‘What If’ Proves a Good Start for Conference
Mark Everett Johnson paused and beamed a bit. “You see what just happened here,” he told his packed Copywriting Workshop yesterday at the opening day of SIPA’s 28th Annual Marketing Conference, at the famed Eden Roc Hotel in Miami (where “I Love Lucy” plays silently on a big screen in the lobby at night; it was filmed here for a year). “[John] first offered a suggestion to improve the copy that I as an experienced copywriter knew isn’t usually successful.” But the theme of Johnson’s copywriting ethos is to be positive. He wants us to start our appraisals with “What if?” as in what if that copy read… “So instead of being critical of the suggestion [John] made, I moved on,” Johnson continued. “That allowed him to keep thinking and not get sidetracked in negative thoughts. His next suggestion – to personalize the copy more and perhaps even add a photo of the publisher – was excellent.”
It was a shining moment on Day One of a Conference that promises lots of such moments over the next couple days. (See below how you can follow the events.) Johnson’s philosophy is that copy can always be improved. Does anyone have a 100% acceptance rate, he asked. No, so even good copy can get better. Simply approving copy doesn’t make it better. Offering suggestions does. He pointed back to our school days and asked which helped us get better, a paper with “Good work” on it and no mark-ups, or a paper with mark-ups and suggestions throughout. Johnson also said that he realized early on that he wasn’t always the smartest copywriter in the proverbial room. So he decided that it would benefit him and his employers to simply offer a better premium because that drew the money in. It may not be rocket science, but that could be more because Johnson’s humble way of teaching comes across as both easy to digest and practical. Chris Moffa of Kiplinger provided an excellent sidekick for Johnson, giving the session attendees a good “This is what we’ve found successful” complement.
Other tips from the session:
– Repurpose your information into its own premium. It’s a good way to use your best information again and offer a truly beneficial premium that doesn’t cost you anything.
– No criticism allowed; only suggested improvements.
– If you see copy you don’t like, offer ideas to make it better. Johnson showed the group a lead that he said was too long and gave information that the reader already knew. “Keep the first graph between 10-14 words,” he said, “and make it compelling to the reader.” (Indeed, Johnson’s revised lead quickly showed that 14 words are plenty to make a compelling case; I will borrow “whipsaw” from him one day.)
– It’s the results that matter, he said. The audience is the authority, so test as much as possible and see what works best.
– Use as many testimonials as possible. They work. Solicit them from your subscribers. (He showed a sample solicitation that left plenty of room for positive comments.) If you can’t get permission to use names, then use the quotes – as long as they are specific and original, then that can still be effective. But don’t use names without permission.
– Test prices.
– All comments will begin with the phrase, “What if it said this” or “What if it said something like” or “What if it said this instead of that.”
What’s so impressive about Johnson is that you can tell he moves forward with the times. He said that he learned a great deal three years ago that he now implements in his courses. It’s a credit to him that he is continually learning and he passes on that learning in his workshops. If you can catch him next time, I highly recommend it.
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Follow the 28th Annual SIPA Marketing Conference
in Miami Beach, as it moves into high gear today.
You can follow some of the sessions and dialogue
by going to http://sipaonline.com/hashtagsmiami.
And join the discussion on Twitter at #sipamiami.
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