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The World’s Best-Kept Copywriting SecretsLearn the secrets used by masters to generate readership, reaction, and response far above the results average copywriters get. Bob guarantees you will learn to reach prospects on a deeper, more powerful level than you do right now and know how to write at a level far above ordinary copywriters.About the instructor:McGraw-Hill calls Bob Bly “America’s top copywriter.” A freelance copywriter with more than 25 years experience, Bob has written copy for over 100 companies including PSE&G, BOC Gases, Medical Economics, and IBM. He is the author of more than 60 books including The Copywriter’s Handbook (Henry Holt), cited as a “mini-classic of direct marketing” by the Direct Marketing Club of New York.
Citation preview
World’s Best-Kept Copywriting Secrets
Presented by
Robert W. Bly
for Cincom – 11/06/08
04/12/23
Here’s What NOT To Do
From: SOMER STEPHENSON To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2005 11:28 AMSubject: controversy & success, pay-per-placement PR, experts avail.
Hi Robert, Would you be interested in how a professional services firm reinvented itself to great success and
controversy? After the economy turned in 2000, Stephenson Group’s ‘banner clients’ like Oracle and Cisco took
their PR business in-house. After struggling for a few years Stephenson Group, a 13-year old public relations firm, conducted a 2-month formal and disciplined assessment of the company, its competition and the marketplace.
The process was grueling, the results dramatic: through the years Stephenson Group had added a
number of services (trade show promotion, speakers bureau, industry relations, research, etc.) that they enjoyed and were very good at, but where the company excelled and what clients most valued was generating publicity. With many former journalists on staff, the
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What We Will Cover Today:
The secret of the Big Promise. The USP: your product’s "reason for being.“ The Secondary Promise. The secret of the 4 U’s. Understanding the buyer’s Core Complex with "BDF." Reaching prospects on a deeper level (intellectual, emotional,
personal). The FAB pyramid of features and benefits. The 4 legs of the stool. The Motivating sequence. Is long copy always best? The secret of Abundant Proof. Creating a copy platform.
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The Secret of the Big Promise
“Promise, large promise, is the soul of an advertisement.”
-- Samuel Johnson
“The basis of every great advertisement is a credible promise.”
-- Kurt Vonnegut, Timequake (G.P. Putnam, 1997), p. 155
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Make a BIG
Promise.“Promise, large promise, is the
soul of an advertisement.”
– Samuel Johnson
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That’s Right – a REALLY
BIG Promise!
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The USP(Unique Selling Proposition)
1. Each advertisement must make a proposition to the consumer. Each advertisement must say to the reader: “Buy this product, and you will get this specific benefit.”
2. The proposition must be one that the competition either cannot, or does not, offer. It must be unique -- either a uniqueness of brand or a claim not otherwise made in that particular field.
3. The proposition must be so strong that it can move the mass millions, i.e., pull over new customers to your product. --Rosser Reeves,
Reality in Advertising (Alfred A. Knopf, 1961)7 World's Best-Kept Copywriting Secrets
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What’s the USP?
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Your Product’s“Reason for Being”
My product is the only onethat___________________________________________
(Does what?)
for___________________________________________(For whom?)
by___________________________________________(How?)
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Which pulled best?
A
B
ATTENTION
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Have a Secondary Promise
The danger of a Big Promise is that it may sound so fantastic that the reader does not believe it.
In that case, use a “Secondary Promise.”
The Secondary Promise is a lesser benefit that the product also delivers.
Although not as large as the Big Promise, the Secondary Promise should be big enough so that, by itself, it is reason enough to order the product … yet small enough so that it is easily believed.
This way, even if the reader is totally skeptical about the Big Promise, he can believe the Secondary Promise and order on that basis alone.
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The Secondary Promise
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The 4 U’s
1. Urgent
2. Unique
3. Ultra-Specific
4. Useful
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Rate Each Headline(1=weakest; 4=strongest)
Help where you need it, when you need it from people you can trust.
That’s a Cincom promise.
Urgent ……………………. [ ] 1 [ ] 2 [ ] 3 [ ] 4
Unique …………………… [ ] 1 [ ] 2 [ ] 3 [ ] 4
Ultra-Specific …………... [ ] 1 [ ] 2 [ ] 3 [ ] 4
Useful ……………………. [ ] 1 [ ] 2 [ ] 3 [ ] 4
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Rate Each Headline(1=weakest; 4=strongest)
Urgent ……………………. [ ] 1 [ ] 2 [ ] 3 [ ] 4
Unique …………………… [ ] 1 [ ] 2 [ ] 3 [ ] 4
Ultra-Specific …………... [ ] 1 [ ] 2 [ ] 3 [ ] 4
Useful ……………………. [ ] 1 [ ] 2 [ ] 3 [ ] 4
“Why Japanese Women Have Beautiful Skin”
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The Rule of 3 Benefits
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Beliefs, Feelings, and Desires(BFD)
ProductProduct ProspectProspect
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Does this copywriter know his audience?
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Beliefs, Feelings, and Desires
Audience/Market:
Beliefs:
1.
2.
3.
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Beliefs, Feelings, and Desires
Audience/Market:
Feelings:
1.
2.
3.
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Beliefs, Feelings, and Desires
Audience/Market:
Desires:
1.
2.
3.
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Addressing the core complex
generated a huge
response.22 World's Best-Kept Copywriting Secrets
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Deeper…
Intellectual Emotional Personal
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This is personal.
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Features & Benefits Pyramid
Appeal to OEMs, VARs, distributors, dealers, agents, engineers, designers, reps, technical evaluators, and other technical buyers.
Appeal to sophisticated and experienced users, middle managers, hobbyists, enthusiasts, experts, comparison shoppers, past buyers, professionals, frequent buyers, knowledgeable buyers.
Appeal to consumers, top-level executives, entrepreneurs, first-time buyers, end users, novices, current customers, prospects.
ULTIM
ATE
BENEF
ITS
BENEFITS
ADVANTAGESFEATURES
Appeal to consumers, unsophisticated buyers, casual users, "dreamers," opportunity seekers
What the Product is or has
A Feature Other Products Lack
What the Product Does
The "Benefit of the Benefit"
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Features & Benefits of a No.2 Pencil
Features BenefitsPencil is a wooden cylinder surrounding a graphite core.
Can be re-sharpened as often as you like to ensure clean, crisp writing.
One end is capped by a rubber eraser.
Convenient eraser lets you correct writing errors cleanly and quickly.
Eraser attached with metal band.Tight fitting band holds eraser snugly in place – no pencils ruined by eraser coming loose.
Pencil is 7½ inches long. 7½ inch graphite core ensures long writing life.Pencil is ¼ inch in diameter. Slender shape makes it easy to hold and comfortable to write with.
Pencil is No. 2. Graphite core is blended for just the right hardness – writes smoothly yet crisply.
Yellow exterior. Bright, attractive exterior – stands out in a pencil holder or drawer.
Sold by the dozen.Sold in convenient 12-pack so one stop to the store gives you enough pencils to last for months.
Also available in a box containing a gross.
Sold by the gross to accommodate the needs of business offices/schools at a substantial savings over retail.
Made in the U.S.A. A quality product. (Also, buying American-made strengthens U.S. economy.)
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Four-Legged Stool
Big
Idea
Futu
re B
enefit T
rack R
eco
rd
Cre
dib
ility
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Big Idea & Future Benefit
Future Benefit
Big Idea
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Track Record
Track Record
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Credibility
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Which leg is this?
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And this?
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And this?
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And this?
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Motivating Sequence
1. Attention
2. Problem
3. Solution
4. Proof
5. Action
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How to Save Time and Money WhenTroubleshooting and Designing Piping Systems.
Dear Engineer:
When the Harris Group, an engineering firm, had to model a piping system with300 nodes and a dozen pumps, they turned to PIPE-FLO software to help them do the jobbetter and faster.
“PIPE-FLO gave us a tool to simulate and troubleshoot the entire system,” saysTerry Gatlin, a mechanical engineer with Harris.
“We were able to find bottlenecks in the system we would never have found usingspreadsheets. I estimate we saved 150 hours on this project alone, enabling us to pay backthe cost of PIPE-FLO many times over in just the first application.”
Since 1982, more than 15,000 engineers have designed piping systems better andfaster using our proven software. And our new PIPE-FLO Version 7, with features likeautomatic import of data from manufacturers’ electronic pump catalogs, and expandedfluid tables, makes piping system design quicker and easier than ever.
You’ll like the familiar interface that looks like the PID diagrams you’re used toworking with. And you’ll love how PIPE-FLOW helps you optimize system design,eliminate bottlenecks, extend system life, improve reliability, and reduce pump size andenergy costs (see the enclosed brochure for details).
To download the PIPE-FLO demo version, go to www.eng-software.com/demonow. And if you decide to buy the software within the next 30 days, you’ll get 30 daysFREE Technical Support -- including free user training and problem-solving consultationon your current piping design project.
Once you experience the speed, power, and ease of use of PIPE-FLOW software,you’ll never go back to spreadsheets for piping system design and troubleshooting again.So click on www.eng-software.com/demo before your next piping job lands on yourdesk. You’ll be glad you did.
Sincerely,
Ray Hardy, Vice President of Engineering
P.S. Don’t want to download PIPE-FLO over the Internet? Ask for a free PIPE-FLO demo CD-ROM. Simply call toll-free 800-786-8545. Or complete and mail theenclosed reply card. Be sure to ask for our FREE PIPE-FLO video, white paper, and casestudy portfolio while you’re at it.
Solution
AttentionProblem
Proof
Call to action
Motivating Sequencein Action
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Without a Special Offer, Direct Mail Will Not Work.
ACTION
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Response = ƒ(Offer)•High Perceived
Value
•Unique
•Relevant
•Desired
OFFERS
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Position part of your product as a premium.
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Quick-Response Bonus
Have a“Premium Page”
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Determining Copy Length
Long Copy Medium Copy
Medium Copy Short Copy
High
Low
Involvement
Audience: ___________________
Product: _____________________
High LowEmotion
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Copy Intensity Grid(Degree of Hyperbole vs. Clarity)
Need I.USP Advantage vs.
Competition
II. Clear and StraightforwardWhat it isBenefits
Want III. Ultra CreativeCore EmotionDelayed product mention
IV. Moderately CreativeEmotionSell benefit
Motivation
Availability
LimitedPlentiful
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II. Needed Product, Limited Availability
•Clear•Straightforward•What it is•Benefit
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III. Want/Plentiful
•Ultra-Creative (hype)•Core emotion•Delayed product mention
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(But Not This Hypey!)
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Abundant Proof
Doubt
Proof
Doubt
Proof
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Proof
Testimonials Case Studies Years in Business Number of Customers Customer List Customer Names FAQs Demos/Free Trials Transubstantiation Bio’s
Number of Units Sold Benchmark Test Performance Method of Operation Features Publicity Reviews Documentation Facsimiles Awards Advisory Boards
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Use a “Positioning Metaphor”
Metaphor: “It’s the Rolls-Royce of __________.”
Simile: “It’s like the Rolls-Royce of ___________.”
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Transubstantiation
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Transubstantiation
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An Image…
Or a Statistic
SPIN Reality With . . .
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“Specifcs Sell.” -- Claude Hopkins
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What’s in a name?
• Pre-owned vehicles
•Who wants a fruit cake?
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Spin: Interpreting the Facts to Prove Your Sales Argument
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Spin Reality With . . . .Negative Selling
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The “I’m a Dummy” Technique
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Be Specific
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Use a Gimmick
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Offer a Money-Back Guarantee
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Go Beyond Money-Back
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Give Scientific Proof(“False Logic”)
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The Big Idea • What is the promise?• How is this product different/better than competition?• What is its reason for being?
USP (Unique Selling Proposition)1
Copy Platform
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• Who is the audience? • What is their “unvoiced fear” or “under-
represented desire”?• What lists will be used?
2 Market
Copy Platform
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• Beliefs (attitudes and principles)• Desires (wants and needs)• Feelings (emotions)
Core Complex of the Audience3
Copy Platform
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• Intellectual• Personal• Emotional
Research Prospects on Three Levels4
Copy Platform
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• System (the Big Idea)• Promise (future benefit)• Credibility• Track record
Four LEGS of the Stool5
Copy Platform
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• Format• Length• Point of view• Voice and tone
The Package6
Copy Platform
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• Price• Terms• Premiums• Guarantee
Offer7
Copy Platform
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Thank you.
Subscribe to “Bob Bly’s Direct Response Letter” at www.bly.com