 seconds! Doesn't 60 seconds sound much faster then a minute?

• 24 hours of pain relief vs. Relief from pain all day long. While 24 hours sounds plenty long, “all day” is the relief I'm reaching for.

• In just under an hour you could be skiing! vs. In less than 60 minutes you could be on the slopes! OK, these offers are more about stress relief than pain relief — but if you tell skiers they could be on a chair lift in less than 60 minutes, you've definitely got their attention.

“Apt words,” wrote the poet John Milton, “have the power to suage the tumors of a troubled mind.” They didn't call 'em recessions in Milton's day, but hard economic times troubled the minds of consumers in the 17th century just as they do today. “Apt words” are what the direct marketing writer uses to offer hope, delight, praise, joy, relief, safety, wealth and warmth — easing today's troubled minds and motivating even the most reluctant consumers to take us up on our offers.

The challenge is to do it quickly. Very quickly.

Milton never had to write an outbound e-mail. Thus, he doesn't have much to offer on the subject of what words are most apt to drive clicks, move readers deeper into a Web site or create instant involvement with a sales or promotional message. For that, we must borrow from the proven techniques of classified-ad writers. These old-school types knew how to dangle the promise of salvation in a four- to eight-word headline and generate thousands of responses from a column-inch of agate type.

One company that knows exactly how to write “salvation” copy is medical information provider WebMD. To see what I mean, consider the hope and promise laden in these short, quick headlines:

• 7 Pains You Shouldn't Ignore
• 11 Secrets All Men Keep
• 10 Surprising Health Benefits of Sex
• The Flat Belly Diet
• Sex Myths vs. the Facts
• 5 Things Super-Happy Couples Do Every Day
• 12 Embarrassing Body Problems
• 10 Ways to Catch a Liar

What do these eight headlines have in common? In just a few, very appropriate words they call out to readers, while at the same time extend the promise of relief, hope and even inspiration. They offer a promise to the target audience that their woes can be reduced, if only they'll visit, call or click.

In television, perhaps no personality is more inspirational to her fans than Oprah Winfrey. Oprah's vibe can be felt in this headline from a recent O magazine acquisition campaign: “You're invited to join us on the most exciting and joyful journey of your life.” Well, who wouldn't want to go on an exciting and joyful journey? The solicitation goes on to employ powerful phrases such as:

• Banish bad habits.
• Paint a new beginning.
• Put pleasure in your date book.
• Forge family bonds.
• Plug into power.
• Claim your pretty free tote bag.

The words in bold italics are particularly powerful because they're vivid. They add richness and color that conjure images in the mind's eye that encourage an emotional response.

Some of the most “apt” words you can deploy are words you might consider hackneyed. Personally, I'll consider them hackneyed when they stop working. In the meantime, sprinkle your sales copy with words such as “value,” “savings,” “safety,” “guarantee,” “no-risk trial,” “best deal,” and of course that all-time favorite, “FREE.”

And don't forget to use words that drive action. Make sure your headlines and subheads are directive, using language like “try,” “go,” “get,” “call,” “now,” “today,” “hurry,” “don't miss out,” “limited supply,” “waiting for you” and “reserved just for you.”

Overcoming consumers' fears, reluctance and hesitation is never easy — and in a recession it's that much harder. Not impossible, just more challenging. But it can be done, provided you practice your trade with diligence, innovation and skill. Whatever you do, don't lose your optimism. John Milton wrote “Paradise Lost.” But he also wrote “Paradise Regained.”

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RUSSELL KERN (Russell@thekernorg.com) is president of The Kern Organization, a DM agency in Woodland Hills, CA. This is the second of two articles about marketing in a down economy.