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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps. Part 2: Focus on them, not you!

When someone reads your leaflet the one thing he will be wondering from the outset is: “what’s in it for me?”

And if your leaflet doesn’t immediately tell him, it’ll land in the recycling bin within seconds.

A lot of people make this mistake. They focus on themselves rather then the reader. They bang on about how long they’ve been trading, who their most impressive customers are, how they’ve spent years of research and thousands of pounds on developing their latest product, blah, blah, blah. In actual fact, those points are important. But they should be expressed in a way that matters to your potential customer. Remember, once he’s thrown your leaflet in the bin, the sale is lost!

When you sit down to write the copy for your leaflet, imagine you’re writing to an old friend. Picture the friend who most closely fits the profile of your target audience. What would you say to convince this friend to try your product? How would you target your friend’s objections and beliefs to help your cause?

When writing to a friend, you’ll use words like “I” and “you.” When trying to convince your friend, you might say: “Look, I know you think you’ve tried every widget out there but you should know that…”

Beware though, even if you do address your prospect as “you”, it doesn’t necessarily mean your copy is about them. For example:

“As a leading estate agent, you can take comfort in the fact that I’ve sold over 10,000 homes.”

Although you’re writing in the ‘second person’, you’re actually still focusing on yourself.

So how can you focus on them? Glad you asked. One way is to…

Emphasize benefits, not features

What are features? They are descriptions of the qualities a product possesses...

• The XYZ car delivers 55 miles per gallon in the city.



• Our ladder’s frame is made from a lightweight durable steel alloy.



• Our glue is protected by a patent.

And what are benefits? They are what those features mean to your prospects.

• You’ll save money on petrol and cut down on environmental pollutants when you use our energy saving high-performance hybrid car.



• The lightweight durable steel-alloy frame means you’ll easily be able to take our ladder with you, and use it in places most other ladders can’t go. Not only that, it will support up to 500kg and last for over 50 years. You’ll never need to buy another ladder again!



• You can use our patented glue on wood, plastic, metal, ceramic, glass, and tile…without any mess and without ever having to re-glue it again - guaranteed!

I just made up those examples, but hopefully you understand my point.

By the way, did you notice in the list of features where I wrote “steel alloy?” But in the benefits I wrote “steel-alloy” (with a hyphen). Not sure off-hand which one is correct, but I know which one I’d use.

Here’s why: you’re not writing to impress your English teacher or win any awards. The only goal you are aiming for is to create a more successful leaflet than any of your competitors, so you can take some liberty in grammar, punctuation and sentence structure. You want it to be read and acted upon, not read and admired!

Anyway, back to benefits…

If you were selling an expensive watch, you wouldn’t tell your reader that the face is 15cm in diameter and the band is made of leather.

You show him how the extra-large face will tell him the time at a glance. He won’t have to squint and look foolish to everyone around him as he reads this magnificent timepiece. And that’s not all. He’ll project success and charisma when he wears the beautiful gold watch with its handcrafted custom leather band. Women will find him irresistible when he’s all dressed up to go out, wearing his stylish watch.

Incidentally, did you notice how I brought up not squinting as a benefit? Does that sound like a silly benefit? Not if you’re selling to affluent baby boomers suffering from degrading vision. They probably hate it when someone they’re trying to impress sees them squint in order to read something. It’s all part of their inner desire, which you need to discover. And which even they may not know about. That is, until you show them a better way.

My point is that you should address the benefits of the product, not its features. And when you do that, you’re focusing on your reader and his interests, his desires. The trick is to highlight those specific benefits (and word them correctly) that push your reader’s emotional hot buttons.

How do you do that? Read on!

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

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Long copy works! Better copy for your leaflets in 7 easy steps. Part 1: Test, test and test again!

At one time or another all organisations produce a leaflet to promote a product, service or event. Some leaflets are hugely successful. Others a complete waste of time, effort and expense. How can you make your leaflet campaign as effective as possible? Read on…

The best method is to test, test again… and then test even more.

If leaflet 'A' receives a five percent response rate, and leaflet 'B' receives ten percent, then we can deduce that leaflet 'B' will continue to outperform leaflet 'A' on a larger scale.

That said, testing takes time and can be expensive. Therefore, it’s best to start with some proven, tested concepts and work from there. For example, if testing has shown for decades or more that targeted leaflets significantly outperform untargeted leaflets (and believe me it does), then we can start with that assumption and go from there.

If we know that, in the main, ‘long’ copy leaflets outperform ‘short’ copy leaflets (they do!), then it’s an marketing method worth further investigation.

If we also know, based on test results, that crafting copy that speaks directly to an individual performs better than addressing the masses (once again, it does), then it makes little sense to start testing with the assumption that it does not. This is common sense.

So it stands to reason that knowing some basic rules or techniques about writing effective advertising copy is in order. Test results will always trump everything, but it’s better to have a starting point before you test.

So this starting point is the essence of this series of articles. The tips I describe are time-tested and have been proven to be effective. But I can’t emphasise enough that when using these techniques, you should always test them. If you’re only producing a couple of hundred leaflets then it’s fairly impractical to run a test campaign. However for a larger project, testing can save you a lot of money and improve response rates dramatically.

The best method, as I mentioned before, is to create two different leaflets. Distribute an equal quantity of both and see which gets the best response. Next time you run the campaign, base it on the successful leaflet but produce two different versions. Which one of these brings in the most enquiries? Keep repeating this technique until you’re satisfied that you’ve discovered the winning formula.

Remember, a little tweak here or there is sometimes all that’s needed to increase the response to your leafleting campaign dramatically.

To evaluate the response from your various leaflets you will need to create some form of tracking mechanism. Don’t worry… it isn’t as difficult as it sounds! Just include a response code - “quote XYZ when ordering”. A better idea is to tie this into a special offer - “quote XYZ and get 10% off!”.

And with that, let’s move onward…

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 1: Test, test and test again!"...

Printing glossary

Printing experts love to dream up weird and wonderful names for even the most basic print processes. I think it must make them feel important. Anyway, I've started a glossary of printing terms which I'll update as and when I get inspiration. Let me know if I've missed anything!

Art Paper
See 'Coated paper'.

Backing Up
Printing the reverse side of a sheet already printed on one side.

Black and White
Originals or reproductions in single colour (black).

Bleed
Printed area which extends off the trimmed area. It is not possible to print all the way to the edge of the paper sheet. To achieve this effect it is necessary to print a larger area than is required and then trim the paper down. Typically a designer would allow an extra 4mm-5mm of bleed to colour and image areas to allow for a little leeway when trimming. See my article What is printing bleed?

Board
Thick paper over 200gsm in weight, commonly used for folders, brochure covers etc.

Bond Paper
A basic uncoated paper, often used for copying or laser printers. The better quality bond papers, with higher rag content, can be used for letterheads. See my article Choosing paper for your print project.

Business Card
Business cards are cards bearing business information about a company or individual. They are shared during formal introductions as a convenience and a memory aid. A business card typically includes the giver's name, company affiliation (usually with a logo) and contact information. Get prices for printed business cards.

CMYK
Cyan (blue), Magenta (red), Yellow and Black - used as the basic colours in the printing industry. See ‘Four Colour Process'. See my article What is full colour (or CMYK or process) printing?

Contrast
The degree of tones in an image ranging from highlight to shadow.

Coated Stock
Paper which has a coating usually of china clay. It can be gloss, silk or matt and is suitable for jobs requiring a fine finish such as colour brochures and annual reports. See my article Choosing paper for your print project.

Collate
To bring together and organise printed matter in a specific order.

Crop Marks
In printing, marks placed on the copy to indicate the edge of the paper. Used as a guide when cutting (or trimming) documents to finished size. See my article What is printing bleed?

Die-Cutting
The process of using sharp steel rules to cut special shapes, such as the pockets of a folder.

Digital Printing
Printing processes in which information is transferred from a computer directly onto paper, without the need for film and printing plates. Digital printing is faster and more cost-effective for small/medium print runs and allows special techniques such as personalisation and printing-on-demand.

Dots Per Inch (DPI)
Measure of the resolution of input devices such as scanners, display devices such as monitors, and output devices such as laser printers, digital printing presses and monitors. See my article Resolution - your essential guide.

Drilling
Making the holes in paper for use in a ring binder.

Duplex
A printing press equipped to print both sides of a piece of paper in one pass.

Encapsulation
A form of protective enclosure for papers and other flat objects; involves placing the item between two sheets of transparent polyester film (available in various thicknesses) that are subsequently sealed around all edges. See my article What is encapsulation?

Finishing
Any process that follows the actual printing. Can include folding, creasing, stitching, binding and the like.

Flyer
A small leaflet, commonly printed onto a thick paper, often used to promote bars or nightclubs. Get prices for printed flyers.

Folder
A folder is used to hold loose papers together for organisation, protection and/or presentation. Folders usually consist of a sheet of thick paper which is folded in half. One or more pockets may be affixed inside to contain loose paper documents. Get prices for printed folders.

Four-Colour Process
The most common system for producing full colour print. The four ink colours are Cyan (blue), Magenta (red), Yellow and Black - often referred to as CMYK. The inks can be overprinted and combined in a variety of different proportions to produce a wide range of colours. See my article What is full colour (or CMYK or process) printing?

Full Colour Printing
See ‘ Four-Colour Process’.

GSM
Abbreviation for ‘grams per square metre’. This indicates the weight of paper or other stock. For example a typical photocopier paper is 80gsm, a good letterhead paper might be 120 gsm, a postcard would be about 300gsm. See my article Choosing paper for your print project.

Laid Paper
Uncoated paper often used for business stationery which has a textured pattern of parallel lines similar to hand made paper. Compare to Wove Paper. See my article Choosing paper for your print project.

Lamination
A plastic film bonded by heat and pressure to a printed sheet for protection. Available in matt or gloss finish. See my article What is lamination?

Landscape
An oblong artwork or photograph where horizontal dimension is greater than the vertical.

Leaflet
A leaflet usually consists of a printed sheet of paper not larger than international standard A4 in size. Leaflets are used to convey information and are commonly used by companies, organisations and individuals to advertise products, services, events and activities. Get prices for printed flyers.

Letterhead
A piece of paper - usually A4 or A5 in size - used by a company or organisation for official correspondence. Letterheads usually feature the name, logo and contact details of an organisation. Get prices for printed letterheads.

Lithographic Printing (litho)
A conventional (non-digital) print process. The process works by first transferring an image to thin metal, paper, or plastic printing plates. Rollers apply oil-based ink and water to the plates. Only the inked image portion is transferred to a rubber blanket that then transfers the image onto the paper as it passes between it and another cylinder beneath the paper.

Micron
Although paper is usually measured in grams per square metre (weight), it is sometimes measured in microns (thickness). A micron is unit of measure equal to one millionth of a metre or .00004". See my article Choosing paper for your print project.

Pantone
Pantone, Pantone Matching System and PMS + are Pantone Inc’s industry-standard trademarks for colour standards, colour data, colour reproduction and colour reproduction materials, and other colour related products and services, meeting its specifications, control and quality requirements.

PDF
Portable Document Format - The industry standard for saving files in an acceptable format. Quick, cheap and increasingly stable, often used for viewing proofs and for supply of final artwork.

Perfect Bound
A way of adhesive binding multi-section jobs. Individual sections are collected together and the spine is ground off (typically 3mm). Glue is then applied to the spine and a cover pulled on before the product is trimmed to size.

Portrait
An upright, oblong artwork or photograph where vertical dimension is greater than the horizontal.

Postcard
A rectangular piece of printed card, usually A6 or A5 in size, posted without an envelope and used for advertising or as a greeting. Get prices for printed postcards.

Poster
A poster is any large piece of printed paper designed to be attached to a wall or vertical surface. Posters are often used as a form of advertising or by campaigners and protesters to communicate a message. Get prices for printed posters.

Pre-Press
All procedures (and costs) associated with bringing a job to press, such as design, artwork, proofs, set-up etc.

Proof
A version of a document produced for the purpose of review before it is printed. See my article Proofs - never, ever print without one!

Ream
Five hundred sheets of paper.

RGB
Red, green, blue additive primary colours.

Saddle Stitch
In binding, to fasten a booklet by wiring it (stapling) through the middle fold of the sheets.

Score
To impress or indent a mark in the paper, to make folding easier.

Spiral Binding
A binding, as used in notebooks, in which the pages are fastened together by a spiral of wire or plastic that coils through a series of holes punched along the edge of the document.

Spot Varnish
A way of highlighting an area of a page by selectively applying a gloss varnish to it.

Stock
Paper or other material to be printed. See my article Choosing paper for your print project.

Trim Marks
See ‘Crop Marks’.

UV Varnish
See ‘Spot Varnish’.

Wove Paper
Uncoated paper often used for business stationery which has no obvious surface texture or pattern. Compare to Laid Paper. See my article Choosing paper for your print project.

Continue reading "Printing glossary"...

Resolution - your essential guide

If you're creating artwork for print, you'll only get decent results if you've got a basic understanding of image resolution. Don't worry, it's actually quite a simple concept - nowhere near as complex as some people seem to think. So stick with me here, I'm going to try to make this as painless as possible...

What is resolution?

As you probably know, when you view a photograph on your computer monitor you're actually looking at a grid of tiny dots or 'pixels'. Similarly, when a photograph is reproduced in print, it is made up of thousands of small dots of ink. Resolution refers to the number of these dots (or pixels) which are squeezed into a given area. The smaller the dot, the more dots you can fit into a horizontal inch, and the sharper an image will appear to the human eye (up to a point).


If you zoom into a photograph on your PC monitor you will be able to see the grid of pixels which make up the image


The grid of dots which make up a printed photograph can be seen using a magnifying glass

The resolution of an image is usually measured in dots per inch (dpi) or pixels per inch (ppi). Essentially dpi and ppi refer to the same thing, it's simply the number of dots or pixels which make up an image.

If you view an image on your computer monitor its resolution will need to be at least 72dpi to appear sharp and clear. A lower resolution will result in large pixels which will be detected by your eye, resulting in a fuzzy or 'pixelated' image. However, if the same image were reproduced on paper using a commercial printing process it would need a resolution of around 300dpi to achieve a sharp result.

A printed image requires a much higher resolution than an on-screen image (4 times greater to be precise). Therefore, just because your image looks sharp and crisp when viewed on-screen, it doesn't mean it will reproduce correctly when printed.


The image above has a resolution of 72dpi.
It looks sharp and crisp when viewed on screen.


If the same 72dpi image were reproduced in print using a commercial printing press, it would appear fuzzy and pixilated. The only way to improve its appearance and increase its resolution would be to reduce the size at which it is reproduced.

Improving the resolution of an image

Unfortunately, the resolution of an image is determined at the time of its creation. You cannot increase the resolution of an existing image. If you 'upsample' an image, i.e. you attempt to increase the resolution of an image, your computer will merely generate extra pixels and guess what colour these should be based upon the characteristics of surrounding pixels. The result is a blurry image with ugly blocks of colour.

The only way to effectively increase the resolution of an image is to reproduce it at a smaller size. Resolution and size are inversely proportional to each other. In other words, if you enlarge the size of an image, you lower its resolution. If you reduce the size of an image, you increase its resolution. You'll have seen this effect whilst zooming in and out of a photograph on your computer screen. Therefore, if your original image is 300dpi and measures 100mm x 100mm its resolution will drop to 150dpi if it's reproduced at 200x200mm.

Your image editing software should provide information as to the size and resolution of your image. You will need to use this information to calculate by how much you can enlarge or reduce the image to achieve a resolution of at least 300dpi.


You can view and adjust the size (dimensions) and resolution of
your image in Photoshopusing the 'image size' box (see above). Most image editing software applications have similar functionality.

Working with images

If you're creating an original image from scratch using image editing software, set up your document to 300dpi and to the dimensions at which the image will be reproduced. For example, if you're creating a background image which will cover the whole of an A4 leaflet, set your document size to A4 (210x297mm) at 300dpi. You could create the image at a larger size or at a resolution higher than 300dpi but this will not increase the quality of reproduction - you will just end up with a bigger file to store on your hard drive.

Image editing software such as Paint.net or Serif PhotoPlus, can be used to create print-ready artwork files incorporating all the elements of your design including images, graphics and text. For best results, the professionals use Adobe Photoshop.

If you're scanning an image, the same rules apply. Adjust the resolution and scan percentage size so that the image you obtain is at least 300dpi at the size it will eventually be reproduced.

Images downloaded from the internet tend to be very low quality - they will have been compressed for fast download and were intended only for viewing on screen (at the risk of repeating myself, remember an image only needs a resolution of around 72dpi for it to view correctly on screen - the same image will need to be 300dpi to reproduce properly in print). Also you could be breaking copyright laws if you use an image without permission. Instead, use a royalty free image library such as istockphoto.com.

Alternatively, use the search box below to search Photos.com for images now!

If you're taking photographs using a digital camera, set it to the highest quality setting and check the size and resolution of your photos within your image editing application to calculate the maximum size that they can be reproduced.

Importing images into other applications

Files created or modified using image editing software can also be imported into a word processor or desktop publishing application. This is particularly useful if your document runs to several pages or contains a lot of text (it's far easier to work with text in a word processor than in an image editor). Text elements created within your word processor or desktop publishing package behave differently to images or text created in an image editing application. Rather then being made up of dots, they are described mathematically as a series of lines and curves. Therefore, you don't need to specify the resolution of your word processing or desktop publishing file - text, lines and boxes created within these applications will always print at maximum resolution.

However, if you import images into a word processsing or desktop publishing application, you will need to ensure that they reproduce at 300dpi. Bear in mind that if you enlarge an image, you reduce its resolution. So if your original image is 300dpi you will not be able to scale its size above 100%.

If you're serious about creating artwork Adobe Creative Suiteprovides all the tools you need including image editing, drawing and desktop publishing software. Highly recommended!

Continue reading "Resolution - your essential guide"...