The Most Overlooked Copywriting Skill Is...

Or you cheat by sending a fedex package.

Cool post.

I have an email swipe file in Gmail. It's just a folder in there... sometimes I check out what subj lines made me click... and I just add them to the swipe file.

Got the idea from Matt Bacak.

Works well for getting your brain going on writing em.

awesome post! imagination and guts. even if you have the coolest idea in mind, if you don't have the guts to use it on somebody it's still useless. thanks for putting the word out!

Imagination? Ho hum.

How about plain, old, customer research. (Not yanking out the swipe file, but getting to know the customer better).

For example, going to a museum, and seeing a customer trying to balance an item on the rim of their tray in the cafeteria, suggesting a larger tray, and seeing an instant boost in business.

Having a truly disastrous retail product (shaving mugs) selling about nothing, going to barber shops and finding out customers demand "professional tools for shaving" and turning that into the USP for an easily defined, barber shop market as a business building tool.

Applied imagination -- creativity in work clothes -- perhaps. But methinks the imagination thing is trite, pulling stuff out your ***, let's throw in a cheap gimmick thinking.

We need a lot less "Oh man, I can put my whole letter in my headline!!!!" yellow-highlighter imagination, and more innovative customer insights. Less rat-like cunning, and more human intelligence.

Don't dismiss the tested and proven.

I was always puzzled by all the "Frankly, I'm puzzled" emails I got... until I added one to my autoresponder series. That one gets the most response by a wide margin.

Yesterday I got three "Final Notices" in my inbox. I did a search and found I have 19 of them in the past 11 months (and I'm not on that many lists). Darn tootin I'm gonna have one of those when I do my product launch.

When I'm talking with customers (the ones who already paid me for something), I talk with them. Emails are conversational and have a direct purpose. They have every reason to open my emails.

But if I'm going out to my opt-in list... If a subject line worked for someone else, I'm trying it.

Today for one fo the first times ever I actually responded to an email.

Fortin and it said
"I quit"

Yeesh that hooked me good.

When I do open and email from marketer frankly it's an amazing experience because nothing short of a gun to my head will get me to open an email anymore.

Hey Folks

This is a very valid point, Alex... and for email I absolutely agree the "From:" column
is more important than the "Subject:" columnn.

However, speaking personally, if I knew the "From:" column was from a broadcast
email (i.e. a newsletter), the "Happy Independence Day, Paul!" subject would
probably NOT get me to open it... I'd simply think, "That's nice... marketer X is
sending his greetings to all his subscribers".

No need to open it.

But that's just me. (I know it's dangerous extrapolating the behaviour of a market
from the way I behave.)

Absolutely... but I guess that's my point. "Whole letter in my headline" thinking is NOT creative.

Actually, it's lazy. It may work... but it's still lazy if it's NOT the optimal headline.

More "innovative customer insights" LEADS TO more creative and imaginative ways of getting their attention and interest.

Nothing wrong with following the gurus blindly... but you have to keep in mind the critical difference:

The follower is NOT the guru. The guru can often pull off things that the follower cannot.

That's WHY one is the guru, and the other is the follower

I agree that "building the relationship" is the most IMPORTANT thing, when it comes to emails.

I guess, because I used the example of email, this thread has focused on getting attention in marketing.

But I was really talking about imagination for copywriters in general.

For someone with a list, how many "Happy [insert latest holiday], Paul!" emails is going to SUSTAIN your attention?

Speaking personally, if it came from a broadcast list I probably wouldn't open this... the subject line says it all... Guru X wants to wish me a happy holiday... that's nice of him!

Yes, if I knew that person was emailing me PERSONALLY, I'd open it. (But how many with a LIST write to each subscriber personally?)

On the other hand, I WOULD open something if it promised to reveal something NEW, INTERESTING and RELEVANT to me.

And quite frankly, that would be a challenge ...

... which would require... IMAGINATION.

Of course, I realize I'm not typical ... I'm super-fussy about who I let into my email box as well... I even have a separate email account for newsletters ... keeps my personal account much less cluttered.

So if Guru X wanted to get YOUR attention, yes they'd need to build a relationship with you... but given they'd still most likely use broadcast email... I think it would take something much more than "Happy [insert latest holiday], Paul!" to get YOU to click.

It would take... imagination.

Building a relationship takes imagination. Think of a marriage, for example ... sometimes you have to inject a little imagination and creativity there, to keep it going.

"Building a relationship" keeps you on their list. But a little imagination keeps the relationship strong.

Here's a personal observation.

I notice when I suspect someone is trying to get my attention, I shut down.

Emails especially.

But when I see something that doesn't seem like them trying to get my attention AND get my curiostity going (aka captures my imagination)...

I just might read it.

And sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised.


It take imagination to capture my imagination

One of my favorite shows is Billy The Exterminator on the Discovery Channel. It's a reality TV show that follows the antics and jobs of an eccentric yet humane exterminator.

Each time Billy is called to a scene, and as soon as he finds the vermin or insect he needs to get rid of, he screams "Oh, Maaaan!", the show fades to black, and they cut to a commercial.

You're left wondering, "Oh, my! I wonder what he found?!?!"

(After the commercial, we realize it wasn't anything shocking. Well, not most of the time, anyway. But cutting to a commercial that way, it does make you wonder, "What? What happened? What did he find?" And you're left glued to the TV to find out what he found.)

On the game show "Minute to Win It," each time a contestant is about to perform the seemingly impossible contest, especially when the prize (and the risk) is significant, a disembodied voice counts down: "3... 2... 1... <buzz!>" And they cut straight to a commercial.

In both of the above situations, it happens almost on every show. Yes, practically every show! And it still gets me every time.

This is NOT trickery. Not in my mind, anyway. What I consider trickery is only if it's:

1. totally irrelevant, or
2. an outright lie.

I don't advocate either one of these.

For example, as for #1, irrelevancy, we all know of that famous (or better said, infamous) ad where the headline says, in big, bold letters, the word "SEX!" And then the first paragraph in the ad says, "Now that I've got your attention, here's my offer..."

It's not a lie. But it's completely irrelevant. And therefore, it's misleading.

In the case of #2, where the headline is completely false, making an outright lie for the sole purpose of getting you to read and respond to the ad is misleading in the purest sense.

Why? Because the problem is, this will backfire. People will assume that, if you're willing to tell a lie to get their attention, how honest are you going to be about your product?

I saw an example of this just recently.

I received an email from a marketer who stated in the headline that he was dying. Yes, literally "I'm dying!" (The body copy said something along the lines of "... to tell you about this ad").

Now, that's trickery. Because saying you're dying is a complete statement in and of itself. Saying an incomplete statement is different because you're forcing people to read the rest to complete the idea.

But a complete statement, left alone, makes it a lie. Specifically, saying "I'm dying" means exactly what it says. And it's wrong. This is manipulation, in my estimation.

Here's where I define as "trickery." ("Trickery" in the negative sense.)

If the email came in blank for whatever reason (say some technical glitch), saying "I quit" is incomplete and you're scrambling to find out what I did quit. But saying "I'm dying" and the email is blank, that headline can stand on its own, and it's making a pretty serious claim -- you're manipulating people and their emotions.

But in my case, and in my defense, I did tell the truth. It was incomplete, and therefore it's forcing you to read the ad to find the rest of the statement. But it is nonetheless the truth.

That's the Zeigarnik Effect in action, because it forced you to find out what exactly did I quit.

If I outright said "I quit smoking," I don't think I'd get as much flak. But if I did, I've basically given you the store. I told the whole story. I have nothing left for you to read. And in copywriting, you should NEVER tell the entire story in the headline. Never.

The headline's job is one thing: to get you the read. (That's why I'm also against massive, tell-all, mega-headlines that give away the entire farm.)

So telling the whole story doesn't make sense. I could have said, "I quit this bad habit." Sure, that might be better. But I posit that not a lot of people would wonder "What habit?" Either that or they wouldn't care.

I was close to writing something like that, but the headline was too long (at least as an email subject line). I wanted something short and sweet. I wanted to be as efficient as possible, especially with email where time is crucial.

I know some of you won't agree with me. And that's fine because "trickery" is very subjective. Even though I didn't use "trickery," at least not in the negative sense, the word itself can conjure negative opinions for some people.

But a magic show uses trickery... just like Billy The Exterminator TV show I mentioned earlier uses trickery. But is it truly negative? Incomplete? Yes. Sensational? Maybe. But I don't think it was negative.

By the way, here's an article I recommend from Clayton Makepeace:

"For Sale: Dead Puppies"

How to have the right mindset to be a salesman in print | The Total Package

EDITED TO ADD: Another form of trickery I despise is when the email subject line says "Personal" when obviously it's not. That's a lie. How can it be personal when it's mass-mailed?

The Most Overlooked Copywritting skill is....One's Ability/Discipline to Research

Judging from what I see, the most overlooked skill is the ability to be concise. So many of these copy laden websites just go on and on and on with these marathon pitches. Sometimes you can say much more with far fewer words.

I think writing needs character. I believe this is important element of copywriting. You can tell a fair amount about an individual from their writing. Although, like many businesses (we are also guilty) of writing boring waffle, I think people prefer to read things that feel personal. I am coming from a small business angle.

definitely a good tip that is often forgotten.

This is a touchy subject with me, although some subject lines are very compelling, I can spot a sales pitch instantly as can most people, personally if I know the sender and am impressed with him/her I may open it and see what they have to say, otherwise I delete it. I believe a lot of marketers(Guru's included) try to sell way too often and give real value too seldom and I think some of the hyped up sales pitches that you know can't be true are insulting in a way. I believe if you tone down the sales pitch and explain the value your product has to offer and even build trust by giving away something of value to the customer that you will have a customer for life as long as you maintain the relationship on an even keel. The minute you start saying or writing something that you can't back up, you are putting this relationship on shaky ground at best. So, I think honesty and straightforward talk are the most overlooked copywriting skills. This is my opinion from personal experience.

Great Post...Imagination and creativity definitely play an important role in today's world of copywriting. If your imagination can go to any extreme then it will surely be helpful.

Imagination... the treasure all of us used to have as a kid and a victim of maturation...

when we're writing copies... let's think like a little kid again!

I actually do believe in the world of magic pills we live in and the incredible hype that never ends , Truth is truly the ultimate sales tool , Noting beats honesty , directness & being straightforward .

All the subliminal persuasion & hypnosis in my opinion isn't that good for long term , And is manipulative as well , People are stupid enough to buy into one magic pill to the next and become cynical yet still go after the dream , A real marketer is someone that doesn't look like a marketer and he doesn't sell , He tells it the way it truly is and still achieves great results short term & long term .

Hi Saladin

I understand the thrust of what you're saying ... trouble is, people WANT magic pills, fast solutions and quick fixes.

Imagine if marketers really told it the way it is.

"Hey, buy this get slim ebook. It contains all the advice you'll need to actually get slim, but guess what.. there's a 97% chance you won't use it ... you'll read a chapter, not bother to implement it because you're too lazy and you prefer to DREAM about being slim rather than put in the darned effort ... still be fat in a month or so ... and then you'll be on the lookout for the NEXT best get slim ebook ... all the while probably GAINING a few pounds, making your next ebook purchase even easier.

That's the honest truth, buy now. $19.95."

Do you think marketers should tell it EXACTLY the way it is ... ?

I thought exactly the same a long while ago not only regarding copy writing but also regarding dating being indirect just like all sales letter are like .

But it turns out you just attract tons of people with such a thing and not the type of people you want at ALL , And you end up frustrated with the results ,But obviously the one that applies that deserves it coz he wasn't honest with them from the start .

If you're radically honest with people they like it , They love being kicked in the butt and awakened , No body does that unless he knows what he's talking about, It either pisses them off or they LOVE it coz it's a breath of fresh air , And the marketer is honest & truthful which is probably incredibly rare , Which of course provides an element of controversy even though it's truthful .

Now it doesn't have to be like the way you mentioned it , The problem with people not taking action is the lack of research of most of these people that make these products , Almost none talks about the mindset & beliefs which is the most important thing in doing almost anything in life , And they just get into Copycat mode , Telling them how they did it and ignoring the fact that these people are different .

Not including the fact that most of these products are made up mostly of research not true life experiences , This is why they sell it so cheap and on a long term basis it sucks .

If there's one book that really drives that point home with incredible example it's "No Lie : Truth is the Ultimate Sales Tool" which you can read here on google :

books.google.com.eg/books?id=-bk2FjXFHq4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=truth+is+the+ul timate+sales+tool&source=bl&ots=EkLrXoS3nj&sig=tza XE1rpo_YWEDlgxSkh5x5sG0E&hl=en&ei=1V9KTNeMEIiCOITs uZYD&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0C B4Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false

You'll find inside some examples that are nuggets of GOLD , Saying the absolute truth and still getting SO MUCH money for it , This is marketing at its best , Effortless .

And "Radical Honesty" is also amazing .