If you write the way you talk, and the way you talk doesn’t sell, how does anyone write copy for their direct mail marketing materials?
You learn (fast) how to get really good at proofreading for more than punctuation.
There’s nothing like writing copy to inspire humility to deliver a slap upside the head. I like to think I’m a fairly proficient
Proofreading: The fine, thin line between a direct mail marketing campaign that works and one that's going up in flames.
copywriter. Blogs, white papers, short stories, web content, video scripts…you name it, I wrote it. What I hadn’t done much of, however, was write copy for direct mail marketing materials. That’s been a whole new ball game, and like any new ball game it comes a whole new set of rules, which is why as soon as this post is finished I have to go delete an entire file and start all over again.
The good news is, once you know the rules, you can learn how to play!
Rule Number 1: Don’t say what you don’t mean.
Forget about double meanings, entendre, interpretation and reading between the lines. If you say it, your customers will assume you meant it just the way they read it. Your customer service team isn’t going to be happy if they have to pick up the slack.
Rule Number 2: Brevity is key.
Direct mail marketing materials have 3 seconds to catch your customers’ attention and less than a minute to keep it. You need to make your point and make it fast. Back story? What back story? That’s what your website is for.
Rule Number 3: If you don’t tell them to do it, they’re not going to do it.
You’ll be really, really sick of hearing people talk about a “call to action” before the end of your copywriting career. Don’t give in to the urge to stuff a sock in their mouth just to shut them up. If you don’t tell your customers to do it, they’re not going to do it. It really is as simple as that.
How did you do?
Take these rules and apply them to the last piece you wrote. How did you do? Were you close, or did you end up having to start all over again? If it’s sitting in the bottom of the trash can, congratulations. You’ve mastered the hardest part of copywriting-knowing when it’s time to throw it all out and just start over.
**Image created by Jeff Bucchino, www.WizardofDraws.com**