In Direct Mail Marketing Copywriting, Specifics Outsell Generalities

Lilly Tomlin, the American comic, once said: "When I was growing up, I wanted to be a somebody. Now I realize I should have been more specific."

In direct response advertising and direct mail selling, as in life, specifics sell. Generalities don't.

Consider, for example, a direct response ad that I have in front of me. I tore it from the May 2006 issue of Harper's Magazine last night.

This ad faces an almost impossible sales challenge:

1. The product it promotes is the ROM, a Range of Motion exercise machine that retails for $14,615—impossibly expensive

2. The machine promises to give you the benefits of a complete physical workout in just four minutes—almost impossible to believe

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3. The manufacturer is selling a high-ticket item on paper and not in person—almost impossible to do

But I think the folks at ROMFAB in North Hollywood, California, know what they are doing. They are likely to sell plenty of these machines using their direct response ad because they pack it with specifics and not generalities. Consider . . .

Specific price: Not $14,599, but $14,615.

Specific workout: Exactly four minutes a day.

Specific thesis: "Over 92% of people who own exercise equipment and 88% of people who own health club memberships do not exercise." Hence the appeal of their exercise machine that requires only four minutes a day.
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Specific proof: "Over 97% of people who rent the ROM for 30 days wind up buying it" (so it must deliver on its promise of a complete workout in four minutes).

Specific credentials: Not "award-winning," but "Winner of the 1991 Popular Science Award for the ‘Best of What's New' in Leisure Products." To be credible you must be specific.

More credentials: "Manufactured in California since 1990."

Cost: Under 20 cents per use (the copy explains how they calculated that number).

Specific offer: Free DVD or video that demonstrates the product.

Specific call to action: Not "Visit our website for more information," but "Order a free DVD or video from www.FastExercise.com or call (818) 787-6460."

These specifics help ROMFAB sell an impossibly expensive exercise machine using direct response copy in a simple display ad. Notice that the offer is not to buy the machine, but to order the free video, then rent the machine. That's the easier sell. When your product is costly and your sales proposition hard to believe, overcome objections with specifics, use an offer that moves the buyer off the inertia seat, and use a call to action that requires little commitment.
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---- About the author Alan Sharpe is a business-to-business direct mail copywriter and lead generation specialist who helps business owners and marketing managers generate leads, close sales and retain customers using business-to-business direct mail marketing. Learn more about his creative direct mail writing services and sign up for free weekly tips like this at http://www.sharpecopy.com.

2006 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the "About the author" message).