What are your thoughts on editorial style copy similar to Maria Veloso's versus the more "hype" style copy that seems to be more prevelant on the net?

I really like Maria's style and wonder how well it would work for the work at home and internet marketing niche. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Well Mila I'm going to take a leap of faith here and assume that when you mean "advertorial" you're talking about a sales letter that uses a "soft-sell" approach as opposed to the "in your face" that is so prevelent in information marketing.

I think the "hype-fest" filled letter has it's place-- specifically within niches where that type of approach isn't being used.

However the "work at home" and "Internet marketing" niches are full of so much hype if I were in those niches I would go the other way and consider a softer-sell approach.

Yes, that's what I mean!

Thanks Michael, I was thinking the same thing. Just about everything I've seen in this market is quite hype filled and I want to try a different approach. I should probably write two versions and test them.

Hype or editorial, I don't know which one is better.

What I do know is that most copy sucks because it doesn't *really* strike a chord. When I say not really I mean almost not at all.

Fact is, most products are dull, uninspiring and don't contain original breakthrough thinking. With that to inspire the copy, I'm not surprised at the sales letters.

The marketplace is a place where people who share a need gather to listen to the solutions on offer. In this marketplace, there is an ongoing conversation.

Copywriting is like sitting at a dinner table, listening in on a conversation for half an hour and then out of the blue making the sharpest comment of the evening.

It doesn't matter if you tell it softly or with too much enthusiasm. In fact, with the right timing and the right message, all you need to do is say it. Style becomes almost unnecessary.

My 2 cents.

i like marias style better, so much so after going through her course I hired her to write some stuff for me

She's really slick.

if she hypes something, its so under the radar you can't even tell...

and the results speak for themselves.

That's very true Erik. I think for marketers and copywriters these products seem blah and overdone, but for prospective buyers it's all new to them... which is why this hyped up, rehashed copy seems to keep working.

Sorry, I don't quite understand what you mean... help Do you mean the right message for your target market, in other words knowing exactly what your market wants and catering to them so there's no need to worry about the style? I suppose knowing your target market would automatically determine what style and wording to use?

Dave, I really like her style too. I take it you've had good results with the copy then. Do you mind me asking if it was for the work at home/marketing niche?

I guess what I'm saying is that in most situations, it's much more important what you say than how you say it. Style is secondary. It's way behind having something interesting to say.

As far as IM and hypey sales letters; are they really working? My experience from talking with people in this field is that it's *really* hard to get into this market and stay afloat. Who are the guys that make it or made it? They are the ones with either awesome content (substance), great lists (less important) or both. That, or the product is really something new and breakthrough.

In any case, if you have good news to tell, it really doesn't matter that much how you tell it. Just tell it. Good copywriting is knowing how to find the really really good news. It goes a lot further than a benefit.

And a whole lot more further than the b.s. you read in your average sales letter. If you would study your average sales letter and summarise the message and bring it back to *only* the hard, verifiable facts, you'd find that 90% of the writing is just b.s. You'd be left with half a sheet of paper.

Copywriting really isn't all that hard once you un-learn writing b.s. Forget all the adjectives. Forget all the warming up. Forget all the sneaky little 'moves' and the hype. They're for the writers who are not really sure what they should be writing about.

Just have something important to say.

Thanks Erik that makes a lot of sense, I appreciate your comments.

You're very welcome.

You know it's kinda funny. As copywriters we tend to worry so much about the style of each pitch that we get caught up on openings, sentences, even words.

I found that once I write a golden pitch, changing whole paragaphs affects response only for a small part - as long as the original message stays intact.

I have a friend that advertises in the weight loss market. Super competitive. He's not a copywriter. He researched his weight loss book for a couple of months straight. He was completely immersed in writing his book. Once he wrote it, he was so passionate about getting his information out on how to lose weight, he wrote one of the best pitches I've read in this market. Full of facts, he had so much interesting things to say that he just had to get off his chest. He told me he wrote it in one sitting. I wish you could read it but it's in Dutch.

Anyway, he hit a homerun with a solid 3% conversion on Adwords traffic when he launched. At that time, he had no testimonials, no name recognition in the market, just his copy. I've never seen a book sell that well through Adwords.

The funny part is, the guy speaks Belgian-Dutch, which is different from Dutch, but the market doesn't care about his dialect or style. He has a great, illuminating story and it worked for well over a year until response started levelling off a bit.