By Justin Hitt, Professional B2B Copywriter

The US Postal Service is losing more than a billion dollars a year, Royal Mail's ‘one price goes anywhere' is losing money too, while other European services aren't doing much better. Is direct mail as a marketing medium dying?

You'll find a lively discussion at Hubspot on the failures of the US Postal Service, it however missing a fundamental point. This point is the value of copy writing that you are learning here.

If you copy sucks in print, it will suck on-line. There are just as many failures in marketing on-line as there are with direct mail, it just doesn't have as many direct costs.

Because you don't pay for mistakes on the Internet with an upfront investment as obviously as you do for direct mail doesn't mean mistakes don't cost you. It also doesn't mean they don't hurt the relationship you have with a prospect, in fact, making it more difficult to make a sale in the future.

It's the copy writing fundamentals people are missing. If your copy fails to connect a reader with a compelling offer, then in any media you have failed to do marketing. Let's examine the real costs …

Many think Internet and email marketing doesn't cost anything because they aren't being billed for middle transport service providers. When mailing by post, you pay for the paper, the envelope, ink, and postage. Online you just pay for hosting and e-mail (which can be free in many cases, or at least cheap.)

Because you aren't paying for the entire network from point-to-point, the Internet seems a lower cost medium for marketing. The Internet also provides many low costs tools to make marketing easy. Conversely, with the postal service you are paying the majority of costs associated with the transport of your message.

Most miss the bottom line here, it's not how much you paid to send the message, what matters is your return on investment on marketing investment. Advertising Agencies (or Consultants) pitching one medium over another are usually getting better commission or paid for related services. Don't make this mistake for your clients by teaching them about cost per lead, profit per sale, and other reliable measures of marketing success.

When you are able to write copy that sells, you could send your message by the Queens Guard, or Carrier Pigeon to the right audience to make the sale all the same. The determining factor of which method works best is how much that sale cost.

As long as your carefully crafted message reaches a buyer in a medium they use, using language they understand, and a story to which they can relate … you'll get the sale. Direct mail isn't dying, there is just a bigger need for qualified copywriters than there was every before.

A poorly implemented e-mail campaign is just as big a flop as direct mail in both it's cost and lack of production. Unfortunately, the bigger cost of marketing only on-line is losing a prospect forever due to short attention spans on-line, being blocked as spammer, or being missed by those millions who aren't on-line today.

If you want better success with your copy efforts, then use several mediums for testing your message. Deliver your copy with a mix of direct mail, Internet and email marketing, telephone, and any other method you can test. It's about reaching customers where they are, with copy that sells, in multiple channels with the right message.

© 2009 AdBriefing Copywriting Tips, All rights reserved.

Justin Hitt is a business copywriter who specializes in the technology services field, providing clients copy that sells. For more about his services, visit https://www.adbriefing.co.uk/

By Justin Hitt, Industrial Copywriter

The more you understand the deep desires of your potential buyers, the easier it is to write copy that sells. Unfortunately, you just can't ask them. You need to bug their house, literally spying on their every move. Is it worth breaking the law to better understand your buyers?

When you know, in the words of your buyer, what it is they want to purchase, you can more easily position yourself in their path. So why not just ask them?

First, most of your customers truly don't know what it is they want. They either don't know how to convey it in words, or only know it when they see it.

Second, if your customer knows what they want they will lie about it. They lie to save money, to protect themselves, or because want to make themselves look good.

Unfortunately when you don't know what buyers want it is difficult to give it to them. That means fewer sales, poor conversion, or worse. It's not your fault, and here are some tips to help you eavesdrop on your buyers desires:

• Monitor their complaints,
• Listen more than you speak,
• Watch how they use your product,
• Look at what they buy,
• Involve them in a conversation,

Of course, you don't have to break the law. Information is available to eavesdrop on the conversation inside the mind of your buyers, if you know where to look.

© 2008-2009 AdBriefing Copywriting Tips, All rights reserved.

Justin Hitt helps business-to-business sales professionals read the mind of buyers, to sell more in less time with fewer headaches. Sell more this year with https://www.adbriefing.co.uk/

By Justin Hitt, Professional B2B Copywriter

Truly understanding the needs and desires of your target buyers helps you write copy that sells. You could survey, but buyers lie on surveys. What is a surefire way to get into the mind of your buyer?

Because I want every one of my customer happy to the point they refer others, I start with other peoples unhappy customers. If you really want happy customers, you'll need to undo anything that made them unhappy, then set that expectation in copy.

If you don't have unhappy customers (or at least those who verbalized their complaint), you'll needed to do some research. Fortunately the Internet puts a lot of complainers at your fingertips.

There are a number of interesting resources that provide useful to understand the mindset of buyers. This isn't a complete list, but it will certainly get you started.

First, let's consider a common sales objection, the fear of having this vendor fail to perform, or worse leaving the buyer in an awkward situation. Many don't buy from you because they are afraid you'll make a mistake, that's why copy that addresses this fear is very powerful.

Besides documenting all the fears my prospects have, I use a website called Ripoff Report, and various consumer review sites to discover where other companies have failed.

You can literally search on what you do with the words “complaints”, to find hundreds of sites. If what you do isn't clearly represented on-line (as with many B2B or Industrial firms) then use relevant complaints for other products to pick up on language nuances.

Every mistake your competitor has made slows down a buyers decision to choose you. You can really look into the fears prospects have around specific types of businesses by reading their complaints.

Because those who complain tell specifically what they expected, didn't get, and really wanted, you can address those concerns in copy. Look for objections, failures, and other concerns these buyers have.

Remember, these people bought something then had things not turn out as they desired. They are unhappy, speaking from emotion. This is a great resource to understand what your buyers really want and desire.

You'll find exact language, product characteristics, and emotional desires of your buyers here in these pages. Because they are official complaints, you'll discover mistakes you can avoid in your own process.

This kind of research helps you understand buyers, address their concern in copy, and move more prospects towards purchase by really connecting emotionally. It only costs you a little time, and that is well spent if you want copy that sells.

© 2008-2009 AdBriefing Copywriting Tips, All rights reserved.

Justin Hitt is an industrial copywriter who specializing in copy that sells for B2B technology services firms. Learn more about his services at https://www.jwhco.com/