Famous Ad man and advertising copywriter Lester Wunderman says, “Yes.”

Of course, saying it can be done and actually creating advertising that is profitable are two very different things.

Before I continue down that road, let me share with you the  Mr. Wunderman’s complete statement.

This is the 6th thing all successful direct marketers know from a list he compiled and I stumbled across in his book Being Direct…

“6. The Next Step: Profitable Advertising

The results of advertising are increasingly measurable; they must now become accountable. Advertising can’t be just a contribution to goodwill – it must become an investment in profits.”

Dem’s fightn words on Madison Avenue…

Can you imagine The Big Ad Agency for Budweiser or Coke or Toyota having to account for every dime of advertising directly against the results it created?

They can’t do it.

So how do you make advertising profitable?

In short, you have to track every ad that goes out. You have to have your copywriter or ad agency or web person put a call to action with a order code or order extension or something on the advertisement. It’s there so that when a prospect responds or a customer buys, they give or send in the code and you know where the lead or sale came from.

Then, you do more of what’s working and drop what’s not working or not working as well.

Let’s see if I can put it in dollars and cents…

Let’s say you have 5 advertisements running at any given time. And for simplicity sake each ad costs you $200… so you’ve got $1,000 in advertising out there.

We’ll say two of those are billboards with your logo and maybe your address. These are big image or goodwill ads… so that’s $400 of your $1,000 budget.

Now, You also have a newspaper ad written by a direct response copywriter costing you $200. It has a call to action and maybe a coupon of some kind.

Then you have a more traditional ad like the newspaper guy told you to run. Then finally, you have some postcards with coupons on them that you mailed out to the area around your business.

Now obviously, these numbers are not to scale but here’s where we are at…

2  Billboards for total of $400

1 Direct Response Space Ad $200

1 Image Space Ad $200

1 Direct Response Postcard $200

Total $1,000

Stay with me and hopefully I can wrap this up in coherent manner…

Let’s say over the next week you get $5,000 worth of new business. Let’s also say that $$1,000 came from the direct response ad because people brought in the coupon to get the offer and another $2,000 came from the postcard offer.

And $2,000 came from some combination of the billboards and other space ad… you think. It could have been referrals, or walk-ins or… Fact is you don’t KNOW where the last $2,000 comes from.

Now, things get tight… the economy is suffering. Your customers are fewer. You need to know when you spend money on anything that you’ll get a return on your investment. Now, which of the 5 ads do you keep and which do you cut?

That’s what accountable, and ultimately profitable, advertising is all about. Tracking your ads and then doing more of what you KNOW works and less of what is just a guess.

Hope that makes sense.

I dare you to let me know your thoughts below…

We’ve been talking about Lester Wunderman’s “19 Things All Successful Direct Marketers Know.” And I am amazed that despite his success more people do not put his name in the same realm as Ogilvy.

Wunderman was responsible for many firsts in our industry and his book Being Direct is worth a read by every serious copywriter, marketing director and business owner.

One of the things Wunderman said  was that “Advertising Must Change Behavior, Not Just Attitudes.”

He went on to elaborate it like this:

“Favorable consumer attitudes go only part of the way to creating sales. It’s also the consumer’s accountable actions such as inquiries, product trials, purchases and repurchases that create profits.”

Truer words were never spoken.

Let me see if I can give you an example…

From time to time, I like to drink a beer or two. I don’t keep it stocked at the house and because I am not a regular drinker, I am not necessarily loyal to one brand.

However, I do watch a good bit of College football on the weekends (Go DAWGS!) and therefore see lots of beer commercials. So when I do go to the store I have “attitudes” or an image towards certain beer brands.

For instance I love the many entertaining Budweiser and Bud-light commercials. And recently, Miller light also has some entertaining commercials. So, my attitude towards these brands is that they are “fun.”

And while I am entertained, and while my “attitude” towards Budweiser is positive, I never buy Budweiser.

However,  I tend to be sold by the Sam Adams commercials. One in particular stands out is when they pointed out the fact that light ages beer – that’s why it is in dark bottles. But then Sam Adams took it a step further by pointing out that they make their 6-pack carriers taller to “keep out more light.”

Made sense to me and influenced my attitude in such a way that I took action… I changed my behavior from sitting on the couch drinking coke or sweet tea during a game to having a Sam Adams.

Interestingly, I still enjoyed the Budweiser commercials while drinking my Sam Adams.

Make sense? Can you see the difference in an attitude towards  a company or product compared to an accountable action?

I bet if you were to look around right now, you could find one item that you took action on buying and then think about a similar product that you have a favorable “attitude” towards but did not take action. What made the difference?

Feel free to share your example of attitude vs behavior in the comments below…

In part one of this two part series I said that copywriting simply stated is, “Salesmanship in Print.”

So you can use the following tools in both your writing and in your verbal sales presentations. They also work small miracles in everyday negotiations.

But a word of warning, these are very powerful and should be used with care.

Don’t you agree that having this kind of power should be used for good and not evil? If so, then you just experienced the mind steering power of what we in sales call an “inverted tie-down.”

I think it’s easier for you to see these than for me to try and explain them…

You’d like to see them wouldn’t you?

Then here’s a list:

1. Can’t you get excited about…?
2. Do you see the value of…?
3. Can you see the benefit of…?
4. Wouldn’t it be terrific if…?
5. Aren’t you glad that…?
6. Doesn’t it make sense to…?
7. Don’t you agree that…?
8. Isn’t it going to be fun when…?
9. Isn’t it about time that…?
10. Doesn’t it give you the confidence to know…?
11. Wouldn’t it be great to save money by…?
12. Isn’t it good to know…?
13. Isn’t it worth considering…?
14. Don’t you see why so many people are excited about…?

And on and on the list goes…

Fact is, you can turn just about any statement into an inverted tie down. The question you might have is “Why should I?” And that’s a fair question. After all, I promised you copywriting success in the headline of this post. And the best way for you as a copywriter or marketing director to start using these inverted tie downs is to understand why they work.

It’s simple. Whenever you ask a question in which you know the answer is yes, you are getting commitment from the client on a subconscious level. The more minor yeses you can get the easier the big yes of ordering becomes.

It’s basic psychology that we as humans tend to reaffirm decisions we’ve already made. We like to be consistent even if the consistency is irrational.

WHOA NELLY! I’m getting into a whole new post now so I’ll just end this little copywriting lesson right here.

But before you go, go ahead and leave your comments below…

“Why should I?”

If your customer or prospect is saying those words after reading, listening or viewing your promotion, brochure, email, commercial or video… you are in trouble.

At least that’s the way our “guest contributor” and “the father of direct response” Lester Wunderman believes.

His 4th “thing” that all successful direct marketing companies know is this:

“Answer the Question ‘Why Should I?’

The most dangerous question a prospect or customer asks is ‘Why should I?’ And he may ask it more than once – but never of you. The product and its communication stream must continue to provide him with both rational and emotional answers.”

Whew! That’s a mouth full so let’s see if we can break it down a bit…

First, let’s look at the question itself – “Why Should I?”

Now here’s the good news, if the prospect is asking this question, then you have at least slowed them down enough that they did notice you… and that’s a good thing. But for some reason, they still have the question “Why should I?” in their mind.

So, your advertising copy has caught their attention but what now?

Mr. Lunderman talks about how the product and its communication stream must continue to provide [the prospect] with both rational and emotional answers.

Answers to what? Answers that satisfy the question “Why should I… buy your product or service?”

So how do we engage someone both emotionally and rationally in the same piece of advertising copy?

Let’s look at something simple like a new outfit for an upcoming meeting. Let’s just assume the event is a informal get together but that our prospect knows that there is a good chance some good business contacts will be there as well.

We’ll call our prospect “Sam.”

Sam goes to a store looking for just the right blend of casual and sophisticated. Not Armani but not flip flops and a Parrot-Head  t-shirt either.

So, Sam spots an outfit in one of the store window displays (This is kinda like a headline for a retail store) and decides to go inside. Once inside Sam takes the outfit and grabs the sleeve feeling for texture.

But why?

Because Sam has already made at least a slight emotional connection to the outfit… it’s not a deep connection yet but it is there. By touching the sleeve and feeling the fabric, Sam doesn’t even realize it but Sam is looking for a rational justification to keep exploring the decision to buy the outfit. Sam is asking and trying to answer the question “Why Should I buy THIS outfit?”

This goes on until either Sam decide the outfit is not worth the money or it is. And how does Sam make that decision?

A series of these one/two punches of emotion and rationalization.

Perhaps the store has good sales person that can lead Sam down that road just like a good copywriter can lead a good prospect to a buying decision in an ad or salesletter.

You see, Sam WANTS to buy and outfit. But the truth is Sam has plenty of outfits at home that would do the job. Truth is, the fact that Sam was out shopping at all was an emotional decision backed by years of pre-programmed rational.

After all the clothing industry has done a good job overall of convincing us that what we wear matters. And surveys have backed that line of thinking up thus creating a nice little loop of proof.

And I guess, that’s what we’re really getting at isn’t it… proof in your advertising copy.

If you can back up your emotional claims like “This outfit will look great on you and help you land that next big client.” and then you back that up with a savvy sales person who says, “You know Sam I was reading in GQ just last week how employers are 77% more likely to hire a well dressed person than one with a prestigious degree.”

Of course your proof needs to be true but you get the idea.

So where does this leave you, dear reader?

When you do any marketing of any kind, stand back and ask yourself…

If I was the customer looking at this ad, proposal, whatever…

Why would I want to move forward with my purchase? If you have a toughtime answering that question, you may need to bring in some help like a good copywriter to help you dig deeper and find out what emotional and rational proof you can use to satisfy the question.

I’d love to hear your comments on this post below…

Mr. Wunderman covers “19 Things All Successful Direct Marketing Companies Know” in his book Being Direct – Making Advertising Pay.

And this is his third “thing”…

To be successful as a direct marketing company, you must “Communicate with each customer or prospect as an audience of one.”

Now, instinctively, you already know this to be true, right?

After all, that’s why we’re given names… because we are individuals. We are not grouped together and shackled at birth with all the other kids born that day. And we should not be treated like we are.

It’s really common sense.

Yet so often you and I read ads, or hear ads, or see ads on TV that seem to be talking to no one in particular… what a waste of time, talent and money.

I mean some ad copywriters just don’t get it, do they?

Consider this ad I found today… (You can click on it to make it larger. Then once you’ve read it, hit your back button and come on back here and we’ll talk about it.)

This ad seems to talk to a group not an individual

In this ad there’s alot of  “us” and “we” and “our”. Not much “you” other than the headline.

Before we move on to a better use of a more personal ad, let’s see what else Mr. Wunderman has to say on the topic…

“Advertising must be as relevant to each consumer as the product or service is. General advertising and more targeted direct marketing must both be part of a holistic communication strategy.”

Now, I found the above ad in INC. magazine and used it because it was on my desk. The same is true for the next ad… same magazine, same audience.

It’s not perfect but it is definitely aimed at me – not a group of people.

Take a look…

This ad appeals to the individual consumer

In this ad, you’ll notice more “you” and “your” and “you’ll”.

They even are considerate of you as a business owner and appeal to your need to both drive traffic to your site and to save you money by offering you a coupon for $75 worth of FREE advertising.

See the difference?

What’s more, this ad is a tear out so you can keep it even if you don’t keep the magazine… that’s also keeping the prospect in mind. There is a backside to the ad too. It goes into a little more detail about how Google Adwords works and how that applies to “your” business.

Well, that’s really all there is to it. I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback in the comments below.

Later,

McCool

It doesn’t matter if you provide a service or a product or even if you run a non-profit.

Everyone, needs money to operate…

Therefore, someone must pay the business for said product or service, or support the non-profit.

I know, nothing new there about business or marketing.

But here’s how I’d like you to frame the money transaction that I think can be useful to you. And by the way this applys in relationships where time or emotion is the dominant currency.

So here we go…

Every transaction is considered an expense until proven otherwise. In other words, the buyer takes a risk that will cost them money unless the product proves itself to be as advertised.

Let me explain a little further with an example.

I am a advertising copywriter. I write ads for clients with the goal of producing leads and/or sales that lead to cash in hand.

The thing is, when the client agrees to hire me as their copywriter, they still don’t KNOW that my work will make money for them. It doesn’t matter how much proof or how many samples I’ve shown them. To them, at that moment they sign the initial check, I am an expense.

Make sense?

And this works on any item I can think of… even peanut butter.

If I want to try a new peanut butter I saw advertised I am going to have to pay for it. So because I do not KNOW whether I will like the peanut butter or throw it away, I HAVE to categorize it in my mind as an expense until I can prove to myself it is worth buying.

Still with me?

If it is worth buying, it moves from expense to more of a trade… I’ll trade my dollars in exchange for the pleasure of tasting good peanut butter. In my mind, it is no longer an expense.

Do you see the difference? It seems minor but there is a HUGE difference in the mind of the consumer.

So what does this mean to you as an advertiser?

Let’s recap…

You, your product or your service is an expense until proven otherwise to the buyer. Once they know like and trust you, your product or service then you get shifted to another more favorable category in the consumer’s mind.

Sooooo…

One of the best ways to make the shift happen in the consumer’s mind is to always think from the consumer’s point of view when creating and marketing your stuff.

Simple? Yes. Easy? No.

Your thoughts, dear reader?

Then again maybe not.

Let me explain…

The company I do some freelance work with recently started testing video in place of long form sales copy.

The results have been amazing. By amazing I mean anywhere from 300% to as high as 2,100% more sales using video in an A/B split test.

So obviously, long copy is dead right?

Wrong!

Get this, the copy is nearly identical and the videos take 20 minutes to sit through just to get to the offer.

In other words, the long copy still works it just works in another medium.

It really shouldn’t be a surprise, should it?

After all, a 2 minute infomercial will routinely outsell a 30 second spot… and a 30 minutes spot will for many products outsell the two minute spot.

Here’s why long copy and now long video work:

“Some say, ‘Be very brief. People will read [watch] but little.’ Would you say that to a salesman? With a prospect standing before him, would you confine him to any certain number of words? That would be an unthinkable handicap.” ~ Claude Hopkins chapter 2 Scientific Advertising

By the way, there’s a guy online selling the idea that the long copy sales letter is dead and that video is where you have to be.

Perhaps, but this same guru recently advertised that he was looking for… wait for it… Long Copy copywriters for his own business.

Hmmmm. Now that’s interesting.

Your thoughts?

As a direct response copywriter, I’ve always been told long copy is better than short copy. And I think for the most part that’s true.

But are there times when a a well designed ad might be even better?

Here’s why I ask…

I was driving back from a long 4th of July weekend. We stopped at our usual Pilot Travel Center to top off with fuel, grab a cup of coffee and empty the last drink from two hours earlier.

While there, I picked up an issue of  “Trucker’s News”. I wanted to see if there were any ads that I could haul away for use in my swipe file.

So as I flipped through, I just waited to see if anything would catch my eye.

THEN BAMM!

Out of nowhere, a strange almost comical ad did indeed grab my attention.

Now understand, I am not the target market for this magazine so I’m not saying this is the best ad in the magazine.

But, have a look:

Short Copy That Grabs Attention

What’s your first thought?

Personally I think they do a lot of things right in this ad.

The very relevant photo, the red circle, the torn look on the ad, the emotional headline of the ad, even a call to action to visit the website or call.

All very well done.

Sure, there could be a free report… something like “7 questions You Must  Ask BEFORE you sign another Team driving contract.”

But this makes me want to look at the website – so I did.

Once on the website, the first thing that caught my eye was a $5,000 bonus for Team drivers. That’s pretty strong if this ad spoke to you.

I don’t know the success of this ad, but I am willing to bet it was pretty good.

I’d love to hear what you think, Leave me a comment below

Today this story caught my attention:

——————

DETROIT (AP) — German car maker Daimler AG says it will pull its shares from the New York Stock Exchange because of low trading volumes and changing investor behavior.

The maker of Mercedes-Benz and Smart automobiles said Friday that the move also will reduce the complexity of its financial reporting.

The company says it informed the stock exchange of its plans and will ask the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to delist the shares.

Daimler says most trading is done electronically through Frankfurt, Germany. The company says fewer than 5 percent of the company’s shares were traded in New York.

The move means Daimler will no longer have to file reports with the SEC. But the company said it still will keep open communications with U.S. investors.

Here is a link to the story… http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Daimler-to-pull-shares-off-apf-116925595.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=5&asset=&ccode=

————————————

My questions are…

Is this the beginning of a larger trend for foreign companies?

Is it really about low trading volume or could it be more about regulation and government interference in business?

Either way, it’s something you should keep an eye on if you own any stocks that are foreign based companies.

I know as a financial copywriter it gives me a few ideas.

I’d love to hear what you think about this by leaving a comment below…

Later,

McCool