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Can men write copy that appeals to women?
Well, if you’re a man you will read this headline completely differently to a woman. Let me take you back to the 1950’s when there were three things a lady should not do.

1. She should not smoke in public
2. She should not wear long pants, unless under an overcoat
3. She should not colour her hair

It was into this environment that Clairol first introduced their revolutionary “Miss Clairol Hair Colour Bath”. Previously hair colouring was mainly restricted to prostitutes. It was also quite a complicated procedure taking a few hours to complete.

The aim of this product was not only to make hair colouring more mainstream. It also made it possible for women to easily colour their hair themselves… at home…in just 20 minutes! 

So how should they market such a new concept?
This was almost too revolutionary to sell. Within 6 months of introduction the number of women visiting salons for hair colouring increased by more than 500%!

Women still didn’t believe this was possible to do themselves in their own home. In fact it took three years before “Good Housekeeping” magazine would accept ads for this amazing new product.

The person chosen to head the campaign was one Shirley Polykoff. She understood emotions and also understood that you can be very naughty…as long as you are first seen to be nice!

She chose to go with the naughty headline accompanied by a nice picture. Her first thoughts were, Does She…Or Doesn’t She? Only Her Mother Knows For Sure. She didn’t want to upset the salons too much so she changed “mother” to “hairdresser”.

Men automatically assumed the answer to the question to be sexual. 
Life magazine were in fact reluctant to run the ad until a survey showed that women were not filling in the ellipsis the same way as men!

So successful was the Clairol campaign it skyrocketed sales by 413 percent in six years and influenced 50% of adult women to colour their hair. Very clever when you consider, once someone has coloured their hair they have to keep doing it…hair grows and roots show!

Would this campaign have been as successful if a man had been in charge?
Well without sounding sexist…I doubt it! Men just can’t think the same way as women.

So if your target market is female…you need a woman.

Anne Pearson
Compelling Copywriter

http://www.mapcopywriting.com
anne@mapcopywriting.com
Skype – mapcopywriting
Tel / Fax – 01772 468979

Please feel free to use this article. All I ask in return is that you include the above signature and URL.

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I’ve just taken a sip of tea.  Well not tea really – it’s Twinings Cleanse "A refreshing drink to help balance out the impurities of day-to-day life".  A herbal infusion if you like.

To sweeten the drink I added honey (without which it would taste utterly revolting).

But not just any old honey.  I’ve used Morrisons Organic set honey.

So what’s really going on here?

Why didn’t I just sling a Tetley tea bag in my mug, slop in some hot water and a dash of milk?  ("Tetley ma ake tee ea bags… make teeeeeeeeee")

The thing is, I’ve just been exercising.

I’ve also been meditating.

And I’m feeling pretty damn good this morning.

More to the point, I’m feeling virtuous.

So to keep this virtuous state of mind, how could I ruin the whole effect by slurping my normal cuppa?

I really don’t want to end this deep and meaningful moment.

There’s no sarcasm here by the way.  I mean it.  Oh yes, I do.

You can understand the choice of a herbal infusion over a Typhoo or a Nescafe.  Afterall, we know about the not so nice effects of caffeine.

But organic honey?

What does that mean anyway – organic honey?

One glance at the (very unlovely) label and it tells you you’re about to buy a blend of non-EC honeys.  Produced under organic standards.

So we have organic standards.

Does that mean that every little bee that was so kind to make their tiny bit of honey somewhere "outside the EC" only ever visited flowers growing naturally – completely out of contact with man-made chemicals?

I hope so.

Must say though, the honey doesn’t actually taste that good – I’ve tasted far more fragrant honey than that.
But stick it in a brew and the subtle notes are lost I should think.

My point is that when we decide to buy a product such as organic honey we are actually satisfying a certain need.

And the need is?

The need to feel virtuous.  Of doing the right thing.  Taking care of planet earth and planet YOU.

We’re telling ourselves stories again.

We all do it.

The story of …

In this case, responsibility.

I’m all for it as long as the marketers don’t tell me lies.

If I find out those little bees were buzzing anywhere within the EC ……

Rachel Goodall
———————-
Clear Passionate Copywriting

www.rachelgoodall.com
skype rachel.goodall
rachel@rachelgoodall.com

Want to use this article?  Be my guest! You can share or reprint it – all I ask is that you give me full attribution and a link to my homepage.

Just copy and paste this statement:

This article was first published at http://www.rachelgoodall.com

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Your Oxford English Dictionary will tell you euphemism is a noun and I’ll go one step further to tell you it’s a very useful noun.  Very.

In fact if you’re a marketer, it’s an essential tool.

So what is it?

"When referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing a euphemism is a mild or less direct word used rather than the one that is blunt or may be considered offensive."

Now let’s suppose you’re trying to get the attention of your audience.  Afterall, that’s the very first thing you have to do with your salespiece isn’t it?

So the words you choose are of the utmost importance.

Using euphemisms is a way of telling a story to paint a picture before your reader slams the door to her attention in your face.

Because marketing is about story telling.  You’re telling the story of how life will be better for the reader once they have purchased your goods or service.

But what happens if you’re trying to sell a funeral service?  Tricky.

Look in your local paper and they’re all calling themselves … well, funeral services.

With a bit of a shudder you kind of skip that part don’t you?  Don’t your eyes jump to happier reading?

But we’ll all need one, sooner or later so let’s see if we can come up with a brighter way for an undertaker to advertise his or her service.

What words can we think of to describe a funeral?

A final farewell?

An end of life celebration?

A heartfelt send-off?

A final honour?

A demonstration of respect?

An expression of respect?

A laying to rest?

A peaceful goodbye?

And what does the director do?  The person whose service we are trying to market?

A funeral director is a great carer – a specialist in organizing people – those alive and those deceased.  They bring people together for a professionally organized send off don’t they?

Maybe a master?

A master in helping people celebrate a life, no matter its length

A master in life celebration

A life celebration master

Or a specialist in life celebration

Don’t you think they’d draw more readers to their ad, more people to their service if they were to simply change their angle?

Who would you rather talk to:

A Funeral Director, or

A Life Celebration Specialist?

I know who I’d choose.

Rachel Goodall
———————-
Clear Passionate Copywriting

www.rachelgoodall.com
skype rachel.goodall
rachel@rachelgoodall.com

Want to use this article?  Be my guest! You can share or reprint it – all I ask is that you give me full attribution and a link to my homepage.

Just copy and paste this statement:

This article was first published at http://www.rachelgoodall.com

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Need a prescription to solve your ‘product paralysis’ problems? Clean out of ideas?

Every once in a while you come across something that could determine the future of your business. You just have!

“There’s nothing new under the sun” …said Soloman way back in the mists of time and how far-sighted he was!

Maybe you’re a naturally gifted writer or you’ve persevered and can produce meticulously –crafted sales letters that really get under the skin of potential prospects, but then what? Come to a grinding full stop?  Trouble deciding where to find a product? Well, hold on to your chair as this may blow you away…

What if I told you there were millions, yes, MILLIONS of books and publications you can market – FOR FREE! No more ghost writers, no burning the midnight oil trying to write that eBook yourself.  Bliss?

I’ll let you into that big secret in a minute! 

First, though, what niche market are you aiming for?  That’s a huge subject for another day but it’s worth a quick recap: -

RESEARCH is essential to find that ‘must have’ product everyone wants.

• Google and Wordtracker are your best friends here, use them.
• Look for markets above 25,000 but not more than 100,000.  (If it’s too BIG it’s very competitive and therefore your advertising will be expensive.)
• Found your niche?  Encourage your prospects to do the work for you by offering them a poll.  They know what their burning questions are and soon you will, too!  People love to talk about themselves!
• New to polling?  Have a look at:
   
   www.surveymonkey.com (100 responses allowed and free!)
   www.askdatabase.com 
   www.oneminutepoll.com  (paid service)

The brilliant Internet marketer, millionaire Brett McFall, has his finger on the pulse when he says:

"The marketer who understands their market the most, makes the most money."

Right, so now you know EXACTLY what your customer wants, are you ready to find the answer in your personal treasure chest? Ted Cuiba knows all about it.  He did something very clever, slipping in under the radar and snatching a real gem from under our noses.  I’ll tell you what later!

“So, what is it?” you’re probably shouting by now. OKAY…

Drum roll, this deserves one…

"INFORMATION IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN"

This covers works that are free to use by the public  FOR ANY PURPOSE WHATSOEVER and includes some music and films.

The possibilities are endless.  For instance, you can use anything written by employees of the US Federal Government produced in the course of their duties.  So, that’s any health reports, research papers, social comment and everything in between! So, now you know what your market craves and have an ocean of information to call your own!  Creating products has never been easier – or cheaper!  

• articles
• eBooks
• audios
• blog content
• autoresponder content
• bonuses
• upsells
• backend sales
• prizes

…Free content + Imagination + Research = Soaring Profits.

The beauty is you can make your products as individual as you are and the hard work has been done for you! 

OK, so what’s the catch? Truth is, there really isn’t one!

With such a marvellous treasure chest, you’d expect a few guidelines though, wouldn’t you?

Every rose must have a couple of thorns, right?

(The following information applies to the US market – regulations for the UK market vary slightly.)

• All works published before 1923 are available.
• For works published between 1923 – 1963, copyright renewal must have taken place in the 28th year following copyrighting.  If it did, the item won’t be available to you for 95 years!  But most authors forgot to take action in that 28th year!

As promised, back to Ted Cuiba…

There has been so much written about Napoleon Hill’s "Think and Grow Rich” because it is as relevant today as it was in the 1920s! Ted knew what he was looking for because the 1937 edition of Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” is the only copy in the public domain and he has it now! Ted grabbed it, has rewritten parts of it and is busy marketing “his” product!

There’s a man who knew this secret and EXACTLY what he was looking for!

So, where do you go from here?

Finding what you want when you want it is just a click away.  Use these sites to find masterpieces just waiting for conversion to your products!

• FirstGov.gov
• FTC.Gov
• Pueblo.GSA.gov
• Google.com/unclesam

But don’t just take my word for it.  Use this insider information to turbo charge your business NOW! 

Janet Swift
Writing to Win

URL      : www.swiftcopywriting.com
Email    : enquiries@swiftcopywriting.com
Tel      : +44 (0)208 133 4088

Please feel free to use this article but I ask that you kindly include the above URL and signature.

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So, you have a brand new client wanting a brilliant sales letter – how do you know where to start?

Don’t’ Panic! 
You and I, and the prospect are thinking, feeling beings dominated by positive and negative emotions. 

Imagine…
…Your client’s product is an (admittedly) unglamorous special bandage for bunions. Never had a bunion? No, me neither. But for a moment close your eyes and imagine how painful each untreated step would be, how the pain would permeate your whole body as it travelled along your foot and then there’s the referred pain because you aren’t walking normally. Oh yes, and the DREAD of putting on your shoes each morning, being constantly ground down by the pain. Imagine the pain etched on the face of the sufferer as they gingerly put one foot in front of the other…in those extra-wide unfashionable shoes  and this lady’s only young!  But men get bunions, too!

See how easy it is to recreate the emotions of your prospect?  I feel like rushing out and buying the soothing treatment I’m writing about and I don’t have bad feet!

Imagine walking in your prospects shoes (literally in this case!) really helps identify your product’s strongest benefits with your prospect’s most compelling emotions.

Don’t Forget Your Nearest and Dearest!
Whatever your product, think of the people you know who may be in your target market.  Everyone loves being asked their opinion so there’s a captive audience only too willing to tell you what their greatest needs are and the benefits they desperately desire from your product.  Free market research!

And What About Strangers?
Ever had a conversation with someone in a queue or in a shop when you casually asked them a question and the unedited version of everything they have experienced is released in a seemingly unending torrent.  Me, too!
But what a great resource for finding out how your prospects think and feel.  Just don’t ask when you’re in a hurry!

Why Re-Invent The Wheel!
Publishing is big business and browsing around the local book store and magazine racks will help you see the current angle on a given subject . . . I’m thinking generally now, I’ve left the painful feet behind, the feelings were a bit too vivid! If you’re looking for an angle to write about, look for themes that appear more than once in current magazines. Look at all publications for your type of product/industry – what stories are they focusing on?

Front covers are a gold mine. 
Publishers spend big money researching what to put on their cover to trail the story. Let them pay and it’s right there for you to build on. Easy, right? How do the articles ‘feel’?  What is the mood behind them – resigned, excited, angry?  Build on that and then your benefits provide the solution! Great way to have millions of pounds of research for free, don’t you think?  Don’t forget, magazines know the words that sell the most because they have years of experience – let them help you to terrific sales!

And What Are Your Competitors Doing?
Having a browse around your competitor’s sites and reading their material will give an insight into how they see their market and the strategies they’re employing. They will have done their research too, so more free info for you! Google is a treasure trove of information on products, prospects and what’s troubling them – look on forums and message boards for your target market to really drill down into the emotions of individuals in your niche market. They’ll tell you all you need to know.

Having so much information at your fingertips, your only difficulty will be how to cut it down and that’s a positive problem!

HAPPY WRITING!

Janet Swift
Writing to Win

URL : www.swiftcopywriting.com
Email : enquiries@swiftcopywriting.com
Tel : +44 (0)208 133 4088

Please feel free to use this article but I ask that you kindly include the above URL and signature.

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On the 10:40 Rickmansworth to Baker Street service you’re flicking through a magazine you purchased at the train station. You see a grey page with white writing and a single photograph – an interior shot.

If this were the headline what would you be thinking?

"Beginning to see the light"

What’s your brain doing now?

Mine?  Nothing.

The meaning of the words – to suddenly understand something – gives me nothing to imagine, no question to answer, no reason to read any further.

How about you?

So why would a company choose such a disastrous headline?

Does it demand attention?  No!

Does it engage you?  No!

Does it resonate in any way?  No!

It does NOTHING.   Absolutely nothing.  If you’re anything like me you’d just zone out if your eyes roamed across the page and you’d be gone forever.

I’m guessing that’s a very costly ad they’re running.

Next comes the opening paragraph.

"When George Cornish saw this Edwardian villa within a stone’s throw of the Mumbles it inspired him immediately."

What?

I don’t know George and I don’t care about him or his Mumbles.  As a reader, as a customer all I EVER want to know is "what’s in it for ME", not you, dear business owner.

Would you have any clue that this ad was trying to sell you a kitchen!

Why are you wasting my time?

I have a life to lead, I don’t have time to read about George’s "moment of illumination" as the ad drones on about.

Tell me why I should read your ad.  Tell me why I should buy my kitchen from you. Tell me why I should believe you.  Tell me what your guarantee is.  And above all, paint me a vivid picture of how my life will change thanks to your kitchen.

If you can’t tell me that then don’t expect me, your target customer, to lift a finger to call your Fulham telephone number.

But wait… it seems, that "each kitchen you install is a complete original, individually created for one owner and one place".

So why not tell me so up front?  Why not push my hot buttons – the ones that inflate my ego fit to bursting?

Your clients enjoy feeling individual, special, distanced from the crowd.  The word elite comes to mind.

Cater your copy towards the appropriate emotions.

What would they be?

Pride?  Partly

What else?  Why does your client want to be individual?

How about fear?  What does she fear?  Being lost in the crowd?  Why does she fear being lost with the Joneses?

For the same reason we all want to own anything unnecessary.

We want to be appreciated.

We want to be noticed.

In fact we want to be loved.

If you can find a way to make me, your target customer, to see myself being loved more by buying your kitchen then you’re going to sell a whole lot more kitchens, Mr Cornish.

But are you sure that’s your target customer?

Maybe you’re, instead, appealing to the connoisseur.  The one who takes pride in learning about wines, foods, herbs and spices.  The one who appreciates the beauty of a well-crafted piece of wood.  The customer who is in awe over the love, effort and detail a craftsman offers through his work.

What hot buttons would you push then?

Respect?  Partly

What else?  Why does your client want a beautifully crafted hand made kitchen?

Might it be the feeling he gets owning the time and effort of another man?

Might he like to glow over the details?

Might it make him feel powerful?

Might it make him feel respected?

Might it make him feel envied?

Might he be mistaking envy for love?

Marketing is about knowing your customer – intimately.

Rachel Goodall
———————-
Clear Passionate Copywriting

www.rachelgoodall.com
skype rachel.goodall
rachel@rachelgoodall.com

Want to use this article?  Be my guest! You can share or reprint it – all I ask is that you give me full attribution and a link to my homepage.

Just copy and paste this statement:

This article was first published at http://www.rachelgoodall.com

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Everytime I have a great cup of coffee, or a beautiful experience at a Day Spa I tell atleast 10 people.

Why? Not because a want to boast, but because I want them to have the opportunity to experience something special to.

In todays society, all to often you do get a bad coffee or a horrid spa experience, so when you experience something great you really do want to tell the world.

The question is how do you encourage your clients to tell the world?

It is really quite simple..

Everytime you provide your clients have contact with you ask them for a referral. So when you are serving coffee, have just finished a facial or given them a radical new hair cut as for a referral.

The first step in approaching them is to paint a picture…Lets use a client  at a hair salon as an example.

That hair cut looks amazing on you, it has been such a joy to do your hair. I am sure you will find it really easy to manage also, but if you have any trouble at all, please just give me a call. By the way Next month we have a special offer for friends or family to recieve a complementary session with out style consultant for Free. So if you have someone special that you think might enjoy a new look just give them our card and we will be happy to help them out. Plus as a valued client we will give you 10% off your next colour and your friend also when you come together.

Just imagine how happy you would be if your hair dresser had given you such a confidence.. Knowing that if you had any trouble to give them a call, that they are valued as a customer, and that you will take special care of their friends and family.

Why do you want referrals?

You want referrals because it is the most cost effective, low risk and maximum leverage of any way to access new clients.

So how do you create a referral system for your business?

Firstly, Identify which clients are of most benefit to your business, the ones who you would like to have more of. For a cafe it might be a family of big eaters who always have main and dessert or for a Day Spa it might be a client that has the works (nails, massage, waxing etc)

Secondly, What does this client want or need? What do you offer them that makes a difference in their daily lives. For the family of big eaters it might be have a great meal that no-one had to prepare (i.e. Mum), or the client that likes the works it might be the fact that she feels beautiful everyday, and the convenience of being able to go to one Day Spa for everything she needs.

Third, What are your competitors doing that you could be doing better? Perhaps you offer healther meal options for the family, or maybe it is the privacy your offer your Day Spa customers, or the special signature treatment that takes years off.

Fourthly, What is the result of the benefits that you provide? Perhaps for your Day Spa client it is the confidence of knowing that you will always be discret and that they will always be treated as a special client.

Finally, What is your ideal clients biggest problem that you can help them find the solution to? It may be that you offer your Day Spa clients such a special experience that they leave feeling like they have had a mini holiday. It could be the extra scalp and shoulder massage that you provide when you are washing their hair or the complimentary take home products to help them keep that just been to the Spa feeling at home.

Whatever you point of difference is. What ever makes you stand out from the crowd. You owe it to yourself and your business to tell the world about it.

Your existing clients already know how special you make them feel, so help them tell the world.

What do you do to make your clients feel special?

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It’s the time of year when everyone celebrates with friends and family, the time of year when your restaurant should be full!

Was Your Restaurant Full?

If Yes…

Congratulations!

If No…

You have to ask yourself why. Did your advertising have the right appeal?

Your advertisement should be built around appetite appeal; you want to reach people on an intimate level. You know yourself the advertisements that work… They are the ones you remember, the ones you think about when you are really hungry.

Let’s think about an Italian Restaurant… Imagine if you were reading an article about how to make the perfect Carbonara Sauce, and it had a picture of the dish. It would begin to make you hungry would it?

Think about the last time you looked in a cook book for inspiration, just the thought of some of the dishes would make your mouth start to water. So use this to your advantage, make people want to come in for your devil chocolate pie made with 3 cups of dark couverture chocolate, topped with a chocolate ganache, and served with a Kahula chocolate sauce…

Yes, I am trying to make you hungry to get my point across.

You need to have the right appeal for your prospective clients. If I had described the devil chocolate pie as; a chocolate pie with fresh cream it wouldn’t have the same appeal.

Think about the appeal the Chocolate Pie would have if you had included a colour photo with the recipe included to the side of the image. As the saying goes an image says a thousand words.

For Christmas what could your appeal have been? What does Christmas mean to your clients? Probably thoughts of turkey, cranberries, pudding, eggnog or seafood (depending on where you are). How could you have included these ideas into your copy to focus on appetite appeal?

What would make your clients want to leave the house for a mouth watering meal in your restaurant? What is it that your target clients want the most?

Answer these questions and reach their stomach’s with the right appeal and you will win them over every time.

Rachel Wadsworth

www.iwantgreatcopy.com

www.rachelwadsworth.com

Email – rachelwadsworth@bigpond.com

Phone – +61 0409011175

Skype – RachelWadsworth