Direct Marketing isn?t all Brute Force

There are so many metrics surrounding direct marketing. So many facts, figures, test results and other sundry measurements.

It's tempting to think the only thing that matters with direct marketing copy is to get the tried and tested elements in place.

If that were the case, you would be able to buy DM copywriting software.

You would just enter a few lines of information about your product - price, offer and audience - and the software would draw on a database of thousands of previous, proven DM letters and ads. Press Enter and you would have near-perfect copy delivered to your screen in the blink of an eye.

Sounds cool, eh?

The trouble is, the 'metrics' approach to direct response writing ? whether written by you or a machine - limits your potential considerably.

One major attribute of every good direct response piece is how it touches its audience at a personal level. Great DM speaks to us as individuals. It touches our hopes, fears and ambitions. It makes us feel, it makes us 'want'.

And by that, I'm not talking about the 'smack-em-in-mouth' approach. As in, "If your life isn't insured, your children could end up on the streets". Or, "Get out of debt in 30 minutes". I don't think our industry is served well by manipulating the fears of decent people. Or over-promising in any way.

>> An example of DM copy that touches the reader

A long time ago I was given the job of beating a control brochure that was selling a book on the subject of US forces in Vietnam.

I changed nothing except the captions under the photos.

I remember one photo that showed an American 'Tunnel Rat' about to enter one of the Viet Cong's tunnel systems. A scary job, to say the least. The existing caption said something like, "At the entrance of a tunnel system".

There are two things wrong with this caption. First, it is redundant, telling you nothing the photo itself doesn't already communicate. Second, it fails to 'touch' the reader in any way.

It's a long time ago, but my rewrite was something like this, "Tunnel Rat tenses before plunging into the darkness".

What I wrote was probably much better than that. I spent a lot of time on that brochure. But hopefully you get the point. What I did was use words that said something the photo alone didn't express. I also put the reader in the mind of the soldier. To some small degree. I simply wrote in a way that engaged the reader's emotions.

Good DM writing does that all the time.

And yes, the new brochure beat control.

>> How this applies to the Web

When it comes to touching your reader on a personal level, the web offers more opportunity and potential than any other mass medium. Online, people respond immediately and positively to any sense that a web site has a personal voice. People love that someone is 'there'.

Where can you add these personal touches? Where can you reach people on an emotional level? Just about anywhere in the text. In headlines, subheads, body text or links.

(By the way, don't start writing captions for all the images on your site. In a print brochure people generally look at the photos first, and then read the captions second. Not so online. Visitors to web sites look at the text first. They want to know if your site will give them what they are looking for.)

You'll be most successful with this personal approach if you use a light touch. Put the verbal hammer and exclamation points away. There's no need to shout. Just make sure the text sounds like it was written by a living, breathing, feeling human being. Don't just state the facts...write in a way that touches the reader's emotions. Help them feel it, not just read it.

Things really begin to fly when you combine the proven principles of direct marketing with the personal potential of the web.

Nick Usborne is a copywriter, author, speaker and advocat of good writing. You can access all his archived newsletter articles on copywriting and writing for the web at his Excess Voice site. You'll find more articles and resources on how to make money as a freelance writer at his Freelance Writing Success site.

---

Google News Updated : Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:33:37 GMT It's splitsville for Paris Hilton and Benji Madden - New York Daily News Sydney Morning Herald It's splitsville for Paris Hilton and Benji Madden New York Daily News - 58 minutes ago BY OLGA BOYKO Paris Hilton and her boyfriend of nine months, Benji Madden, just couldn't hack it together. You better hide your boyfriends, ladies, because Paris Hilton is single again. Paris Hilton splits with Benji Madden Boston Herald Paris Hilton and Benji Madden Split Up People Magazine MTV.com - Actress Archives - The Associated Press - E! Online all 454 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:35:33 GMT Ariz. Governor Said to Be Pick For Homeland Security Post - Washington Post Arizona Capitol Times Ariz. Governor Said to Be Pick For Homeland Security Post Washington Post - 1 hour ago By Spencer S. Hsu Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D), a border-state governor whose handling of immigration and homeland security issues brought her accolades from fellow governors, is President-elect Barack Obama's choice to serve as secretary of ... Napolitano may be Homeland Security pick Arizona Republic Obama taps Arizona Gov for homeland security - CNN Reuters Arizona Daily Star - MLive.com - Arizona Capitol Times - East Valley Tribune all 98 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 20 Nov 2008 05:43:07 GMT Solomon: Rockets loss to Mavs bound to repeat - Houston Chronicle Washington Post Solomon: Rockets loss to Mavs bound to repeat Houston Chronicle - 1 hour ago By JEROME SOLOMON Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Sorry, your version of Flash doesn't support this video. Please download the latest version at adobe. Rockets' Yao Sits Out With Sore Foot Washington Post Road to victory: Dallas Mavericks top Rockets, 96-86 Dallas Morning News The Associated Press - Sports Network - Bleacher Report all 503 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:05:27 GMT Global stocks hit 5-1/2 year lows - Reuters Boston Globe (registration) Global stocks hit 5-1/2 year lows Reuters - 1 hour ago By Rafael Nam HONG KONG (Reuters) - A rout in Asia pushed world stocks to their lowest in 5- years on Thursday, while oil fell to below $53 a barrel and safe havens such as the yen gained as economic data indicated a global recession could get even ... Asia markets follow US share drop BBC News Asian markets extend world rout on recession fears The Associated Press MarketWatch - AFP - CNNMoney.com - Wall Street Journal all 721 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 20 Nov 2008 05:59:08 GMT GIANT DISCOVERY: PSU researchers map woolly mammoth's DNA - Centre Daily Times guardian.co.uk GIANT DISCOVERY: PSU researchers map woolly mammoth's DNA Centre Daily Times - 30 minutes ago By Anne Danahy Scientists at Penn State have become the first to sequence the genome of an extinct species, using hair from the woolly mammoth to create a map of the long-dead animals’ DNA. Woolly Mammoth Genome Sequenced InformationWeek Scientists Reconstruct Most of Woolly Mammoth Genome Washington Post The Associated Press - Wired News - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - National Geographic all 286 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:03:05 GMT The BlackBerry Storm: Your Top 20 Questions, Answered - PC Magazine stv.tv The BlackBerry Storm: Your Top 20 Questions, Answered PC Magazine - 45 minutes ago by Sascha Segan I re-ordered the questions by theme, and eliminated a few duplicates and a few that I still can't answer. (Battery life tests can take days. The Storm vs. the iPhone BusinessWeek BlackBerry's Storm: Awkward and Disappointing PC World CNET News - Reuters - Computerworld - The Associated Press all 224 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:48:37 GMT Roger Goodell reinstates Adam ’Pacman’ Jones - Boston Herald CBC.ca Roger Goodell reinstates Adam ’Pacman’ Jones Boston Herald - 1 hour ago By Herald wire services Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said yesterday the suspended cornerback has been reinstated by league commissioner Roger Goodell, but he must miss two more games, this Sunday and the following game on Thanksgiving. Pacman, Terence Newman help renew Dallas Cowboys’ secondary plan Fort Worth Star Telegram Pacman reinstated, but can't return until Dec. 7 The Associated Press New York Times - FOXSports.com - Orlando Sentinel - Chicago Sun-Times all 524 news articles Publ.Date : Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:00:53 GMT Make Money With Blogs RSS For Web Pages

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

How To Find the Best Merchant Account For Your Business

What a great idea! Start accepting credit cards and watch... Read More

7 Suggestions for an i-Mom Friendly Web Site (e-commerce news and statistics)

The Internet began as a male dominated medium, but those... Read More

The Five Most Commonly Encountered, Off-putting E-commerce Errors

While getting less public handwringing than during holiday season, the... Read More

Online Business- What Makes It a Success!

Only a few manage to sell everything under the sun... Read More

eCommerce Software Solutions

All of the long, grueling nights and an unknown number... Read More

Internet Merchant Accounts For Innocents Abroad

If you want to sell on the internet, your need... Read More

Why This Is The Perfect Time To Start Charging For Website Subscriptions

If you're a writer, researcher, subject matter expert, enthusiastic hobbyist,... Read More

Is ClickBanks Popularity Drawing To An End?

ClickBank is the Internet's most popular payment processor for online... Read More

Accept Credit Cards Online Without a Merchant Account

There are two major ways to accept credit cards on... Read More

What Does It Take to Make Money Online?

What a loaded question! Let's narrow that down a bit... Read More

How to Get Free Internet Merchant Accounts

This article will show small businesses how to get free... Read More

Is It Easy to Build An E-commerce Web Site?

--Online Commerce--E-Commerce website is all about selling products and services... Read More

Bringing the World to Your Door

According to Internet.com, by the year 2008 nearly 30% of... Read More

Shop: Is Shopping Online Secure?

Is shopping online becoming popular and safe enough for you... Read More

Grow Your Business Using B2B Emarketplace - Part I

If you are a small to medium size company and... Read More

How To Sell Websites Fast !

This article will explain in depth the steps needed to... Read More

Looking For Free Advertising, Here It Is!

There are lots of ways to advertise for free but... Read More

Ecommerce Comes from Customer Satisfaction

Online shopping is convenient, but many companies whose web sites... Read More

Government Buying and Selling on the Internet

Global Insight, a leading economic and financial forecasting company, (formerly... Read More

Intranet Portals ? Search and Taxonomies

Knowledge Management for beginnersKnowledge Management (KM) can be defined simply... Read More

Say Something Worth Talking About

I recently published a short e-book called 'One Thing I... Read More

Is Your Website Credit Card Friendly?

In my last column I discussed the process of credit... Read More

How To Prevent Your 3rd Party Merchant Account From Suspension

What would you do if you were sent an email... Read More

Projecting Your Image

Whether you sell a product or merely sell time to... Read More

Intranet Project Names - Some Ideas

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose... Read More