The Hard Truth About Direct Response Copywriting

Direct response copywriters tend to talk about direct response copywriting like it’s magic or a miracle … as if it could turn an otherwise uninterested person into a demon just jonesin ‘for their product or service.

Is not true.

Copy is not the only factor here. It’s not even the the most important factor.

Here are some factors that are just as important, if not more important, than the copy:

1) The list. Who do you send that email or letter to? Who are these people? Have they bought a similar product before? A good list is probably the most important factor of all. Even a mediocre copy will sell the product to a relevant list. A top copy sent to a top list will certainly produce the best results, but a stellar list will triumph over the stellar copy, all things being equal.

2) Passion. What is the level of passion for what you offer? Direct response copywriting works best on exciting products and services, especially those that involve instant gratification. Can the product make people thin? Or alleviate an ailment? Or inform them of something vital to their well-being? Or offer them an incredible business opportunity or a way to make money? These are the types of exciting topics that direct response copywriting works best on.

3) Frequency. It often takes multiple exposures to a new product or service to make an impact. It’s not to say that direct response copywriting can’t be sold first time; it certainly can (and has) … but overall, frequency trumps range. Assuming a good list, you want to increase the frequency as much as you can financially. Seth Godin compares marketing to sowing seeds. It is better to water 100 seeds five times than to water 500 seeds once. Wise advice.

4) The mechanics. Consider something like having a call-to-action (CTA) “in the top half of the page” (what you see first on a website or in an email … above the point where the audience would hover). Having a powerful CTA is a big part of direct response copywriting in the first place, but make sure there’s one at the top (for lead generation, at least). Otherwise, a large part of your audience will miss it.

5) Economies. Maybe a particular medium would be a great way to reach your audience … but that medium could be so expensive that it would put you out of business. Maybe it would be nice to sell to a particular audience, but you can’t reach them in an economically viable way. The economics of your situation will dictate a lot how you do it.

Now when you have these factors, copy is the variable that will give you the best results. And it takes a good direct response copywriter to get it right and provide the edge you need.

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