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Ecommerce Information |
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Direct Marketing isn't all Brute Force
There are so many metrics surrounding direct marketing. So many facts, figures, test results and other sundry measurements. It's tempting to think the only thing that matters with direct marketing copy is to get the tried and tested elements in place. If that were the case, you would be able to buy DM copywriting software. You would just enter a few lines of information about your product - price, offer and audience - and the software would draw on a database of thousands of previous, proven DM letters and ads. Press Enter and you would have near-perfect copy delivered to your screen in the blink of an eye. Sounds cool, eh? The trouble is, the 'metrics' approach to direct response writing - whether written by you or a machine - limits your potential considerably. One major attribute of every good direct response piece is how it touches its audience at a personal level. Great DM speaks to us as individuals. It touches our hopes, fears and ambitions. It makes us feel, it makes us 'want'. And by that, I'm not talking about the 'smack-em-in-mouth' approach. As in, "If your life isn't insured, your children could end up on the streets". Or, "Get out of debt in 30 minutes". I don't think our industry is served well by manipulating the fears of decent people. Or over-promising in any way. >> An example of DM copy that touches the reader A long time ago I was given the job of beating a control brochure that was selling a book on the subject of US forces in Vietnam. I changed nothing except the captions under the photos. I remember one photo that showed an American 'Tunnel Rat' about to enter one of the Viet Cong's tunnel systems. A scary job, to say the least. The existing caption said something like, "At the entrance of a tunnel system". There are two things wrong with this caption. First, it is redundant, telling you nothing the photo itself doesn't already communicate. Second, it fails to 'touch' the reader in any way. It's a long time ago, but my rewrite was something like this, "Tunnel Rat tenses before plunging into the darkness". What I wrote was probably much better than that. I spent a lot of time on that brochure. But hopefully you get the point. What I did was use words that said something the photo alone didn't express. I also put the reader in the mind of the soldier. To some small degree. I simply wrote in a way that engaged the reader's emotions. Good DM writing does that all the time. And yes, the new brochure beat control. >> How this applies to the Web When it comes to touching your reader on a personal level, the web offers more opportunity and potential than any other mass medium. Online, people respond immediately and positively to any sense that a web site has a personal voice. People love that someone is 'there'. Where can you add these personal touches? Where can you reach people on an emotional level? Just about anywhere in the text. In headlines, subheads, body text or links. (By the way, don't start writing captions for all the images on your site. In a print brochure people generally look at the photos first, and then read the captions second. Not so online. Visitors to web sites look at the text first. They want to know if your site will give them what they are looking for.) You'll be most successful with this personal approach if you use a light touch. Put the verbal hammer and exclamation points away. There's no need to shout. Just make sure the text sounds like it was written by a living, breathing, feeling human being. Don't just state the facts...write in a way that touches the reader's emotions. Help them feel it, not just read it. Things really begin to fly when you combine the proven principles of direct marketing with the personal potential of the web. Nick Usborne is a copywriter, author, speaker and advocat of good writing. You can access all his archived newsletter articles on copywriting and writing for the web at his Excess Voice site. You'll find more articles and resources on how to make money as a freelance writer at his Freelance Writing Success site.
MORE RESOURCES: Walmart cutting 1,027 jobs at Fort Worth e-commerce facility The Dallas Morning News 3 Top E-Commerce Stocks to Buy Right Now The Motley Fool Walmart laying off hundreds of U.S. workers at five e-commerce fulfillment centers: Reuters Supermarket News JD.com shares jump after Chinese tech giant proposes to spin off, list units South China Morning Post Accelerate Growth with Walmart Marketplace Practical Ecommerce The Future of Ecommerce: How a Product Becomes a Purchase Andreessen Horowitz 12 New Ecommerce Books for Spring 2023 Practical Ecommerce eCommerce Fraud Protection: Are you secure? Security Boulevard Top 15 US Ecommerce Companies Forecast Insider Intelligence The innovation-sparking ecommerce data most distributors ignore Digital Commerce 360 Quick Commerce Grew The Most In 2022; Ahead Of Ecommerce ... BW Businessworld Ecommerce Product Releases: March 15, 2023 Practical Ecommerce BuyBuyCart – Tech Ecommerce Startup that caters to B2C and B2B ... Ahmedabad Mirror Ecommerce upstarts navigate pandemic shopping reset Financial Times Ecommerce and Digital Marketing Specialist Merck KGaA Walmart e-commerce fulfillment layoffs top 600 Supply Chain Dive US Ecommerce by Category Forecast 2023 Insider Intelligence Square Ecommerce Moves Upmarket Amid Economic Uncertainty Business Insider The rise of ecommerce in the coffee industry Perfect Daily Grind Facebook's Advantage+ shopping campaigns: Are they worth the ... Search Engine Land Ecommerce Entertainment Equals Engagement Multichannel Merchant Southeast Asia Retail Ecommerce Forecast 2023 Insider Intelligence 2023 B2B Ecommerce Market Trends Report—Part 1 Digital Commerce 360 Data: The Essential Ingredient For Ecommerce Leaders To Lead, But Too Much Of It Hinders Growth Forbes Start an E-Commerce Side Hustle on a Budget Entrepreneur Costco ecommerce sales drop despite total sales increase Digital Commerce 360 How will DTC change the landscape of ecommerce growth over the ... Supply Chain Dive Daily Research News Online no. 34829 - Funds for eCommerce ... Daily Research News Online Ecommerce businesses are hiring — and with high salaries Digital Commerce 360 Google Shopping Hacks To Upgrade Your Ecommerce Strategy Search Engine Journal Ecommerce SEO Trends and Insights for 2023 Entrepreneur Perspective: Why Online Payments Are The Next Big Thing In Ecommerce Innovation | Crowdfund Insider Crowdfund Insider Ecommerce return rates rose in retail's longest holiday season yet Insider Intelligence 2023 Consumer Trends Impacting eCommerce Profitability Supermarket News Behind Paramount’s Ecommerce Push: A Chat With Consumer Products Chief Pam Kaufman Hollywood Reporter Ecommerce, food-delivery firms face new trouble as government eyes related party services ban The Economic Times Apple Pay Later Could Upend BNPL Space Practical Ecommerce Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse hit the ecommerce world. See a list of impacted companies. Digital Commerce 360 E-commerce negotiators advance work, discuss development and ... WTO Latest News Vehicle Subscriptions Gaining Traction Practical Ecommerce Journey Hospitality extends hotel ecommerce... Travolution T-shirt Seller on Licensing, Drop-shipping, More Practical Ecommerce Slowdown in E-Commerce Hitting Logistics Companies' Payrolls ... The Wall Street Journal HUL, ABFRL named ‘digital disruptors’ in top e-commerce categories like grocery, fashion Business Today Seed Funds for eCommerce Returns Data Firm Two Boxes - Daily ... Daily Research News Online FTP aims to spur e-commerce exports with series of measures Economic Times |
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