Successful direct marketing is always about combining two areas of work
To me, successful direct marketing is always about combining two areas of work.
On the one had there is the exciting creative stuff (the clever turn of phrase, the twist that takes the reader to one place when he/she thought you were going somewhere else, and so on…)
On the other hand there is the technical stuff that relates to the way the system works and the way the psychology of perception means that our brains process the piece.
Let me take just one example of this latter point
When I write a sales letter I occasionally use bold to highlight the first few words of a paragraph – but I never use bold for individual words or phrases within a paragraph.
The reason why the bold words and phrases within a letter or email don’t work – and in fact are counter productive is complex but has to do with the way the brain skims through text looking from the left while subliminally taking in what is on the right. Putting bold in the middle of the text ruins this flow, and reduces readership.
These technical bits of information are boring and dull, but they make a huge difference, and I have found over the years that time and again really exciting sales pieces have been destroyed in this way.
Why the positioning of bold is so important is not intuitive – which is why so many people do get it wrong. Indeed I have some clients who take my copy and change it to incorporate bold within the text, even though I plead with them not to, on the basis that they have seen other firms do it so it must be right.
So, my gentle word of warning is:
a) If you want to make a sale you have to write stunning, exciting and exhilarating copy, which grabs the reader by the throat, and
b) You have to abide by the findings of studies in the psychology of perception.
If you would like me to look at any email or direct mail that you have sent out or are thinking of sending out, please do send it through to Tony@hamilton-house.com and I’ll give you a call back to tell you what I think. No obligation, no charge.
Tony Attwood
01536 399 000
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