How to: Direct Response Copywriting

June 1^st 2010 Sally Ormond copywriter, direct mail campaign, Direct marketing

Whether you are talking direct mail campaigns or direct response adverts – this is one form of copywriting that is set to stay.

Many people think that direct response copywriting doesn’t work, but if it doesn’t, why do so many companies continue to use it?

The key to ensuring your direct response campaign works, is to ensure that your copy is compelling, interesting and relevant enough to grab your readers’ attention.

If your writing takes on a friendly tone, it is far more likely to be read than something that is hard sell or ‘high-brow’. As for whether your copy should be long or short – quite simply, it should be as long as it needs to be to get your message across.

The magic formula

This is the science bit – there are 3 main elements to any direct response letter:

Headline
Offer
Postscript

Your headline must be attention grabbing, your offer must be amazing and your postscript will provide the incentive needed to buy.

Other important elements that will help your readers reach a buying decision are testimonials and case studies. People are naturally sceptical about unsolicited offers through the post (or by email) therefore you must earn their trust. And the best way to do that is to show them how other people have benefited from your product or service. But make sure they are genuine.

With a captivating headline and powerful offer, you should be almost at the sale point. But to give an extra push, use your postscript.

Your incentive to buy now could be a time limited discount, or the first 500 customers receive a free bonus…something along those lines.

The key to your direct response letter or email is to get the recipient to take action immediately, and that is what your postscript is designed to do.

Can you guarantee success?

The answer to that is probably no. There are so many factors that come in to play, there can be no guarantees.

However, you can maximise your chances by using a professional copywriter to write your letter. But you must also consider who you are sending it to (an in-house list is likely to bring in a greater return than a bough-in list), when you are sending it, how you are sending it.

If everything goes in your favour, direct response can achieve great results.