Repost This on Your Site!“Other people paint beautifully on canvas or write wonderful poetry,” Donald Trump once said, “I like making deals. Preferably big ones.” So he says. And now, I guess, he’ll get the chance to prove it.
One thing that’s certain, though, is that coming up with appealing deals and powerful offers can be an art form unto itself. And here’s the good news, there are formulas on how to do it. Take some of the examples in the book “Cash Copy” by Dr. Jeffrey Lant.
Lant’s most basic premium-offer formula goes something like this: Successful Premium Offer = FREE + limited time + stated real benefit. By itself, that’s pretty useful. But you can get even fancier by building off that combo. Here are some of the more advanced offer structures Lant suggests, followed by my own spin on how you might try using them in your sales copy…
Offer Type #1: The Tension Buster
Challenge: By the time your prospect gets to the sales close, what’s he worried about? He wants to know if (a) You can solve his problems the way you say you can and (b) If you can’t, can he get his money back.
Marketer’s Solution: Money-back guarantees are standard fare for all kinds of product offers. Trial samples work here, too. Personally, I prefer strong guarantees to weak ones. Clients sometimes fear a flood of refund requests. But when you’re working with good products and honest sales promises, that shouldn’t be as much of a problem… right?
Copywriter’s Technique: I usually push for the strongest guarantee possible. See if you can get permission to offer 100% of money back, even 110% back for dissatisfied customers. For the extra 10%, maybe you could tally that up in the form of freebies the refunded customer gets to keep. Make it look substantial too. Certificate borders help. So can signatures and a photo next to your guarantee copy. Also, try putting a strong testimonial in your P.S. or on your reply device.
Offer Type #2: The “Instant Gratification” Deal
Challenge: Immediate action-takers want immediate results. They want to see the benefits as soon as possible after deciding to buy.
Marketer’s Solution: Bill-me-later options, installment payments, and trial offers can help scratch the “instant satisfaction” itch.
Copywriter’s Technique: Emphasize ease of ordering and speed of delivery, with simple phrases like: “You pay nothing up front. Just let me know where to send your trial sample, and I’ll rush it to your mailbox.” Tell the customer what they’ll get and, if possible, when.
Offer Type #3: The Coupon-Clipper’s Delight
Challenge: Even with good copy and a good product, sticker-shock can be a problem.
Marketer’s Solution: Quantity offers, limited-time offers, and trade-in deals are a good way to show prospects that they’re getting a good deal.
Copywriter’s Technique: Emphasize the discount with callout boxes. Do the math in $$ if the savings is a percentage discount. In the body of the sales close, try showing the cost and efficiency of your product compared to similar, more expensive products. If you can make the offer time-limited, do so. And put that deadline in a callout box on the reply page too. Or another device: Try emphasizing the savings by creating a “price-off” coupon that gets sent back in along with the reply card.
Offer Type #4: The Ticking Timer
Challenge: If you don’t get immediate action on a sales decision, you probably won’t get the sale at all.
Marketer’s Solution: Seasonal offers have a natural time limit. But contrived time limits can work just as well. The “speed-reply” bonus is also a common device.
Copywriter’s Technique: If there’s a limit on the number of customers who can sign up, write about it. Give specifics. For example: “Frankly, after these 2,000 slots are filled, I’m going to have to close the doors. If I don’t hear from you by then, you’ll be turned away. I’ll have no choice. Which is why I hope to hear from you soon..” Emphasize benefits that a prospect sacrifices by waiting too long. Fax and toll-free ordering can be used to help speed up orders too: “If you want to get started immediately, call or fax your order to…”
Offer Type #5: The EZ Offer
Challenge: Even eager customers can get confused by complex order forms, missing BREs, elaborate information requests, and worse.
Marketer’s Solution: Multiple ways to place an order help. Though, more than three options (fax, phone, mail… or… phone,
mail, e-mail) is probably too much. These days, the ability to take orders around the clock is a big plus.
Copywriter’s Technique: Try numbering the steps: “(1) Fill out this invitation below, (2) Put it in the envelope provided (3) Drop it in your mailbox.” Add this phrase here and there too: “It’s that simple.” And if you’ve got the leisure of a toll-free number, be sure to put it where the prospect can see it. Make it large. Make it easy to find. And put it on every piece in the envelope.
Offer Type #6: The Private Deal
Challenge: People like to feel like they’re getting privileges. “In a world where everyone is as important as everyone else,” says Lant, “people are dying to feel more important than everyone else.”
Marketer’s Solution: Create limited editions, clubs, and “societies.” Frequent-flier miles and favored customer incentives work on this principal too.
Copywriter’s Technique: Use design to make the invitation look exclusive. Write in “whispered” tones. The reply device could be constructed like a real “R.S.V.P.” document. When you start the sales close, make sure you summarize the benefits in the form of privileges for exclusive invitees.
Offer Type $7: The Bachelor’s Offer
Challenge: Some people fear commitment.
Marketer’s Solution: See above for talk about “no-money-down” offers. But for real fence sitters, consider collecting contact details for future use. E-mail is great for this. Give non-committal free information up front. Then use regular contact to deepen the relationship and set the groundwork for a future sale.
Copywriter’s Technique: Here’s where emphasizing freebies can come in handy. Especially if there’s little or no other commitment. But remember, it’s not worthwhile if (a) the freebie has no benefit to the prospect and (b) you fail to collect personal information for future contact.
A caveat, says Lant, is that “‘Free’ by itself is almost never the strongest possible offer you can make.” However, he recommends, when you’ve got a really strong offer — no matter what kind it is — one of the best things you can do is bring it out right up front.
Added evidence — many of the most successful direct mail letters of all time lead with a strong sales offer right in the headline or on the first page. By the way, Lant himself credits another old friend of the CR with some of the best insights in his “offer” chapter — our prolific pal Bob Bly, author of the all-time classic “The Copywriter’s Handbook.”
Pick up a copy if you haven’t already.
