Question regarding John Carlton's page for SWS.

[Mike Schwenk]

So I was reading over John Carlton's sales page for his well-known course The Simple Writing System, and one thing kept sticking out.

Throughout the entire page, he is very persistent with his use of ellipsis (...). At first it was irritating, but I figured there was good motive in it.

However, what would be the reasoning behind using them so much ?

Generally, they are intended to show an ommision, but I'm guessing his intention was to help lead people's eyes to reading the next part of the text, to encourage them to continue reading.

Thoughts ? Something I'm missing ?

[Moolah_Copywriting]

I am an ellipsis addict myself -

In my experience they tend to pull the readers eye to the next line. A dash (-) would work but it creates a mental pause that sometimes defeats the purpose.

Of course you can go over board but I love the flexibility of this p-mark...

Stan

[Scott Murdaugh]

I use them a lot too. Technically they do mean there's an omission. Psychologically they're perceived as "keep reading".

-Scott

[Mike Schwenk]

Then I suppose I was correct in my assumption posted above. Just wanted to clarify. Thanks to both of you.

[Bruce Wedding]

I love ellipses for the reason you mentioned. Everyone keeps reading after an ellipse. But like all good things, use in moderation. In the letter you mention they are overused. That's the least of that letter's worries though.

[Ken_Caudill]

Originally Posted by Bruce Wedding

I love ellipses for the reason you mentioned. Everyone keeps reading after an ellipse. But like all good things, use in moderation. In the letter you mention they are overused. That's the least of that letter's worries though.

What are the rest?

[MikeHumphreys]

I'm a fan of ellipses and the long dashes. I tend to use them the same way I would if I were speaking out loud to the person reading the sales letter.

After all... It's not hard -- sometimes it's really easy -- to type like you're talking out loud.

But then I digress.

Mike

[Bruce Wedding]

Originally Posted by Ken_Caudill

What are the rest?

I'm not going to go there other than to say the deck copy is a mess.

[Jag82]

I use ellipsis...but in moderation.

I like the effect of "pause" that it creates.
Keep the suspense going.

That said, there are people that frown upon
the use of ellipsis in B2B copy.

Because it's not deemed as professional.

That's the feedback I've got. And I think
there's a point there.

So something for you to think about.

Jag

[Justin Mandel]

Hmmmmm, well I doubt that this is the proper way to be using them

In this case the question itself should be enough for the reader to continue down and keep on reading without needing anything else

Originally Posted by MarkAndrews IMCopywriting

why?...

[Jag82]

Originally Posted by MarkAndrews IMCopywriting

Words are their to inspire, to grab hold of by the throat,
shake up like an artists pallette and sometimes to throw
caution to the wind.

Your canvas can be a great piece of art... is not about
following set trends, copying everyone else to some
preset 'formula'... it's about daring to be different.

Setting a standard by which others follow.

Passion my friend, passion!

Not professionalism just for sake of it...

Mark,

By and large, I agree with you.

B2B is a slightly different beast though, where
the target audience is not the everyday
consumer. I'm talking about high powered executives,
CEOs, decision makers and the likes.

In certain niches, the audience expect a more
"prim and proper" style of writing.

If you look at Bob Bly's corporate copy, they
are written in a more serious, corporate and
in less "hype" language.

Nothing like the copy he writes for his IM list.

I remember I wrote a copy that is filled with ellipsis,
and I got it thrown back at me. And they told me
they prefer a more "professional" style. I was taken
aback. But that's how they perceive it.

There is a difference between the copy
written for the average consumers and the
one written for corporations.

Of course, it is also dependent on the
specific products being sold too.

The target audience do matter.

Best,
Jag