Serious Copywriting Question: John Carlton vs Chet Holmes

[YonghoShin]

Master copywriters,

I have a question for you about the approach to copywriting.
John Carlton's philosophy is to niche, to find the 1 message that'll resonate with 1 market. For example, he'll target golfers who have back pain and want longer drives, and write a message JUST for that market.

Chet Holmes' philosophy is to broaden a sales message to also capture people who aren't even remotely interested in buying. For example, if you sell seafood to restaurant owners, rather than writing a message like "How Seafood Helps Your Restaurant", he will write a message like "The 7 Ways Your Restaurant Is Losing Profits", then make "seafood" the solution to your profit problems.

They seem to be on opposite ends of marketing philosophy (niche vs broaden). And they're both highly successful. John Carlton's ads bring in $100MM+, Chet Holmes used to work for billionaire Charlie Munger.

What's the right approach?

[Drez]

They are both solving problems facing the markets they are selling into.

Don't confuse the hooks being used with an overall approach to writing copy or marketing.

For the John Carlton golf example you mention he may address a desire to hit drives farther and straighter than your buddies.

I your seafood example the problem is losing profits. It could have easily been something else - like attracting new customers.

No matter what you've got to solve a problems, need or desire of you prospect or customer.

[LemonSqueezy]

What's the right approach?

That is like asking what is the best book to read or which driver is best for golf. 99% of the time there isn't one solution that is best, it is an array of solutions that work. As long as the information you provide is relevant then it doesnt matter who you write for or how broad. The real key to both of them is how they select their target, not what that market actually is.

[RickDuris]

Actually, most entrepreneurs I know would try as many strategies as they could.

Then, out of that process, they'd create a mash-up of the best parts and then fine tune/course correct into a successful piece/campaign.

For instance, there's a rather well-known marketing consultant who, when you start working with him, will have you test a dozen ideas or so right out of gate.

Some are tried and true, some may be viable, and some are off the wall.

Some work. Some don't. Hopefully one knocks it out of the park.

It's called "throwing enough spaghetti at the refrigerator to see what sticks".

Both John's and Chet's strategies work... however...

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If you HAD to pick between one or the other, John's would be more success-certain for someone new. Here's why.

Chet's strategy gets people invested in the content for reasons DIFFERENT than what the company does.

In other words, he uses a broad brush presentation like "Ten Ways Dentists Can Profit in a Down Economy" and one of those ways buried within the ten happens to be " Cut Costs of Dental Implants" -The presentation is like a Trojan horse.

The other nine ways are nice to know, but what's really being sold to dentists are dental lab services--the people who make crowns and implants and such.

And that means you gotta get people to "turn the corner" which is hard when they are looking for something specific.

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Now please, don't get me wrong, Chet's way WORKS. I've seen it work. I've done for myself. But there is A TON of thought, research and preparation that goes into it.

In my case, I would conduct a presentation at IT-oriented trade shows called "The Seven Secrets of Successful Systems Integration." All presentation points were strong, but one had to do with using consulting services (my company).

- Rick Duris

PS: If you're interested in finding out more about Chet's approach, here's another example: There are nutritionists and dietitians writing white papers on the benefits of new USDA Food Plate. But what they are really marketing are their services.