Copywriting: Three Tips To Raise Your Response

Guest Post By Michel Fortin

“What am I supposed to do?”

You may not know it but that’s a question your readers, visitors and prospects may be asking right now. And it’s also one you need to avoid at all costs, or else it will cost you in wasted traffic and sales. In other words, if people become lost on your website at any point, or while reading your copy, you in turn will lose them.

Forever.

Granted, your copy may compel your reader’s attention and present an irresistible offer. But if it fails to propel their actions too, you will probably wonder why it’s not producing any sales or why it’s getting such a poor response. If that’s the case, here are three quickie suggestions you can implement.

#1. Does Your Website Ask For The Order?

One solution is to visually take readers “by the hand.” Tell them or show them what you want them to do, even if what you want them to do is simple or obvious. Adding simple “hand-holding” components to your copy may seem trite. Some even discount the use for they believe, for example, that a website should be intuitive.

“My clients are not dumb,” they exclaim. “They can guess their way through!” Or “I don’t want to insult their intelligence.”

Thinking this way may be more insulting than you think. People have comfort zones. And their defense mechanisms are always alive and kicking, waiting to justify their non-decisions by drumming even insignificant, negative and totally erroneous perceptions about you. Therefore, fail to lead them, and you are placing your copy at the whim and mercy of your reader. (Not to mention your pocketbook.)

My friend, copywriter Peter Stone, said it best: “The aim of good copy is to temporarily suspend disbelief, but GREAT copy is to temporarily suspend critical thinking.”

You see, it’s not about obeying the rules of web usability, it’s about using common sense. It’s about avoiding procrastination, not compelling let alone praying for action. And today, it’s also about surviving.

For instance, I often make the case that a book or magazine is limited by its front and back covers. But a website, however, is not. If the goal is only to inform your visitors, and like the closing of a book once it’s finished, the only thing left to do will be to close the browser window or leave the site.

But if you require some kind of response, even if it’s to just to keep reading, then you must integrate words that direct the reader and elicit some kind of response. Whether it’s to join, subscribe, buy, call, email, fill out a form, download or just click a link, incorporate words like “click here,” “download this,” “buy that,” “join now,” “read more” and so on.

Besides, tests show unequivocally that response rises dramatically when the copy is what I call “directional.” Even when the copy aims to sell a sophisticated crowd, like engineers and scientists.

We are all desperate to be lead. It’s an instinctual part of the human psyche, regardless of the intellectual level of your target market.

#2. Give Your Visitors a “Head” Start

In order to encourage longer stays, repeat visits and, above all, online sales, you need not only to direct your audience to take some kind of action but also to make it easy for them to do so. And the most important step in accomplishing that is to first direct your visitors’ attention (i.e., their eyes).

How can you lead them when you haven’t got their attention in the first place? Remember this: online, people don’t read. Not at first, anyway. They scan, skim and scroll. So unlike a book that’s read from cover to cover, people don’t read entire web pages from top to bottom.

How often do you read entire newspapers, for example? You likely scan them and stop at a headline that captures your attention, piques your curiosity and pulls you into the article. Reading web copy is a more wearying task.

So don’t write to be read. Write to be scanned.

Keep your paragraphs short at around four to five lines deep, and incorporate many headers throughout your copy by adding one at every two to five paragraphs. Use different sizes, colors or fonts that make them stand out.

Centering also helps, because it’s different than the traditional left-justified text of the rest of the copy. Being centered, it draws attention to itself — rather than drowning in one big trance-inducing blur of sameness as people skim through copy quickly.

Ultimately, you want them to stop scanning.

A friend of mine, copywriter Brian Keith Voiles, once reported that using red headlines and headers don’t work. Of course, he’s right, because he’s referring to offline copy. Brian says, “Red means ‘Stop!’ And you don’t want them to stop.” But online, it’s perfect. Because people never read anything at first, and therefore they need to stop scanning — and start reading.

#3. Pull Them In to See What’s “In”

When scanning, what people will read the most is what stands out the most, including headlines, headers, bullets, boxes and text links. Therefore, use words that are inviting, invoking and intriguing with these components. The words you use must force them to stop and feel what follows cannot be ignored.

Avoid overused and hackneyed expressions, like “Welcome to [Whatever].” Start with an active verb that tells your readers exactly what to do or what they will be doing, or use picture words that paint vivid mental pictures.

For example, if it’s for a product description, don’t use words like: “Here’s a Description of Our Widget.” (Or worse still, “Widget” or “Features.”)

Instead, use: “Discover how to get [benefit] with our widgets now!” Or, “Learn the secret behind the [widget or benefit].” Or, “Can you really get [benefit]? The answer may surprise you…” Or, “Here’s how to put an end to [problem the widget solves].”

Here are more examples:

Rather than, “Professional Debt Resolution,” write, “Break Free From Debt And Sleep Better at Night With Our Guidance!” Or, “Backroom Tactics Used To Eliminate Debts Exposed.” Or, “Rediscover Financial Freedom By Simply Following These Simple Steps.”

Instead of “Home-Based Business Success,” use, “Uncover Profitable Business Opportunities Hidden in Your Own Home!” Or, “Unearth The Kitchen Table Millionaire In You.” Or, “Here’s How To Put An End To Dreadful Days Spent Inside Your Soul-Sucking Cubicle.”

In the final analysis, when I conduct copy critique consultations, about 97% of the websites I analyze are lifeless, confusing or unproductive, or fail to adequately lead visitors to take some kind of action. As an example, many of my clients tell me, “Our website is for branding, not sales!” But then they wonder why people aren’t joining their mailing lists or returning to their websites.

Whether your website is for branding or direct marketing, the fact remains that you probably still want to elicit some kind of response from your visitors. Direct your visitors to take some kind of action or lead them to a specific outcome. Write your copy by integrating some form of direct response formula (i.e., words or mechanisms that compel readers to act).

For instance, add calls to action, even if they’re as simple as asking your visitors to continue reading. Don’t distract them with too many things to do, including too many external links or marketing messages. If you offer too many choices, visitors will find it hard to make one. Instead, offer choices later on based on the specific path or paths a user follows.

Ultimately, transform the words on your website into blinders that will steer visitors in the direction of your choosing.

— About Michel Fortin —
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, marketing strategy consultant, and instrumental in some of the most lucrative online businesses and wildly successful marketing campaigns to ever hit the web. For more articles like this one, please visit his blog  and subscribe to his RSS feed.

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Tags: Copywriting, copywriting tips, increase response, michel fortin

The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword

Guest Post By Michel Fortin

Words are powerful. They are the crux of our existence as copywriters. And your choice of words is crucial in getting the results you seek, whether you’re a copywriter or not, and be it in business or in your personal life.

To compel others to do what you want them to do, words do the job. So it goes without saying that you need to choose your words. And you need to choose them carefully. Because words are more powerful than you think.

How powerful?

Words sell. They persuade. They influence. They even forge smiles, dry tears, heal wounds and abolish fears. They have the power to bring joy and laughter in an otherwise cold and somber world. And of course, words can make you rich.

But by the same token, words can also hurt.

They can create havoc out of thin air. They can drive virtual stakes through people’s hearts. They can topple companies and entire governments. And they can even kill. Because, worst of all, they can cause wars. And sadly, they often do.

Words have immense power that can be harnessed for both the good and the bad. As Edward George Bulwer Lytton wrote in 1839, “The pen is mightier than the sword.”

However, I’d like to submit that words also play another (and perhaps an even greater) role. One that holds what I believe to be one of the greatest secrets there is in your business, and more importantly, in your relationships. Use words to this end, and you can achieve not only great success and wealth, but also great happiness, love and peace of mind.

So what is it?

Let me tell you why this is important before I reveal it to you.

As beautiful and comforting as words can be, they can be (and often are) the tools of choice for people who wish to cause damage, instill hatred and inflict pain with the author’s vitriol.

For example, I’m sure you’ve encountered at some point in your life some people who spewed venom against you and did so willfully and unabashedly. They attempted to denigrate or hurt you with their words. And unfortunately, they often succeeded. You’re left shocked and dismayed, wondering, “How could they?”

But that’s a double-edged sword.

Here’s a case in point: Believe it or not, some people have sent me hate mail after my last blog post about my ongoing divorce and my newfound happiness. While there were only a handful of them among a great many who were positive, congratulatory and thoughtful, some folks made the effort to ensure I knew how harshly they felt about my decision, and said certain things about me that were far from being congenial.

For one, I was labeled a “quitter.” (And I’m being tactful, here.) I was told that I’m a person who seemingly left his wife for another woman “whom I dared call my soul mate.” And then they even went on to say that, short of having my private parts cut off, I should have stayed and bit the bullet.

Worse yet, they prided themselves in saying that I would leave my “soul mate” at the drop of a hat if pastures greener would ever appear in my life. And others have jumped to conclusions without knowing the full story (which they don’t need to know), spewing their garbage in the sole attempt to throw the other person off.

Now, the question I’ve pondered was, “Should I respond?”

But I said to myself, “That person doesn’t know my situation… That person doesn’t know what happened between my ex-wife and me… That person certainly doesn’t know the circumstances behind my departure… And more importantly, that person doesn’t, and will never, truly know what led to my decision.”

Bottom line, they don’t understand.

They never will.

And it’s not their fault. Because their words are based on the little information they have. That’s all they will have, for I respect my ex-wife as to not denigrate her, especially in public.

So the question remains, “Should I respond?” The answer is “No.” I decided against it. Why? Because why would I do to this person what that person has done to me? That’s judging. “Judge ye not lest ye be judged,” right? But you see, it goes further than that.

For instance, that person may have had a bad day and reacted prematurely. That person may have undergone a divorce. That person may have had a relationship with a woman whom left him for another person. That person may have been the child of divorced parents. Or simply, that person may have a personality that’s abrasive by nature.

The latter is important, because if a person has a crass, abrasive or sulfuric personality, then it would mean nothing. It’s just who they are. But if a person is by nature kind, diplomatic and personable, then such an outburst would, in contrast, say more about the person and their attempt to vilify, as opposed to someone’s action that’s merely based on their personality.

But you see, I don’t know that. And that’s my point. I know less about their situation than they know about mine.

I hold no animosity toward my ex-wife, nor do I hold any toward the people who spewed such venom my way. Because who am I to judge? Why would I judge them and do exactly to them the very thing they are doing to me? My actions would condone the same actions I am condemning.

It would make no sense.

Then, what can I do? Nothing. So I let it go.

My sole aim in my life is to be happy. And even more important, to have peace of mind. It should be your main goal, too. And happiness is not and can never be achieved through some external thing, symbol or criterion. It comes from within. It’s something upon which I’ve expounded to a great extent in my book, now available online for free at DropYourGoals.com, called “Drop Your Goals And Manage Your Life!”

To give you a glimpse, my book is about setting goals revolving around your core values (I prefer to call them “guides” rather than “goals”), and not based on external pursuits of happiness and success. Those are byproducts. They are lived, not sought.

Similarly, to react to such hostility would only perpetuate it.

I made decisions in my life in order to be happy. But contrary to certain people’s opinions, I didn’t leave an unhappy place in order to go to one I believe would make me happy. I left a place that prevented me from being happy. I left in order to allow myself to become happy.

Nevertheless, hidden in my personal story is this “other role” words play that I spoke about earlier. Master this one skill and use words to this end, and you can literally achieve all you really want in your life. I really believe that.

Because once you do, you open yourself to opportunities around you, which are often hiding right under your nose. You allow serendipity to enter your life, your relationships and your business. (Success is never a matter of luck, anyway.) You create a state of mind that’s conducive to receiving all that you deserve in your life — and feeling worthy of it, too. And you gain the peace of mind that will enable you to calmly see things for what they really are.

(And they are all lessons, by the way. Because people, good or bad, are all teachers. They are teaching you every single day, and with every single word they utter. Whether you grow hateful and spiteful from their words, or wiser and stronger, the choice is ultimately yours and yours alone.)

So what is it, then?

What is this power that words hold, which can bring such joy and happiness? What is this important role words play in your life and your business that can enrich so immensely and deeply? Aside from fact that words have the power to hurt or to help, to annoy or to persuade, to wound or to heal, what else can words do that can help you achieve all you can?

It is, simply, this…

Words have the power to forgive, too.

About Michel Fortin
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, marketing strategy consultant, and instrumental in some of the most lucrative online businesses and wildly successful marketing campaigns to ever hit the web. For more articles like this one, please visit his blog and subscribe to his RSS feed.

Tags: Copywriting, michel fortin, power of words

Want Better Copy? Go On A Quest!

Guest Post By Michel Fortin

Writing copy is usually the easiest part of my work. But figuring out what to say is often a whole lot harder than knowing how to say it. That requires a lot of research, creativity and, of course, “sales detective work,” as my friend John Carlton calls it.

But when I know what to write, the question I’m often asked is, “Do you start with the headline, or do you work the headline last?”

Let me share with you a formula I use. First, when I write new copy, I tend to start with the copy itself, then create the headline and headers (some people call them “subheads”).

With existing copy however, it’s the other way around: I start with a better headline (after reading the copy and questionnaire replies from my clients), then the rest. Why? Because…

Sometimes (in fact, a lot of times), my client’s copy is already pretty good. The culprit for a poor response, almost 9 times out of 10 in my estimation, is a poor headline. (And it’s often the one element I test the most, too.)

The headline is the pivotal element in copy upon which the success of your copy will hinge. If people are not interested enough in reader further after reading the headline, they will leave without reading any more, regardless of how good the copy is, how great the product is and how perfect the offer is for their situation.

So I tend to try to find a good hook for the headline.

After a little bit of detective work, this usually comes to me after tinkering with the headline a bit, sometimes writing several of them.

(Or I rewrite it several times until I come up with the one I think will pull best. You’ve probably seen me do this on my critique videos at TheCopyDoctor.com as an example. In it, check out the brief 15-minute video sample where I reconstruct a headline.)

The headers are usually parts of the copy — either pulled out from the copy where they make sense, create curiosity, and force the reader to stop scanning and start reading.

With new copy, I usually start with an outline, but I really don’t write the actual headers. I often start with the concept or idea I want to introduce in specific sections of the letter, but then write copy and use headers at that point, all based on the flow of ideas.

Here’s how I do it. Most of my salesletters focus on 5 core components. What I usually do when I write or rewrite copy is follow this format. It’s my 5-step guide, if you will.

It’s sort of my own take on the AIDA formula. (Well, it actually complements it, as I still follow AIDA.) I’m sure you’ve heard of AIDA (i.e., grab their Attention, arouse their Interest, build their Desire and ask for some kind of Action).

My formula is this: I call it going on a “QUEST.”

• Qualify
• Understand
• Educate
• Stimulate
• Transition

It’s like traversing a mountain, so to speak, when you start climbing the mountain on one side, reach the summit, and start climbing back down on the other side.Almost all my salesletters take on this quality.

Here’s what “QUEST” means:

Q = Qualify
Qualify the reader and prepare her for what’s about to be discussed. And it’s also to weed out the non-prospects, tire-kickers, time-wasters, etc.

That’s why it’s good to ask questions at the beginning or set the stage by giving a scenario they can immediately relate to, or talk about how terrible things are with “this” or “that” problem, or how nice it would be to solve “this” or “that” problem.

You also try to denominate who usually has this problem (I often incorporate this into a story), who this solution is for and/or who it is not for. The aim is not only to create awareness, but also and more importantly to qualify the reader or drive home how qualified the reader is for the offer.

This is especially true where there’s a bit of an education involved — where the prospect doesn’t really know (or is not fully aware) there is a problem. The problem may be in the back of their minds, but my job is to bring it to the top.

In fact, this is why the next part is crucial and flows from the first.

Because, the next step is to…

U = Understand
Understand the reader by reaching out to them. You empathize with them. You expand on the problem. You agitate their pain. You not only get the reader to identify themselves with you, but also magnify the problem by making it more real and vivid in their minds. You “add salt on the wounds,” so to speak.

In other words, you share their pain, and tell them how more painful it is either because there is no solution, or because competing or previous solutions are not as good for whatever reasons. It’s where you bring the problem to the top of their minds — and it’s why, once you’ve reached to the top “of the moutain,” it becomes an easy downhill trek afterwards.

You can also use this section to tickle their curiosity about a potential solution, and insert specific benefits other solutions don’t have, but without fully introducing or disclosing “your” solution yet — i.e., a unique selling point, superior “nice-to-have” benefits, something new or different that will be linked with the offer later on, the story behind the product, etc.

(In fact, if the creator of the product used to be in the same situation, I would include a story behind the product based on that fact. It’s also a great place to build credibility and give the reader reasons why they should keep reading. Readers identify themselves with the author and say to themselves, “Hey, I felt the same way!” Or, “I certainly don’t want to go through what she went through!” Etc.)

When you introduce the solution later on, you can tie it in with all of these. It’s like telling the reader: “Wouldn’t it be great, if…” (And later on, “Well, there is a solution that…”)

And that leads to the next step, which is to…

E = Educate
Educate the reader on the fact that there is a solution. Your solution. This is where you expand on the fact that a solution exists, and that your solution is unlike all the others, as well as the reasons why it is different. This is where you introduce the product or service (but not the offer). Usually it’s in the middle of the copy. It’s “the summit of the sales mountain,” if you will.)

Also, it’s a great place to add a lead-capture form, if you didn’t use the forced opt-in process. That is, if people landed immediately on your salesletter organically, without going through a landing page first. (We tested locations, and if you need to add an opt-in form on a salesletter, this seems to be the highest pulling area.)

It’s also a great place to build on and emphasize credibility introduced in the “U” portion of the formula. You should include a lot of proof here, and build on the believability element.

This includes credentializing the author and why should one listen to her. It’s also a great location to talk about the features of your product or service, dispell any myths, and respond to any objections regarding the product or service.

It’s also the location where I add proof elements, case studies and testimonials. In fact, I tend not to add any testimonials until this section. Why? Because testimonials too early tend to scare off people.

Of course, this depends at what stage of the buying process the market is in. If they are vigorously aware of their problem and they’re hurting already, testimonials a little early won’t hurt. But in tests, removing testimonials early in the copy actually increased response in most cases.

Once they’re educated, the next step is to…

S = Stimulate
Stimulate the reader on the offer. This where the offer is made and the value buildup really starts. You list and expand on the benefits. (In “E,” I start to talk about features and describe the product. But in here, I talk benefits, benefits, benefits… And I link them to the features described in “E.”

It’s the place where the offer really starts taking shape. Also, it’s a great location to add value to the offer, such as offering premiums, making guarantees and inserting value boosters, such as adding scarcity and making apples-to-oranges comparisons.

(”Apples to oranges” means to compare the price to the cost of not buying — rather than to the price of some alternative. In other words, it’s comparing the value of your offer not with the value of a similar or competing product but with the value of all possible alternatives, including missing out on the potential benefits, pecuniary losses, value of unique benefits, ultimate costs of not using the product, etc.)

Use this section to link the offer to the rest of the formula. That is, you restate some of the problems mentioned in “Q,” how the solution answers the greater problems talked about in “U,” and how it links to all to the features and benefits described in “E.”

After that, you then…

T = Transition
Transition the reader from prospect to customer. The famous “let’s wrap this up” or “call to action” section. It’s the response device. The close, in other words. This includes the order form, the price, a special offer, the P.S.’s, additional testimonials (especially results-based testimonials), making the reader feel as if they already own the product, etc.

It’s a great place to summarize the offer, and perhaps introduce new points not discussed to this point to spur action, such as adding an as-of-yet undisclosed benefit or bonus — also called “pot sweeteners.”

(I also tend to add a liftnote in this section, usually a linked pop-up window, which says, “Click here if you decided NOT to order today,” and so on. Take a look at how I did it with John Reese’s TrafficSecrets.com, for example.)

Now, I don’t follow this formula precisely as I just explained.

I usually start with QUEST as an outline first, especially in an outline, and then refer back to it later.

Once the outline is made, I expand on each point and “go with the flow” of what I think is best for the offer throughout the salesletter.

I also write header ideas in that outline, too. But first, I expand on the copy, and if needed, I re-arrange ideas around for better flow. And then, I write the headers as I see how they fit in the QUEST formula, all keeping the following in mind:

The header introduces a new piece of information. It’s specific and descriptive. Best of all, it has an inherent benefit — whether it’s of the offer or one in reading what follows. (Usually, it’s the latter.)
It helps to introduce the following section in the copy. In fact, it should read as if the person never read the preceding copy. It somewhat explains it as to not confuse and push people away. (But it doesn’t explain it entirely, as the next point reveals.)

More often then not, it also piques their curiosity in order to force them to stop scanning and go back to the beginning of the copy (as people usually scan and read the headers when they hit a salesletter for the first time).
The third one is the one I use the most.

The header introduces a portion of an idea (like a half-statement), or some kind of “newsworthy” statement that pulls them into the copy.

It’s like using headers as “knots” or “hooks” in rock-climbing rope, so to speak. Why? Because it forces people to stop — and ultimately pulls readers back into the copy (or keeps them reading and clinging throughout the copy).

For example, in the copy for Lou Vukas at RealEstateFortunes.com, I wrote a header that said, “(I tried everything. I felt) Hopeless… Frustrated… Broke… I Said to Myself, ‘There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than This’!”

The copy that followed slowly introduces the “wouldn’t it be great” concept, until the next header, which says, “I Found It!” “I Cracked The Code!” “It Hit Me Like A Ton Of Bricks!” And so on.

Finally, don’t force yourself to follow the QUEST formula “to the letter.” Use it as guides to help you in creating the copy and ensuring it has a proper flow.

Just like there are different mountains of different shapes and sizes, there are different markets with different levels of awareness. Therefore, each climb should also be different.

But keep this in mind. Climbing any mountain has 3 common things: the ascent, the summit and the descent. You copy should flow in the same way: pull them in, prove your case and push them to act.

I call these the “3 P’s.” But, that’s for another day…

About Michel Fortin
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, marketing strategy consultant, and instrumental in some of the most lucrative online businesses and wildly successful marketing campaigns to ever hit the web. For more articles like this one, please visit his blog and subscribe to his RSS feed.

Tags: Copywriting, copywriting tactics, copywriting tips, michel fortin

Michel Fortin: People Do Judge Authors By Their Covers

Guest Post By Michel Fortin

I do believe what Dan Kennedy says, when he says clunky copy outsells clean copy. But not all the time. And recently, a university study proves this point.

People have a tendency to forge not only a lasting opinion based on first impressions but also a blanket opinion that pervades all other areas as well. The adage, “a first impression is a lasting one,” is not only temporal (i.e., the initial opinion remains consistent and nearly impermeable for a long time) but also spatial. That is, a first impression is also a universal one.

Illogical? Yes. But it’s human nature.

They unconsciously assume there’s a parallel between one part and the whole, in other words. It’s what I call the “unconscious paralleled assumption,” or UPA for short. I wrote about this extensively in the past, where people make split-second judgments about your entire business just based on a fraction of what they see, encounter, hear or perceive.

Here’s an example: if you walk in a department store and see a dusty shelf, you form a negative opinion about the store. Based on the law of first impressions, you will assume that the store never cleans its shelves. And that opinion will stick with you for a very long time.

It will require a lot of work, not to mention time, on the part of the store to change that opinion — or at the very least, to assuage those negative assumptions.

Moreover, you will not only think that the store doesn’t take care of its appearance, but also believe that they equally don’t care about their clients, their products, their staff, their promises and so on. In other words, that single dusty shelf will probably lead you to assume that the store has poor customer service, shoddy products, lousy return policies, etc.

Now, Dan Kennedy says clunky-looking copy outsells clean-looking copy. What he’s referring to are fancy designs, dazzling graphics and stylish cosmetics that seem to have required an exorbitant investment to create. I agree with that. Copy will always be the most important element of your website.

You want to sell. Not dazzle or entertain.

But I’ve written and designed clunky copy for clients who’ve asked for it. That is, inconsistent fonts and typestyles. Varying sizes and colors. Very little to no padding around tables. Erratic design and flow. And poor, cheap to no graphics whatsoever.

The thing is, it doesn’t work all the time. It works primarily for those marketers who are known, have established credibility and have been referred by other people. But this doesn’t bode well for new marketers and unknown website owners who duplicate this seemingly lackadaisical attitude toward design.

Lately, it seems most direct marketers, particularly new ones, are lazy and tend to use Dan’s rule as an excuse to pay little attention to the cosmetics. While I agree that the copy is the most important part of a salesletter or website, I equally believe that in some cases, and perhaps most cases, good design increases response — as what Clayton Makepeace said:

“If you’re a business owner, marketing pro or copywriter, good graphic design is absolutely essential to producing peak response to your sales promotions. I’ve seen poor design cut sales by half or even more. Conversely, I’ve seen stronger graphic design bump response by 20% or even more.”

Personally, I’ve always been a proponent of good design, as credibility is important to me and my businesses. And I’ve tried — or tested — clean, symmetrical, proper, appealing copy for my own websites as much as I can. Because I prefer to inculcate credibility, trust and professionalism in the minds of my readers.

And design plays a huge part.

For example, a year ago I ceased taking on new clients. I just recently re-opened the doors to accept a few new clients but in an agency-style fashion. Thing is, most online veterans know me. But since I’m taking on new clients, the design is therefore playing an important role.

Coincidentally, a recent study proves what I’ve been teaching for years. Dealing specifically with web design, the study, revealed in a BBC article and conducted by Carleton University in my own home town of Ottawa, Canada, revealed how people make split-second decisions about websites they visit.

I particularly liked this passage:

The researchers also believe that these (quickly formed first impressions) last because of what is known to psychologists as the “halo effect”. If people believe a website looks good, then this positive quality will spread to other areas, such as the website’s content.

Since people like to be right, they will continue to use the website that made a good first impression, as this will further confirm that their initial decision was a good one.

I would add that they would also frequent other websites and buy other products from the same vendor or marketer because of that first impression. Does this mean to go out and spend a huge chunk of change on dazzling graphics, fancy animations and stylish designs? No. I did say “clean,” not “clever.”

Copy will always be the most significant element on which you must focus. But don’t do so at the expense of other elements that will stifle that powerful first impression. Because poor design can immediately deter your readers and make your offer suspect — or stop people from reading your copy in the first place, which is where the sale is made. They will ask themselves, “How can he take care of me when he can’t even take care of himself?”

In fact, according to the study, a first impression, being a “split-second decision,” is not too far from the truth. It really is a split of a second. The study concluded that people make a decision not in a few seconds, as originally thought, but in a 20th of a second.

People don’t read at first. They scan. What they see the moment they hit your website is more important than what they read. So it goes to show that your appearance communicates as much as your copy does — or at least prepares the reader for what they are about to read. And it does so very quickly.

What does your design say about YOU?
—
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, marketing strategy consultant, and instrumental in some of the most lucrative online businesses and wildly successful marketing campaigns to ever hit the web. For more articles like this one, please visit his blog at http://www.michelfortin.com/ and subscribe to his RSS feed.
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Tags: clean copy, Copywriting, copywriting tips, michel fortin, rough copy

Are Bottlenecks Clogging Your Sales?

Guest Post By Michel Fortin

When a sales page is not performing up to your expectations, the worst thing you can do is nothing.

In most circumstances, there are steps you can take to alter the copy to improve your results immediately. By taking action and making changes, you can strengthen your copy quickly and improve your sales conversions.

The key to this process is testing to boost your outcome.

However, when most people start testing their sales copy, they immediately think of something they can add or tweak. Or they’re confused as to what to test, particularly what to test first.

I’ve found that the best and most efficient element to test is to actually first remove the things that are stopping people from ordering. In other words…

Bottlenecks.

Sales copy is a greased slide that should take the reader almost seamlessly and painlessly from the moment they see your copy to the completion of their order. The easier it is to read and take action, the more sales you will make.

Anything that blocks or stops this greased-slide process should be eliminated. And you know what the biggest bottleneck in copy is?

Before I tell you, first let’s cover a few things.

The Power of Split-Testing
Of course, you’ll want to ensure your testing is as accurate as possible by tracking your conversions from unique views, returning visitors, and email referrals separately.

If you want to implement all your changes at once, or if you want to test multiple variables at the same time, you need to take advantage of multivariate testing.

Multivariate testing allows you to test multiple aspects of your copy, simultaneously, while determining which variables as well as the best combinations get the highest response.

(I use Google Website Optimizer almost exclusively now, and I recommend it.)

Your first step in improving conversion may be to review the sales page and eliminate any visual embellishments or distractions, including any oversized graphics or flourishes.

You’ll find that eliminating potential distractions from the reading process to the decision making process will increase conversion. Once you’ve trimmed the excess that may be impeding your results, you can begin to focus on the copy.

There are three major bottlenecks common in sales letters that you will want to experiment with and focus your efforts on. They are, in order:

• The headline
• The process
• The offer

As one of the vital factors in your copy, much has been written about the creation of a strong headline. It must be powerful enough to be compelling to the reader.

But the logic is simple: if people don’t read past your headline, they won’t take action no matter how good your copy or product is. And the headline is often if not always the biggest bottleneck in copy.

Some of my marketing clients have improved their sales from 20% to 700% by simply changing and testing the headline. (In some cases, it was as simple as adding or removing a few words.)

This brings me to an important discussion.

Don’t Make Assumptions
Recently, a coaching client of mine asked me for my opinion on a post from James Brausch’s blog, where James submits that the headline is not the most important part of a salesletter.

Now, I understand the message James is trying to convey. He makes a valid point. But some people might misinterpret his findings and conclude that headlines are not important. So let me take a moment to clarify a few things.

James purports that headlines are not the most important elements of sales copy because of two logical arguments:

James tested headlines, and “nothingness” (that is, no headline) as a variable has increased response in some cases.
The order link is the most important element because, while sales copy can still work without a headline, it certainly can’t without an order link.

First off, James’ premise is right. Because his argument relates to actual, bottom line results. Are headlines directly tied to creating actual sales? The answer, of course, is no. But order links definitely are.

(By the way, in recent tests based on an idea I got from my friend Armand Morin, I found that a simple, old-fashioned gray submit button outperformed a graphic one by 62%, even over traditional order links.)

But a headline is the most important part of the salescopy, not because it is directly tied to sales but because it is indirectly tied to the sales process.

To the “greased slide,” in other words.

It’s all about fundamental marketing: the famous AIDA formula (which means “Attention,” “Interest,” “Desire,” and “Action”). The first part of the formula is the most critical element, because you first need to grab people’s attention.

If you don’t, the rest of the formula fails.

The Real Purpose of a Headline
Consequently, the headline is meant to help capture your readers’ attention.

The primary objective and purpose of a headline is one thing and one thing only: to get people to start reading the next paragraph. And the next paragraph’s job is to get people to read the second one. And so on.

Simply because “nothingness” wins in some cases doesn’t mean using a headline doesn’t work or that it’s safe to conclude that the headline is not the most important part of the salesletter.

Coming to that conclusion is premature and misleading. (It’s a correlation, not a cause. There is a difference, and I’ll come back to this in a moment.)

First of all, there are many other variables here that are not taken into account:

For one, the first paragraph — in a no-headline letter — can act as a headline. Or any graphics (with copy on them), pop-ups, even the web page title (i.e., the text in the top browser bar) can work. Who knows?

The mindset of the reader may be “presold” before hitting the copy — such as coming from an affiliate promotion or other website. They’ve probably captured the readers’ attention already.

If the traffic came from a PPC campaign, the ad (keywords and ad copy) acts like the headline. People read it and want more information. So if they hit a salesletter without a headline, they’re tempted to read it anyway.

Headlines can sometimes scream “salesletter!” And when people see one, they may be pushed to scan or leave the copy. Especially if the headline has the tell-tale signs: red color, overexaggerated claims, or unnecessary bloat (such as wordy headlines that are needlessly long).

Finally but most importantly, they may not be targeted at all. Untargeted traffic is often the biggest reason for copy to fail. But if they are targeted, a headline may push them away. (Better said, a poor headline will.)

Bad Headlines Are Bottlenecks
Again, the biggest bottleneck in any copy is almost always the headline. Because if people can’t read past it, they won’t read the rest. If you don’t get their attention (the “A” in AIDA), then the rest of the formula falls down the drain — no matter how great the copy, the offer, or the product really is.

So removing a headline in some cases may be like removing the bottleneck.

As Dan Kennedy once said:

“The truth about long copy is that, first of all, there’s abundant, legitimate, statistical research, split-testing research, to indicate that virtually without exception (…) that readership falls off dramatically at 300 words but does not again drop off until 3,000 words.” — Dan Kennedy in a Tim Paulson Interview

In this case, Dan was talking about long copy in that, if people are targeted, they will read it. All of it. But if they’re not, they won’t even get passed the headline.

However, Dan’s assertion applies to headlines, too. In other words, if people are targeted and the headline is right for them (i.e., if they are targeted and the headline does grab their attention), they will read the rest.

But if they are not targeted, if the headline doesn’t grab their attention, or, even worse, if the headline is poor and actually pushes people away, then they will leave the moment they read the headline.

Naturally therefore, if the headline is poor (and all other headlines tested are poor, too), then “nothingness” can certainly win because you are in essence removing the bottleneck — but not necessarily the cause.

If a really good headline was found, it might win over “nothingness”. And I admit that, in some cases, finding the perfect headline might be a challenge. So removing the headline can be an obvious solution.

But it can also be the result of being too lazy to come up with better headlines, or not having enough traffic and/or time to test more headlines.

(My friend, top copywriter Brian Keith Voiles, often talks about writing 10, 20, even 100 headlines before settling on the one he likes. To that I would add, you should do the same to figure out which headlines to test, too.)

Causality Vs. Correlation
Now, let’s go back to something I mentioned earlier.

There is a difference between “causality” and “correlation”.

In plain English, the winner in a split-test may be relative. The variable in itself may not have been the cause. It may have won because other variables tested weren’t good enough to produce a better result.

If “nothing” was used as a variable and won, it is possible that it was because the element tested was redundant and unnecessary. But more than likely, it may have been because all other variables tested were bottlenecks.

In this particular case, I believe that removing the headline was not what caused a salesletter to outperform. It was simply the lack of a bottleneck that led to the copy outperforming with “nothingness” in the end.

Specifically, the other headlines it was pitted against were either not the right ones for that market or they were poor headlines to begin with.

But coming to the conclusion that removing the headline — any headline — is the cause of your sales copy’s boost in response is premature.

For example, if you drink orange juice every day and you don’t have cancer, does that mean that drinking orange juice cures or prevents cancer?

Obviously, that’s an assumptive leap, and it’s wrong. There may be a correlation there, but it’s not the cause. You need to conduct more tests, dig deeper, and add more variables into the mix to determine the cause.

And that’s the case, here.

No headline winning over other headlines doesn’t mean that the lack of a headline caused the copy to pull more. It may simply be that “no headline”, in relation to all the other headlines it was tested against, won because the other headlines were poor or weren’t right for that market.

So removing the headline simply removed the bottleneck.

But it’s also safe to say that, if you were to test more headlines, there would be one out there that could outperform “nothingness” as well.

Now, I’m neither a mathematician or statistician, nor do I pretend to be one. But I do know that it’s often best to conduct more tests to determine the cause. (Or, in this case, come up with more headlines to test with.)

Find The Right Mix
You will want to test several approaches to determine what tests best for your market. You will only find the right mix through testing the elements individually and collectively.

(That’s the power of multivariate testing.)

Other than headlines, the ordering process and the offer are usually the next biggest bottlenecks. They can create friction, lower buyer confidence, and invite procrastination.

A more forward call to action may be what your product needs to overcome buyer hesitation and push them along the order. Or the order form may be too confusing, too difficult to understand, or too cumbersome to process.

(In many tests we’ve discovered that, the easier you make it for your prospects to order from you, the greater the response will be. Often, the bump in response is significantly greater.)

Once you’ve removed the friction in the ordering process, next up is the offer. There are three components to the offer you will want to experiment with. They are:

• Prices
• Premiums
• Proof Elements

People often start by testing the price. Without question, pricing should definitely be tested.
But until you’ve removed the other bottlenecks, you won’t know whether a higher price point will increase sales or a lower one will.

Also, when most people test premiums with their offers, they tend to do so by adding more.

While alternative premiums may be more appealing, offering too many bonuses — or simply offering some in the first place — may be a deterrent.

Fear is a Bottleneck, Too
The next step is increase the strength of your claims through internal cues and external sources. Because your credibility or lack thereof is a major bottleneck too. Better said, people’s inherent fear and distrust in you is a major bottleneck.

It all boils down to establishing trust.

Anything you can add to establish credibility and reduce their fear in buying from you will both strengthen your claims and ultimately increase your conversions.

Testimonials, case studies, screenshots, tours, guarantees, samples, and photos (including sample covers, product shots, and even packaging) are examples of internal proofs that you can add and test.

External elements may include statistics, seals of approval, credit card logos, third-party indicia (such as Trust Guard), and other safety features will demonstrate security, increasing the perception of integrity.

(By the way, I personally know Scott Brandley, the CEO of Trust Guard. My clients have used Trust Guard successfully, and I highly recommend them.)

Once you are confident in your offer, you’ll want to experiment with more and varied “reasons why”. You have an opportunity to increase the perceived value of the product by explaining the reasons why behind the purchase.

Lacking a good, solid reason why is another huge bottleneck.

Pumping up the story behind the product and the offer can give your copy more legs. If your product is undervalued for the selling price, establish a compelling reason why the product is being made available at such a small price.

This is also where you will work on overcoming procrastination, and spelling out why the product is a “must-have” and “right-now” product for your audience.

By addressing these three areas (i.e., the headline, the process — the reading and ordering process — and the offer), you will eliminate many bottlenecks in your copy and enable your visitors to move from interest to sale.

With adequate testing you can adjust your sales pitch quickly to ensure each change you make has a positive effect on sales producing immediate, measurable responses that can result in a stronger campaign.

— About Michel Fortin —
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, marketing strategy consultant, and instrumental in some of the most lucrative online businesses and wildly successful marketing campaigns to ever hit the web. For more articles like this one, please visit his blog and subscribe to his RSS feed.

Tags: Copywriting, headline writing, michel fortin

Headlines That Pull, Persuade And Propel!

Guest Post By Michel Fortin

When writing direct response copy, there are a few things that can maximize the responsiveness of your message. The first and most important element that can turn any website, salesletter or advertisement into an action-generating mechanism is, without question, the headline.

But lately, I’m seeing more and more headlines that are limp, bloated or dead wrong.

A headline is meant to do two vital things.

No more and no less. First, it needs to grab your reader’s attention. That’s the primary and most important job of the headline. It’s not meant to summarize an offer or be a paragraph in and of itself. It’s not meant to make a sale, either. You know what I’m talking about, right? Headlines like these make me twitch…

“Stomp Out Yo-Yo Diets For Good When You Apply The Amazing Accidentally Discovered Secret Weightloss Strategy That Can Literally Triple Your Energy, Boost Your Immune System And Shed Unwanted Pounds of Pure, Stubborn Fat Without Moving A Single Inch And While Eating Everything Your Heart Fancies — Even If You Carry The Fat-Magnetizing Genes Of Someone Who Can’t Lose A Single Ounce After Running Back-To-Back Marathons… Starting As Early As Tonight, 100% Guaranteed!”

Ugh.

Double ugh.

People not only won’t read it all (much less your entire salesletter), but it also immediately sends off alarm bells way too early that your copy is a blatant salesletter.

In today’s fax-microwave-email world, people want everything fast. Their attention span is smaller than an subatomic particle. Online, they surf the web in a click-happy state, ready to open and close browser windows at the blink of an eye. Literally.

For example, they tend to scan web pages quickly, even many of them simultaneously. Your site is but a blur to them. So, your headline must be both prominent and effective enough to stop them.

And the headline’s second job is, it needs pull the reader into the copy and compel her into reading further. To do that, it must create curiosity. It must be interesting enough to pull the reader in. It must be pithy enough (not necessarily short but straightforward enough) to do its job in the least amount of words possible.

And finally, it must cater to a specific emotion or a relevant condition that speaks to the target market at a personal level, and does so immediately and with as little thinking as possible — one to which the reader can easily and instantly associate.

Before I give you some examples, note that most of these headlines were enormously successful for my clients, not because they were tested and tweaked (and most of them were), but because they were actually stolen from other, equally successful ads or salesletters. All “great” copywriters do this. They steal. They recycle. They copy. They model. They swipe.

But above all, they adapt.

Of course, they must not be copied verbatim. (There’s a big difference between plagiarism and modelling.) But they can be easily adapted to fit the market, the offer and the message. I have a large swipe file that contains copies of ads, websites, direct mail pieces and salesletters I come across. I then turn them into templates or “fill-in-the-blanks” formulas.

Here’s a list of “triggers,” coupled with actual examples I used in the past:

Curiosity (”Revealed! Closely Guarded Secrets For …”)

Mystery (”The Five Biggest Mistakes to Avoid By …”)

Fear (”Over 98.4% of People End up Broke When …”)

Pain (”Suffering From Needless Back Pain? Then …”)

Convenience (”How to Increase Your Chances With …”)

Envy (”How Fellow Marketer Pummels Competitors By …”)

Jealousy (”They All Laughed When … Until I …”)

Sloth (”Slash Your Learning Curve By 57% When …”)

Love, Lust (”Make Her Fall in Love With You With …”)

Shock (”Finally Exposed! Get The Dirty Truth On …”)

Greed (”Boost Your Income By More Than 317% When …”)

Pride, Power, Ego (”Make Fellow Workers Squirm With …”)

Assurance (”… In Less Than 60 Days, Guaranteed!”)

Immortality (”Reverse The Aging Process With …”)

Anger (”Banks Are Ripping You Off! Here’s Why …”)

Study and model successful copywriting as much as you can. Dan Kennedy, my mentor and a hugely successful copywriter, teaches his students this exercise: buy tabloids, such as The National Enquirer, on a regular basis. Of course, the publication may be questionable for some, and it may not necessarily fit with your style or cater to your market.

But here’s the reason why.

Ad space in tabloids is excruciatingly expensive. If an ad is repeated in more than two issues, preferably copy-dense ads and full-page advertorials, common sense tells you that the ad is profitable. Rip out the ad and put it into your swipe file. (If you don’t have one, a shortcut is to copy someone else’s, or swipe from proven list of successful headlines. But also, don’t discount supermarket magazines, like Cosmo, Vanity Fair, Men’s Health and the like.)

Then, copy the headlines into a document. They can be easily converted into “fill-in-the-blanks” formulas. And believe me, they work well with almost all markets. I’ve tried these types of headlines on both low-end and high-end clients, from simple $10 products to six-figure investment opportunities. And they worked quite effectively in both situations.

The cosmetics of a headline is equally important if not more so. The type must be bold, large and prominently placed, even written in a different font or typestyle. It must “scream” at your readers and grab them by the eyeballs. Remember, the first job is to catch their attention. Then (and only then), it’s to get them to start reading your letter.

Specificity is also quite important. The more specific you are with your headline, the better the response will be. Use odd, non-rounded numbers because they are more believable and pull more than even, rounded numbers. (In its commercials, Ivory Soap used to say it’s “99.44% pure.” Of course, that number is more believable than “100%.”)

Whenever possible, be quantifiable, measurable and time-bound. For example, you’re promoting some “how-to” marketing program. Don’t say, “increase your income” or “make money fast.” Words like “income” and “fast” are vague. Be specific. Say, “How six simple sales strategies helped me stumble onto an unexpected $5,431.96 windfall — in less than 27 hours!”

The bigger the numbers are, the greater the impact is. If you say “five times more,” replace it with “500%” (or better yet, “517%” or “483%”). Don’t say “one year,” say “364 days.” The brain thinks in pictures, not numbers or words. Both terms may mean the same thing, but one is perceived as bigger.

Using some of the triggers mentioned at the beginning, here are some examples of being specific with your headlines:

“Nine Jealously Guarded Techniques That …”

“Here Are 17 of My Most Prized Recipes For …”

“How I Made $42,791.36 in Only 11 Days With …”

“Boost Your Golf Drives By 27 Yards When …”

“A Whole New Way to Lose 45 Pounds in 7 Weeks With …”

“Marketing Toolkit Contains 35 Powertools That …”

“Follow These Eight Magical Steps to …”

“Read This 22-Chapter, 376-Page Powerhouse …”

“The 10 Commandments of Power Positioning …”

“Chop Paperwork By as Much as 47% When …”

“Slash Your Learning Curve By Four Weeks With …”

“… And Start Within Only 33 Minutes!”

My favorite headline formula is the “gapper,” which is based on the pain-pleasure principle. In sales, it’s referred to as “gap analysis.” (Dan Kennedy calls it “Problem-Agitate-Solve.” That is, you start by presenting a problem, you agitate your audience by making the problem “bigger,” more significant and more urgent, and then you present your solution in the offer.)

With the “gapper,” there’s a gap between a prospect’s problem and its solution (or a gap between where one happens to be at the moment and where that person wants to be in the future). But many prospects either do not know there is in fact a gap or, because it is one, naturally have a tendency to ignore it.

It’s simply human nature.

So, a headline that communicates the presence of such a gap — and particularly one that widens it (which can also be accomplished through other components, such as a surheadline, subheadline, “lift” copy, sidenotes or opening statements) — will likely appeal to those who can immediately relate to it (i.e., people within that specific site’s target market).

By opening the gap or widening it helps to reinforce a sense of urgency in the mind. After the headline, visitors will want to know how, by reading further, they can close that gap. And the wider the gap is, the greater the desire to close it will be (and the more valuable the gap-closing solution, which is your offer, will be as well).

Why? Because it appeals to stronger motives.

Abraham Maslow, the famous psychologist who developed the hierarchy of human motives, stated that the foundation of all human needs is our need to survive. Once satisfied, the next one is our need for safety. Our need to be with other people is next, followed by our need to feel appreciated. Finally, our need to be challenged is at the top.

The “pain-pleasure principle” states that people either fear pain (and try to avoid it) or crave pleasure (and try to gain it). When given a choice between the two, however, pain is a superior motive. Our need to survive and feel safe, which are at the bottom of Maslow’s pyramid, rule over all other needs, which are social, esteem and self-improvment needs.

So, a headline that instantly communicates a problem (i.e., a painful situation or a potentially painful one that may arise without the benefits of your offering) will have more impact. People who associate with the message will feel compelled to read more, which also helps to qualify your readers — it isolates the “serious” from the “curious.”

You heard it before: there’s a difference between “needs” and “wants.” When I work with plastic surgeons, I often tell them to use as a headline, “Suffering from wrinkles?” That way, it pulls only qualified prospects into the ad because it appeals not only to people with wrinkles but also to those who suffer from wrinkles (i.e., they want to do something about them, since not everyone who has wrinkles are bothere by them).

A web salesletter I recently wrote for Michael Murray talks about the fact that he is a college student stricken with cerebral palsy who’s “made it” online. The copy and most of the headers use some of the triggers I mentioned earlier.

Below is a brief list. Can you identify them?

“SPECIAL REPORT! Want to cash in on …”

“… But don’t have a product or a website?”

“How a ‘Physically Disabled’ Teenager …”

“Earn a $2,000-to-17,000 Monthly Downpour of Dollars …”

“… On a Shoestring Budget!”

“Jealously guarded ’secrets’ are finally revealed …”

“Get your hands on dirt-cheap products to sell …”

“You’ll never have to create your own products!”

“… Model after actual websites ‘making it’ BIG TIME!”

“PLUS, for a limited time only, the next 500 orders …”

“And if I can do it, I’m sure most ‘abled’ people can!”

Michael is a 19-year old with cerebral palsy. (I was moved by his story.) With his headline specifically, I used strategies to increase the attention factor. My biggest concern was the fact that people have become desensitized with opportunities of this nature. So, while I catered to people’s emotions, I used Michael’s disability as a psychological “hook.”

Ultimately, ask yourself: “Does my headline effectively stop people from scanning my web page, capture their attention and trigger their emotions in order to pull them into the copy?” More importantly, ask yourself, “Does my opening statement beg for attention, arouse curiosity and genuinely cater to the motives and emotions of my market?”

If not, change your headline and try different ones. Sure, the change may be small and insignificant. But often, the smallest changes can create the most dramatic changes in your results.

— About Michel Fortin —

Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, marketing strategy consultant, and instrumental in some of the most lucrative online businesses and wildly successful marketing campaigns to ever hit the web. For more articles like this one, please visit his blog and subscribe to his RSS feed.

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Tags: Copywriting, copywriting tips, michael fortin, michel fortin, writing good headlines

Use Pressure To Prevent Procrastination

Guest Post By Michel Fortin

—
Note from Jack: If you don’t have time to read this completely, make sure you bookmark it and come back later. It’s that important. This is one of those really good reads that teaches or reminds you of things you should know about sales and copywriting.
—

My wife and I are shopping for a new home. We’re quite excited as one house has caught our eye, and we’re making an offer on it as I type this.

With the excitement comes a bit of trepidation, however, since we know we’ll have to start packing, making moving preparations and, of course, go furniture shopping in order to fill some of the “extra space.” (Our new home is double the size of our current one.)

This reminds of the last time I went shopping for furniture when I bought my previous house. Why? Because something strange occurred that reminded me of the power of applying pressure in copywriting.

Several years ago, I bought a house that was being built, and the completion date was still way off in the future. (We’re talking about six months down the road.)

Since I was shopping for furniture several months in advance, one of the things I was looking for was an extended layaway plan. A layaway plan would help me temporarily store the furniture until I move into the new house.

After shopping around a few stores, I came across a big chain department store that carried what I was looking for â?? a bed, a couch, a dinner table and chairs, all at reasonable prices.

(In fact, they were all on special, which was nice.)

I walked in, spoke to a salesperson and asked if they had an extended layaway plan. After I asked him, he used what seemed to be the “good cop, bad cop” routine on me, which is a common sales tactic I’m all too familiar with.

“Let me check with my manager,” he said. He left, spoke with someone in the neighboring electronics department who obviously didn’t look like a “manager.” (In fact, the person seemed like a normal sales rep from the electronics department.)

Five minutes later, he returned, and said, “Sure, but my manager said only if you buy today.”

Huh? Ya, right.

Now, I may be naive at times. But I used to be a salesperson, too. I even use urgency tactics in my copy all the time. But I hate using pressure tactics when they are glaringly obvious. (And I certainly hate it when they’re applied on me.)

What was important was the layaway plan. The availability of the furniture was also important, yet the salesperson thought the pricing was the issue and focused on the layaway request as a way to apply pressure.

He didn’t ask why I needed those pieces of furniture. And he certainly didn’t ask why I needed the layaway plan. He simply assumed that all I wanted was a layaway plan to take advantage of the special pricing.

So, realizing the salesperson’s tactics, I looked at my watch, nodded, and decided to leave in order to “think about it.”

That wasn’t the end of it. The salesperson made a valiant effort to get my money that day. He threw several offers at me — again, without asking any further questions. He never even bothered explaining why he needed the money today if I wanted a layaway plan.

(The special was on for a whole week, for that matter.)

But knowing he was deceitful, the pressure he used only pushed me away even more. Needless to say, I never asked to see “Gerry” again.

But I did want that particular set of furniture. My heart was set on it. So I took another chance, made another trip to the store and on what seemed to be the last-ditch attempt to get the furniture I really wanted, I met “Jim.”

Jim was truly the epitome of great customer service. And clearly the opposite of “Gerry.”

The difference?

He truly empathized with me.

After learning about my previous, unsuccessful trip to the store, Jim was apologetic, and never once mentioned anything about himself, his store or his product (the conversation was entirely focused on me and my needs).

He asked a lot of questions to fully understand the reasons why I needed the lengthy layaway plan. He even asked me to pull out the floor plans so we can correctly measure the space and appropriate layout for the furniture.

He then extended the layaway without any so-called “manager’s” approval, and as a good faith gesture gave me free furniture shampoo, free polish, free installation and free delivery.

“Mr. Fortin, look at it as our way of saying ‘thank you’ for giving us a second chance,” Jim added. “Other people would have never returned like you did. I’ll extend your layaway without question since you’re kind enough to give us that chance.”

Thank you indeed.

The lesson?

This situation says a lot about how to write good copy. Being empathetic, being concerned and, above all, being interested in the prospect before applying any “pressure tactic” is crucial to instill trust and credibility in the mind of the reader.

I’m not condemning the use of scarcity and urgency in copy. As Jim Rohn once said, “Without a sense of urgency, desire loses it value.”

But never use underhanded tactics, never make it so blatantly obvious, and always add a logical, commensensical “reason why” to justify the pressure in the first place.

(For instance, how many times have you come across a salesletter where the offer had a deadline, which seemed to “magically” bump ahead each time you visited the website? That’s what I mean. People are not stupid!)

But the greatest lesson that I pulled from this, is this:

Never pressure people to PUSH them into purchasing. Instead, use pressure to PREVENT them from procrastinating.

There is a fundamental difference between the two.

Prospects who take the time to visit a store — or in this case, read a salesletter in depth — is certainly interested and qualified in the offer. (That is, if you did a good job to qualify the reader in your copy.)

Money means security to most people, and they don’t want to part with their security. So prospects don’t need pressure to buy. They need pressure to prevent them from procrastinating, which is a typical, “knee-jerk” reaction to any offer.

When you use pressure and scarcity tactics, such as making your offer quantity-bound or time-limited, be truthful. That goes without saying. But more important, always â?? and I do mean always! â?? back it up with a real, genuine and logical reason.

Using obvious and deceitful tactics, such as a script that modifies the date, or a quantity that seems to remain the same for ages, is going to work against you.

Each time you use pressure in your copy, always back it up with a logical explanation as to why you’re doing so. Tell your reader why you are limiting the offer. And be not only genuine but also unique.

For example, say you add a bonus from a third party. You can explain that the bonus comes from another source and you only secured permission for a certain quantity.

Or put a limit or a deadline on your offer, but explain why. Don’t just say “it’s for a marketing test.” (Yawn!) Be specific. Explain the exact reason why you’re limiting the offer.

If you don’t have a reason, manufacture one. And by “manufacture” I don’t mean lying. I mean coming up with a real reason why the offer is limited, even if you have to make one. (And I did say “make one,” not “make one up.”)

Oftentimes, the easiest way is to either limit the particular set of premiums that come with the offer, or state that you can only guarantee that particular offer until a certain date or quantity. (Even if you don’t change it at the exact moment that limit has been reached, although you should.)

The latter if pretty useful particularly with digital goods like downloads, ebooks and software, since they are obviously unlimited.

If you include copy that specifically explains why the offer is or can be limited, you not only instill urgency but also credibility and believability.

Procrastination is the biggest killer of sales â?? particularly online where the chances of a prospect staying or returning to a website (in order to think about buying), in today’s click-happy world, are scarce. (Yes, pun intended.)

Takeaway selling is in fact based on the concept of supply and demand.

As the saying goes, “People don’t know how much they want something until it’s about to be taken away from them.” Look at it this way: if you give a chance for your prospects to procrastinate, they will.

So, add a deadline or some kind of constraint, since such limitations implore at some unconscious level, “You better read this and take action now!”

But always make sure to back up your limitation with an logical reason in order not to appear misleading or disingenuous. That’s the key. (In fact, what will push them will not be the limitation in itself but its justification.)

Adding a deadline or a cap on the number of new clients, or even making the offer something that’s secretive, exclusive or otherwise unavailable to the general public, can arouse stronger motives in the psyche of your readers.

But give your added sense of urgency some level of credibility. For example:

“We were overshipped on these cassette tapes and, in order to clear out inventory, we are discounting them by [X] dollars. However, we only have 541 left in stock, so please act soon.”

“One of the bonuses includes [X] hours of individualized coaching worth $[X]. But there are only so many hours in the day. So I must limit the number of coaching students to 50. So, I urge you to act now.”

Or, “During our recent move we slightly damaged 178 pieces of our stock â?? while the damage is hidden and insignificant, I can’t sell them as new and must let them go at a one-of-a-kind discount.”
It’s all about customer service. Because, if you use pressure to prevent prospects from procrastinating, they will thank you for it. You reduce buyer’s remorse, get less refunds and returns, and increase repeat sales.

Plus, they will believe more in you and your product, they will feel happy with their purchase and they will even use the logical explanations you gave them to justify THEIR own decisions to buy.

(As you know, customers like to buy. They just don’t like to be sold.)

Remember, people buy on emotion first and then justify their decisions with logic. If you give them logical explanations, many will in fact use your suggestions as a way to back up their purchasing decisions.

They need not be convinced into buying now. They need be convinced into not procrastinating. As Brian Tracy once noted. “A man convinced against his will… is of the same opinion still.”

— About the Author —
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, marketing strategy consultant, and instrumental in some of the most lucrative online businesses and wildly successful marketing campaigns to ever hit the web. For more articles like this one, please visit his blog and subscribe to his RSS feed.

Tags: Copywriting, copywriting tactics, empathy, michel fortin

Michel Fortin: A Low-Tech Way To Boost Response

Guest Post By Michel Fortin

Some people have asked me to give a few tips and tricks they can start using right away to apply some of the strategies I wrote about in my “Death of the Salesletter” report, without resorting to audio or video.

Aside from the various technology you can start applying to make your sales experience more dynamic, there are some very simple things you can do to your salesletter, right now, to improve its readership. And ultimately, its response.

It’s easy, it’s fast, and it’s proven to increase results.

It’s adding pictures, photos, clipart, and content-relevant graphics to your salesletters. Particularly, one near the top, around the headline.

Headlines are critical. In fact, it’s part of the most important element of any salesletter: the “A” in the AIDA formula, which is to grab people’s attention, and to get them to start reading.

If you don’t get people to start reading your copy, it doesn’t matter how good your copy is. They just won’t buy.

Better headlines have been proven to increase readership and response by as much as 700% in my own split-tests. But adding photos and graphics near the headline have equally boosted response as well, sometimes even more.

And I’m not talking about graphic headers. I’m talking about pictures and graphics within the body copy.

My friend Brent Turner, branded as the Design Frog has an amazing package. Check out Graphics Frog. Brent also designs ebook covers, websites and software packages. (Check out his portfolio.)

Not that Brent’s package is less professional, but if you prefer a more toned-down and subdued graphics package, Hrvoje Livnjak, a young Croatian member of my Copywriters Board, offers his own package — and I recently bought it without batting an eyelash.

You can check out his special offer for copywriters at eCovers Lab Special Graphics Package he posted on my board.

It includes arrows, callouts, stars, frames and so forth. He offers various formats, including the Photoshop native .psd format, so for those amateur designers, you can change them to your liking, if you wanted to.

Mr. Subtle (aka JayKay), a brilliant graphic designer and direct marketer offers a brilliant solution and alternative to his highly hated “mega-headlines” by simply turning them into short animated ones.

For copywriters who still wish to retain their wordy headlines (although I would still try to edit them down to be as pithy as possible), Subtle recommends using animated headlines like a slideshow of sorts, where portions of the headline transition from one to another in seconds.

This way, if you wish to retain your bulky 80-word headline for example, you can break it down to 3-4 shorter, less wordy headlines that transition from one to another.

(And you can also apply the element of curiosity, by adding half-finished sentences or ideas that force readers to watch the remainder of the headline, or, better still, to get them to start reading the salesletter.)

I don’t believe we should resort to this, however the use of animation is a cool aspect of making the web page a little more dynamic, other than video, which you can test with your salesletters. (I am testing this, too, right now.)

But headlines and graphics aside, an important element you can add to your salesletter, particularly near the headline, is of a photo or picture. I have found that some pictures do increase response, particularly if the picture represents:

The author of the letter.
The product being offered.
The major problem suffered without the product.
Something that represents the main benefit.
Before and after pictures showing the results.
As for #4 and #5, I have found that they work best with pre-targeted or pre-qualified markets. Similar to the fact that newsworthy headlines seem to out-pull benefit-laden ones, graphics that show a benefit can be counterproductive with generic, unqualified audiences.

Nevertheless, here are some examples.

For #1, the picture is a simple picture of the person who authored the letter. It’s the same as some newspaper or magazine articles, in the article’s byline, where the picture of the author is shown.

Better yet, if you can add a picture of the author in action, particularly if the person is speaking to an audience, speaking on stage, writing on a whiteboard, delivering the product or service, or working with a client, such as in consultation, they seem to outpull traditional studio photos.

(My guess is that they offer social proof. Take, for instance, the picture of John Reese being bombarded by questions from attendees at a seminar, at the top of the Traffic Secrets letter, which I wrote.)

For #2, this is a photo of the product itself. The best ones I’ve found are photos of the product in its entirety. They boost credibility because they show that the offer, the author and the product are real.

When I write salesletters for information products, I often ask the business owner to send me a copy. What I often do is display the product on a white bedsheet or kitchen table, then take a photo of the entire package and add it to the salesletter.

(Some of my top-marketing friends have even added pictures of them pulling out the product from the box when they receive it in the mail. It’s a great proof-generator, since it shows exactly what people are getting and how they are getting it.)

For #3, an example is when I wrote the salesletter for an anti-spam software, where I added a picture of a person pulling out his hair staring at his computer screen, which donned a picture of a can of Spam (i.e., the sandwich meat one).

An example of #4 is, when I wrote a “dating guide” salesletter, I put up a picture of a loving couple in warm embrace. We see this style of photo when we see those “get rich” salesletters, where the author of the letter is posed with his Porsche, mansion or yacht, or holding up money.

Although I’m not particularly fond of the latter, any picture that represents the ultimate benefit or result of the offer is good. There are many creative ways to do this, if you put your mind to it. Think of how you want the reader to visualize themselves after applying or using your product.

For #5, it’s almost a combination of #3 and #4. And it’s probably the most powerful of them all.

Before and after pictures represent comparisons between before using the product and after doing so. (You often see these with weightloss products, muscle-building products or makeup products, for example.)

But they are not limited to cosmetics or beauty. We did this with a salesetter I wrote for a company selling special daylight-mimicking “lightbulbs” that created warmer, richer lighting, using less energy than most bulbs.

What did we do? We took a picture of a room with regular 60-watt lightbulbs. We then took another of the same room but with this company’s bulbs.

The before and after pictures, set side by side in a single graphic placed at the top, increased response. (You can see the obvious difference the lighting made in the room.)

The pictures were taken at the exact same angle and were untouched, and a caption below the pictures indicated so. In fact, that’s another important and powerful tip: add captions to your photos.

Captions are almost always read. It’s not only a great opportunity to describe the photo but also one to add some interesting fact, tidbit or benefit related to the picture. (Add something you definitely want readers to remember or appreciate about your product or service.)

If you don’t have any pictures, you can certainly use stock photography. I do, for example, when I add post icons at the upper-left corner of my blog posts.

Some stock photo websites include iStockPhoto.com, BoxedArt.com, and Photos.com.

Cyrell Price, a wonderful graphic designer — and she’s the person who does a lot of my salesletter formatting for me and my clients — offers some interesting resources on where to get stock photos.

Mr. Subtle also gave a remarkable tip: stock cartoons.

Cartoons are fabulous because they are great attention grabbers, give a bit of humor, and communicate problems and solutions in themselves in a direct and poignant way. In fact, he recommends Ron Leishman who draws and sells CDs filled with cartoons and clipart you can easily add to your salesletters.

If you have a chance, read that whole thread. Mr. Subtle shows a “live” example of getting the cartoonist to draw a customized cartoon, which is a great benefit for direct marketers, such as one that represents the benefit of the product or service in question (or in this case, the problem without it).

Anyway, hope this helps. What other suggestions do you have to add more “eye gravity,” proof and credibility to your copy? I welcome your feedback.

About Michel Fortin

Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, marketing strategy consultant, and instrumental in some of the most lucrative online businesses and wildly successful marketing campaigns to ever hit the web. For more articles like this one, please visit his blog and subscribe to his RSS feed.
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See: Copywriting Videos

Tags: boosting conversion, Copywriting, michel fortin, sales copy tips

Copy Is Not About Selling, It’s About Serving

Guest Post By Michel Fortin

If you’ve read my report, The Death of The Salesletter, then you know that many of my “predictions” (I’m using quotes for a reason) were based on actual test results. Many of them were made by, or done based on tests from, John Reese.

John is one of my mentors. He’s not only a multi-millionaire but also a visionary. And lately, John has proven this to be true. Recently, he released a fascinating report entitled The Rebirth of Internet Marketing, which I highly encourage you to download and read — if you haven’t already.

While John touches on many aspects of the trends affecting Internet marketing (such as advertising, content, authority sites, and more), for me the most salient point is, without question, the decline in long-copy salesletters, and the increasing popularity and versatility of video-based salesletters.

However, there are a few things to note.

Business management expert Peter Drucker once said: “The truly important events are not the trends. They are changes in the trends.”

In other words, it’s not how trends affect sales copy that’s important. It’s what they tell us about how people digest it (and how they want to digest it) that is.

In “The Next Information Revolution” (Forbes, August 24, 1998), he stated that we are moving beyond the mere “collection, analysis, and presentation of data,” to understanding the meaning and purpose of the data.

In fact, Drucker said that trends most often are just fads. In my estimation, important trends — those that affect how we understand and serve markets better — are the ones worth spotting.

Why? Because trends teach more about our market and their behavior, than they do about market demand or opportunities.

In other words, what’s important is what we can learn from these trends, how they affect the way we serve markets, and how we can use them to serve (and sell) more effectively.

Again, it’s all about human behavior and salesmanship, which will never change. People shape technology and allow it to flourish — and not the other way around.

New technologies will come and go. Some will flourish and expand. Others will eventually fall by the wayside or outright fail.

But any new technology — like video on the web, for instance — is not the result of a new trend. It basically allows trends to take form. It allows users to receive, collect, and act upon the data in the way that best suits them.

Technology is a facilitator, not an instigator. It allows users to affect the way businesses serve and persuade them, rather than let businesses dictate how users should respond to, and buy from, them.

That said, I want to make something clear: copy will never change. That is, good, compelling, personal, ego-driven copy (the user’s ego, not the author’s) will never change. And long copy will never die, either.

But the spammy, garish-looking, gaudy, long-scrolling salesletter is on its last legs. It will always be around, I believe. But people will invariably see through them, if they don’t already. And they will do so particularly because of the contrast created by other forms of content delivery and the value they create.

Let me be more specific.

These long salesletters will always work. And in some markets, they will work better than others and are more appropriate.

But to me, such salesletters are akin to “smash-and-grab” jewelry thieves. They come into the market with their long, hypey, over-the-top copy, make as many sales as they possibly can, and then stagnate or die — forcing the marketer to come up with a new product to sell to keep cashflow at a sustainable level.

Long, hypey salesletters are like drugs. They give the marketer a temporary high with an injection of new sales. But after a while, they come down from the “trip,” which forces the marketer to change, tweak, test new copy, or create more of the same “one-shot products” to stay afloat.

For a growing number of people, this is no different than the snake-oil salesmen of days gone by who drove into a new village, sold as many of their concoctions as possible, and then skipped town before people realized their “amazing cures” were worthless.

Does this mean that direct marketers are snake oil salespeople? Not at all. Loud, long-scrolling copy has sold many a great product — and will continue to do so. They will always have a place.

But for long-term, steady, sustainable success and growth, these devices will falter more and more over time — or be perceived as snake oil salesmen by an increasing majority of people. The copy will therefore need to work harder at communicating proof, credibility, and trustworthiness.

This need was always existent. But it’s moreso today, especially on the Internet. Why? Because the Internet is indeed different. And this is the point I was really trying to convey in my own report.

After John Reese released his report, one person defiantly mentioned that “the video-based salesletter is ludicrous,” that “nothing beats classic paper and pen,” and that “video buffering times are too slow,” which will deter the easily distracted.

I agree in part. Particularly the bit about distraction. But my answer to his statement is, you don’t use classic “paper and pen” on TV or radio. And ostensibly, you shouldn’t. The Internet is just another medium, true. But it’s not a direct mail medium.

Granted, it used to be at first (since browsers were once only text-based), and still is to some degree. But that’s changing. Why? Because the Internet is growing up. (Call it “Web 2.0? or whatever you want. It doesn’t matter.)

In fact, this is the same thing with buffering times: the increasing penetration of broadband and new video technologies (i.e., Flash and better compression) will make video even more flexible and faster-loading over time. In fact, it’s here already.

(If you want to see where video is going, check out this webcast from Adobe. While this video shows upcoming ways of monetizing videos, I’m more intrigued by to the use of videos to monetize copy — and how videos are becoming easier to use and more versatile.)

As for the point about being a distraction, it’s exactly for this reason I believe that video is more powerful than long-scrolling, “pen-and-paper” copy.

I called this the “ping factor” in my report, The Death of The Salesletter. We are distracted on the Internet, and moreso these days because of the growing popularity of technologies that allow for more interaction, communication, and content delivery.

(Think instant messengers, blogs, RSS feeds, emails, alerts, widgets, applications, push technologies, multi-tabbed browsers, etc.)

For example, if a salient point that might clinch the sale happens to be in the middle of your long video, it can be easily overlooked when people are distracted.

That’s why I believe long infomercials on the web don’t work, just as much as long copy on the web doesn’t work — or work as good as it used to. The web is not another direct mail medium, just as much as it is not another TV or radio medium, either.

Entirely video-based salesletters on the web will be counterproductive. They still need copy and mechanisms that allow those videos to be digested, and above all, small enough to appeal to the easily distracted.

Small, pithy, bite-sized videos, audios, even copy (e.g., shorter paragraphs, copy clusters, and visual aids for eye gravity), that are used to communicate, support, or emphasize key points in the salesletter, are best.

(With respect to videos, smaller sizes also increase loading-time speeds.)

To be clear, John Reese did not claim that salesletters should be entirely video-driven. In fact, his report offers a few examples of how they work best with, or accompanied by, written copy.

In the end, remember that video, audio, and text all use copy. It’s all copy. It’s not the copy that’s changing. And it’s certainly not human behavior. It’s its delivery that’s changing.

Bottom line, saying that classic “paper and pen” on the web is the only way to go is analogous to saying that 8-track tapes is the only way to listen to music.

—
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, marketing strategy consultant, and instrumental in some of the most lucrative online businesses and wildly successful marketing campaigns to ever hit the web. For more articles like this one, please visit his blog and subscribe to his RSS feed.

Tags: Copywriting, direct response copywriting, mew media copywriting, michel fortin

Can Copy And Content Commingle?

Guest Post By Michel Fortin

This Post Featured on Reuters

Last Sunday, a bunch of copywriters shot the breeze on the Nuts & Blogbolts talk radio show. At the end, Mike Sansone asked if we would individually respond on our blogs to this question:

“Writing for the visitor is more important than writing for the search engines. Can both requirements be met without sacrificing quality?”

Ryan Healy posted his answer on the subject. I agree with him, but only in part. This is not because I disagree with anything Ryan said, because he makes some great points. But because I think there are ways around it.

So my answer is both “yes” and “no.” Here’s why…

First off, I’m not a search engine optimization (SEO) expert by any stretch. However, I do know enough about SEO to know that it’s primarily based on three major factors:

Code, links, and content.

Code has to do with ensuring the content is presented in a way that makes it more appealing to the search engines. Simply, the code is optimized so that the search engines can find your content and read it more easily.

Why is this important? Because, in reality, your code not only helps search engines find and crawl your content, but also helps them present that content in a way that appeals to their users.

Links are links within your content, as well as links to your content — the latter being more important, of course. When people link to you, they are indirectly telling the search engines that your content is of value, and therefore of interest to their users.

Undeniably, this requires some skill, such as knowing how to write content that creates interest — and in a way that makes it interesting, too (which is still copywriting, by the way).

Content, which is third in this list, is the one on which the question behind this post really hinges. I think a better question to ask is, “Can you write content and copy at the same time?” Yes. But there are three ways of doing this in a way that doesn’t force one to sacrifice the quality of the other.

First, understand the difference between content and copy. Content informs. Copy invites. In other words, content educates its readers, while copy elicits a response from them, in some way.

So can you be both informative and response-driven? Absolutely. Now, there’s the rub: how do you blend the two?

I do believe that you can write content that’s appealing to both the search engines and its users. (And really, it’s all about the audience, isn’t it?) But to ensure that it’s generating a response at the same time does require some attention.

Personally, I don’t spend time on things like keyword optimization and density. I look at it this way: give what your users want, and you will naturally give what the search engines want.

The objective is to focus on your audience. Find out what they want and bring value to them. Because that, in effect, is why your website exists in the first place, whether it’s to educate or sell. (And it’s also what makes copywriting truly compelling in the first place, too.)

In terms of content alone, you can post a lot of it so that you naturally multiply your keyword density. You can focus on a particular niche. And you can also write content that’s buzzworthy, too.

Do either one of these, and you will naturally attract a lot of organic traffic as a natural byproduct, without much extra effort.

But if you want to maximize your content and make it response-driven at the same time, there are three ways to accomplish this:

1. Guiding
2. Funneling
3. “Newsifying”

Guiding
The content guides people into taking action, whether it’s directly or indirectly.

You can certainly turn your content into copy to a degree. In other words, you can use the content itself to elicit a certain response from your audience, or add copy to it to accomplish this. (Turning one into the other is what I call “newsifying,” and I will come back to it later on.)

Press releases, product reviews, and even articles can be both educational and promotional. But guiding can also be as simple as adding links or forms within the content, and even adding words or phrases that lead people to take a certain action.

Therefore, the copy may or may not be part of the content proper. It can be separate and distinct from the content, and it can either blend within the content or be placed in a sidenote.

However, in the case of a strictly long-copy salesletter, I agree that your aim is to elicit a response and not satiate the search engines. If you were to optimize your sales copy for the search engines, the quality of your copy may suffer at some point. As the saying goes, you can’t be all things to all people.

But this is where the next two options come into play.

Funneling
This is the process of using content to generate organic traffic, and siphoning that traffic to a copy-focused, response-driven page, site, or salesletter. It can be part of the same website, or it can be on another site altogether.

These content-only pages act like beacons or baits that attract people who are interested in the content first and foremost, and are then led to take action elsewhere. Unlike “guiding,” this step involves two separate and individual processes that are distinct from one and other.

Now, these may be concurrent or not. For example, you can funnel traffic from one to another, or through a multi-step process where one only occurs after the other has been completed.

For example, we see this in part with product launches that deliver content beforehand to increase exposure, create interest, and build lists of eager subscribers who are noti