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