Get Your Reader To Act Now
A big part of the battle when writing marketing copy on your web
site, your print ad or your direct mail piece, is to get the
reader to act right now. If they delay, you have probably lost
them.
So how do you get someone to stop what they are doing, pull out
their credit card and buy your offer immediately? Let me share
some of the formulas I use when writing marketing pieces:
· Scarcity. Nothing motivates like limited availability.
When the next Rolling Stones concert goes on sale, you know that
it will be compeltely sold out within hours, so you must act
fast if you want to hear Mick and the boys do Jumpin Jack Flash.
· Premiums. Remember the old Ginzu Knives commercials,
"but wait, there's more" ? They kept adding on one extra after
another if you acted right now. By the time they had added on
about three or four extras, you felt that you couldn't afford
not to order right away.
· Deadlines. Put a time limit on your offer and you will
seldom fail to see an increase in your response
Pulitzer-Winning Cartoonist Paul Conrad Dies
Paul Conrad took on U.S. presidents from Harry Truman to George W. Bush, mostly in the <em>Los Angeles Times</em>, where he worked for 30 years. He was fierce in his liberalism and expressed it with a stark, unmistakable visual style.
Victory At Marathon Saved A Lot More Than A Race
The story's a classic: An outnumbered band of Athenians pushes back theĀ mighty Persian army. But the battle of Marathon, 2,500 years ago in ancient Greece, left a legacy that extends far beyond the name of a famous race. Historian Richard Billows explores the legendary battle in his new book, <em>Marathon: How One Battle Changed Western Civilization</em>.
rates.
· Discounts for fast responses. Have you ever received an
offer for a seminar that gives you on price if you pay at the
door, a lower price if you pay two weeks before the seminar and
an even lower price if you pay two months early? Guess what,
early bird discounts work very well with all kinds of offers.
Next time you need to bump up your response rate (and when don't
you want to increase the number of responses?) try one of these
ideas to increase the urgency of your offer, and get them to act
now.
COPYRIGHT (c) 2005, Charles Brown
About the author:
Do you need to turn the written word into profits? Charles Brown
is a freelance commercial writer located in Dallas-Fort Worth
area, who is available to help write professional web content,
organizational newsletters, direct marketing material and other
copywriting projects for business and non-profits. Put Mr. Brown
on your team today. Visit him at
www.bizwriterstudio.blogspot.com or you may contact him at
817.715.3852 or charbrow@gmail.com.
|