One of my best friends, who happens to be a very good copywriter, has the following message taped to his laptop: “They don’t want to read it.”
His job, and that of every copywriter, is to get the letter read, and more importantly, to close the deal.
Claude Hopkins pointed out in his classic work, Scientific Advertising, that the copywriter’s chief aim is to get action.
In order to accomplish that, we put a generous amount of time understanding and knowing your donor(s), which translates to creative checklist that includes: Does the reader understand why she has received the letter? Does she understand what it is about? Does she understand what the letter writer wants her to do? Does the letter flow logically, without leaps or sidetracks? Does the opening paragraph of the letter compel the reader to continue reading?
How do you like your copy? Do you need to take two aspirins after reading it? Or are you proud to stand behind it? Do you LOVE it? Is it effective? Is it boring? We welcome your thoughts and your phone calls, emails, Facebooks, Tweets, and of course, your letters.
Matt Waters, President
TrafficJamDirect • mwaters@thewatersagency.com
