There are five powerful techniques that will add
compelling strength to your sales copy. I'm even
going to tell you a hidden benefit technique.
But first, a word of caution: When these techniques
are properly applied, they are the most powerful
marketing strategies in the world bar none. You stand
a good chance of increasing sales so much that you
may experience order fulfillment challenges. Be sure
you can promptly fulfill the extra orders you are
bound to generate!
Magic Technique #1 The Single Most Compelling
Benefit
The strategy I’m about to reveal to you has to do
with your headlines. First, let’s do a quick review
of the process of creating them.
Study your product. Write down all the obvious
benefits (from the prospect’s point of view) on 3”
X 5” cards. Write as many as you can. Often,
you’ll have the best headline you could ever find
from this procedure. If so, prepare your ad with
the obvious benefit headline.
You’ll also want to try creating a hidden benefit
headline to test against the obvious benefit
headline. You can find the hidden benefit by
answering this question: "If I had unlimited God-
like power, what would be the single most compelling
benefit my prospects would like to gain from my
product?"
The hidden benefit has nothing directly to do with
the product itself but the answer to the previous
question can become your most powerful benefit and
thus your headline, as well as the main theme of your
offer. Just make sure your product actually delivers
on the headline’s promise.
By using this special strategy, I’ve written some of
the most successful headlines in direct marketing
history.
Magic Technique #2 Add power to headlines
Studies show that an ad headline draws 28% more
attention if framed in quotation marks! The ad
appears much more important because it gives the
impression that someone is being quoted. This makes
it more riveting, and more likely to be read. And
that is your first task – to get it read. If the ad
is not read, you have no chance of making a sale.
Magic Technique #3 Ask for the order
Unsuccessful marketers are reluctant to ask for the
order. For any offer to be successful, you must be
clear and explicit as to how you ask for the order.
Include every detail, even if it seems obvious to you.
Make it easy for the prospect to buy. It’s also
important that when you ask for the order, the
prospect should have been primed for the close.
The sequence of presenting copy elements (and hot
buttons) is crucially important.
In your sales letters, you must wait until the end to
reveal the price and ordering instructions. This puts
them in the proper frame of mind to buy because you
would have given all the benefits and particulars
your prospect needs prior to asking for the order.
If your offer includes a brochure and an order form,
separate them from the letter. This strategy will
increase response. If you’re using direct mail, put
the brochure and order form in a sealed envelope. On
the outside of the envelope, print the following:
"Please don’t open until you have read my letter."
If your sales letter is online, include a link to a
separate order page.
Magic Technique #4 Typefaces are important
In direct mail, headlines should be in Times-Roman
font, serif, or sans serif typefaces. The body copy
should always be Times Roman. Reason? On the
written page, it’s easy to read. Never use a sans
serif typeface in body copy.
On websites, the sans serif typefaces such as Arial
and Verdana seem to work best because they are more
inviting to read in a sea of cyber-clutter.
Strive for an editorial look. The ad should appear
similar to an article in the publication in which
your ads will run. I call this format an
"advertorial." Five times as many people read
editorials than messages that scream out, "I’m an
ad!" If an advertorial is prepared in a way that
lends credibility, it can pull up to 500% more
in sales!
Magic Technique #5 Pricing your product
Here is a really powerful tip that will increase
your profits. You may have noticed that the price
of my books and tapes ends in 7. There is a good
reason for this. Remarkably, with the same copy
and offer for any given product, I have proven
time and again through testing that you can
increase sales simply by changing the price to
one ending in the number 7.
Recently at a seminar wherein I spoke, my co-
speaker, Gil Good (in charge of promotions for
The Wall Street Journal for many years), discussed
that subscription offers ending in 7 out-pulled all
others. At my last seminar, an attendee, a
biblical scholar, pointed out the number seven was
often used in the Bible. Remember the phrase,
"70 X 7"? Seven may be a number that is truly
blessed! The most effective magazine subscription
offer, made many years ago, was by Life Magazine –
and its price was $7.77.
Test price this way: If your current price is
$19.95, try $19.97. If you now sell at $69, test
$67 or $77; or if your price is $99, try $97, etc.!
About the Author
Ted Nicholas, widely recognized as one of the
greatest direct marketing wizards of all time,
is best known for having earned 24.5 million
dollars on the sale of a single book which was
primarily sold through direct mail.