The Power of Specificity: When to be specific (and when not to be)

Which of the following headlines catches your interest more?

1. How to get 2,736 new customers in a single day.
2. How to get more than 2,000 new customers in a single day.
3. How to get tons more customers in a single day.

Clearly, the first option steals the show. Why is that? Specificity sells. Specific claims trump general ones time and again. When we read about specific results, we trust those results. We believe them. And, we want to find out how we can get them for ourselves.

Anytime you can use specifics, you should. You'll create curiosity and establish an aura of authenticity. In many cases, using generalities will harm your credibility. Just take that third headline from above. Do you believe it? Would you be willing to click through to an article with that title?

That said, sometimes specificity can hurt you more than it helps. You wouldn't want to be specific if you don't have any verifiable specifics to use. Creating exact numbers out of the thin air of your imagination is morally ambiguous at best. You also shouldn't make precise claims if they'll land you in a heap of legal trouble. We don't want people to sue you because you promised an unobtainable outcome.

A less obvious crime, though, is what I call the "detailed to distraction offense." Unnecessary technical details bog readers down, causing them to wade through a confusing swamp of irrelevancy. If you're at all passionate about what you're writing, you may not be aware that your readers don't share your enthusiasm. In cases like these, be specific, but subtle.

Happy writing!

Are Democrats Bad Copywriters?

A tasty little bit of recent news reinforces my belief that everyone can use a good copywriter. From The Hill:

Democrats are losing the battle for voters’ hearts because the party’s message lacks emotional appeal, according to a widely circulated critique of House Democratic communications strategy.

...He said the meeting left him cold because it focused on what polling shows voters want rather than how to present persuasive messages. Republicans have done a better job by developing poll data into focus group-tested messages like “culture of life” and “defending marriage,” along with attacks like “cut and run” and “plan for surrender” in Iraq, he argued.

In particular, Helfert points to Republican pollster Frank Luntz, who helped develop the 1994 “Contract with America” and is credited with helping Republicans come up with terms for polices like “Healthy Forests” and “Death Tax.”

“Republicans have been kicking our rhetorical butt since about 1995,” Helfert wrote.

Stuck Writing Copy For An Average Company Or Service? How Parity Saves The Day.

"We're the same as everybody else" hardly sells. But if your client's product or service isn't anything special or unique, what kind of a claim can you possibly make about them to outstrip the competition? Using the Rule of Parity is a godsend for copywriters left scratching their heads over an otherwise average, run of the mill product or service.

What is the Rule of Parity? Nothing more than making an honest claim at equality, but spinning it in such a way that it leaves a positive, superior impression in your reader's mind. Most parity claims begin with the word "no."

No other bank offers faster credit approval.
No other car battery is guaranteed to last longer.
No other drink satisfies thirst more quickly.

Get the idea yet? Translated into ho-hum language, the three claims above read:

Other banks offer credit approvals as quickly as we do.
Other car batteries are guaranteed to last as long as ours.
Other drinks satisfy your thirst as quickly as ours.

A parity claim doesn't claim to be the best, or even better. It simply claims to be on par with the competition (hence: "parity"). It claims equivalence, not superiority.

Your job, though, is to create a realistic image of superiority. So, why use just one parity claim? String many of them together, and a more substantive image of supremacy starts forming.

No other bank offers faster credit approval. No other bank pays higher interest rates. No other bank gives you more free services like free checks and free ATMs. No bank has more neighborhood branches for your banking convenience. So, why don't you bank at First American?

Add in even one legitimate claim of superiority, however minor, and you've created an unassailable mountain.

No other bank offers faster credit approval. No other bank pays higher interest rates. No other bank gives you more free services like free checks and free ATMs. No bank has more neighborhood branches for your banking convenience. To top it all off, no other bank gives you a free $50 gas card for opening an account with them. So, why don't you bank at First American?

So, if you're stuck cursing the cruel fate that brought you an assignment writing copy for a product or service without a single unique feature, thank God for parity. It'll bail you out of tight copywriting corners time and again.

Short And Sweet? Long Copy Isn't Always Bad Copy

According to Stephen King, the secret to successful writing is to "take out the bad parts." Sounds straightforward, doesn't it? But many marketers and writers confuse brevity with concision. They think the mark of good writing is that it's "short and sweet." That's not it at all.

How many times have you heard marketing pundits praise writing that's "short and to the point?" While that's often a good standard, it can be dangerous if carried to the extreme.

Why? Because it's not about the quantity of words, it's about the quality of your word choices. Long copy, short copy. It doesn't matter. A recent Marketing Sherpa study showed how one ezine publisher signed up subscribers by the tens of thousands for their latest newsletter with a 945-word offer letter! Almost a thousand words! Long by almost every standard, their letter generated a whopping 12.5% response rate.

How did they do it? For starters, they didn't confuse brevity with concision.

Brevity means being short, or brief.

Concision means packing more power per every square inch of copy, or expressing a great deal in few words. It means using passionate, focused, purposeful words. Put plainly, concision means you eliminate unnecessary words while still communicating your point and achieving your desired results. If it takes you a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand words to make your point concisely, so be it.

And that's the tricky part. Most marketers and writers are adept at ensuring reader comprehension. But in their zeal for brevity, they cut out the part of the message most likely to convert readers into customers. They eliminate the parts which will result in the desired action or effect.

Here's the rub: In order to be concise, you've got to "take out the bad parts." You've got to say everything that needs to be said, but you've also got to train yourself to be a ruthless editor.

What does a ruthless editor do?

1. Uses one word instead of two wherever possible. A wanderer isn't "without aim;" he's "aimless." Handwriting isn't "difficult to read;" it's "illegible."
2. Eliminates most adverbs. Words like "literally," "really," "very," "actually," and "extremely" are unnecessary clutter more often than not.
3. Makes the reading easy without being lame. This means having good transitions, using elements like story, metaphor, and good illustrations, and creating a helpful structure using bullet points and signposts.

So, marketers and writers of the world: Stop paying attention to word count, and start paying attention to word power. Use as many words as necessary. No more, no less. It's that simple, and that complicated.

7 Steps to Make Sure Your Content's Read

Copyblogger's Brian Clark offered a succinct look today at how to keep readers reading to the end and ensure they're impressed when they get there:

The Seven Steps

I try to leave out the parts that people skip. ~Elmore Leonard

1. Beneficial Topic
Is what you’re writing of interest to the reader? Does it solve a problem they have and add value to their lives? If not, nothing else you read here matters.

2. Magnetic Headline
Likewise, nothing else matters if your prospective reader never makes it past the title or headline. Your content could be amazing, but if no one is compelled to invest the time to read based on a boring or vague headline, all is lost.

3. Strong Opening
The purpose of the headline is to get the first sentence read, and each subsequent sentence needs to keep the reader rolling towards to the close. The momentum you create with your opening can make your job easier the rest of the way.

4. Helpful Structure
Are your transferable lessons easily digested via bullets points and numbered lists? Are you providing compelling subheads that act as encouraging signposts for the diagonal reader to dig in deeper?

5. Smooth Transitions
Good writing uses transitional words and phrases to help the content read more smoothly. But good copy also uses psychological connectors to persuade and keep the reader engaged. We’ll talk more about that soon.

6. Instant Understanding
Orson Scott Card once said that metaphors have a way of holding the most truth in the least space. The same is true of stories, and being highly specific facilitates understanding, holds attention, and enhances credibility in ways that general assertions cannot.

7. Actionable Close
How you close a piece is determined by what you are hoping to accomplish. If you’re not sure what you’re trying to accomplish, you might ask yourself why you’re writing it at all. That actually helps you to determine whether to revamp the content or to put it out of its misery.

How To Radically Improve Name Recognition Through Storytelling

Seth Godin is a marketing genius. I can say this because 1)he is, and 2)I'm in no way affiliated with him or his business. In a recent blog entry of his, he defined marketing as "figuring out how to tell a story that spreads with the resources you've got." I don't know if I could have said it any better. Believe it or not, marketing is just another form of story craft, that age old tradition of captivating audiences and committing interesting and entertaining information to memory. Find out what makes a good story, make sure your own story measures up, and then spread that story with the resources you've got.

So, let's look at a few things that make a memorable "story that spreads."

1. A good, memorable story doesn't simply consist of fascinating characters and a riveting plot. While you certainly will need those things to have a first class story, so much of the art of story craft depends on other qualities such as ingenious writing, remarkable imagery, and emotional satisfaction.

2. The first line can make or break you. I just read the New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci's Hour Game. This was his first line:

The man in the rain slicker walked slightly bent over, his breathing labored and his body sweaty.

This was his third line:

It was never an easy thing to tote a dead body through the woods in the middle of the night.

Now, I ask you, which would make the better first line? Which sentence arouses more curiosity, captures more attention, and makes you want to keep reading? How did his editors let this glaring mistake pass them by?

Considering that many readers of your marketing message won't make it past the first line, that first line better be a whopper. Whether it's in a direct mail campaign, a sales letter, a website, or a company brochure, it better make them want to keep reading.

3. A good storyteller knows his audience. You probably wouldn't read The Lord of The Rings aloud to your two year old, and your grandmother may find The Poky Little Puppy far from challenging. Pick a story and a marketing message appropriate to your target audience. The more targeted your story, the more memorable it is.

Now, how does your own story measure up? Are you telling it to the right audience, getting people's attention, and crafting it with care? Does your story serve up emotional satisfaction, striking imagery, sound writing, worthy characters, and a spellbinding plot? Think about it.

Exponentially Increase Sales Using Persona-Based Copy

I just read a revealing article by Marketing Sherpa that astounded me. The article describes how Leo Schachter Diamonds revamped their site and increased visitor conversions from .86% to 54.1%. (No, that last number is not a typo.) What was their secret? Persona-based copy. Here's how it works:

Put simply, most business websites are boring. Oh, they try to be exciting with Flash, an eye-catching design, and video or podcast offerings. But, when it gets right down to it, they confuse "professional" with "stuffy."

Persona-based copy can change all that. The public mask you present to the world, AKA your persona, is unique, engaging, and has a story of its own. When a company decides to adopt a persona -- both online and in other marketing communications and sales materials, they create a public face.

Your company's persona isn't just its public image. It's a face, a name, a person with a story to tell. Whether this person lives and breathes or is simply the product of a zealous marketer's imagination doesn't matter. Adopt a persona, and watch the revenue come rolling in.

So, how do you do it?

1. Decide whether or not your company's persona will be a real employee (your President, VP, PR director, or rank-and-file doesn't matter) or a fictitious character.
2. Make sure the persona you choose reflects your company's core values and philosophy.
3. Give your persona a voice. A blog, a newsletter, sales letters, your website. Put the persona out there so that the public can engage it.
4. Unleash them. You read right. No rules, no boundaries, nothing to weigh them down. Let them be their fictitious or real selves. Let their personality shine.

Think about it. What was Wendy's before Dave? Or Jack-In-The-Box before Jack? Give your company a public persona and watch as conversion rates increase, name recognition goes off the charts, and faithful customers return time and again.

5 Easy Ways to Envigorate Your Copy: How To Keep Readers Reading

Boring copy kills your marketing message. Don't waste valuable time and throw away your precious marketing dollars with writing as stale as day old bread. Here are 5 simple steps to jazz up your writing so readers will read it:

1. Write like you speak. The cardinal rule of copywriting, this will help you infuse new life into otherwise dead copy. If you find this challenging, then try talking aloud and recording what you're trying to say in order to write it down later. Nine times out of ten, you'll say it better than you'd ever write it.

2. Talk directly to your reader. Use the word "you." Then use it again. Don't neglect this attention grabbing, attractive little word. Readers like to hear about themselves, and they want to feel as if you're speaking to them. Give them what they want.

3. Keep it short. Nothing loses a reader like a lazy run-on sentence. Use short sentences and paragraphs to help keep readers in the game. Break complicated ideas or paragraphs down into multiple bite-sized pieces. Of course, you don't want to carry this too far. It's good to vary sentence length in order to sound more natural and less like a stuttering machine gun spitting out words.

4. Create a picture. Use words to make an image in your reader's mind. "The hole was as big as a house." You get the idea. Vivid word pictures will stay with your readers and help them stay with you.

5. Use action words. Avoid the passive voice -- that means the verbs of being like "is," "are," "was," "were," "be," "being," "been," and "become" are off-limits. Anytime you see one of those words, ask it why it's there. If you must keep it, then keep it. But, try to eliminate at least half of the verbs of being you're tempted to use.

Following these tips will ensure your copy grabs attention and captivates audiences.