A Low-Tech Way To Boost Response

photograph A Low Tech Way To Boost ResponseSome people have asked me to give a few tips and tricks they can start using right away to apply some of the strategies I wrote about in my “Death of the Salesletter” report, without resorting to audio or video, or fancy scripts.

Aside from the various technology you can start applying to make your sales experience more dynamic, there are some very simple things you can do to your salesletter, right now, to improve its readership. And ultimately, its response.

It’s easy, it’s fast, and it’s proven to increase results.

It’s adding pictures, photos, clipart, and content-relevant graphics to your salesletters. Particularly, one near the top, around the headline. (For an example, check out our latest product, “Marketing E.S.P.” (both the optin page and the subsequent sales page).

Headlines are critical. In fact, it’s part of the most important element of any salesletter: the “A” in the AIDA formula, which is to grab people’s attention, and to get them to start reading.

If you don’t get people to start reading your copy, it doesn’t matter how good your copy is.

They just won’t buy.

Better headlines have been proven to increase readership and response by as much as 700% in my own split-tests. But adding photos and graphics near the headline have equally boosted response as well, sometimes even more.

And I’m not talking about graphic headers. I’m talking about pictures and graphics within the body copy.

I personally do most of my own graphic work. But when I choose to outsource, the one artist I use the most is Design Guru Ryan. For more information, visit DesignGuruRyan.com. If you’re interested, Ryan also offers a terrific information product on how to use graphics and images to improve conversion.

My friend Brent Turner, branded as the Design Frog, has an amazing package, too. If you prefer a more toned-down and subdued graphics package, Hrvoje Livnjak offers his own package — and I recently bought it without batting an eyelash. You can check out his eCovers Lab Special Graphics Package.

It includes arrows, callouts, stars, frames and so forth. He offers various formats, including the Photoshop native .psd format, so for those amateur designers, you can change them to your liking, if you wanted to.

Vic Kally, also known as Mr. Subtle in copywriting circles, and who is a brilliant graphic designer and direct marketer whom I talked about on this blog before, offers a brilliant solution and alternative to his highly hated “mega-headlines” by simply turning them into short animated ones.

For copywriters who still wish to retain their wordy headlines (I would still try to edit them down to be as pithy as possible), Mr. Subtle suggests a cool trick. He recommends using animated headlines like a slideshow of sorts, where portions of the headline transition from one to another in seconds.

This way, if you wish to retain your bulky 80-word headline for example, you can break it down to 3-4 shorter, less wordy headlines that transition from one to another.

(And you can also apply the element of curiosity, by adding half-finished sentences or ideas that force readers to watch the remainder of the headline, or, better still, to get them to start reading the salesletter.)

I don’t believe we should resort to this, however the use of animation is a cool aspect of making the web page a little more dynamic, other than video, which you can test with your salesletters. (I am testing this, too, right now.)

But headlines and graphics aside, an important element you can add to your salesletter, particularly near the headline, is of a photo or picture. I have found that some pictures do increase response, particularly if the picture represents:

  1. The author of the letter.
  2. The product being offered.
  3. The major problem suffered without the product.
  4. Something that represents the main benefit.
  5. Before and after pictures showing the results.

As for #4 and #5, I have found that they work best with targeted or pre-qualified markets. Similar to the fact that newsworthy headlines seem to outpull benefit-laden ones these days, graphics that show a benefit can be counterproductive with generic, unqualified audiences. Obviously, testing is the only way to know.

Nevertheless, here are some examples.

For #1, the picture is a simple picture of the person who authored the letter. It’s the same as some newspaper or magazine articles, in the article’s byline, where the picture of the author is shown.

Better yet, if you can add a picture of the author in action, particularly if the person is speaking to an audience, speaking on stage, writing on a whiteboard, delivering the product or service, or working with a client, such as in consultation, they seem to outpull traditional studio photos.

(My guess is that they offer social proof. Take, for instance, the picture of John Reese being bombarded by questions from attendees at a seminar, at the top of the Traffic Secrets letter, which I wrote.)

For #2, this is a photo of the product itself. The best ones I’ve found are photos of the product in its entirety. They boost credibility because they show that the offer, the author and the product are real.

When I write salesletters for information products, I often ask the business owner to send me a copy. What I often do is display the product on a white bedsheet or kitchen table, then take a photo of the entire package and add it to the salesletter.

(Some of my top-marketing friends have even added pictures of them pulling out the product from the box when they receive it in the mail. It’s a great proof-generator, since it shows exactly what people are getting and how they are getting it.)

For #3, an example is when I wrote the salesletter for an anti-spam software, where I added a picture of a person pulling out his hair staring at his computer screen, which donned a picture of a can of Spam (i.e., the sandwich meat one).

An example of #4 is, when I wrote the salesletter for a “dating guide,” I put up a picture of a loving couple in warm embrace. We also see this style of photo when we see those “get rich” salesletters, where the author of the letter is posed alongside his brand-new Porsche, mansion or yacht, or holding up money in some fashion.

Although I’m not particularly fond of the latter, the premise is that any picture that represents the ultimate benefit or result of the offer is good. There are many creative ways to do this, if you put your mind to it. Think of how you want the reader to visualize themselves after applying or using your product.

For #5, it’s almost a combination of #3 and #4. And it’s probably the most powerful of them all.

Before and after pictures represent comparisons between before using the product and after doing so. (You often see these with weightloss products, muscle-building products or makeup products, for example.)

But they are not limited to cosmetics or beauty. We did this with a salesetter I wrote for a company selling special daylight-mimicking “lightbulbs” that created warmer, richer lighting, using less energy than most bulbs.

What did we do? We took a picture of a room with regular 60-watt lightbulbs. We then took another of the same room but with this company’s bulbs.

The before and after pictures, set side by side in a single graphic placed at the top, increased response. (Looking at the pictures side by side, you can instantly see the obvious difference the lighting made in the room.)

We also added a caption — and captions really do increase response — that indicated the photos were unretouched and unadulterated. In other words, the pictures were taken at the exact same angle and were 100% untouched, and a caption below the pictures indicated so.

In fact, add captions to all your photos. Captions are almost always read. It’s not only a great opportunity to describe the photo but also one to add some interesting fact, tidbit or benefit related to the picture. (Add something you definitely want readers to remember or appreciate about your product or service.)

If you don’t have any pictures, you can certainly use stock photography. I do, for example, when I add post icons at the upper-left corner of my blog posts.

Some stock photo websites include iStockPhoto.com, BoxedArt.com, and Photos.com.

Cyrell Price, a wonderful graphic designer — and she’s the person who does a lot of my salesletter formatting for me and my clients — offers some interesting resources on where to get stock photos.

Mr. Subtle also gave a remarkable tip: stock cartoons.

Cartoons are fabulous because they are great attention grabbers, give a bit of humor, and communicate problems and solutions in themselves in a direct and poignant way. In fact, he recommends Ron Leishman who draws and sells CDs filled with cartoons and clipart you can easily add to your salesletters.

If you have a chance, read that whole thread. Mr. Subtle shows a “live” example of getting the cartoonist to draw a customized cartoon, which is a great benefit for direct marketers, such as one that represents the benefit of the product or service in question (or in this case, the problem without it).

Anyway, hope this helps. What other suggestions do you have to add more “eye gravity,” proof and credibility to your copy? I welcome your feedback.

Last 5 Posts by Michel Fortin

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Category: Copywriting / Internet / Tips
This post was written on Saturday, January 20th, 2007. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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  • This is a great post.

    "Action" photos certainly can increase response.

    I'd also add that you can get very good freephotos at www.morguefile.com

    If you're talking about how to use the internet to deliver sales letters more effectively I think we get caught in narrow thinking a lot of the time.

    There's nothing stopping you from having a series of sales letters or reports for a product each focusing on one tight benefit in the product.

    Or your first sales letter can be long then the subsequent sales letters can be short.

    See these two sales letters for the same package both focused very differently...

    www.hardtofindseminars.com/BreakthroughAdvertis...

    Then...

    www.hardtofindseminars.com/MakingMoneyAsACopywr...

    There are so many ways of breaking out of the traditional sales copy formula.

    Kindest regards,
    Andrew Cavanagh
  • Great suggestions! Particularly MorgueFile.com. Thanks, Andrew. You're brilliant, as always.
  • Hi Michel,

    Wonderful information.

    You are right about photographs grabbing the attention of the reader.

    They add instant credibility to a sales letter.

    Marketers often forget to include a caption - I among them. Captions can be a great sales agent.

    All the best,
    Benedict Manovill
    http://www.giftscrolls4u.com
  • Michel,

    Nicely done.

    Carrying captions one step further in pictures, if positioned correctly they can help "guide the eye" of your reader to a particular part of the copy that you want the reader to pay close attention to.

    And keeping the attention of our reader to specific points of the message is what this is all about.

    Joseph Ratliff
  • Burton
    Michel,

    Did you test JayKay's/Mr. Not-so-subtle's animated headlines?

    Burton
  • Hi Michel

    Another nugget of gold extracted from the mine thanks.

    I am going to do a split test of a headline using animated gifs in one of my sites. (If I can get instructions on how to do it from Mr Subtle !)

    Then report back the results.

    I reckon the animated will outrank the static. But lets see how my site visitors react - that will be the proof enough for me.

    Jonathan
  • This is great advice, thanks so much!

    I have been clicking all over your post and love the resources for graphics, I am planning on doing my first info product this year and they will be a huge help.

    :)
    Angela
  • These are some great ideas. I also like EveryStockPhoto.com, for some great free pics. -Mariana
  • Another idea: if you're making income claims, scan checks and use them in the sales copy. I've done this with good success.

    I remember seeing Joel Comm with a picture of himself holding a UPS overnight envelope and a check from Google as proof that Adsense worked. It definitely stuck with me.
  • Good article. Keep it going
  • I like how your image is actually within the headline, Michel.

    And I agree with having an image near the headline. In fact, I wish you didn't give this secret away. =)

    I had a good copywriter critique a letter of mine just now and he said it was a bad idea to put a picture dead center right below the headline above the fold. I wonder what he thinks now if he reads this blog entry of yours.
  • @Jason Parker - Almost all my salesletters now have images below the headline. And in my case, with my specific markets and my specific products, they have increased response. Some, minimally. Others, quite significantly.

    But while it may have worked for me, it might not be appropriate in every case. Objectively, the key is to test.
  • Hi Michel,

    Great info packed article as always! I've been wanting to experiment with animated headlines. Have you done any testing with that?

    Mark
  • @Mark Austin and @Burton - Yes, I've tested a couple of times, with nominal increases. But I haven't tested it enough to say. But I have heard of other marketers using it with great responses.
  • Michel,
    The links for Ron Leishman and Cyrell Price leads to copywriter's forum which is disabled. Anyway we could get a different tag to these.
  • Larry
    I need help...please. How does one go about printing this page. I go to print preview....and only the first page shows up. I am one of those people who enjoy printing, then reading. Any suggestions from anyone. I have windows XP.
  • Shanika Journey
    Great article on the graphical element of mini-sites and landing pages. I always wanted to know the name of the guy doing the artwork for 7 figure secrets and Day Job Killer sites. Now I know.

    And what about illustrations? People definitely respond to photos. But I guess because I studied and did animation for some time, I always found illustrations more responsive in getting my points across. At least it keeps the eye's attention.

    I always knew how to make it lead into what I wanted them to know. That's the animator storyteller in me I guess. But, I really like this article. Not many people talk about this aspect.
  • @George Manlangit - Fixed.

    @Larry - Not sure I understand by "first page." You mean the home page of this site? Or the first screen of this page? Do you have the number of pages show up in print preview? And which browser are you using?

    To be honest, I really don't know.
  • Video so people know you're a real person is a real winner
  • Hi Michael,

    Thanks for a great article. I've been getting into adding pictures to my blog and have noticed an increase in response.

    Your blog layout is fantastic and always enjoy visiting.

    Thanks again,
    Fernando
  • Michel, you gave me some good ideas for my service business, pic working with client and also the before and after picture, I can show the previous bill and then a new bill showing the savings.

    Somewhat new to your blog but will become a regular reader from now on.

    Van
  • Michel, excellent post, as always. I always look to your blog and websites as examples for fresh, clean design. I've really begun to realize lately how important design is for building credibility online.
  • Great tips. Andrew Cavanaugh created my best ever sales letter, and it had lovely, subtle graphics.
  • Thanks for this post. Great!
  • Interesting insights thanks.
    I was especially interested in your results with captions - that is valuable info.
  • Awesome post...just tweeted it. I actually just made a flash slideshow for a client's website a couple days ago, but was more informational than a headline. I will be tweaking the wording INSIDE the slideshow to make it more of a headline this weekend.

    This couldn't have come at a better time AND confirmed some thought I'd already been having about images and headlines.

    Keep up the great content!
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