Is Direct Mail On The Way Back?

Maybe it was the beautiful sunny morning – but the attractive four-part mail-shot I received today from Parcelforce set me thinking.  Is direct mail set for a comeback? 

When we’re talking about ‘integrated marketing’, there must surely be room for the old-fashioned mail-shot?  I say ‘old-fashioned’ because the world seems to assume that e-mail has taken over. 

E-mail is great when it’s done properly – a great opt-in list, good creative, persuasive offer and so on.  And yet: there’s something reassuring about opening an envelope (far more enticing than a mouse-click!); ‘feeling the width’ of the main sales leaflet; and then settling down with the letter. 

Ah – the letter!  Such a wonderful throwback to the days when people actually wrote to each other.  Don’t get me wrong.  I haven’t come over all sentimental, but an e-mailed ‘Hi Mike’ doesn’t hold a candle to the sweet formality of ‘Dear Mr Beeson’! 

The sequence of events that the contents of a mysteriously-headlined envelope triggers is nothing short of magical (maybe I AM getting sentimental?).  Look through the mini-brochure, marvel at the production values, the layout, design and copywriting!  

Pick up the letter – admire their opening sentence!  Wonder at the conciseness of it all.  Yes they CAN walk on water.  And they’re kind with it – or at least that’s the impression given by their offer of entering me into a prize draw! 

There’s no denying that plenty of thought has gone into this marketing gem.  Just think of all the stages it’s gone through:  marketing brainstorming, creative briefings, creative head-scratching, production, printing, mail-house, postman…

 The great thing about a mail-shot nowadays is that they aren’t competing with piles of other junk mail.  Maybe it’s to do with the cost of UK postage (which will increase by almost 50% on April 30th). 

It’s the price you have to pay for a solus doorstep position.  The curiosity value of a mail-shot cannot be discounted either.  Picture it when a mailing arrives in a small advertising or design agency.  Everyone crowds around, fascinated. 

In the background some old geezer gazes nostalgically into the middle distance, lamenting the passing of the Mad Men era, Thatcherism, free school milk – and postal strikes.  Yes, those were the days.  And direct mail may yet see a mini-comeback…  

If you’re wondering whether the Parcelforce mailer did the business with me, suffice it to say that even an offer of a free prize draw to win an iPad couldn’t sway me.  Not today anyway.  Maybe at some time in the future when I need a big box shifting, a little voice at the back of my mind may just remind me to call them!

Sales Letter Copywriting – Effective In Splendid Isolation!

Anyone remember the halcyon days of ‘direct response’? From somewhere in the depths of my memory, I recall that was in the 1970s and 80s! Sales letters were also having their glory days – long letters with ‘Johnson Boxes’, Reader’s Digest, Drayton Bird and whatever was on TV at the time!

Fast forward to 2011 and all of what was mainstream marketing-speak then would now be more at home in the advertising museum in Norfolk. And yet, I’ve had a gut feeling for long enough that the so-called ‘traditional’ marketing and copywriting skills would make a comeback. In truth, they probably never went away. Perhaps they’ve been lurking in the back room in some other guise. Online newsletters? US-style ‘killer’ e-mails? Or maybe website landing pages?

One thing I have been grateful for amid all the self-flagellation that went on behind closed doors in the 70s and 80s – the better to create ‘benefit-led headlines’ or creative concepts that perfectly married headlines and visuals – is being confident that everything involving online copywriting is something I’ve done before in the offline world of yore.

I’d go further. Some of the techniques of yesteryear are set to make a comeback. I would say this is true of something like sales letters for instance. There’s a new conventional wisdom focusing on digital marketing, social media and so on. New rules are evolving where once there were no rules at all. The web was once referred to as ‘the worldwide wild west’. Now, we have ‘website usability consultants’; research into where web visitors’ eyes alight, for how long and why; not to mention focus groups analysing web copywriting to death in search of a winning ‘third way’.

Can it really be that sales letters are dead, simply because conventional wisdom says so? Is this really true? It IS true that UK postage rates are extortionate. And it’s true too that there are so many other ‘instant’ marketing tools competing for our attention. What’s interesting, however, is that the very same conventional wisdom that seeks to consign sales letters to the rubbish heap of history has in fact (unwittingly) created a great opportunity to grab what – in old-currency parlance – would have been described as a ‘solus’ position.

No, that’s not some tantric sex technique, or even a singles dating website. What I’m saying is that when your sales letter arrives with its intended recipient, there are far fewer letters (if any) competing for his or her attention. Providing the proposition is attractive, the chances of converting have been multiplied exponentially!

If this strikes a cord, then the next step is to teach a whole new generation of copywriters about the tricks and techniques of sales letter copywriting. Not to mention the clever design layouts and typography that were obviously the forerunner of many online design techniques used nowadays.

The point of all this is to say that no technique is ever dead. And not even ’til the fat lady sings. Mixing marketing services that work has always been about opportunism. The concept of ‘integrated marketing’ has been around since Adam was a lad. Because we now have a whole new array of online media and techniques to choose from is no reason not to include traditional methods in today’s integrated marketing plans.

Sales Letter Copywriting – It’s Due for a Comeback!

I’m a regular reader of Nick Usborne’s newsletters, blogs and articles. In one of Nick’s latest articles, he expounds on the agony of getting noticed amid the churn of messages on social media sites.

As we all know by now, B2B social media should be about targeting the right prospects. That’s fine… but: whatever happened to good old-fashioned direct mail where you wrote to a named prospect and could command ‘solus’ attention – so long as he or she opened the envelope and were interested in your proposition?

No need to compete with the millions of tweets and Facebook posts that create a river of information every minute of every day! And with fewer and fewer people using direct mail – what an opportunity this is!

E-mail marketing may be the next best thing, and it does of course have the benefit of clickable links to take the reader back to your website landing page, blog or whatever. The problem with e-mail is that it’s notoriously difficult to attract and keep your readers’ attention. How easy is it to simply delete that uninvited intrusion into your inbox.

Compare this with what is nowadays an intriguing interloper slipping into your daily mailbag or letterbox – the sales letter! And how much more welcome it is than those dreaded bills and statements. With the right message, a well-targeted mailer will be just as effective in 2011 as it always has been.

No-one is suggesting you should abandon social media. Far from it. It’s an amazingly powerful tool for spreading your message in realtime and/or virally. What I AM suggesting is re-introducing sales letter copywriting and direct mail to your marketing mix.

If you’ve forgotten how effective direct mail can be (or if you’ve never given it a try), why not compare it with the time-effectiveness of your social media activities? I’m confident you’ll be glad you did. I’m also confident that sales letter copywriting is due for a mighty big comeback!!!

Freelance Copywriting – How to Get Ahead (Part 5)

The 21st century route into copywriting requires little in the way of qualifications, or even – dare it be said – very much in the way of writing ability.

The negative result of this ease of entry into what once a respected profession has seen an explosion of self-styled copywriters who arrived as if out of nowhere to meet an insatiable need for online content.

As we all know, ‘content’ is basically basic information that’s arranged logically – web pages, articles, that sort of thing. The more traditional skills of copywriting such as advertising, direct response and sales letter writing demanded a persuasive writing technique.

In the case of advertising – and to a lesser extent with other collateral like brochures and mailers – it also placed an onus upon the copywriter to dream up relevant and creative visual concepts that allowed art directors to have a field day.

Online copywriting is predominantly a low-skill form of writing that can be handled relatively easily without too much writing talent, business experience or ad agency work-outs on creative concepts.

An exception to this is search engine optimisation (SEO) copywriting which has added a new level of expectation of a copywriter’s ability to write succinct, attractive copy that also scores with the search engines.

SEO copywriting aside, it’s good that clear, simple writing is still seen as important (it was ever thus!). In a society where the profusion of marketing messages is daunting, the new emphasis on laid-back clarity is encouraging – a factor given additional momentum by the power of social media.

So how easy is it to survive in a sea of ‘information writers’? Is this type of copywriting that much different to what’s gone before – and does it matter what labels are applied? If we’re all speaking and reading David Ogilvy’s lingua franca, surely everyone – including businesses – should be happy!

The Cloisters of a Copywriting Mind

As a professional copywriter working in splendid isolation, I have for long enough lived a cloistered existence. This rather unreal world is akin to living in a gilded cage – attractive in its protected way, but wanting in its lack of reality, reduced opportunity for spontaneous human interaction, and two-dimensional in its repetitiveness.

Some would say, count your blessings, be careful what you wish for – and keep looking over your shoulder for the unexpected tsunami of economic reality. Well, my friends, I’ve been looking. For sure, the tsunami’s shadow looms larger in winter. Whether this is connected to the SAD syndrome of being deprived of sunlight in north-west England, or whether life is naturally more optimistic in the summertime – who can tell.

Copywriting is of course connected to the commercial world, but mostly in a tenuous way. Unless the type of work one does is immediately accountable and measurable in sales figure terms – to wit, sales letter copywriting or off-the-page ‘direct response’ advertising – there is a severe disconnect between the harsh realities of entrepreneurial activity, or even the more languid and budgeted reality of the mega corporation.

When was the last time the average copywriter lost sleep about the effectiveness of his or her work in the open marketplace? I venture that this is one reason why the financial rewards aren’t especially brilliant. Like so many aspects of capitalism, ‘compensation’ is all to do with the risk-reward ratio. The amount of risk that a copywriter faces is almost nil.

It could be argued that copywriters’ reputations are built on achieving a certain level of success for clients. Writing memorable TV ads is a good example of how a clever concept can kick-start a brand. The fact remains, however, that a copywriter can justifiably bask in the reflected glory his ideas have created; but if the brand bombs out, nothing is lost.

In the world of marketing, it’s not copywriters’ heads that peek first over the parapet. In reality, they’ll be the ones strolling round the safety of the ‘cloisters’, musing unaccountably about how much their words are really worth.

(It struck me that this was very much a ‘Sunday’ posting. Let me know if you agree!)

Copywriting Rates – Get Real, or Get Out?

This post about Copywriting Rates follows on from my recent introduction to a perennially popular theme. It doesn’t drill down into the way other copywriters see Copywriting Rates (that’s for later!). What it does is take a general, ‘soap-box’ view of what is a big subject, in copywriting terms at least!

So where to begin? Let’s start with plain old-fashioned market forces. Copywriters want to maximise their earnings without pricing themselves out of the market; clients want professional copywriting work that doesn’t break the bank. Somewhere in between, there’s a match made in heaven for everyone involved.

There’s no doubt that the Internet has muddied the waters. On the one hand there’s a vastly increased demand for commercial words. On the other, it’s opened up the floodgates to an army of so-called copywriters who primarily provide ‘content’ at ridiculously low rates.

The ease of entry to copywriting as a market where the inexperienced (and often untalented) can earn a crust has devalued – nay commoditised – what was once regarded as a skilful, creative occupation.

Fortunately, creativity and quality copywriting are still needed by big companies, ad agencies and those clients who appreciate the value of sparkling, persuasive words and ideas. Even better, they are willing to pay realistic rates for a copywriting job well done.

This is looking at copywriting rates from the client end of the telescope. For weaker copywriters in the market place, there are still plenty of opportunities to be gainfully employed, especially if the rates offered are along the lines of $10 for a 500-word article (and this, apparently, is the going rate on some of the ‘Dutch auction’ bidding sites out there).

Whilst offering rock-bottom rates may bring in work, it has the unfortunate knock-on effect of devaluing the copywriting profession for those who are serious about perfecting the craft and providing clients with a professional, cost-effective range of services.

The provision of mass, optimised online content has its place in a fast-moving world that consumes words and advertising messages in the blink of an eye. It’s important to be realistic and accept that the world has changed. Being ‘precious’ about creativity flies in the face of what copywriting is all about, namely: providing a hard-hitting commercial service that helps clients sell or persuade.

What needs to change is either the description of differing types of copywriting which obviously involve enormously different skillsets - or (and this is more difficult) there needs to be a shift in perception among clients that copywriting is a ‘catch-all’ service where, for example, dozens of optimised e-commerce descriptions are seen in the same light as writing persuasive sales letters, web pages or ad copy.

There’s no mileage in denigrating the role of content writers, however. They provide a valuable service. The danger of course is where the term ‘copywriting’ overlaps to include skills of a totally different nature and, arguably, of greater commercial worth. The downward pressure on copywriting rates has prompted many old-school copywriters to question whether freelance copywriting is still a viable occupation.

The sequel to this looks at what other copywriters’ views are on Copywriting Rates in general. Visit: Copywriting Rates – What Copywriters Say

For tips on setting and negotiating Copywriting Rates, see: Copywriting Rates – Sell the Sizzle, Reap the Rewards!

Sales Letter Copywriting – Video #3: How to Follow Up

This third video – http://bit.ly/i82Qld – from the International Freelancers Academy tells you how to follow up on your sales letter copywriting in a professional and effective way.

Following up is an area of direct mail marketing where so many companies fall down. The video explains how to get around this by sending out sequenced e-mails and making well-timed phone calls.

If this still doesn’t bring the response you need over, say, a six-month period, send out articles, case studies or other items that may be of use to your prospect.

Simple really. All that’s needed is planned and focused input on your part. Check out Video #3 Sales Letter Copywriting now!

I was a financial copywriter. I still am a financial copywriter!

When it comes to adding relevant content to Buzzwords’ website to support my claims to being a financial copywriter (among many other things!!!), it doesn’t help that a large body of my work has disappeared.

This is because freelance work I did as a financial copywriter in the late 1980s onwards for companies such as Girobank and Royal Insurance – not to mention the Manchester Evening News – were all written before I recorded my work on a PC.  In other words, the only surviving record I have of some really good stuff is in either typescript form (and a bit mouldy round the edges after all that time in a cardboard box!) or – in a few cases – as printed ‘proofs’! 

(buzzwords.ltd.uk/financial_copywriter.htm)

This is true of other aspects of copywriting work done over a long period.  My computerised files ‘only’ go back to 1996 which effectively means that over ten years of my work has been consigned to oblivion.  Admittedly, much of what was written then would seem hopelessly out of date now, but there are some aspects of copywriting such as advertising and direct mail which don’t date as much.

As this type of work made up a big slice of what I was doing in those days, it’s a shame it’s all gone to waste.  Just think of  all those SEO links!  Buzzwords would be top banana in so many Google searches, based on ancient texts!

These are merely observations and I do have 15 years of more recent work to use as examples on Buzzwords’ website!  Yes, I am still a financial copywriter - as well as being a copywriter in areas I never would have dreamt of  in those early days!

Former copywriting client Royal Doulton goes bust

Sad to see one of Buzzwords’ major copywriting clients from the 1990s – Royal Doulton – go into administration today.  Its mainstay was the USA market, and I guess the exchange rate difference with the Euro didn’t help. 

The fact is, events in the financial markets over the last three months have damaged many companies.  Companies which were already weak – and Royal Doulton was one of them – never stood a chance.

It’s all a huge pity because the company’s products were of the highest quality – and the promotional products were marketed with great aplomb.  The social ‘collateral’ (ie. the fallout) of all this is, of course, the highly-skilled workforce (1,900 lost jobs in the UK, plus another 5,8000 jobs overseas). 

There’s a faint hope that a buyer may be found.  In the current economic climate, however, who’d be bold enough to take on a company whose product portfolio belongs to another, more genteel, age?

Freelance Copywriting Offline – Buzzwords’ Skills

Offline copywriting skills are alive and well at Buzzwords!  There are two ways of looking at your needs for this type of copywriting: by specific skill or by business sector.  In this blog posting, we’ll look at ‘skills’:

SPECIFIC SKILLS

I’m sometimes surprised just how many offline skill-sets I have floating around in my head.  Maybe I should call them ‘skull-sets’?  And when it’s said that ’yesterday is another country’, I’m beginning to think that ‘copywriting yesterdays’ are more like another planet.

Brochures – These are still going strong, and probably always will be.  Most popular right now: ‘corporate’ brochures with a wallet at the back for half-a-dozen leaflets or data sheets.

Advertising – Used to be a mainstay – but no longer so.  The marketing dollars have moved on.  Most of them online – or into PR.

PR – News release writing  is a specific strength of Buzzwords.  Crafting a good release is quite an art.  Try me and see! (Mike Beeson MCIPR – Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.)

Newsletters – Harking back to my five years as a freelance writer with the Manchester Evening News, newsletters are an interesting exercise in news gathering, organisation and journalistic licence.

Sales Letters – I love writing sales letters.  Not the American ‘killer copy’ types.  Nor even the four-page Readers Digest model. I CAN actually write long sales letters, but my approach tends to be to make the letter as long (or short) as it needs to be – and cut the crap and convention that strangles a letter with underlinings, red ink, capitals and PSs (pee-esses!).

Catalogues – Having worked for all the UK’s largest catalogue companies (Grattan, Empire, GUS etc), I know about volume writing, at speed and with a certain economy of words.  If you need a hired hand (or three) for mega catalogue projects, call me, Mike Beeson, on 01565 654023.