One of the fastest ways to massively improve your marketing results and sales figures, is to learn how other companies are already getting the kind of results that YOU want. That’s what today’s quick marketing tip is all about!
Copy what works
The next time you read a piece of marketing, which inspires you to take some kind of positive action; to call a business, email a business, visit their store, click a link etc – keep a copy of it. Ask your friends to do the same with any marketing material they read, which motivated them to take positive action too.
Collect these powerful marketing pieces and study them. Look to see what it was that inspired you or your friends to take action. This is a very fast way for you to identify the key elements required to make YOUR marketing messages more compelling!
Don’t forget to study everything. Pay particular attention to the following:
- Was the headline (sometimes called a strapline) eye catching?
- What kind of words and phrases did they use in order to motivate you?
- Did they offer any guarantees?
- Was there a special offer included?
- Was there a ‘time sensitive’ element?
- Was the marketing message long or short and to the point?
- How easy did they make it for you to get in touch?
- Did the message come via a trusted source?
- Was there limited availability?
- Did it arrive at just the right time?
- Were there any testimonials or quotes from satisfied customers?
By studying what already works, you can develop massively more effective marketing for your own business.
If you found this quick marketing tip useful, remember to share it using the ’share this’ button below!
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Excellent advice Jim.
What you should do is keep a folder of all of the direct mail, web pages, adverts, brochures etc that come your way that catch your eye.
then, when you’ve got a piece to write, pull it out and go over everything. It will start you off on some ideas.
Just think of the development and cost that has gone into developing the concepts. If it’s a large company then this could be tens of thousands if not more.
So piggy back on the back of them!
There is no need to re-invent the wheel just use what works.
Just imagine if you could model something along the lines of:
* A headline from an IBM mailer
* Graphics from an Apple website
* Sales copy from a Jay Abraham long sales letter
* Call to action wording from a top internet guru
You just couldn’t pay for that!
Now, I’m not saying to go out and steal content but you should adapt it and model it and use the “best of” whenever you can
Happy modelling!
Sean McPheat
Great advice . You need to make a note as to what is working for others in your niche and it should give you a fair idea as to what you should be doing to achieve similar results. The idea is to adapt your marketing techniques and structure on similar lines.
I think it’s important to understand the difference between aiming to model successful copy and mindlessly copying a piece word for word.
Yes, by all means use a control or ’swipe file’ to learn from and to get those creative juices going, but you need to fully understand WHY the words have worked in context.
The successful copywriter you’re modelling will have put a tremendous amount of brainstorming and strategy into every part of the overall marketing piece – the headline, the lead sentence, the benefits, the offer, etc. And behind that thought process would have been the wants, needs and desires of a specific target audience.
So your copy-and-paste job may well not transfer to your own target audience, strategy, etc.
Really getting to know your prospects inside and out is THE key to writing copy that sells. And understanding the art of copywriting…
Also, with the bombardment of advertising and marketing messages out there, it can sometimes pay NOT to follow the herd ‘leader’ and instead be different. Originality is the name of the game, surely…
biz doc.
In your rush to slam an excellent article, you seem to have forgot to read the title. ‘Quick Tip!’
Its a blog post with a quick tip. not a tutorial. Its for people like me who are not copywriters but need free help.
What prompts people to spout off like this on another guys blog?
This kind of negative comment is why i dont bother to blog anymore. So called experts attacking your work without even reading it.
Keep it coming jim.
I am so sorry if you feel offended by my post. That was NOT my intention.
Indeed, I have a lot of respect for Jim and a HUGE admiration for both his work and opinions.
I wasn’t wishing to ’slam’ anyone or anything. Purely, to add some valuable insight/tips.
I agree with Jim: referring to a swipe file is one of the best ways of learning how to write better copy and improve your marketing results. But use it as inspiration.
Again, sorry if I offended you. It was not my wish to do so. I just wanted to help.