Focus Great Effort on Your Offer

Gary Halbert called himself "The Greatest Copywriter on the Planet." Was he being arrogant? Awfully. Could he prove it? Probably not. Was he being truthful? Most likely.

Some of you long time marketers will remember Gary as a storied copywriter and marketing legend. He wasn't shy about giving himself the crown as the best copywriter alive.

But what I want to share today is not about copywriting ... it's about creating your offer.

Something Gary said maybe 15 years ago has stuck with me for all these years. So I went back to his newsletter (copies of which I keep on file because they are so helpful) in order to dig out the exact wording of his suggestion. Here it is:

"Your offer (think of it as a business proposition) is by far the most important element in the entire sales message."

"You should think about how to 'sweeten' your offer ... Think about what you are selling. How would you like to buy it? Would you want a free trial? A huge and legitimate discount? Easy payments? A money-back guarantee? Would you like a free gift with your purchase like a color TV or a toaster oven? A night on the town with Kim Bassinger or Paul Newman? A free Florida vacation?"

"Know this: strong copy will not overcome a weak offer but ... in many cases, a strong offer will succeed in spite of weak copy written by marketing morons!"

Gary went on to say that writing the ad or sales page copy "is less than 1/10 as important as learning to think about new offers and getting them down on paper ..."

"I can't say it often enough or strongly enough..."

"It is the deal ... the offer ... the proposition you are making that is the heart and soul" of great marketing!

I hope this little tip will help you sell more,

Steve