Hi all,

I have received an unexpected SMS on my mobile.
Translated into English word by word, it says the following:

I have maintained the indentation, capitalization and
punctuation (none).

This is the shortest copy I can think of.

What's your opinion about this ad? Could anyone guess its
rate of response or conversion ratio?

Thanks,
Guillermo

Guillermo,

My guess is zero, if the message was sent cold.

Nevertheless, short copy can usually work if 3 conditions have been met. I just wrote an article. The link is here:

Hardball Copywriting » When A Long Copy Falls Short...


Bard

Hi Bard,

thanks for taking the plunge and giving me a guess.

However, I don't understand.
I have read your article. You say that short copy may be
very successful (I fully agree with you) if three conditions are
met:

- the desire - we all want to make cheap phone calls
- the feeling - Orange is a fully established phone company with
a proven record
- the belief - uh? I didn't understand that bit in your article...

The message was sent cold, but there is something behind: a
more-or-less-well-known telecom company (Orange). It does not come
from thin air.

So according with your article the copy might have some degree of
success, if I understand you well.



A member of this forum, in another topic, said that the word FREE (or 50%
discount in this case) is not a substitute for good copy.
I disagreed thoroughly.

I think that the word FREE or % discount has a lot of pull for certain
products or services.

It may not work for some products, for example an ebook or a newsletter. What
do I need another free ebook for? The seller has to actively sell it to me
with good copy, even if the product is free, or I may not bother to get it.

But for other products, we take for granted that we have to pay dearly if
we want them, such as food, drink, clothes, electronics... or phone calls.

For these products, the word "free" or "discount" may have a lot of pull,
without needing much copy. That's what I think.


However... this SMS was so lame! A dumb teenager could have written it.
So then, what? Is it going to be succesful or not?

Any more guesses? Come on!


Guillermo

Guillermo,

The Belief -- Did the receiver of the message believe Orange?

This is the question.


Bard