George
Hague
|
Losing sales with dry copy? Wallop your competition. Make more money. Be a master copywriter! Reread the headline and drop headline of this article. They use five of the Seven Copy Drivers, which are a simple set of motivators that you ignore at your own peril. If you write, edit or review copy for your catalog, you need to tape the list of these drivers to wall next to your desk for easy reference. The Seven Copy Drivers are: fear, guilt, flattery, exclusivity, greed, anger and salvation. Refer to the list every time you work on your catalog’s copy. Now let’s take another look at the headline. What drove you to begin reading? The question, “Losing sales with dry copy?” plays into fear. “Wallop your competition” is flattery. (You’re better than them, right?) The phrase “Make more money” appeals to greed, and finally “Be a master copywriter” promises salvation with a touch of exclusivity. After all, you’ll be a “master.” Five drivers are packed into 15 words. Each of your copy blocks – and certainly every headline – needs to employ as many of these seven drivers as possible. “If not, tear it up and start over.” -- Denny Hatch. Goodway Technologies of Stamford, Conn., is the leading manufacturer and marketer of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) cleaning and maintenance equipment in the United States. The company once relied on headlines that simply listed their product names, such as “CoilPro Coil Cleaner.” This product’s copy then read, “Goodway’s CC-140 CoilPro Battery Powered Coil Cleaner is the solution for your coil cleaning applications.” Now admittedly HVAC cleaning equipment may not be the sexiest number on the block. However, Goodway wasn’t content with the status quo. They tore up their old copy and employed the copy drivers to get at the core of why their product is better than the competition. The page headline now admonishes, “Don’t Trust Just Any Coil Cleaner.” The drop head warns, “Some ‘coil cleaners’ do more harm than good.” Finally, the product headline promises, “The CC-140 CoilPro: Safe for your coils and for you!” Fear, anger and salvation are front and center. All of a sudden, this product is a lot more interesting. No, it’s more than interesting: It’s important. BankSupplies of Belleville, Mich., markets money handling supplies and equipment. They have large banks and corporations as customers, but they also pride themselves on catering to small mom and pop companies. Their headline for coin counters promises: “No more late nights at the kitchen table sorting by hand. These machines will save you time and aggravation.” They use two of the drivers: anger and salvation. Not bad for a coin counter. Did you notice the “late nights at the kitchen table” phrase? This demonstrates how to strengthen the copy drivers. The more specific and concrete the application, the better. B-to-B catalogers often fall into a rut of their own making. They believe their products are boring, and it shows. Instead of settling for what you’ve always written, challenge yourself by filling your catalog with the Seven Copy Drivers. You may be surprised at just how interesting and important your products are. This technique requires a conscious effort. You literally step through the list of copy drivers to see how many you can apply. Why settle for lackluster copy when it will sparkle with these simple copy drivers? And remember: You’ll stop losing sales, wallop your competition, and make more money. Side barThe 7 Copy Drivers Cut this out and tape it somewhere for easy reference.
|
