Five Powerful Techniques that Produce Unstoppable Sales
By Ted Nicholas
There are five powerful techniques that will add compelling
strength to your sales copy. I'm even going to tell you a hidden
benefit technique. But first, a word of caution: When these
techniques are properly applied, they are the most powerful
marketing strategies in the world bar none. You stand a good chance
of increasing sales so much that you may experience order
fulfillment challenges. Be sure you can promptly fulfill the extra
orders you are bound to generate!
Magic Technique #1 -- The Single Most Compelling Benefit
The strategy I'm about to reveal to you has to do with your
headlines. First, let's do a quick review of the process of creating
them.
Study your product. Write down all the obvious benefits (from the
prospect's point of view) on 3" X 5" cards. Write as many as you
can. Often, you'll have the best headline you could ever find from
this procedure. If so, prepare your ad with the obvious benefit
headline.
You'll also want to try creating a hidden benefit headline to
test against the obvious benefit headline. You can find the hidden
benefit by answering this question: "If I had unlimited God-like
power, what would be the single most compelling benefit my prospects
would like to gain from my product?"
The hidden benefit has nothing directly to do with the product
itself -- but the answer to the previous question can become your
most powerful benefit -- and thus your headline, as well as the main
theme of your offer. Just make sure your product actually delivers
on the headline's promise.
By using this special strategy, I've written some of the most
successful headlines in direct marketing history.
Magic Technique #2 -- Add power to headlines
Studies show that an ad headline draws 28% more attention if
framed in quotation marks! The ad appears much more important
because it gives the impression that someone is being quoted. This
makes it more riveting, and more likely to be read. And that is your
first task -- to get it read. If the ad is not read, you have no
chance of making a sale.
Magic Technique #3 -- Ask for the order
Unsuccessful marketers are reluctant to ask for the order. For
any offer to be successful, you must be clear and explicit as to how
you ask for the order. Include every detail, even if it seems
obvious to you. Make it easy for the prospect to buy. It's also
important that when you ask for the order, the prospect should have
been primed for the close. The sequence of presenting copy elements
(and hot buttons) is crucially important.
In your sales letters, you must wait until the end to reveal the
price and ordering instructions. This puts them in the proper frame
of mind to buy because you would have given all the benefits and
particulars your prospect needs prior to asking for the order. If
your offer includes a brochure and an order form, separate them from
the letter. This strategy will increase response.
If you're using direct mail, put the brochure and order form in a
sealed envelope. On the outside of the envelope, print the
following: "Please don't open until you have read my letter." If
your sales letter is online, include a link to a separate order
page.
Magic Technique #4 -- Typefaces are important
In direct mail, headlines should be in Times-Roman font, serif,
or sans serif typefaces. The body copy should always be Times Roman.
Reason? On the written page, it's easy to read. Never use a sans
serif typeface in body copy.
On websites, the sans serif typefaces such as Arial and Verdana
seem to work best because they are more inviting to read in a sea of
cyber-clutter.
Strive for an editorial look. The ad should appear similar to an
article in the publication in which your ads will run. I call this
format an "advertorial." Five times as many people read editorials
than messages that scream out, "I'm an ad!" If an advertorial is
prepared in a way that lends credibility, it can pull up to 500%
more in sales!
Magic Technique #5 -- Pricing your product
Here is a really powerful tip that will increase your profits.
You may have noticed that the price of my books and tapes ends in 7.
There is a good reason for this. Remarkably, with the same copy and
offer for any given product, I have proven time and again through
testing that you can increase sales simply by changing the price to
one ending in the number 7.
Recently at a seminar wherein I spoke, my co-speaker, Gil Good
(in charge of promotions for The Wall Street Journal for many
years), discussed that subscription offers ending in 7 out-pulled
all others. At my last seminar, an attendee, a biblical scholar,
pointed out the number seven was often used in the Bible. Remember
the phrase, "70 X 7"? Seven may be a number that is truly blessed!
The most effective magazine subscription offer, made many years ago,
was by Life Magazine - and its price was $7.77.
Test price this way: If your current price is $19.95, try $19.97.
If you now sell at $69, test $67 or $77; or if your price is $99,
try $97, etc.!
Ted Nicholas, widely recognized as one of the greatest direct marketing wizards
of all time, is best known for having earned 24.5 million dollars on the sale of
a single book, which was primarily sold through direct mail. He has been called
the Five Hundred Million Dollar Man, having marketed over $500 million worth of
products in 49 different industries. Ted is also internationally revered as one
of the greatest living copywriters who earned as much as half a million dollars
from a single 1000-word ad. His latest book, 'Magic
Words That Bring You Riches' reveals 17 magic words that can make
you a fortune.
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