Grabbers In Internet Copy

by Grain
10 replies
Dear Copywriter,

Have you tried using a "grabber" for an
internet sales page before?

Gary Halbert Letter on Grabbers

I've used it on offline sales pages before
by using bizarre and simple small objects
as grabbers...

... But I'm curious to its effectiveness in
internet sales pages.

Has anyone tried it? Results?

Thanks.
#copy #grabbers #internet
  • Profile picture of the author YourZulu
    It would be hard to implement.
    Internet users know what they want from a site before entering the site.
    AIDA - attention interest desire action
    Internet copy assumes the A-I are already taken care of. So, it's main purpose is to create desire and action.
    Incentive packages-free reports/videos and such, are the "Grabbers" of the internet.
    Any other "grabbers" would probably be recognized as nothing but spam.

    I would however, be interested in someone finding or giving an example of an effective "grabber" which would contradict my thoughts.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5701904].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author NickN
      Originally Posted by YourZulu View Post

      It would be hard to implement.
      Internet users know what they want from a site before entering the site.
      AIDA - attention interest desire action
      Internet copy assumes the A-I are already taken care of.
      What good, effective copy (Internet or otherwise) do you know of that neglects these two things?
      Signature

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5702117].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author YasirYar
        Originally Posted by NickN View Post

        What good, effective copy (Internet or otherwise) do you know of that neglects these two things?
        NickN you see usually people search their way to a site by typing their interest and they are already paying attention to the topic that is why they search. Random browsing never leads to a site. On the other hand, offline marketing such as magazines or billboards have to draw attention and interest.
        Signature

        >>>Get your websites ACTUALLY ranked by checking these out: Quantum SEO Labs, Home Page Link Building & SERP Ability. Want to get rid of negative listings? Check out Reputation Enhancer.

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5707506].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author Pusateri
          Here's a text only example.

          Let's pretend a Google search for CRM software has just brought a pilgrim to sooperdoopermegakillercrmDOTcom.

          Our pilgrim is met with a professional looking page with all the expected graphical attributes. He begins to read:

          Go to your garden and pick a daisy.

          Now seize a petal and pluck it off. "He loves me."

          Now the next one. "He loves me not."

          Again. "She loves me."

          "She loves me not."

          "They love me."

          "They love me not."

          That's how most businesses manage their customer relationships: Chance and wishful thinking. Without a plan and the software to implement it...well...you're mangling the thing you are trying to grow.




          Now let's go through it and see what's going in the reader's mind:

          He lands on the page and sees a typical professional layout. "CAUTION! CAUTION! MARKETING AHEAD! SECURE WALLET!"

          Go to your garden and pick a daisy. "But I don't have a garden." or "There ain't no daisies out there." Whatever. CAUTION! has been displaced and his mind is in the garden.

          Now seize a petal and pluck it off. "He loves me." "What's going on here?! Who is HE? Is this some kinda homo site?"

          Now the next one. "He loves me not." "That's better."

          Again. "She loves me." "Now we're talkin'."

          "She loves me not." "Story of my life."

          "They love me." "Kinky!"

          "They love me not." "Where is this going?"

          That's how most businesses manage their customer relationships: Chance and wishful thinking. Without a plan and the software to implement it...well...you're mangling the thing you're trying to grow. "I'm listening..."

          Attention has been grabbed away from CAUTION! The reader is now engaged and receptive. It's benefit time.
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5708524].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author YourZulu
    If someone goes to www hometownkarate com [probably not a real site]
    Would you not assume that "hometown karate" was not their intent? That they crossed paths with the site accidentally?
    No.
    They have already established awareness and interest.
    So- web copy, sales page or otherwise, focuses on creating desire and action.
    How? By focusing on benefits to the consumer. Yes, benefits do grab attention, and you have to bring attention to the benefits...But, none the less, they are there for the purpose of creating desire. They make you want to click the "learn more", and from there its time to focus on getting them to take action.

    I would ask you to show me effective web copy in which the homepage, or whatever is designed to grab attention.
    That's what we have SEO people for.. bringing the attention.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5702349].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Grain
      Thanks for the replies guys, here is one
      example of a grabber that Gary Halbert
      used in his letter:

      Dear Friend & Subscriber,

      Please remove the stress control biofeedback card from the top of this letter and hold your thumb on the dark rectangle for a count of ten.

      Now, remove your thumb and check the color in the rectangle to find out how stressed you are at this very moment.

      How'd you do? Are you calm, normal or tense? Or, worst of all, did you happen to get a black reading that suggests your frame of mind is about the same as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs?

      No matter. At least it's no matter if any of your stress is caused because you can't figure out how to make your direct mail more effective. You see, if you are stressed out for that reason, I want you to take the test again after you finish this letter... because... by then, your stress level should be much lower. Why? The answer is simple: You see, you are about to learn one of my main secrets for pushing direct mail response to the outer limits of profitability by the intelligent use of what I call...
      The simplest grabbers I've used offline
      are tiny or bizarre things, like a bag of
      sand or a nickel/dollar/coin.

      The one Gary used added an element
      of interactivity...

      ... And I wonder what it does to
      conversion.

      I know John Carlton used it in his
      Nickel letter (about street martial arts)
      to great effect.

      What happens if you place a bizarre
      picture above?

      I've always stayed away from curiosity
      headlines unless the competition is very
      scarce, since benefit headlines convert
      a lot more better and stay longer as
      controls.

      Just wondering if anyone has experience
      on internet copy grabbers that may not
      be conventional, but still have that
      element of interactivity.
      Signature

      Kind Regards,
      Grain.

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5703988].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Simon Ashari
    It's hard to stick a dollar bill to a website.

    If there is a good example of a grabber on a web based sales page then I'd love to see it.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5705365].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Pusateri
    The function of a grabber is not to get attention, but to change attention.

    Here's the deal: the human brain can only hold one thought in conscious awareness at a time. When Mr. Brain picks up a DM piece or lands on a sales page, that thought is, "CAUTION! CAUTION! MARKETING AHEAD! SECURE WALLET!"

    The grabber kicks that thought off the stage and replaces it with a mental image of the copywriter's design. With his defensive circuitry thus shorted, Mr. Brain is much more receptive when the the copywriter seguays into the marketing message.

    Online, a grabber is an image or sentence that is unexpected and compelling enough to push CAUTION! out of the mental spotlight.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5705497].message }}
    • Now that is the perfect definition of a grabber.



      I'm not an internet expert - but if I was to have a go at "web grabbers"

      I might try an animated graphic - possibly with sound.

      Say a balloon being blown up - then it goes bang and cascades of money flow out.

      The headline might say "Explode Your Online Profits"

      Or an animated graphic that reaches out and hands you a dollar.

      The headline might be "Here's Your First Dollar - Now Lets Make you 1000's more"

      And so on...

      Steve
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5705563].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author queen bee
    Great way to define grabber Pusateri :-)
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5707311].message }}

Trending Topics