About Jodi Kaplan

Try This Timeless Copywriting Technique

Posted on October 15, 2009 by Jodi Kaplan

It’s easy to get distracted by the latest bright and shiny technology. We gawp at Buzzfeed, get entranced by SnapChat, and twitter away hours on social media. But sometimes, the best way to advertise isn’t the latest idea, but one of the oldest. Personalization has been used in direct marketing since the last century, but it still works (both online and off).

A true marketing personalization story

An advertiser with an unprofitable campaign was desperate. The ads for his business books were attractive, but the books weren’t selling. A colleague suggested adding the buyer’s name in gilt lettering on each book. The ads went out again (virtually unchanged, except for a note about adding the name). They sold hundreds of thousands of books.

Another company offered small memo books to customers and prospects as gifts. The results were poor until they used the same personalization idea. They sent letters saying “a book with your name is waiting for you.” All the prospect had to do was to fill out and mail a simple form. Nearly everyone who received the letter returned the form.

When everyone knows your name

These examples are from Scientific Advertising (published in 1920, you can download it from the link), but the personalization copywriting technique it used is still effective.

Amazon greets me by name when I login. Online grocer FreshDirect does the same thing (and just had me fill out a brief survey asking what kinds of foods I enjoy most).

Address your letter or email directly to the person receiving it. Treat your customers and prospects like people (instead of account numbers). They’ll love you for it. They might even put YOUR name in lights.

If you can’t wait, click this link for instant gratification.

Thanks to Deb Ng for pointing out the site.

A Marketing Secret From a Flight of Stairs

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Jodi Kaplan

Going up the stairs is hard work. Everyone knows it’s better for you to get the exercise, but most people take the escalator. The stairs are hard. The escalator is easy.

But what if you “change the story”? What if you changed going up the stairs from hard work to something people want to do?

Find the fun

Tell a story

Businesses need stories and secret identities too. Not a story about how experienced you are, or your fancy equipment, or even your fancy client list. Instead, you need stories about the satisfaction, the happiness, or the peace of mind that your customers get by working with you.

It’s about helping them achieve their dreams or desires (regardless of whether that dream is a drop-dead gorgeous web site or a house on a lake). Tell them the story of how they can get that dream.

What are your favorite ways to make your clients happy? Share your stories here.

(thanks to Becky Blanton for finding this video and pointing it out)

A Quick Way to Trouble-shoot Your Marketing

Posted on October 13, 2009 by Jodi Kaplan

We’ve all spent lots of time working on our Web sites, design portfolios, or product demos. Sometimes, when you’re inside the bubble, it’s hard to tell whether your ideas are really great or need more work.

This checklist will help you review what you’ve done and figure out whether to keep going or call a halt!

___Does your web site showcase your creative skills? Is it a compelling “free sample” (really free!) that makes clients want to hire you?

___Do your designs, reel, exhibit photos attract attention? Are they remarkable? Worth talking about?

___Is your blog worth linking to? Is it a valuable addition to the conversation about your industry? Or is it self-promoting? Do visitors get useful information that they can use in their own businesses?

___Does the design and layout support what you’re saying? A web developer/designers site that’s hard to use is sending the wrong message.

___Are your headlines appealing? Use numbers, questions, or promises of useful tips to get attention.

___Is your product better? How does it stand out against your competitors? Greener? Faster? Easier to use?

___Does the combination of the price and the value your customers get make it a no-brainer? Do your customers have to think twice about whether your services are worth the money you charge?

___If not, is there something you can add that will improve the price/value ratio? An extra bonus? A checklist? A progress dashboard?

___Have you given people enough information to make a decision? Have you addressed common questions or objections? Are you telling stories?.

___ Is your content persuasive? Are you showing (through case studies, testimonials, and vivid descriptions) that your solution really works?

Photo: morguefile

5 Ways to Turbo Charge Your Email Marketing

Posted on October 8, 2009 by Jodi Kaplan

Email is quick, easy, and fairly cheap. Done right, it’s a great way to get more leads and more sales. Done wrong, you can annoy your customers or get labeled a spammer.

Here are five ways to get improve your email response rates.

1. Tweak your landing page

If you don’t have one, build one. You want a dedicated page built specifically to match your offer. The headline, colors, layout, and typeface should all be consistent with your email’s look and feel.

Then, change the colors of the headlines, the type, or the buttons. Move the buttons around and experiment with the number of fields in your forms. Test different button text to see which gets the highest response.

2. Change the price

This doesn’t just mean the actual amount, but how you present it. The way you state the cost can make a big difference in how people react (and how much they buy). Test different versions such as $500 upfront in a single payment, or two payments of $250 each. Or, try offering a $20 savings against 10% off. Even if it works out to the same final price, the response rate is likely to be different.

Percentages are generally harder to figure out. Try a dollars-off offer instead. Or, test them against each other to see which performs better.

3. Pre-sell the offer

Use the text of your email to describe exactly why you’re sending your email. Tell your readers what they’ll get, and why they will want to have it. Make them eager to learn more, even before they click through to the landing page.

4. Make it urgent

Explain why your readers should click right now, rather than waiting, to get your offer. You can do this by explaining that you can only take X number of customers or that the early-bird price ends soon. Just make the reason legitimate, such as a limited print edition or the physical size of a room. Nobody runs out of e-books.

5. Write better bullets

Make them short, compelling, and easy to scan. Put the benefit at the beginning, and use strong words with built-in benefits. Words such as “get”, “best”, “worst” (yes worst), or numerals. Or ask a question that your readers will want to answer “yes” to. Marketing to people who want to lose weight? Tell them they can “get fit in 20 minutes a day.” If you’re selling a guide for urban gardeners, point out the list of “local garden centers that deliver.”

Photo:YtseJam

How to Make Your Marketing Irresistible

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Jodi Kaplan

Do you ever wonder if people actually read your ads? Would you like to get more readers (and more orders) from your ads?

Here’s how.

Write a great headline

Use it to make a big promise. Offer something your audience desperately cares about. Tell them you can fix a problem they have (or avoid having the problem in the first place). Here’s an example for an imaginary product.

“Stop Struggling With Flat Tires!”

Then, fill out the promise. Paint a picture of what they’ll get, and how they’ll enjoy it. The more descriptive (and specific), the better. Don’t use fancy words or technical jargon. Make it about the buyer (not about you). She’s the “hero.”

“New Super Tire Jack slips easily under your car. Just press the button, and whoosh, the car goes up and you can easily remove the tire. ”

Turn features into benefits

A feature would be “push-button operation” A benefit is: “No more sweating (and swearing) to get your flat tire changed. Super Tire Jack does 90% of the work for you. Just push a button!”

Prove that it works

Include testimonials from happy customers. Even Seth Godin says that he sells more books on his blog when he reviews someone else’s work than when he talks about his own. Use testimonials, case studies, statistics, or demos to make your point.

Ask for the purchase

Call, click, write….(do it now, before they’re gone).

Photo: johnny automatic