Alright people,

This has been boiling inside of me for a very long time now. I want as much people in this poll as possible.

I've felt, for a very long time, that most sales letters I read are full of bull****. Seeing someone write the truth feels like I'm gasping for air. And I want to know how "popularized" my gut feeling is.

Is everyone jaded?

- Do you skim a salesletter immediately, trying to uncover something worthwhile in this new pool of hype?

- Do you mistrust a seller, even when you're about to buy?

- Do you feel like people are out for your money?

- And do you feel like every sales letter is a detective job trying to seperate the wheat from the chaff?

Let me know!

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's just me. But if it's not, maybe we can learn a lesson from this and starting to write from the gut again... and see if we can speak the truth in our marketing messages.

If anything, it'll stand out. Let's hear it...

Hi Erik,

I don't even read most of the direct mail I get now. I look at the headline - most are really dull and predictable - you know the sort "get this astounding result in only 2 weeks" or whatever.

But ....

The problem is, that we are part of the magic circle. We know what the magician's tricks are. We've pulled back the curtain on the Wizard of Oz to find a tiny, wrinkled old man trying to scare the living bejaysus out of everyone. We know all the ruses and tricks.

Therefore, a group of marketers and copywriters may not be the best people to ask (except to the degree that maybe the easiest people to sell to are sales people! - one of those ironic laws of the universe).

However, I think the public is also becoming jaded by direct mail and hypey websites. Now that they've been exposed to it for some years, and perhaps have bought things that didn't live up to the hypey promises, they are more wary. We've all made bad buying decisions in the past - so we're all very alert to the next scam or disappointment.

As for being honest and transparent, I never saw any reason to do otherwise. If you've got a good product or service that delivers good outcomes, then why do you need to hype it up or lie about it? The understated truth leads to a refreshing read.

I find it seems to work to really focus on communicating value, and working on communicating ideas and concepts, rather than peppering the language with platitudes, cliches and an overabundance of meaningless metaphors and adjectives.

But that's just me.

Jane

Erik,

I'm a serial sales letter scan-artist. If it doesn't hit me with value Immediately, I'm gone.

I'm very tired of the F-you appraoch a la Rich Jerk and it's immitators. Though that original sale copy was a stroke of genius, I grew tired of it quickly.

I love to read a letter that is no bull, conversational, bar stool type stuff.

Some headlines are more used up than a Time Square hooker.
One day I'll find a way to write a headline that says, "Who Else is Tired of The 'Who Else..' Headline"


That being said, I know that tried and true headlines work for a reason but I feel there must be a prdictable cycle to it all. Then again there are niches out there that haven't been beaten down yet...

But they will be. They will be.

P.S. I think It's funny that I'm an 'Advanced Member' with onl 12 posts
Thanks Michel

Jane,

I knew I could count on you for support on this thread. In fact, I was going to write a P.S. saying that I knew you'd be with me, but that I'm still curious about the rest of the board.



Guess I didn't have to

You're right when you say it's different for us... but... we also have a disposition to read sales letters out of professional interest.

I'm not at all turned off by sales letters. I'm turned off by B.S. when people tell it to my "face". I think the majority of people pick up the same scent of fresh B.s. when it's handed to them.

Pescador,

Great headline man. I think you already wrote it

-Erik.

P.s., There's hookers on Time Square? I must've missed em...

If you were selling something to a group of copywriters, I think this would definitely work! I absolutely HATE with a passion the "who else" headline form - it's just so insulting to the intelligence.

Erik,

Yes - of course I'm with you on this one. I hope you get the response you want from the rest of the board.

Last year I did something like 8 months' worth of coaching with a coach who teaches communication, rather than copywriting skills. It gave me a much broader sense of what writing and communication are all about. The way she taught it, it was very much more about creating "bridges" in understanding. This is particularly salient when trying to sell intangible services. 9 tenths of the battle is getting the prospect to understand the value, rather than beating them about the head with hype. She also taught us how to use vivid language - vivid, not hypey.

Now, if only I could find a copywriter to work with who understands this and knows how to write for professional services businesses ....

Jane

Well, recently I purchased a self-improvement product that costs $200. I got the original sales letter in the mail, and it sounded OK, but a little sparse on details. So I went on the website to see if more information was available and clicked on a sales letter that just made me cringe. Every other word bolded, italicized AND underlined... with "imagine this" and "imagine that", all images that were supposed to excite me, but I just wanted more FACTS. If anything, the salesletter made me want to buy it LESS but there were some very powerful testimonials by some very well-known people and, anyway, I did buy it despite the sales letter.

But really, it's getting to where I would like to buy certain products but am actually turned away by the exaggerated or vague benefits (how it will make my life wonderful) and lack of real facts and features (no kidding) so it's getting harder to find out what something actually DOES or what its ingredients or materials are. So yes, I've become quite jaded.

Erik,
I think a what you might be seeing is a lot of newbies making an attempt to write copy that don't have a clue.

These days anyone can go online and purchase an ebook about copywriting and they think "voila! - now I hold the secret to it all"!

I don't think the majority of these copywriters intentionally try to mislead the reader - it just comes off this way due to their lack of experience, training, and especially "proof" in their copy.

They think hyperbole is the fuel that runs the engine.

I think it would be safe to use the analogy of a plaid-jacketed, used car saleman versus a corporate level representative.

One uses hype to sell - the other uses education, experience, and well-honed techniques.

Erik, although "bad" copywriters give us all a bad name, you should feel satisfaction in knowing that you have very little "real" competition in the world of copywriting.

If you look at it in a more positive light, it'll at least make life a whole lot easier to swallow each day.

I doubt that Erik feels concerned or threatened. So let's not derail this conversation by making assumptions about what Erik is feeling. Let's stick to the point, shall we?

Do we, or do we not, think a lot of copy is washing over us these days? (I think that was the point - Erik can correct me).

Jane

Well, the thing is, on the one hand I'm looking for validation... true... but, it doesn't mean that I like getting it in this case

I think I'm a bit past concerned. Yes, it's bad that sales letters nowadays are full of sh*t for the most part, but when you see the same "spiel" going on in politics, that's a lot worse.

In any case,

As far as copywriting goes, I'm interested in the phenomenon because I don't think there's any market bigger right now than a market for TRUTH.

The more hype and lies you encounter on a day-to-day basis, the bigger the demand for honest and reliable guidance becomes.

Thoughts?

Because Jane is "InfoGuru".

Instead of Old Paradigm (Focus on me, Features/benefits, Promotional, Hyperbole, Exaggerated results, One size fits all, Transaction oriented, Questionable value, Charge for time, Competitive, "Car Sales Person")

She likes New Paradigm (Focus on you, In-depth information, Educational, Solid credibility, Proven results, Customized solutions, Relationship oriented, Verifiable value, Charge for value, Cooperative.