From the Desk of: Dumb Questions (Hurry!)

[ForeignProfessor]

What is the deal with "From the Desk of: "?

I see it in A LOT of sales letters, so presumably it works, but could anyone tell me 'why' it works?

Also, with the quotation marks for completely inappropriate things, is it just for emphasis? Or is there a deeper thing going on? I mean statements like : 'See how "I make $1000" a day!' . Why is the "how I make $1000" in quotation marks? Emphasis? Legal disclaimer? If it's emphasis, are ""s better than bold or italics or other colours?

Anyway, in my quest to understand sales letters better, these are my questions for now. I'd love some replies because these are two things which just piss me off as a reader and, apparantely, never-buyer.

[travlinguy]

Some of what you're talking about bugs me too. Quotes around headlines are said to improve conversions but they just look weird to me when it isn't a real statement.

Even so, if there's good evidence showing something works with a particular audience then it's smart to use it. I'm not so sure about the 'from the desk...' thingy. It's probably been shown to be effective too.

[Alex Cohen]

Originally Posted by ForeignProfessor

Anyway, in my quest to understand sales letters better, these are my questions for now. I'd love some replies because these are two things which just piss me off as a reader and, apparantely, never-buyer.

It doesn't matter what we as copywriters feel or think. What matters is what works.

Quotes around headlines and using "From the desk of" have proven to increase response. Do they always? Probably not. But most times, yes.

Alex

[ForeignProfessor]

Originally Posted by Alex Cohen

In your quest, remember this: It doesn't matter what you feel or think. What matters is what works.

Quotes around headlines and using "From the desk of" have proven to increase response. Does they always? Probably not. But most times, yes.

Alex

Yeah..

Well I suppose I assumed they worked, otherwise people wouldn't do them. I guess I'm curious about the psychology rather than whether they work or not. Why are these things affective? (And, if they're not, why do people do them?)

I suppose I'd say "From the desk of" makes stupid people think something is important. If that's the case, that means I'm selling to more stupid people. I don't know what I think about that.

With regards to the inappropriate inverted commas, I guess it's drawing attention to something. It's the same as bolding or italicizing but perhaps more visually attractive for buyers. I kind of see the visual appeal. But literate readers (unless in the IM niche and used to this) will discount it as nonsense when they see the ""s misused. Or maybe they won't.. maybe I'm weird for caring about misuse of ""...

[Pusateri]

On a deep subconscious level, human beings are profoundly influenced by literate furniture.

We see "from the desk of," and think to ourselves, "Ah, a communique from the enchanted writing surface of the guru. Take heed! To what secret magic has it been privy?"

I just hope these are talking desks using voice recognition software, because the idea of a desk with fingers creeps me out.

[ForeignProfessor]

Originally Posted by Pusateri

On a deep subconscious level, human beings are profoundly influenced by literate furniture.

We see "from the desk of," and think to ourselves, "Ah, a communique from the enchanted writing surface of the guru. Take heed! To what secret magic has it been privy?"

AHA! THAT'S it!

It's the talking desks!

But.. what when the reader doesn't know the guru in question? I guess it doesn't matter because a GODDAMN TALKING DESK blows any guru out of the water. Right?

Also, where can I buy a guru desk?

[Dan C. Rinnert]

Originally Posted by Pusateri

On a deep subconscious level, human beings are profoundly influenced by literate furniture.

We see "from the desk of," and think to ourselves, "Ah, a communique from the enchanted writing surface of the guru. Take heed! To what secret magic has it been privy?"

I just hope these are talking desks using voice recognition software, because the idea of a desk with fingers creeps me out.

Well, it makes complete sense.

Computers were once the size of desks.

They were even designed to look like desks so they fit nicely into an office environment.

Using the computer was a privilege. The company couldn't afford to let everyone have their own computer.

So, the computer desks were reserved to the top level executives, who stationed their secretaries at the desk.

So, people figure that if someone can afford his own computer desk with a secretary at the helm, that person must have something worth reading.

And then the computer desks became self-aware and the secretary was no longer necessary.

Neither was the executive.

And the computer desks ruled over all.

So, when a note came "from the desk of," you knew you had to read with attention, else you might miss some important detail and the computer overlords would sentence you to deletion.

And then Captain Kirk came along and gave the computer desks some contradictory illogical statement that caused them to implode, freeing us all.

However, now there's a computer on every desk and so we still retain that level of respect for notes from desks, just in case...

[Pusateri]

Guru desks...hmmmm. I smell a niche opportunity.

Seriously, I understand why quotes around a headline work. We are social animals and interested in what others have to say. The front quotation mark draws the eye and gets the headline read. I've tested that myself and find it works.

As for the desk thing, one person's important is another person's pretentious. I've never tested it and would be interested to know the results of anyone who has. I can't recall ever reading about it anywhere.

I could never use it honestly though, and "From the recliner of Mark Pusateri" or "From the booth at Dairy Queen," lack executive appeal.

[Dan C. Rinnert]

Originally Posted by Pusateri

I could never use it honestly though, and "From the recliner of Mark Pusateri" or "From the booth at Dairy Queen," lack executive appeal.

Not if you're trying to sell me a La-Z-Boy or Blizzard.

[rickjackson]

I feel like readers can see through what technique is being used on them, but continue reading none the less. It's science! Can't argue with statistics. when something works, i would suggest you jump on it!

[Nathan Alexander]

It tested better than, "From the mouth in my face:" I suppose.

[Ken_Caudill]

Originally Posted by Pusateri

On a deep subconscious level, human beings are profoundly influenced by literate furniture.

We see "from the desk of," and think to ourselves, "Ah, a communique from the enchanted writing surface of the guru. Take heed! To what secret magic has it been privy?"

I just hope these are talking desks using voice recognition software, because the idea of a desk with fingers creeps me out.

I feel guilty for using my laptop.

I had no idea.

[Ken_Caudill]

Originally Posted by Alex Cohen

It doesn't matter what we as copywriters feel or think. What matters is what works.

Quotes around headlines and using "From the desk of" have proven to increase response. Do they always? Probably not. But most times, yes.

Alex

So we can safely say they have been proven not to increase response, too.

[Alan Petersen]

Originally Posted by Ken_Caudill

I feel guilty for using my laptop.

I had no idea.

I like it... "From the lap of... "

[Reuben Gene]

Honestly, I think it may even just be a trend. One day one guru tested it out, and everyone seen it and decided that it worked. There's a lot of copying that goes on in the IM niche.

[Pusateri]

Did a little searching.

"From the desk of" was first used in 1810 as the heading for a series of essays by Charles Miner titled From the Desk of Poor Robert the Scribe. Miner is the same guy who penned the metaphorical phrase, "an axe to grind."

I know I've seen it in sales letters since the '80s. My hunch is its been kicking around in direct marketing circles a lot longer than that.

[BrianMcLeod]

Quoting a headline infers a sense of authority... it's subtle, often not registered consciously by the reader, but it's there.

From The Desk Of: is somewhat of a mimicry of old-fashioned personal letterhead.

[lconsult]

The short answer is psychology.

Ryan Deiss (Mr. 43splittest.com) and Perry Belcher (Belcher Button) are two of my favorite IMers who have done a tremendous amount of split testing to find out what works.

Checkout Ryan's blog (on Facebook) and Perry Belcher's blog on his website (perrybelcher.com) for the occasional insight as to why they think something works.

Good Luck!

[jtunkelo]

The 'from the desk of' thing is used because if we're assuming the people reading it will consider it a letter form, it needs to look like one. And to create that 'from me to you' effect that will make it feel personal, even though the reader full well knows it's not just for them. The unconscious is a funny thing. One responds to indirect flattery very well, even when we don't think we are affected.

As for the quotation marks, it comes from the newspaper world (where everything printed is considered true anyway, right?) - using the assumption that if it's a quote, it has to be true. And the rest of the story just lends that credibility. Of course it's been misused a lot, just as a technical vehicle. Even used like that, it works somewhat because we're so used to seeing it and responding to it a certain way.

Makes sense, yeah?