A direct response message is not just about response.
It’s comprised of three elements: it must be 1)
captivating (it captures the reader’s attention), 2)
riveting (it pulls her into reading further) and 3)
engaging (it calls her to act). (In fact, these are the
“three simple steps” I talk about in my DVD video.)

How can you incorporate those three vital elements?

If I were to answer that question adequately it would
likely take me an entire book the size of an
encyclopedia! But for now, let me give you a succinct
explanation…

First, write to be scanned.

On the Internet, people are fast-paced, click-happy
(with an attention span the size of a DNA molecule) and
easily bored. The burden of getting visitors to stop
what they’re doing and start reading rests entirely
upon the headline, the headers and any grabbers —
things that help grab people’s attention (e.g., boxes,
borders, graphics, etc).

But once you captured your readers’ attention, the next
step is to keep them (and to keep them reading).

If you know the AIDA formula, you know this is where
you need to generate interest. But I go a step further
by saying that your job is even more important here,
since you must not only generate interest but also
maintain it. And that is a much harder task, especially
online.

It’s also the crux behind a long copy salesletter’s
success.

The debate about long versus short copy can be
wearisome for most copywriters, since they must
constantly explain to their clients the benefits of
using long copy. Even though long copy is statistically
proven to outperform short copy, many clients still
tell me that longer copy will never be read, and that
on the Internet things are short and fast. And then
they ask me to trim my drafts down.

(I often fervently protest when this happens, and
you’ll soon find out why.)

Sure, I completely agree that things are short and fast
online. But there is a difference between grabbing
people’s attention and holding on to it. Keeping
readers riveted, hanging on to each and every word with
an intense desire to know what’s next, is the goal of
any direct response copy.

Remember this:

There’s a difference between long copy and long-winded
copy.

(It sounds the same as reading a story, right? Well, it
is. Like a book that’s called a “page turner,” copy
that keeps people glued to each and every paragraph is
one that is intensely interesting, curiously inviting
and uncomfortably compelling.)

As an aside, why do you think we now include
“stickiness” as a measuring stick in web analytics?
Granted, some of it is entertainment value, like videos
and graphics. But 9 times out of 10, it’s copy. Period.

Here’s a known fact:

Prospects who are qualified and genuinely interested in
the product or service being offered always want more
information about it, not less. If they are not
qualified or interested from the outset, no matter how
long or short the copy is, they will simply never buy.
If they’re not interested or qualified, they won’t read
15 words, much less 1,500 words.

Shorter copy can lead to three potential outcomes:

1) a lower response due to the lack of information;

2) an incessant need for more data, leading to a
barrage of information requests or questions;

3) or a higher number of cancellations, refunds and
returns since the product or service turned out to be
different than what was initially expected.

If long copy leads to poor results, it has nothing to
do with the length. It has everything to do with the
copy.

It’s simply too boring.

It didn’t elevate the reader’s level of interest, and
it failed to keep her reading. Admittedly, it’s a
challenge — and the reason why most online business
owners usually opt for short copy, since writing long
copy that engages, entices and entertains is very
difficult. (Yes, I did say “entertain.” It really is
all about storytelling.)

Good copy, on the other hand, is where the reader hangs
onto every word, and becomes more and more excited the
further she reads it. You see, long copy is like
telling a good story — and copywriters are indeed
storytellers. If your copy tells a compelling story,
people will read it … All of it. When it is written
well, long copy can lead to a much greater level of
response.

Look at it this way:

You visit a bookstore and notice a book that seems to
entice you. For instance, the cover, the title and the
cover copy, such as editorial raves or the author’s
biography, pull you into the book. Even the opening
chapter is delectable. So, you decide to buy the book.

The book seems to be inviting, exciting and
entertaining, and the story compels you to read every
single page, no matter how big the book is.

Take Stephen King, for example. If you’re a Stephen
King fanatic, that means: 1) you’re in his target
market, and 2) you’re interested in everything King
writes. Now, let’s say King publishes a massive, 800-
page tome. Are you not going to read it simply because
“it’s too long?” Of course not.

In fact, the book is so good that you either wish it
was longer or, once done, are prepared to read it over
once more. You just can’t put the book down, even if
time is limited, and you’re busy or preoccupied with
other things.

Here’s a flipside.

Let’s say, as you read it further, the story makes no
more sense. You become confused, perhaps a little
frustrated, and you slowly begin to lose interest. The
plot no longer invites you to keep reading. You drift
away and find it harder to continue. Ultimately, the
storyline fails to keep you excited about the book. So,
you stop, close the book and then shelve it. Now, it
gathers dust in your library.

The excuse? It’s TOO long!

Let me ask you, how many books in your library did you
fail to finish reading (or to start reading, for that
matter)? Perhaps some. Perhaps many. But the same thing
holds true with direct response copy.

Long copy works better than short copy. But it only
works if it’s interesting, captivating and riveting.
Call it “edutainment.” Copy must be educational and
entertaining.

However, in a handful of cases shorter copy is
warranted. (There is such a thing as “overselling” in
copy.) But the only real way to know for sure is to
test, test and test. Claude Hopkins, author of
“Scientific Advertising,” wrote an important axiom:

“Almost any question can be answered cheaply, quickly
and finally, by a test campaign. This is the only way
to answer them, not by arguments around a table. Go to
the court of last resort… The buyers of your product.”

As my mentor, copywriting genius Dan Kennedy, once said
in a recent interview:

“Now, the person who says ‘But I would never read all
that copy’ makes the mistake of thinking they are their
customer … And they are not. We are never our own
customers. (…) There is a thing in copywriting I teach
called ‘message-to-market match’. It is this: when your
message is matched to a target market that has a high
level of interest in it, not only does the level of
responsiveness go up but readership goes up, too…

“… The whole issue of interest goes up.”

The next step is to engage the reader.

Again, you’re like an author telling a good story, and
your copy must read like one. But like all good
stories, the reader must become intimately involved in
the plot. They see themselves in the shoes of the
characters living out the story.

And to do this, you need what I often call “UPWORDS.”
It’s an acronym that means: “Universal picture words or
relatable, descriptive sentences.”

First, using “universal picture words” means to use
words and mental imagery that help to paint vivid
pictures in the mind. Lace your copy with words that
engage as many of the senses as possible, and cause
your prospects to easily visualize already enjoying the
benefits of your offer.

As for “universal,” it means to use words that appeal
to, and can be easily interpreted by, the vast majority
of readers. In other words, use words to “encode” your
message so that, when they are read, can be decoded in
the same way by most of your readers. Your job is to
get the reader not only to read your copy but also to
understand it, internalize it and appreciate it.

Remember this simple yet extremely important rule:

“Different words mean different things to different
people.”

Some words can be interpreted in one way by one reader
and in a different way by another. Your job, therefore,
is to choose words that cater and universally appeal to
the bulk of your readers in order for them to fully
appreciate what you’re conveying.

For example, a challenge among cosmetic surgeons is the
fact that prospective patients will call for an
estimate over the phone when obviously the doctor needs
to see her beforehand. (An initial, in-person
assessment is always required, even by law, to see if
that patient is a surgical candidate. Giving out an
estimate implies that the patient is indeed a good
candidate for the surgery when it may not be the case.)

Here’s the crux of the problem:

Most patients don’t understand the significance of
seeing the doctor in person. Some may feel intimated by
doctors or by surgery, while others may simply be in a
rush and want to “shop around.” While they may
understand the reason, they may not necessarily
appreciate the importance, because cosmetic surgery is
an uncommon process. So, doctors will use analogies,
referring to a more common approach, such as cosmetic
dentistry.

Why? Unlike surgery, most people have had their teeth
done at some point in their lives. They already know
it. They already have a “reference point” in their
minds they can relate to.

So, doctors will say: “Like a dentist, I can not give
you an estimate over the phone without any x-rays of
your teeth let alone the knowledge of how many cavities
you actually have.” People now understand not only the
reason but also the importance of seeing the doctor in
person in order to obtain an accurate estimate.

This applies to every business.

Business owners often become so intimately involved
with their product or business that they tend to forget
to look at them from their prospect’s perspective. For
example, they tend to use a language that only people
in their industry or “on the other side of the fence,”
so to speak, can fully appreciate. But that approach
can backfire… And often does.

Therefore, your job is to use analogies, metaphors and
comparisons, and most importantly stories, all in a
language to which the prospect can relate.

That’s what “relatable, descriptive sentences” mean.
Words are not messages in themselves. They are merely
symbols. Your choice of words can actually alter the
understanding, and particularly the emotional impact,
of your message.

Finally, use action words (i.e., active verbs and not
passive ones) that not only compel your readers but
also “propel” them into action. Tell them what they
must do and take them “by the hand,” in other words.
Don’t stick with mere verbs. Use action words that
paint vivid pictures in the mind, too. And the more
vivid the picture is the more compelling the request
will be.

For example, you’re a financial consultant. Rather than
saying something like, “Poor fiscal management may lead
to financial woes,” say, “Stop mediocre money
management from sucking cash straight out of your
wallet!” (People can visualize the action of “sucking”
better than they can “leading.”) Instead of, “Let me
help you maintain your balance sheet,” say, “Borrow my
eyes to help you keep a steady finger on your financial
pulse.”

— About the Author —
Michel Fortin is a direct
response copywriter, marketing strategy consultant, and
instrumental in some of the most lucrative online
businesses and wildly successful marketing campaigns to
ever hit the web. For more articles like this one,
please visit his blog at http://www.michelfortin.com/
and subscribe to his RSS feed.

When I write copy, some tools help me tremendously. Whether it’s the copy itself, or interactions with my clients, there are certain websites I use that help make it a lot easier for me.

There are quite a few pieces of software, so let me just stick with the web-based ones. How about posting yours? What are some of the tools you use in your work to improve your productivity?

Here are some of mine…

Google Writely

Google is coming out with some pretty impressive tools of late. Writely is certainly one of them.

Writely is an online web-based word processor. Great for writing copy and sharing/collaborating, especially with other copywriters, clients, associates, etc. The beauty is that it can also import and export in various formats, including MS Word, Rich Text, HTML, OpenOffice, image files, and even zipped files.

Google Notebook

Research is an incredible part of our job as copywriters. Surfing the web or reading your email, you will come across a ton of passages and clippings you want to copy, reference to, gather for data research purposes, quote in your copy, get ideas from, etc.

Google Notebook is an personal online repository of all things important. It even offers a browser plugin to copy clippings on the web, save images, add sticky notes and file bookmarks, on the fly. You can easily “click and store” as you browse.

Google Spreadsheets

I use to have a PC-based spreadsheet to keep track of all my copywriting projects, which my junior copywriters, my accountant and my assistant had access to and could work on. But emailing back and forth was a nightmare.

Like Writely, Google Spreadsheet makes it possible to have it all in one central location, online. It even imports and exports in a variety of popular spreadsheet formats, including Excel, CSV, text, and so on.

Google Analytics

I love Google Analytics. Not only is it free, but Google Analytics is a lot more than your typical traffic and web-tracking software (giving you typical stats like referrers, pageviews, search engine traffic, keywords, etc). It’s also a really cool split-tester and conversion tracker.

When I test copy, or when I want to track how well the copy I wrote for a client performs, I simply add a snippet of code on the salesletter and another on the resulting action page (i.e., “thank you” page). And that’s just an iceberg’s tip of the information you can gather.

SendThisFile.com

When I need to send files — like copy work, video, images, etc — that are too large, either for my email or my client’s email, I used to upload it to my server and email the link. (Not only is this a two-step process, it’s also taxing on my resources.)

Now, I use SendThisFile to email any size file to my clients/associates in a snap. You enter the recipient’s data (and you can even send files to multiple recipients), browse to your file on your hard drive, upload, and send. That’s it!

BaseCamp

BaseCamp is a project management system and central repository I use to share information between clients, co-workers and junior copywriters.

It’s complete with message boards, group emails, whiteboards, file sharing, to-do lists, milestone planning, discussion room, goal setting, and more. One of the benefits is that, when I need information from a client, rather than a phone call or email, the client can respond via BaseCamp and it keeps, sorts and tags important communications.

Answers.com

Answers.com is an online dictionary. But it’s a lot more than that. While you can use it as a research tool, Answers.com also offers a free downloadable program that sits in your system tray and works at any time, when you need it the most.

While writing your copy or doing research, you simply ALT-click any word or phrase in any document, web page or software, and out pops up a window giving you: dictionary, encyclopedia, almanac, references, web searches, wiki entries, translations, thesaurus, you name it. All in one.

Textalyzer

MS Word offers a readability analysis built-in. This is great when you want to know if you’re using words that are too complex. (The best copy is almost always easily readable at a 6-7th grade level.) But what if you use FrontPage? Or if it’s online?

That’s where Textalyzer comes in. (It’s also a great tool for SEO purposes.) Need to know the word count, sentence count or character count of your copy? Perhaps to quote fees, measure project sizes or analyze competitor’s copy? Textalyzer does it all for you online.

RhymeZone

Sometimes, you need a word that rhymes. Or you’re looking for a famous quote. Or you’re looking for a word but can’t seem to find it in a dictionary. Or you want to quote a famous passage, adage or document (like the US Constitution).

Enter RhymeZone. It’s a writer’s all-in-one reference tool. It will even search word variations, antonyms, homophones, spellings, you name it. It’s an awesome tool I use quite often.

iDictate

Often, I need to transcribe copy I’ve recorded, a telephone conversation (such as one with a client), a teleseminar, or an audio file that’s relevant to my copy. iDictate is an online service that will transcribe audio files of any type and email you a document by email within a few hours.

It’s all done by human beings. (This is important since software, like Dragon Naturally Speaking, have to be trained and can only transcribe the speaker who trained it.) They even offer a 1-800 recording service, which is great for doing it on the phone.

I have more, but hopefully this will get things started.

— About the Author —
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, marketing strategy consultant, and instrumental in some of the most lucrative online businesses and wildly successful marketing campaigns to ever hit the web. For more articles like this one, please visit his blog at http://www.michelfortin.com/ and subscribe to his RSS feed.
——————————————

Many of us have been asked to write an article at one time or another. Maybe it’s a contribution to the company newsletter. Or a promotional article to gain publicity for ourselves or our companies. Some of us write articles regularly for clients.

No matter why you’re writing an article, it’s your responsibility to make it be interesting – otherwise no one will read it. (Except you.)

So how can you make your article interesting and engage your reader? It’s all about the ANGLE. First pick your topic. For example, let’s say your topic is something boring … “car wax.” Now, here’s where many people start writing.

Stop! You need an angle! What aspect of car wax do you want to write about? Is there anything new or sexy in the world of car wax that people are interested in? Some ideas: how the new generation of car waxes helps protect your paint job for twice as long, OR, an overview of the best five brands of car wax on the market, OR what the best type of wax is for your particular car. Get it? These are all angles. (By the way, I’ve never even waxed my car, so please take these ideas with a grain of salt!)

Ready to brainstorm your angles? Here are seven article “formulas” to get you started and get your juices flowing! Some elements of each may overlap with each other, but each formula is truly a distinct animal.

1. The How-To

People love how-to articles! They lead the reader step-by-step through how to reach an objective. They also sometimes offer resources the reader can contact for more information.

What expertise do *you* have to share? Turn that subject into an interesting how-to for readers. Examples: “How to Make Your Employees Stick Around Forever,” “How to Find the Best Dress for Your Figure,” and “How to Promote Your Business for Free.”

2. The List

This is one of the most basic formulas and the easiest to write. Give a short one or two paragraph intro, then launch right into your list. Keep each item to a few sentences max. People love numbers, so number your list and give your total number in the title! Examples: “31 Ways to Organize Your Office,” “15 Tips for Pain-Free Feet,” “Five Reasons Management Won’t Be the Same in 2001″

3. The “Straw Man”

Here you set up a premise and knock it down, showing the benefits of your alternative view or approach. This is ideal to use when you’re discussing the drawbacks of a new practice or method that’s controversial right now. Here’s a great example we often see on the covers of health magazines: “Are High Protein Diets the Key to Fast Weight Loss?” You get all excited, thinking you’ve discovered an amazing dieting revelation. But the article reveals, point by point, that high protein diets are unsafe for the long term, and that of course the only reliable way to lose weight is through diet and exercise. Oh well! Back to the treadmill….

4. The Mini Case Study

Raise a provocative question and then answer it with three or four real-life examples. Example: For an article titled, “Should You Quit Your Job and Go Freelance?” you could begin with a few stats on how today’s workforce is leaving the corporate world in search of solo bliss. Then you could feature a few real cases, each with different outcomes to show all sides of the issue.

5. The Interview

Choose a credible expert to interview for your article. For example, if your topic is the latest trends in banking, you could interview a top banking industry analyst. Present it in either a traditional article format or do a Q&A format.

6. The Trend

Trends aren’t just for fashion! Whenever a trend sweeps a certain profession, you’ll suddenly see dozens of articles covering the topic. From the latest hairstyle to the latest tax shelter, people want to know all about these trends – their origins, benefits, and drawbacks.

7. The Study Finding

These articles report the results of a study or survey. If you do a bit of research, you can probably dig up a recent study on which you can base your article. Examples: “Blue Chip Companies Cutting Marketing Budgets Across the Board,” “Armadillos Now Deemed America’s Favorite Pet,” and “More 20-Somethings Finding Love Online.”

(c) 2002 – 2003 Alexandria K. Brown