Free artwork templates for leaflets, flyers and other printed stuff

I get a lot of enquiries about artwork templates. So, I've pulled together a load of useful templates in eps, jpg and pdf formats and posted the links below for all you lovely people. Happy artworking!

Flat Leaflets / Flyers
A4 Leaflet / Flyer (210x297mm)
A5 Leaflet / Flyer (148x210mm)
A6 Leaflet / Flyer (105x148mm)
A7 Leaflet / Flyer (74x105mm)
1/3 A4 Leaflet / Flyer (99x210mm)

Folded Leaflets / Flyers
4-page A4 Leaflet / Flyer (finished size 210x297mm)
4-page A5 Leaflet / Flyer (finished size 148x210mm)
4-page A6 Leaflet / Flyer (finished size 105x148mm)
1/3 A3 Leaflet / Flyer concertina fold (finished size 140x297mm)
1/3 A3 Leaflet / Flyer letter fold (finished size 140x297mm)
1/3 A4 Leaflet / Flyer concertina fold (finished size 99x210mm)
1/3 A4 Leaflet / Flyer letter fold (finished size 99x210mm)

Presentation Folders
Oversize A4 Folder (finished size 215x305mm)
Oversize A5 Folder (finished size 153x215mm)

Stationery
A4 Letterhead (210x297mm)
A5 Letterhead (148x210mm)

Business Cards
Business Card (55x85mm)
Folded Business Card (Finished size 55x85mm)

Greetings Cards
4-page A5 Greetings Card (finished size 148x210mm)
4-page A6 Greetings Card (finished size 105x148mm)

Tent Cards
Landscape Tent Card (finished size 90x210mm)
Portrait Tent Card (finished size 105x140mm)

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Stress free print... how to take the stress out of printing

Not that long ago, ordering print was a lengthy, confusing and expensive process. Luckily, with the advent of the internet and new digital printing technologies, the whole process has become easier, quicker, cheaper and thankfully a lot less stressful.

Nowadays, you can knock up some artwork on your home PC, upload it to an online print shop and have your order delivered to your door in a matter of days. It's certainly a far cry from when I first started out as a printer.

Back then, printing was an incredibly labour intensive process. As a result it was costly. Very costly! A full colour leaflet would set you back at least a couple of hundred pounds... even if you only wanted a handful. Next day delivery? You must be joking! You'd normally expect to wait around a fortnight for a simple brochure to be printed.

Because print was so expensive and turnaround times so protracted, most people would go to great lengths to minimise any chance of things going wrong. The consequences of a reprint (in terms of both time and cost) didn't bear thinking about... especially if it was caused by something as trivial as a spelling mistake. Therefore, before it was passed to the print shop, artwork was always checked, double checked and checked again. As an extra precaution the print shop would invariably be asked to supply - at considerable cost to the customer - a high quality 'contract' proof.

The contract proof was then reviewed - and reviewed again - to ensure everything was as it should be. Only when you'd checked every letter of every word and checked every element of every graphic would you nervously sign the proof approval slip and authorise your order for printing. Hardly a stress free experience!

As I say, these days things are very different. Advances in technology have revolutionised the industry, drastically reducing the cost of print and slashing turnaround times. It's enabled people with no knowledge of print processes to quickly, easily and confidently prepare artwork and to order printed goods, something which was largely the domain of industry experts until a few years ago.

However, there is one unfortunate side effect to all this progress. It's something I encounter almost every day and which causes a good number of my Stress Free Print customers needless time, money and hassle.

Now that printing is so relatively inexpensive, people no longer seem to fear the prospect of a reprint in the same way they used to. The result? They don't put as much effort into reviewing their artwork before it's printed. Day-in-day-out my team are confronted with client-supplied artwork sporting glaring spelling mistakes, typos or inaccuracies.

We don't have the time to read everything we print but if we do spot a problem we always try to let our customer know about it before we press ahead. In addition, all our customers receive a free printed proof... a last chance for them to identify any issues before we print their order. Thanks to our proofing service, most mistakes are spotted at that point and thankfully reprints are rare.

Unfortunately, despite our best efforts - and our proofs - some errors do slip through the net and our customer is faced with the cost of reprinting their order. Which is a shame because quite often it can easily be avoided.

So, what's the secret of stress free printing? Before you upload your artwork, always review it thoroughly for mistakes... and then check it again just to be sure!

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How 'on demand' printing can benefit your business

Although digital 'on demand' printing has only been around for a few years it has revolutionised the print industry and changed the way businesses promote themselves. It's responsible for slashing the cost of printing, reducing turnaround times, practically eliminating wastage and enabling businesses to approach customers with highly targeted (and therefore highly effective) marketing messages. How? Let me explain...

Until only a few years ago, full colour printing was expensive. Most of the expense was down to the time consuming and costly process of setting up a traditional 'lithographic' printing press. These set-up costs meant that it simply wasn't economical to print a few copies of a document, economies of scale dictated that you had to order in bulk: usually many hundreds or even many thousands of copies.

The lengthy set-up process also meant that delivery schedules would typically be around a couple of weeks. If you ran out of an important document you had a long wait ahead of you so most people ordered far more than they needed... just in case. As a result, stock rooms were often overflowing with dusty, out of date literature only fit for the recycling bin.

Luckily those days are over. Welcome to the brand spanking new world of digital print!

A digital printing press works in a similar way to your desktop printer. A computer file is sent directly from a PC to the printing press and within a few seconds out pops the first copy. Although the press operator will often need to adjust a few settings to ensure accurate alignment and colour reproduction, in comparison to a conventional press it's a walk in the park! Gone are the days of set-up charges running to a couple of hundred pounds.

As a result, there's no longer any need to order in bulk: you can order exactly the number you need. Great! But how could that benefit you and your organisation? Actually, in several ways:

• Ordering 'on demand' means that you're not paying for extra copies that you don't need. Turnaround times for digital printing are fast - typically around 3 working days but sometimes faster - so you can order just what you need, when you need it.
• You'll be doing your bit for the environment. Not only will you throw away less literature, digital printing produces very little waste (unlike the lithographic process which even today results in a fair amount of waste).
• You can free up space in your storeroom for more important things. Like novelty mousemats and those cute little critters you stick to the side of your monitor.
• The information you provide to your customers can be bang up to date. On demand printing allows you to update prices, technical data, contact details or whatever as soon as they change (bet you'll miss those long hours sticking little labels over out-of-date information won't you?!)
• For the first time you can now produce several different versions of the same document, each one customised with a slightly different message. Why? Well, consider a company that manufactures cushioned knee protectors. They have many target audiences: gardeners, construction workers, decorators, carpet fitters, DIY enthusiasts... the list goes on. By customising their message "our new knee protector - specially designed for gardeners" and using a relevant photograph, the promotion will grab the attention of the target audience and evoke a far greater response.
• You can afford to test your message before you release it to the masses. Before ordering the full quantity you require, print a relatively small number. Then analyse the response and amend your offer as required.
• Finally, any marketeer will tell you that special offers can dramatically increase response rates. On demand printing allows you update the closing date of your offer on a regular basis so that your customers must act now, preventing them from putting your advert to one side and forgetting about it.

Don't get me wrong, conventional lithographic printing still has its uses. Once the lengthy set-up process has been completed, the cost per copy is much lower than digital processes, making litho ideal for longer runs. However, in my experience most companies have now woken up to the benefits of on demand printing and rarely opt for massive print runs. Instead, they use the services of a digital print specialist to produce little but often, refining, updating and tailoring their messages as they go.

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Small business marketing in a recession

According to the 'experts' we're not in the grips of a recession just yet. However, many of my customers own small businesses and the feedback I'm getting from them is fairly consistent... everyone is feeling the pinch.

At times like this, people are naturally inclined to reduce their business overheads and typically one of the first casualties is the marketing/advertising budget. However, successful marketing is all about quality not quantity so for the clever marketeer there are loads of opportunities to increase sales whilst keeping a very close eye on the purse strings.

A few tactics you might want to try:

• Stop trying to advertise your business to everyone and anyone. 'Preaching to the masses' is a luxury you really can't afford... even when times are good! Instead, identify your target audience and devise ways of speaking directly and only to them. This approach will often lower your advertising and printing costs and increase response rates. For more information, check out my article Identify Your Target Audience.



• If your products or services are cheaper than everyone else, now is the time to shout about it! Many small businesses - particularly in the service sector - are able to undercut their larger rivals so make sure everyone knows you're cheaper by making this the main focus of your marketing.



• Offer discounts or special offers. If business is slow then selling at a discount is preferable to selling nothing at all. However, you want to prevent people putting your advert or leaflet to one side and forgetting about it... you want them to act NOW! So give them an offer they can't refuse but only if they're willing to act quickly. Set a 'valid to' date (the shorter the timescale, the better) or limit the offer to the first 25 or 50 orders.



• There are many effective ways to promote your company at very little cost, however these methods can be quite time consuming... which is why your competitors probably don't bother. To promote my leaflet printing company I always carry a supply of full colour A6 flyers: I pin them to notice boards at supermarkets, pubs and gyms; I post them through letterboxes as I walk down the high street; I leave them in phone boxes, coffee shops and lifts; I even visit the library and place them inside books on the subject of marketing and business promotion. Although it takes a fair bit of leg work it's a really successful - and above all cheap - way of drumming up business.



• Club together with other companies offering complementary services and share the cost of producing and distributing a leaflet. Even if you only strike a deal with one other company, you could halve your marketing budget in a stroke! But be careful, only choose companies with a very similar target audience otherwise you could be wasting money promoting your business to people who will never become customers.



• Whatever form of promotion you choose, always test, test and test again. Don't make the mistake of spending your entire budget on an advert or leaflet only to find that your carefully written message doesn't provoke any response. Far better to test two different versions with slightly different offers or wording, find out which produces the best response and then repeat the exercise until you're confident you've got your message just right. When times are tough, you can't afford to throw away cash so make sure you're onto a winner before you blow your budget!

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Direct mail and the golden rule of 6

Direct mail - the art of mailing out advertising literature to a specific individual or organisation - is one of the most effective forms of advertising. If you need proof, you need look no further than your front door mat. Almost all major companies invest millions of pounds each year in direct mail. Why? Because it works!

Most companies experiment with direct mail promotions at one time or another. Invariably they identify a list of prospects, post out a few letters or mailers and eagerly anticipate the response. Nine times out of ten these sorts of promotions are a complete and utter waste of time. The response, if any, doesn't even cover the cost of postage. The decision is taken that direct mail doesn't work and that's the end of what could have been a very successful promotion.

It's a real shame because direct mail does work... but only if you follow the 'golden rule of 6'. It's a rule that all the 'big boys' use as the basis of their direct mail campaigns and should be the guiding principal behind your campaigns too.

The golden rule of 6 states that until a recipient has been exposed to your marketing message at least 6 times, they won’t even realise that you exist. Obviously there are some exceptions to the rule but the basic premise has proven to be correct time and time again. It applies to most forms of advertising, not just direct mail, and is one of the most important concepts taught to all budding marketeers. Most of your potential customers will not even realise you exist until they’ve been exposed to your marketing messages at least 6 times.

With this rule in mind, a direct mail campaign shouldn't consist of less than 7 different mailings to the same recipients. Only after the 6th mailing are you likely to receive any sort of reward for your efforts, although it's unlikely this will cover the cost of the campaign so far. Instead, copy the big boys and keep sending out the mailers on a regular basis. Success will depend upon one factor over and above all others... repetition.

That's not to say that each and every mailing should be identical to those that have gone before. You'll probably want to retain the same headline, slogan and bold use of your company logo. However, to keep your audience interested, each mailing should include different messages, special offers or advice. You may wish to try a 'teaser' campaign, building intrigue and anticipation with each mailer until you finally reveal to your audience the purpose of the campaign.

Direct mail pieces come in all shapes and sizes - you will need to consider carefully which format would be best for your audience. The most popular direct mail format tends to be an A6 or A5 postcard printed in full colour with bright graphics and an attention grabbing headline or offer. You can stick an address label and stamp directly onto the postcard, doing away with the time and expense of using an envelope. However, you may decide that a type-written letter printed onto your company letterhead and posted out in an official looking brown envelope will have more chance of making it past the receptionist and into the hands of your intended recipient.

Whatever format you choose, always remember the golden rule of 6 and don't give up after the first couple of mailings. Keep with it and the results should speak for themselves...

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Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps. Part 7: Use Takeaway Selling to Increase the Urgency

When you limit the supply of a product or service in some way (i.e. takeaway selling), basic economics dictates that the demand will rise. In other words, people will generally respond better to an offer if they believe it is about to become unavailable or restricted in some way.

And of course, the opposite is also true. If a prospect knows your product will be around whenever he needs it, there’s no need for him to act now. And when your leaflet is put aside by the prospect, the chance of closing the sale diminishes greatly. It’s your job, therefore, to get your prospect to buy, and buy now. Using scarcity to sell is a great way to accomplish that.

There are basically three types of takeaways:

1. Limiting the quantity


2. Limiting the time


3. Limiting the offer

In the first method, limiting the quantity, you are presenting a fixed number of widgets available for sale. After they’re gone, that’s it.

Some good ways to limit the quantity include:

• only so many units made or obtained


• selling off old stock to make room for new


• limited number of cosmetically-defected items, or a fire sale


• only a limited number being sold so as not to saturate the market…

In the second method, limiting the time, a deadline is added to the offer. It should be a realistic deadline, not one that changes all the time. Deadlines that change decrease your credibility.

This approach works well when the offer or the price will change, or the product/service will become unavailable, after the deadline.

The third method, limiting the offer, is accomplished by limiting other parts of the offer, such as the guarantee, bonuses or premiums, the price, and so on.

When using takeaway selling, you must be sure to follow-through with your restrictions. If you say you only have 500 widgets to sell, then don’t sell 501. If you say your offer will expire at the end of the month, make sure it does. Otherwise your credibility will take a hit. Prospects will remember the next time another of your leaflets makes its way into their hands.

Another important thing you should do is explain the reason why the offer is being restricted. Don’t just say the price will be going up in three weeks, but decline to tell them why.

Here are some examples of good takeaway selling:

“Unfortunately, I can only handle so many clients. Once my plate is full, I will be unable to accept any new business. So if you’re serious about strengthening your investment strategies and creating more wealth than ever before, you should contact me ASAP.”

“Remember…you must act by [date] at midnight in order to get my 2 bonuses. These bonuses have been provided by [third-party company], and we have no control over their availability after that time.”

“We’ve obtained only 750 of these products from our vendor. Once they are gone, we won’t be able to get any more until next year. And even then we can’t guarantee the price will remain the same. In fact, because of the increasing demand, it’s very likely the price could double or triple by then!”

Remember when I said earlier that people buy based on emotions, then back up their decision to buy with logic? Well, by using takeaway selling, that restriction becomes part of that logic to buy and buy now.

In conclusion...

Great copy is made, not born. It is derived from proven test results designed to do one thing and do it well: sell.

Effective leaflet advertising doesn't always use "grammatically correct" English. It uses short sentences, fragments. Like this.

It convinces you to buy, and buy now. It talks about benefits, not features. It sells on emotion and reinforces the decision to buy with logic. It paints a compelling picture and irresistible offer that forces your prospect to act and act now! And if it doesn't, then you drop that leaflet like a hot potato and go with one that does.

Effective persuasion is like your top salesperson - the one who continues to break all your sales records year after year - on the job 24 x 7, multiplied by thousands or millions! Just imagine if that salesperson, the one with proven results, could be multiplied as much as you wanted.

Now that would be effective (and cost-efficient) marketing!

And that's the kind of proven marketing you need to employ on your next leaflet campaign.

Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Continue reading "Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps. Part 7: Use Takeaway Selling to Increase the Urgency"...

Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps. Part 6: Write To Be Scanned

Your layout is very important because you want your leaflet to look inviting, refreshing to the eyes. In short, you want your prospect to stop what he’s doing and read what you’ve got to say.

If he sees a leaflet with tiny margins, no indentations, no breaks in the text, no white space, and no subheads… if he sees a page of nothing but densely-packed words, do you think he’ll be tempted to read it?

Not likely!

If you do have a leaflet boasting ample white space and generous margins, short sentences, short paragraphs, subheads, and an italicised or underlined word here and there for emphasis, it will certainly look more inviting to read.

When reading your leaflet, some prospects will start at the beginning and read word for word. Some will read the headline and maybe the lead, then skip to the end to see which company sent the leaflet.

And some folks will scan through your leaflet, noticing the various subheads strategically positioned throughout, then decide if it’s worth their time to read the entire thing. Some may never read the entire leaflet, but order anyway.

You must write for all of them. Interesting and compelling long copy for the studious reader, and short paragraphs and sentences, white space, and subheads for the skimmer.

Some of your rejected headline ideas can make great subheads. A good subhead forces your prospect to keep reading, threading him along from start to finish throughout your copy, while also providing the glue necessary to keep skimmers skimming.

There’s a well-known structure in successful sales copy, described by the acronym AIDA.

AIDA stands for:

• Attention


• Interest


• Desire


• Action

First, you capture your reader’s attention. This is done with your headline and lead. If your leaflet fails to capture your reader’s attention, it fails completely. Your prospect doesn’t read your amazing copy, and doesn’t order your product or service.

Then you want to build a strong interest in your reader. You want him to keep reading, because if he reads, he just might buy.

Next, you channel a desire. Having a targeted market for this is key, because you’re not trying to create a desire where one did not already exist. You want to capitalise on an existing desire, which your prospect may or may not know he already has. And you want your prospect to experience that desire for your product or service.

Finally, you present a call to action. You want him to pick up the telephone, return the reply card, attend the sales presentation, order your product, whatever. You need to ask for the sale (or response, if that’s the goal). You don’t want to beat around the bush at this point. If your copy and AIDA structure is sound and persuasive, here’s where you present the terms of your offer and urge the prospect to act now.

A lot has been written about the AIDA copywriting formula. I’d like to add one more letter to the acronym: 'S' for Satisfy.

In the end, after the sale is made, you want to satisfy your prospect, who is now a customer. You want to deliver exactly what you promised (or even more), by the date you promised, in the manner you promised. In short, you want to give him every reason in the world to trust you and to return to buy more. And of course you’d rather he doesn’t return the product (although if he does, you also execute your return policy as promised).

Either way, you want your customers to be satisfied. It will make you a lot more money in the long run.

Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Continue reading "Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps. Part 6: Write To Be Scanned"...

Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps. Part 5: The Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

Also known as the unique selling position, the USP is often one of the most misunderstood elements of a good sales leaflet. It’s what separates your product or service from your competitors. Let’s take a quick look at some unique selling propositions for a product itself:

1. Lowest Price – If you can produce your product cheaper than anyone else then flaunt it. Personally, I’m not convinced about selling on price because someone can always come along and sell for cheaper. Then you’ll need a new strategy.



2. Superior Quality – If your product outperforms your competitor’s or is made with higher quality materials, it’s a good bet that you could use this fact to your advantage. For example, compare Marks and Spencer’s food to their competitor’s. From the packaging to the wholesome superior ingredients, the quality is evident. It may cost a little more than their competitor’s, but for their market, it sells extremely well.



3. Superior Service – If you offer superior service over your competitor’s, people will buy from you instead. This is especially true with certain markets that are all about service: mail order, beauty salons, tradesmen etc.



4. Exclusive Rights – If you can legitimately claim that your product is protected by a patent or copyright, licensing agreement, etc., then you have a winner for exclusive rights. If you have a patent, everyone must buy it from you.

Ok, what if your product or service is no different than your competitor’s? I would disagree, because there are always differences. The trick is to turn them into a positive advantage for you. You want to put your ‘best foot forward’. So what can we do in this scenario?

One way is to present something that your company has devised internally that no other company does. Look, there’s a reason why computer store ‘A’ offers to beat their competitor’s price for the same product by X%. If you look closely, the two packages are never exactly the same. Company ‘B’ offers a free scanner, while company ‘A’ offers a free printer. Or some other difference. They’re comparing apples to oranges. So unless you find a company with the exact same package (it’s doubtful… they’ve seen to that), you won’t be able to cash in.

But what if you truly have the same widget for sale as the guy up the road? Unless your prospect knows the inner workings of both your and your competitor’s product, including the manufacturing process, customer service, and everything in-between, then you have a little potential creative licensing here. But you must be truthful.

For example, if I tell my readers that my product is bathed in steam to ensure purity and cleanliness (like the cans and bottles in most beer manufacturing processes), it doesn’t matter that Joe’s Beer up the road does the same thing. That fact that Joe doesn’t advertise this fact makes it a USP in your prospect’s eyes.

Want some more USP examples?

• I’m the only car mechanic that will buy your car if you’re not 100 percent satisfied with our work.


• Delivered in 30 minutes or it’s on us!


• No other furniture company will pay for delivery.


• Our recipe is so secret, only three people in the world know it!

As with most ways to boost copy response, research is the key with your USP. Sometimes your USP is obvious, for example if you have a patent. Other times you must do a little legwork to discover it (or shape it to your target market).

Here’s where a little persistence and in-person selling really pays off. Let me give you an example to illustrate what I mean:

Suppose your company sells beanbag chairs for kids. So you, being the wise marketeer that you are, decide to sell these beanbags in person to prospects before you start writing the copy for your leaflet. After completing twenty different pitches for your product, you discover that 75 percent of those you visited asked if the chair would eventually leak. Since the chairs are for kids, it’s only logical that parents would be concerned about their youngster jumping on it, rolling on it, and doing all things possible to break the seam and… ‘spill the beans’.

So when you write your copy, you make sure you address that issue: “Our super-strong beanbag chairs are triple-stitched for guaranteed leak-proof performance.”

Now lets move onto the most critical part of your leaflet... the headline. If you’re going to make a single change to boost your response rate the most, focus on your headline (you do have one, don’t you?).

Why? Because five times as many people read your headline than your copy. Quite simply, a headline is an ad for your ad. People won’t stop their busy lives to read your copy unless you give them a good reason to do so.

The headline is the most important part of your leaflet.

Why? Because your response can increase dramatically by not only adding a headline, but by making that headline almost impossible to resist for your target audience. And those last three words are important. Your target audience. For example, take a look at the following headline:

Announcing…New High-Tech Gloves Protect Wearer Against Hazardous Waste

...News, and a benefit.

Will that headline appeal to everyone? No, and you don’t care about everyone. But for someone who handles hazardous waste, they would sure appreciate knowing about this little gem.

That’s your target audience, and it’s your job to get them to read your leaflet. Your headline is the way you do that. If you have more than one target audience – in this example your gloves might also be popular amongst gardening professionals – then create a separate leaflet and target that audience separately.

Ok, back to headlines… now where do you find great headlines?

You look at other successful leaflets and adverts that have stood the test of time. You look for ads that run regularly in magazines and leaflets which drop through your letterbox time and again. How do you know they’re good? Because if they didn’t do their job, the advertiser wouldn’t run them repeatedly.

Ok, now how could you adapt some of those headlines to your own product or service? Your headline should create a sense of urgency and be as specific as possible. Speak directly and only to your target audience.

The appearance of your headline is also very important. Make sure the type used is bold and large, and different from the type used in the copy. Generally, longer headlines tend to out perform shorter ones, even when targeting more ‘conservative’ prospects.

It should go without saying that if you take inspiration from other successful headlines, you adapt them to your own product or service. Never copy a headline (or any other written copyrighted piece of work for that matter) word for word. Copywriters and ad agencies are notoriously famous for suing for plagiarism. And rightfully so.

Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Continue reading "Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps. Part 5: The Unique Selling Proposition (USP)"...

Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps. Part 4: Incorporating Proof and Believability

When your prospect reads your leaflet, you want to make sure he believes any claims you make about your product or service. Because if there’s any doubt in his mind he won’t bite, no matter how sweet the deal. In fact, the ‘too good to be true’ mentality will virtually guarantee a lost sale… even if it is all true.

So what can you do to increase the perception of believability? Because after all, it’s the perception you need to address up front. But of course you must also make sure your leaflet copy is accurate and truthful.

Here are some tried and tested methods that will help:

• If you’re dealing with existing customers who already know you deliver as promised, emphasise that trust. Don’t leave it up to them to figure it out. Make them stop, cock their heads and say, “Oh, yeah. The ABC Company has never let me down before. I can trust them.”



• Include testimonials of satisfied customers. Where possible be sure to put full names and locations. Remember, 'A.S.' is a lot less believable than 'Andy Smith, Smith & Sons, Manchester.' If you can also include a picture of the customer and/or a professional title, that’s even better. It doesn’t matter that your testimonials aren’t from somebody famous or that your prospect doesn’t know these people personally. If you’ve enough compelling testimonials - and they’re believable - you’re much better off than not including them at all. (If you’ve visited my printing website you won’t have failed to notice my customer testimonials, displayed big and bold on every page).



• Pepper your copy with facts and research findings to support your claims. Be sure to credit all sources, even if the fact is common knowledge, because a neutral source goes a long way towards credibility.



• If you’ve decided to produce copy in the form of a letter, including a picture of the author always helps. But I’d put the picture at the end near the signature, or midway through the copy, rather than at the top where it will detract from your headline. And… if your sales letter is from a specific individual, be sure to include his credentials to establish him as an expert in his field (relating to your product or service, of course).



• If applicable, cite any awards or third-party reviews the product or service has received.



• If you’ve sold a lot of widgets, tell them. It’s the old “10 million people can’t be wrong” adage (they can be, but your prospect will likely take your side on the matter).



• Include a GREAT return policy and stand by it! This is just good business policy. Many times, offering a double refund guarantee for certain products will result in higher profits. Yes, you’ll dish out more refunds, but if you sell three times as many widgets as before, and only have to refund twice as much as before, it may be worth it, depending on your offer and return on investment. Crunch the numbers and see what makes sense. More importantly, test! Make them think, “Wow, they wouldn’t be so generous with returns if they didn’t stand behind their product!”



• When it makes sense, use 3rd party testimonials. What are 3rd party testimonials? Here’s some examples from some Web site copy I wrote when there weren’t any customer testimonials available:

“Spyware, without question, is on an exponential rise over the last six months.”
- Alfred Huger, Senior Director of Engineering, Symantec Security Response (maker of Norton security software)

“Simply clicking on a banner ad can install spyware.”
- Dave Methvin, Chief Technology Officer, PC Pitstop

A deployment method is to “trick users into consenting to a software download they think they absolutely need”
- Paul Bryan, Director, Security And Technology Unit, Microsoft

Do you see what I did? I took quotes from experts in their respective fields and turned them to my side (making sure I got their consent first!). Note that I also pushed an emotional hot button: fear.

It’s been proven that people will generally do more to avoid pain than to obtain pleasure. So why not use that tidbit of info to your advantage?

Within your leaflet reveal a flaw about your product. This helps alleviate the ‘too good to be true’ syndrome. You reveal a flaw that isn’t really a flaw. Or reveal a flaw that is minor, just to show that you’re being ‘up front’ about your product’s shortcomings.

Example:

“You’re probably thinking right now that this tennis racket is a miracle worker - and it is. But I must tell you that it has one little…shortcoming.

My racket takes about 2 weeks to get used to. In fact, when you first start using it, your game will actually get worse. But if you can just ride it out, you’ll see a tremendous improvement in your volleys, net play, serves, …” And so on.

There’s a tendency to think, with all of the ads that we’re bombarded with today that every advertiser is always putting his best foot forward, so to speak. And I think that line of reasoning is accurate, to a point.

But isn’t it refreshing when someone stands out from the crowd and is honest? In other words, your reader will start to subconsciously believe that you’re revealing all of the flaws, even though your best foot still stands forward.

• Use ‘lift notes’. These are a brief note or letter from a person of authority. Not necessary a celebrity, although that can add credibility, too. A person of authority is someone well recognised in their field (which is related to your product) that they are qualified to talk about.



• If you’re limiting the offer with a deadline ‘order by’ date, be sure the deadline is real and doesn’t change. Deadline dates that change every day are sure to reduce credibility. The prospect will suspect, “if his deadline date keeps changing, he’s not telling the truth about it… I wonder what else he’s not telling the truth about.”



• Avoid baseless ‘hype’. I discussed that previously. Enough said.

Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Continue reading "Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps. Part 4: Incorporating Proof and Believability"...

Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps. Part 3: Push Their Emotional Hot Buttons

This is where research really pays off. Because in order to push those buttons, you need to first know what they are.

To demonstrate what I mean, let me tell you a story: Once upon a time a young man walked into a BMW dealer’s showroom to check out the new 3-Series. He had the money, and he was ready to make a buying decision. But he couldn’t decide if he wanted to buy the BMW or a similar Mercedes from the dealer up the road.

A salesman approached him and soon discovered the man’s dilemma.

“Tell me what you like best about the 3 series,” said the salesman.

“It’s a fast car. I like it for its speed.”

After digging a bit deaper, the salesman learned the man had just started dating a new girlfriend. So what did the salesman do?

Simple. He changed his pitch accordingly, to push the hot buttons he knew would help advance the sale. He told the man about how impressed his new girlfriend would be when he came home with this car! He placed the mental image in the man’s mind of he and his girlfriend cruising to the beach in the 3-Series. How all of his friends will be envious when they see him riding around with a beautiful girl in a beautiful car.

And suddenly the man saw it. He got it. And the salesman recognised this and piled it on even more. Before you know it, the man wrote a nice fat cheque to the BMW dealership, because he was sold! The salesman found those hot buttons and pushed them like never before until the man realised he wanted the 3-Series more than he wanted his money.

I know what you’re thinking… the man said he liked the car because it was fast, didn’t he?

Yes, he did. But subconsciously, what he really desired was a car that would impress his girlfriend, his friends, and in his mind make them love him more! In his mind he equated speed with thrill. Not because he wanted an endless supply of speeding tickets, but because he thought that thrill would make him more attractive, more likeable.

Perhaps the man didn’t even realise this fact himself. But the salesman certainly did. And he knew which emotional hot buttons to press to get the sale.

Now, where does the research pay off? Well, a good salesman knows how to ask the kinds of questions that will tell him which buttons to press on the fly. Unfortunately, when you’re writing copy for a leaflet, you don’t have that luxury. It’s therefore very important to know upfront the wants, needs and desires of your target audience for that very reason. If you haven’t done your homework, your prospect is going to decide that he’d rather keep his money than buy your product. Remember, copywriting is salesmanship in print!

It’s been said many times: People don’t like to be sold. But they do like to buy.

And they buy based on emotion first and foremost. Then they justify their decision with logic, even after they are already sold emotionally. So be sure to back up your emotional pitch with logic to nurture that justification at the end.

And while we’re on the subject, let’s talk a moment about perceived ‘hype’. Many of the more ‘conservative’ advertisers have decided that they don’t like hype because they consider it to be old news, been-there-and-done-that, my customers won’t fall for hype, it’s not believable anymore. What they should realise is that hype itself does not sell well. Some less experienced copywriters often try to compensate for their lack of research or for not fully understanding their target market or the product itself by adding tons of adjectives and adverbs and exclamation points and big bold type.

If you do your job right, it’s just not needed. That’s not to say some adverbs or adjectives don’t have their place…only if they’re used sparingly, and only if they advance the sale.

But I think you’d agree that backing up your copy with proof and believability will go a lot farther in convincing your prospects than 'power words' alone. I say power words, because there are certain adverbs and adjectives that have been proven to make a difference when they’re included. This by itself is not hype. But repeated too often, they become less effective and they take away (at least in your prospect’s mind) from the proof.

Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Continue reading "Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps. Part 3: Push Their Emotional Hot Buttons"...