Great excerpts from Joe Sugaman for a reminder or tip for your Copy
Was looking through some old books I had on my computer and came across the classic Joe Sugamans Triggers I haven't read in a while.
Thought I'd throw out some of the T.V. Salesman Secret Chapter because it's a great reminder and or tip for writing some great copy and marketing in general.
He would simply stand in the aisles watching customers walk into the store. He would observe them. If they walked up to a TV set and started turning the knobs, he knew that he had a 50% chance of selling them. If they didn't turn the knobs, he had a 10% chance of selling them. (This, of course, was before the advent of the TV remote control.) had a 50% chance of selling them. If they didn't turn the knobs, he had a 10% chance of selling them.
In direct response advertising, you don't have the opportunity to sit in your prospects mailboxes or in their living rooms to observe them read your sales presentation. You are not there to see any knobs being turned. But you can get them to turn the knobs by giving them a feeling of involvement with or ownership of the product you are selling.
In all my ads, I make the prospects imagine they are holding or using my product. For example, in one of my earlier calculator ads, I might have said, "Hold the Litronix 2000 in your hand. See how easily the keys snap to the touch. See how small and how light the unit is." I create through imagination the reader's experience of turning the knobs.
In short, I take the mind on a mental journey to capture the involvement of the reader. I make the reader believe that he or she could indeed be holding the calculator and experiencing the very same things that I've described. This mental energy creates a picture in the mind of the prospect, which is like a vacuum waiting to be filled.
If I were writing an advertisement for the Corvette sports car, I might say, "Take a ride in the new Corvette. Feel the breeze blowing through your hair as you drive through the warm evening. Watch heads turn. Punch the accelerator to the floor and feel the burst of power that pins you into the back of your contour seat. Look at the beautiful display of electronic technology right on your dashboard. Feel the power and excitement of America's super sports car."
In direct response, using a gimmick to get involved with the reader is often referred to as using an involvement device--something that involves the consumer in the buying process. Sometimes it may seem silly. Have you ever received those solicitations that say, "Put the 'yes' disk into the 'yes' slot and we will send you a trial subscription to our new magazine"? The reader makes a commitment to take an action.
The reader is either taking action or imagining taking action through the power of the words on the solicitation.
~Suzanne Ryan
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