Hello to my best buds! So, I was just reading some random threads on the forums (both in the copywriting forum and just around the other sections) and some of the stuff I see (especially relating to copy) is dead wrong half the time (and by half I mean "pretty much always").
Half of what I hear people say about copy is dead wrong...
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Hello to my best buds!
So, I was just reading some random threads on the forums (both in the copywriting forum and just around the other sections) and some of the stuff I see (especially relating to copy) is dead wrong half the time (and by half I mean "pretty much always").
There is one thing that just stood out to me and I want to clarify it for everyone who is getting started with direct mail or who has been doing it but wants to boost their conversion rates.
I always hear people say...
I have no idea who started the whole "Oh yah, people throw almost all their mail in to the trashcan before opening it!" rumor, but it is definitely not true.
There is only one type of mail I throw away pretty much immediately-- Credit card advertisements.... but I always open them up before to make sure I get my personal information out of there, etc. It gets opened.
The amount of mail I throw away without opening is PRETTY SMALL.
I have never heard a single person say:
"Oh, this letter has the address printed on it instead of being hand-written... Screw opening it-- I'm throwing it straight in the trash!"
or
"Oh... this letter does not have a stamp? It has a printed insigna? It must not be important-- IN THE TRASH IT GOES!"
I see people go to great lengths to make sure that their letter isn't "thrown away before getting opened."
Funny thing is, in doing that, they normally make their envelopes look 10X more like advertisements and that stigma falls in to their mind while they are skimming your letter to see what it is about.
I have seen envelopes COVERED in bright red copy that says "" or "" or "" I have seen stupid crap stuffed in envelopes. I have seen people print "handwritten" addresses on the letters in "." Blah Blah Blah, the list goes on.
Doing things like that makes the person read your actual pitch with distain. They know it is a pitch the second they read the headline and they feel angry that you said it was "Important" or "confidential." They get pissed off that you put a stupid pen or gnome or something in the envelope to get their attention and make them feel like they were getting something worthwhile.
Fun fact-- Your envelope was 99.99% sure to get opened, but in pulling the stupid stunts you did to "make sure it wasn't thrown away without being opened," all you did was make the reader feel like you "lied" to them. You lost their trust before they even read your letter.
You made them expect something important, something personal, something useful, and then you showed your "true colors" as someone who was just trying to sell them something. Now they are peeved and will read everything else you wrote (or rather, SKIM everything else you wrote) while eating scoops of salt.
Just a fun thought.
Best,
M&M
So, I was just reading some random threads on the forums (both in the copywriting forum and just around the other sections) and some of the stuff I see (especially relating to copy) is dead wrong half the time (and by half I mean "pretty much always").
There is one thing that just stood out to me and I want to clarify it for everyone who is getting started with direct mail or who has been doing it but wants to boost their conversion rates.
I always hear people say...
I have no idea who started the whole "Oh yah, people throw almost all their mail in to the trashcan before opening it!" rumor, but it is definitely not true.
There is only one type of mail I throw away pretty much immediately-- Credit card advertisements.... but I always open them up before to make sure I get my personal information out of there, etc. It gets opened.
The amount of mail I throw away without opening is PRETTY SMALL.
PRETTY MUCH EVERYONE OPENS ALL OF THEIR MAIL.
I have never heard a single person say:
"Oh, this letter has the address printed on it instead of being hand-written... Screw opening it-- I'm throwing it straight in the trash!"
or
"Oh... this letter does not have a stamp? It has a printed insigna? It must not be important-- IN THE TRASH IT GOES!"
I see people go to great lengths to make sure that their letter isn't "thrown away before getting opened."
Funny thing is, in doing that, they normally make their envelopes look 10X more like advertisements and that stigma falls in to their mind while they are skimming your letter to see what it is about.
I have seen envelopes COVERED in bright red copy that says "" or "" or "" I have seen stupid crap stuffed in envelopes. I have seen people print "handwritten" addresses on the letters in "." Blah Blah Blah, the list goes on.
Doing things like that makes the person read your actual pitch with distain. They know it is a pitch the second they read the headline and they feel angry that you said it was "Important" or "confidential." They get pissed off that you put a stupid pen or gnome or something in the envelope to get their attention and make them feel like they were getting something worthwhile.
Fun fact-- Your envelope was 99.99% sure to get opened, but in pulling the stupid stunts you did to "make sure it wasn't thrown away without being opened," all you did was make the reader feel like you "lied" to them. You lost their trust before they even read your letter.
You made them expect something important, something personal, something useful, and then you showed your "true colors" as someone who was just trying to sell them something. Now they are peeved and will read everything else you wrote (or rather, SKIM everything else you wrote) while eating scoops of salt.
Just a fun thought.
Best,
M&M
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