you have to "sell" the reader on the single idea to...

KEEP READING...

that you have something of INTEREST for this person, that it is something they want and you have the BIG SOLUTION (or promise) that fulfills this.

Some copy presents a DRAGON (a problem you bring to the conscious awareness of the reader)...then you present the White Knight Dragon Slaying solution...(your product or service)...

BUT before a single word of copy gets written down, you must know, NO, you MUST KNOW who it is you are addressing.

As I'm working on several promotions right now for over a dozen people, the one thing that is difficult for me is to get people to IDENTIFY a very specific market, the person who really WANTS what they have...once this is done, it makes the job of writing a message to this person much easier...after I've done some research on the markets and get a better feel for what is needed.

There are those products that just CAN'T be sold by copy, and I don't care who writes it...the things that Don Alm does so easily, that face-to-face advertising (or any product) is what a lot of people NEED to do, but want some magic copy to do that job for them.

I tend to be "brutally" honest about products I write on, and don't hesitate to tell people that I can't do it (I'd bet no one can, but that's what keeps advertising agencies in business see?)

Some things have to be sold in person, there is NO WAY around this. That being said, then once you have a very clearly defined market (or problem) then you can use words to make something happen.

The first thing is they have to READ (see) your message, if it is a web site, they have to find it. And if you count on Search Engine traffic, you'd better stay on top of your keywords and industry and make sure you getting into the top...

if you are using offline ads to drive traffic, then you'd better get their attention quickly with that BIG PROMISE that solves their problem.

IF you are writing to Business...you had better get to it RIGHT away, cause most envelopes don't even get opened. Which is why if you want other merchants to buy from you (and which is why Don Alm is so successful)...is more than likely, a DIRECT contact is a better first option than a letter/postcard is.

The other point I need to make today is, GET OFF OF YOU and on to them FIRST...your success, credibility and expertise comes into play, as part of the selling process, BUT NEVER...

LET ME REPEAT THAT...

NEVER...up front in your first Attention Grabbing Opening or first paragraphs, UNLESS your expertise is so relevant to the reader it is a compelling enough reason for them to continue...

Write out a concise three sentence statement:

My prospect's problem (or want) is: _______?

The BIG Promise my copy makes to them is:____?

The REASON they must have this NOW is:____?

Just those three questions will take you miles down the road when you are trying to write copy that produces results.

I'd like to thank all of those who have given me some challenging projects, I appreciate your patience and your understanding when I sometimes ask the above questions... I need to know EXACTLY what you want the copy to do, and to WHOM it is beign directed.

Thanks,

Gordon Alexander