Copy Checklist

For copywriters – this is a superb copywriting checklist you can consult whenever you need to polish up your copy.

It’s by John Forde of the Copywriter Roundtable’s fame.

http://copywritersroundtable.com/

Enjoy! I’m sure you will find it as useful as I did.

I Package Description:

CARRIER ENVELOPE

[ * ] *Excellent
[ * ] *Good
[ * ] *Needs some improvement, but can be salvaged
[ * ] *Needs to be rewritten
[ * ] *Needs to be redesigned

Is there a strong teaser that effectively does these two things?:

(1) *The copy identifies and qualifies the prospect immediately.

[ * ] Yes
[ * ] No
[ * ] MAYBE

(2) *Gets him inside the envelope?

[ * ] Yes
[ * ] No
[ * ] MAYBE

THE LETTER

[ * ] Excellent
[ * ] Good
[ * ] Needs some improvement, but can be salvaged
[ * ] Needs to be rewritten
[ * ] Needs to be redesigned

Content:

The letter must contain the following in this general sequence–all done
strongly and effectively according to proven direct response methods:

Quotable Quotes Series #3

Here’s today quick quotable quote…  

“Advertising Is What You Do When You Can’t Be There In Person”   

Take Home Message:

I got this from Drayton Bird’s newsletter.

And this quote came from Fairfax Cone, one of the founders of Foote, Cone & Belding (a leading advertising agency).

As advertising is salesmanship multiplied, you have to show and demonstrate like you would in person.

And as Drayton Bird will say, “If any of your marketing material just talks about what you do but doesn’t show it, look at it again.”

Jag Foo

Selling Secrets of Ad Agencies

What if you can learn the secrets of the top ad agencies to create blockbuster ads that pull response like crazy?

If you know their techniques…you can absolutely replicate them and create the same sales success for yourself.

Imagine if you knew the following facts:

FACT! 60% of people read only headlines. Your headline MUST stop them or your advertising will likely fail.

FACT! Captions under photos get 200% greater readership than non-headline copy.

FACT! Ads with sale prices draw 20% more attention and increase depth of readership.

FACT! Half-page ads pull about 70% of full-page ads… quarter-page ads pull about 50% of full-page ads.

FACT! At 12 points and larger, Ariel is the easiest to read font. Under 12 point, use Verdana.

FACT! 4-color ads are up to 45% more effective than black and white.
Could you use these insider secrets to your advantage?
You bet you can!

And you can them more from a phenomenal book by Eric Drew Whitmen’s Cashvertising.

Here’s the link:
http://www.cashvertising.com/

If you do anything related to advertising – online or off – this will be your secret weapon. Just think about it.

Get Targeted Ads On The Cheap

If you notice, there is increasing competition in advertising. More and more companies are getting in on the online space.

Just take a look at Google Adwords. A keyword like “window cleaning company” can cost an average of $4.44 per click!

You better have a good ad that can give you a high click through rate (CTR) as well as a solid landing page/sales pitch to have any kind of ROI.

Thankfully…there is an alternative traffic that you can get such clicks at almost half the cost…sometimes less…and still retain the quality of the traffic.

The answer – content network. Specifically the placement targeting.

If you don’t know yet, Google has a HUGE network of sites that carry their contextual ads. These sites will show ads that are relevant to the pages’ content.

It’s amazing that most people are focused on the search network and are completely forgoing the content network. And the content network can be a source of huge volume of traffic.

Now for advertisers who are using content network, most are targeting via keywords.

But keyword targeting can be pretty untargeted considering that the default matching is set to “broad”.

To Focus On Branding Or Not?

Branding. Do they matter? Is it important to focus on them?

If your answer is yes, let me ask you a simple question.

How do you measure branding? How can you measure how much your “brand” has increased as a result of your marketing campaigns?

The answer is that there isn’t a exact way to measure. Branding is intangible. It’s hard to quantify.

And for that reason, I prefer the direct response marketing approach. Because ultimately, a success business is judged upon sales and profit.

I much prefer going into campaigns that let me track my ROI. So I know what to improve to get better results. As well as what to discard. Now, I’m sure this topic will no doubt be a controversial one.

Thurs I’ll leave you with John Forde’s views on this particular subject. It’s a very good read.

Do "Brands" Really Matter?

By John Forde

Ad agency guys love brands. They love brand-driven advertising too.
On the website for Ogilvy & Mather, the agency founded by legendary ad man David Ogilvy, I once saw the phrase "We’re all about brands."

Best Commercial – Ever!

This got to be one of the best commercials – ever!

It’s got all ingredients. I swear!

It sucks you in. It keeps you attention. And it get’s an emotional reaction out of you. All critical responses that any adverts will aim to get out of their audience.

If this ad doesn’t get you, nothing will!

P.S Mastercard’s tagline is just priceless. Who’s their copywriter?

Freaking brilliant!