Essential Tips For Sales Copy Success

Like everyone else, I can remember at an early age my parents telling me, “Never forget to look both ways before crossing the street.” Later on I listened as my eighth-grade teacher, Sister Mary Coleman, counseled us boys to, “Never forget that a gentleman always gets the door for a lady.” Then there was my high school football coach, Jim Morton, who urged me and my teammates to, “Never forget that there is no “I” in team.” And to this day I can still hear the resonant baritone voice of my first sales manager, Ed Harwick, saying, “Son, never forget that people don’t buy features, they buy benefits.”

With a figurative tip of the hat to these fine people, I offer five never-forgets for sales copy success. I’ll start by echoing the words of Big Ed.

1. Never forget that people don’t buy features, they buy benefits. For example, we’ve all heard the expression, “People don’t buy a post hole digger, they buy a post hole.” Now let’s say you’re a real estate agent with 20 years of experience. The fact that you’re an experienced real estate agent is analogous to “post hole digger.” But your documented 20-year track record showing that you will move a property within 36 days of listing—and move it for no less than 5% of the original asking price—is the post hole/benefit.

2. Never forget that specifics are what give your benefits power and persuasiveness. Our real estate agent has a documented track record (a paper trail to back up her claim) and a stellar track record. Without specifics your copy has no backbone, nothing to make it stand up – and stand out – in the reader’s mind.

3. Never forget that a sales letter is the most personal and direct form of advertising you will ever create. When writing a sales letter, your success depends largely on your ability to make the recipient feel as though you personally sat down at the keyboard…and composed that letter just for him.

Freelance direct mail writer Harry B. Walsh puts it this way: “The tone of a good direct mail letter is as direct and personal as the writer’s skill can make it. Even though it may go to millions of people it never orates to a crowd but rather murmurs into a single ear. It’s a message from one letter writer to one letter reader.”

Mr. Walsh suggests telling a story as one effective way of making a personal connection with your reader. That’s good advice. Take the real estate agent. She no doubt has accumulated many unique stories over the years that convincingly illustrate the benefits of her experience and expertise. And she would be wise to draw on those stories in writing her sales letters.

4. Never forget to use the magic words. In Denny Hatch’s excellent book “Method Marketing,” he writes about the time early in his career when his boss gave him a half-hour lecture on direct mail. According to Hatch, at one point his boss pulled out a column from the old Saturday Review wherein the writer, humorist Goodman Ace, listed what he considered to be the 12 most powerful and evocative words in the English language. Those words are you, save, money, easy, guarantee, health, proven, safety, discovery, new, love and results.

To these 12 Hatch adds one more—FREE—citing legendary direct marketer Dick Benson who said, “‘Free is a magic word.” Look for every opportunity to use these 13 magic words in your sales copy. Use them effectively and they will work magic on your response rates.

5. Never forget to make an offer. Yes, I know this is rather obvious. But it’s surprising how often people overlook the obvious. You should always make an offer because your offer mimics the power of the salesperson; it’s the stimulus for action.

Ernest Nicastro is president of Positive Response, Dublin, OH.