Why Your Business Needs a Direct Response Copywriter

and how you could be losing out by not hiring a freelance direct response copywriter

“Direct response marketing, copywriting and advertising…”

You’ve probably heard these terms thrown about, but what exactly are they and why does your business desperately need a direct response copywriter as of…yesterday?

There’s one key difference between direct response advertising and marketing, and other advertising forms.

Direct response pushes a reader to take action

In a business context, direct response copywriting is any text (copy) that persuasively takes a reader from not being a customer to becoming a buyer.

Direct response is for sales.

And direct response copywriting is the often untapped lead generating machine businesses neglect.

Ultimately, good direct response copy could be your hardest-working, most underpaid salesperson, working 24/7, 365 days a year, making you money even while you sleep.

It’s about immediate salesmanship

The beauty behind direct response is that it’s immediate.

You’re taking a stone-cold prospect, and gently turning up the heat until they’re white-hot and ready to take action.

You want them slowly reaching for their wallet as they finish up reading the last paragraph of your sales pitch.

It’s this immediacy that makes direct response so successful. You’re no longer waiting days or weeks to see if your blanket marketing is working or not.

If you’ve produced an advert, as soon as it goes to print you’ll know if it’s successful if the phone rings, or if your website visitor numbers spike.

It’s salesmanship in word form.

It’s about your customers

Sales go beyond ‘B2B’ or ‘B2C’ titles, we’re all in H2H – human to human business. Since it’s real people who make buying decisions, direct response makes it about your customer.

How often do you receive a sales letter, leaflet or advert and immediately toss it out because it just doesn’t relate to you?

Again, this is the problem with blanket marketing – it doesn’t speak to you the reader. Anyone could pick up that leaflet, and if it isn’t relevant to them, they won’t read it. Let alone take action.

Which is why direct response is far superior to blanket marketing and branding in general.

Direct response dedicates the entire medium to your prospect.

It makes them the centre of attention (which we all like), it’s about THEM, not you.

Who really cares if you’ve been in business for 30+ years? Who gives a flying…?

But if I know that you can solve my problems, and that – as a secondary feature, you have hundreds of satisfied customers ‘just like me’ thanks to being in business for 30 years, we’re now looking at a completely different kettle of fish.

Make it about your prospect on a personal level, touching upon their pain points and problems, daily experiences, all the way down to the way they speak, tone, language, education etc.

This thought is mirrored by David Ogilvy, often touted as the father of modern advertising:

“Don’t address your readers as though they were gathered together in a stadium. When people read your copy, they are alone. Pretend you are writing to each of them a letter on behalf of your client.”

Why do I need a direct response copywriter?

The role of a direct response copywriter goes beyond just making your sales copy sound nice and fluffy.

They’re responsible for looking at what you produce, and turning it into tantalising tit-bits of copy which, when put together in a sales letter or sales landing page – converts a cold reader or visitor from a prospect, into a customer.

It’s taking the reader by the hand and leading them through the whole sales process.

Which is perfect for direct mail campaigns.

Instead of sending out general mail and hoping for the best, you can hire a direct response copywriter to write a sales letter which can generate immediate sales once the reader opens the letter.

Good direct response copywriting isn’t hard, it’s a learned skill, but it’s often one that traditional copywriters don’t possess.

While a copywriter can make a product sound beautiful, crafting eloquent prose which make your business sound a million bucks, it often won’t deliver the goods when translated into a marketing message.

Some of the best direct response copywriters, the well-known fathers of copy, produced direct mail sales pieces which consistently made them millions.

And some of them, Gary Halbert, for example, didn’t even have tangible products to sell, instead, he sold ‘info products’!

But he crafted sensational sales letters which were sent to thousands of prospects, and produced him and his backer’s tens of millions…

Even while he was in prison.

Yep. Gary Halbert made money from direct response copywriting even while in the clink. His copy was so good, it didn’t need additional salesmanship – the copy did the hard work for him.

“You are one sales letter away from being rich” – Gary Halbert

Direct response mail for real, local businesses

While I can’t compete with Gary, my most recent direct response mail-out was for a struggling local hair salon.

The customer needed to hire a new stylist to let her spend more time on vs. in the business and take some much needed time off.

But she didn’t have any customers up her sleeve ready for this new stylist to take on.

I produced a hyper-targeted, road by road, direct mail piece promoting the salon and a new offer.

Within just 3 weeks, both my customer and her new stylists ‘columns’ were full and they’re now busier than ever.

This is just one example to highlight the power of direct mail, even on a micro-business level, it can have life-changing results for customers.

Hire a direct response sales copywriter

While I can’t guarantee I will be able to change your life with direct mail copywriting, I can certainly take some of the sales heavy lifting off your plate and inject a tonne of new, much-needed leads into your business.

I can write and manage your next direct response sales campaign, from writing the initial copy to designing the letter, and getting it sent.

And (as a WordPress whiz and 10x Landing Page Certificate holder) I can write and design the accompanying online landing page, ready to receive the orders or enquiries generated by the original marketing piece.

Limited slots available

Due to how intensive these pieces can be, I only take on one DR client per month. So if you’re interested in hiring me as your copywriter, make sure you get in touch today and book your copy slot.

Oh, and here’s what my hairstylist client said about my work…

“Taking on an extra stylist was a risk, but it was the only way we could grow, and give me some much needed time off! Once hired, we needed to fill Lucy’s diary immediately. Liam’s sales letter and online marketing did this perfectly. We’re now busier than we have ever been. Don’t think about it – just go ahead and work with him.” – Quakers Mill