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Bob
Bly's Direct Response Letter:
Resources,
ideas, and tips for improving response
to
business-to-business, high-tech, industrial,
Internet,
and direct marketing.
August,
2003
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You are
getting this e-mail because you subscribed
to it
on www.bly.com or because you are one of Bob's
clients,
prospects, seminar attendees, or book buyers.
If you
would prefer not to receive further e-mails
of this
type, go to www.bly.com, enter your e-mail
address,
and hit Unsubscribe.
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GET
YOUR BOOK WRITTEN AND PUBLISHED NOW!
If
you're looking to learn a system to write
and
publish your own book, this is a CAN'T MISS event.
On
August 9th, in NYC, Fred Gleeck, master
information
product marketer, will be re-recording
one of
his most popular programs on self-publishing.
This
event is ONLY for those who want to make
serious
money with their books. If your goal is
simply
prestige, take a pass on
this
event. This is about the cash!
All
proceeds from this event will be donated to
AuntMarysDoghouse.com.
The minimum fee for the event
is
$197. The highest 8 bidders will be admitted.
Take a
look at http://www.selfpublishingsuccess.com
to get
an idea of what will be covered.
If
interested, submit your bid to Fred directly
at
fred@fredgleeck.com. He will let you know if
you've
won a spot.
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3
PROVEN WAYS TO CREATE A SENSE OF URGENCY
IN YOUR
COPY
When
you encourage prospects to act now instead
of
later, response rates increase.
1. One
way to do this is to put a deadline on your offer.
Since
third-class mail takes an average of 2 ½ weeks
to be
delivered nationwide, make the deadline at least
8 to 12
weeks from the mail drop date. Alternatively,
for any
mailing that goes out September or later,
a good
deadline date is December 231.
Copywriter
David Yale recommends emphasizing that the
deadline
date is final by adding the phrase
"it's
too late" as follows: "This offer expires
December
31, 2003. After that, it's too late."
For
e-mail marketing, you can say the offer is good
only if
the recipient replies "today" or "this week."
2. If
you are not comfortable putting a deadline date
on your
mail piece, specify a time frame within
which
the reader must reply, e.g.,
"reply
within the next 10 days."
3. Or
at least make it clear that this is a
time-limited
offer. Copywriter Milt Pierce suggests
this
wording:
"But
I urge you to hurry. This offer is for
a
limited time only. And once it expires, it may
never
be repeated again."
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DO
WORDS MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
If you
believe the techies or the Internet gurus,
technology
is what sells. "Touching the customer"
at the
right point with the right content or offer is
the
key, they say; it doesn't matter how it's said
(although
they think fancy graphics are pretty important).
CRM
systems are based on this principle.
Nonsense,
of course. Copy is still king,
and
there is ample proof everywhere.
Example:
Scientists at the University of Illinois
found
that when a restaurant named dishes using
geographic,
sensory, or nostalgic labels
(e.g.,
"traditional Cajun read beans with rice,"
"satin
chocolate pudding," "grandma's zucchini cookie"),
sales
rose 27% compared to the same menu items with plain
names
(red beans with rice, chocolate pudding,
zucchini
cookies).
Source:
Reader's Digest, July 2003, p. 182
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GRAPHIC
DESIGN TIP: "PUT A BOX AROUND IT"
Why did
Microsoft design Word with a "border" feature
that
lets you put a box around any text in your document?
Why do
professional graphic designers use the same
technique
(e.g., a Johnson box in a direct
mail
letter)?
During
WW II, aircraft designers found that new pilots
often
made errors in reading legends and labels on control
panels.
By testing various typefaces, sizes, and layouts,
they
realized that drawing a box around a piece of text made
it
easier to find and to read. This
principle is still
widely
applied in signage, instruction manuals, and
other
documents.
Source:
Bill Flanagan, http://www.viewsletter.com
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ARE
YOUR CLICK-THROUGH RATES UP TO SNUFF?
According
to a panel at the MeritDirect Coop,
average
click-through rate for business-to-business
e-mail
is 2.1% -- down from 2.4% last year.
Cory
Rudl (www.marketingtips.com) says text e-mail
has
been outpulling html e-mail by up to
20% in
recent tests, a reversal of past results
where
html outpulled text by up to 20%.
Possible
reason: e-mail boxes getting saturated
with
html spam. Cory's advice: do a small test
for
your promotion of html vs. text,
then
roll out with the winner.
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AND NOW
FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
Looking
for a unique business gift for an important
client
or prospect? Try a pearl tie. These attractive
designer
ties are made out of hundreds of real,
tiny
pearls. They're a real conversation starter
– and
they look neat, too. I love mine!
Take a
look by clicking on the link below,
and
tell them I sent you:
http://www.elanpearltie.com
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A
"BOOT CAMP" FOR COPYWRITERS
You can
take your copywriting skills to the next
level –
and make every promotion you write more
powerful
and profitable – by attending
the
America Writers and Artists Institute
Annual
Copywriting Boot Camp in Florida
this
coming September. I will be one of the speakers.
For
more information click on the link below:
http://www.awaionline.com/bootcampbb
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FIND A
MAIL ORDER PRODUCT TO SELL
NOMA,
the National Mail Order Association, is
currently
holding its 2003-2004 "Made in America"
Hot
Product Contest. It's a great source of unique
and
interesting products that could be sold via mail
order
methods. You can learn about it here:
www.nmoa.org/contest
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RECOMMENDED
BOOK OF THE MONTH
In the
wake of 9/11, interest has reawakened
in
America, patriotism, and the American way of life.
Bill
Bonner, president of Agora, Inc.,
has
coauthored with Pierre Lemieux a new book,
"The
Idea of America." It explores what
America
is -- and what it means to be an
American
-- through historical writings
ranging
from Thomas Paine's Common Sense
to
selections from Thoreau, Jefferson, Mencken,
and
Twain. This is all the stuff you should
have
read in history class but didn't;
so
now's the time: To order, click on the
link
below:
http://www.agora-inc.com/reports/901SIOAB/BillyAmer/
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MAKE
$1,000 A DAY GIVING SEMINARS
If you
enjoy talking and sharing information,
then
why not have fun and make money in the
world
of public speaking? National seminar leader,
home
business expert, and "infopreneur"
Paul
Mladjenovic (www.Mladjenovic.com) will tell
you how
to realistically become successful in your
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thousands
to make money and build wealth through
highly
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3-hour
audio seminar. Email Paul at Mladjenovic@juno.com
for
complete details. Also get a free email
subscription
to Paul's wealth-building financial/home
business
monthly newsletter, The Prosperity Alert.
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60-SECOND
COMMERCIAL FROM FERN DICKEY, OFFICE MANAGER:
Bob is
available on a limited basis for copywriting
of
direct mail packages, sales letters, brochures,
white
papers, ads, e-mail marketing campaigns,
PR
materials, and Web pages. We recommend you
call
for a FREE copy of our updated Copywriting
Information
Kit. Just let us know your industry
and the
type of copy you're interested in seeing
(ads,
mailings, etc.), and if Bob is available
to take
your assignment, we'll tailor a package
of
recent samples to fit your requirements.
Call
Fern Dickey at 201-797-8105 or
e-mail
dickeybf@aol.com.
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Bob Bly
Copywriter/Consultant
22 E.
Quackenbush Ave.
Dumont,
NJ 07628
phone
201-385-1220
fax
201-385-1138
www.bly.com
rwbly@bly.com
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