I recently received this email and I wanted to share it with you because I believe it demonstrates the power in the words you choose and since you are in sales your words are your tools and the sharper the axe the quicker you enjoy the fire.
If you are in direct response marketing or internet marketing I am sure this email won't come as a shock. If you are not however sit back and watch the power a few words can make to your profits.
Here's the email
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Yesterday we talked about a split-test that a friend of mine
ran. Here are the three headlines he used:
52 Ways To Win, Where Everybody Else Loses
52 Little Things That Make A Big Difference In Your Life
52 Thoughts To Change Your Life
I literally received dozens of comments and thoughts posted
to my blog about which of these was the likely winner, and
I have to say, the overwhelming majority... was right!
7% chose headline #1
8.3% chose #2, which was the winner just beating #3 by a
hair...
8.1% chose #3
This is a pretty big margin, whether you realize it or not.
See, #2 didn't beat #1 by 1.3%, it beat #1 by 24%, and this
is quite a significant difference. (8.3% is 24% greater
than 7%)
Lets talk about why this may have happen, and I say "may"
because this is all assumptive theory at this point. Many
of these comments were already identified by various people
who posted yesterday.
#1 / Reality is, most people don't want to do well at
someone else's expense (even New Yorkers, Dave) when it
comes down to it. I think the "dog eat dog" mantra is
professed by many but executed by few.
I also think "winning" in and of itself, may be a little too
vague and undirected, as opposed to "winning a race," for
instance, or "winning a contest." This may have had
something to do with the outcome as well.
#2 / "Little things" - this is nice and easy, soft and
gentle. Doesn't seem like too much work or too much of a
burden. And besides, who doesn't like "little things?"
And if these little things make a big difference in your
life, that's even better.
One more thing that might be a little complicated, but it's
very true because I've done it dozens of times in my copy.
The little/big is a juxtaposition of opposites that
actually offers closure that is very compelling.
In plain English, what I'm saying is that sometimes
opposites, when placed near each other, offset each other
and provoke curiosity.
#3 / Just isn't as powerful and may be too vague. Perhaps
if you said, "52 Thoughts To Change Your Life In 30 Days Or
Less" it may have been stronger -- who knows?
Anyway, this was fun and I hope you got a lot out of it.
If you're smart, you'll notice the formulaic nature of each
of these headlines and how easily they can be adapted to
almost anything -- but if you didn't, don't worry -- I'll
talk about that on Friday.
Now go sell something, Craig Garber
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I hope you enjoyed it and learnt something.
Sam
www.TimelessPrincipals.com
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Copyblogger (http://www.copyblogger.com/) is also a great resource for folks wanting to learn a bit more about writing good copy.
There's a range of posts covering just about anything you could need - from writing good headlines, through to writing persuasive copy or general tips for marketing your business.
Well worth checking out.