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