In my last post (How to Make Sure Your Advertising Produces) Thursday, I revealed the #1-7 of the 14 tips that make sure your advertising works. Now let’s go through the last seven, #8-14.
8.) Keep your copy lean…not necessarily short. Watch out for wordiness that distracts from the sales message. If a word or phrase does not advance the sales process, why is it there? Most copywriters like to edit their rough drafts after a day or two cooling off period. You may want to use this same approach.
9.) Keep your sentences and paragraphs short. Complex sentence structure or long paragraphs are intimidating and confusing to many people. Don’t make the common mistake of overestimating the intelligence and sophistication of your readers.
10.) You must create a sense of urgency. This can be done with discounts or bonus offers that expire within a certain time period or with extra incentives for fast response.
11.) It’s okay to compare apples to oranges. Example, this audio CD program costs only $99.00. You might easily pay $1,000.00 or more to obtain this same information by attending a seminar, plus travel costs and time away from home. But $99 is such a small sum you might spend that much or more on a nice dinner for you and your wife in a fancy restaurant.
12.) Internal repetition is an important and beneficial technique. In a given direct mail piece it’s wise to make the same several main points several different times, several different ways.
13.) Use the power of the P.S. Most direct mail copywriting pros agree that many people skip down to the P.S. on a letter and read that first. You can use this to your advantage two ways. One, be sure that your letter has a P.S. and two; make a powerful, interesting, persuasive statement in the P.S. For example, this is a good place to present the bonus offer.
14.) Become a student of advertising copy. Study all the direct mail advertising that you receive carefully and collect those pieces that you find particularly persuasive. Over a period of time you’ll begin identifying common ingredients in those pieces that you can copy in your own work.
Author Info: Dan Kennedy is internationally recognized as the 'Millionaire Maker,' helping people in just about every category of business turn their ideas into fortunes. Dan's "No B.S." approach is refreshing amidst a world of small business marketing hype and enriches those who act on his advice. 
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the reminders again. I have a piece due today and will check your list twice. I’d love to see examples of #12 about internal repetition. That one is hard for me to implement.
working hard here on
Becoming a student of advertising copy
great advice Dan
thank you
Numbers 1 through 14 (including the original post) are a virtual goldmine of advice. Any one of these tips can make your copy substantially better,and once you master all 14, you’ll be able to “write yourself a swimming pool”. Thanks again, Dan!
Yes, always create urgency…
you don’t always have to have a discount price or a coupon – but you could add a value to the offering and get people to respond by giving them a bonus if they call right away
Be one of the first 27 callers and receive a bonus of ….
or
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#14: The reason I keep every single thing GKIC floods me with!
yes Steve,
also reading and keeping all gkic stuff here,
be well,
Charles Ra
excellent article.
Issamar
PS. Isn’t using PS’s a really great way to keep the client reading after the letter is officially “over”?
I am a big fan of the P.S. at the end of a letter. It really is amazing how many people will make sure and grab that last nugget of information. Thanks for more great information!