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Copy Tips to Increase Response Rates

As Publisher & Exec Editor of Web Digest For Marketers, I get to see what copy works and what doesn't. In addition to seeing click-throughs, my advertisers often share w/ me which ads yield quality sales leads.

I've been writing copy for over 25 years. I've written for TV, print, DM sales letters, radio, and just about all types of online ads. Many copy tactics apply online as well as offline. Some are unique to online.

Below are my top tips for writing copy that boosts response rates online. Enjoy.

1. Add Text to Alt Tags: One of the most overlooked copy opportunities online is found within alt tags (those text boxes that pop up when you mouse over graphics).

In email, those alt tags often have no copy in them, which is wasteful and unhelpful to the user, because he/she often doesn't see the graphics in their email. Fill those tags in with product descriptions or prices, calls to action or other copy that gives the ad more value for readers.

Over 50% of inboxes and most mobile devices like smartphones don't show graphics by default. Alt tags tell the reader what that broken gif graphic represents. Do not assume the user will reverse the default setting so they can see your precious graphics.

Alt tags on websites also get overlooked. I saw one last week that said "photo of Bob." It should have given Bob's last name as well.

Website alt tags also help search engines and blind people figure out what your site is about. So, if you need a pure business reason to allocate time for filling in those tags, say it's for SEO purposes.

2. Remember Captions: Research proves caption copy gets read. Too often, I see a video still on a site that simply says "video demo." I can see that without being told. I need more info to decide if I'm going to watch that demo or click on that picture.

If it is a video, tell me how long the demo is. Is it one minute or 20 minutes? Who's in it? The caption sells me on watching or clicking on the image, be it a video, icon, or picture.

The graphic draws reader attention to that part of the page, and the short descriptor says what it's about. Graphics and captions are attractive ways to break up copy.

The caption information is also useful to search engine spiders, which sense the video or picture. The words around that image give the spider an idea of what's inside and how to rank your site.

As SEO Guru Mike Grehan tells me, search engines are hungry to deliver videos in search results. Help them figure out what your video is about with keyword-rich captions.

3. You've Come to the Right Landing Page: Repeat some copy element found in the ad, SERP (search engine results page) snippet, or inbound link tag copy on your designated landing page. You want visitors to be sure they've come to the right place.

Make sure your landing-page copy repeats some of the points from the ad that got them there. Then, offer more details about the event or product you're promoting.

If it's an event, people often are just as interested, if not more so, in who is speaking and where those speakers are from as they are in the event title. The event title is the lead, and the speakers and their bona fides are additional selling points.

4. Why Are Questions So Effective? Some of the best leads or headlines aren't promise points; they're questions. Why? Because questions are interactive by nature. People answer questions posed to them in any medium.

Question copy also is self-selective. Are you suffering from hair loss? Do you want more sales leads? Are you worried about your 401(k)? If you answer "no" to a question, you probably are not a target for the ad.

The trick is asking the right question. Often, it's the one that is lurking in the reader's mind, but not always. A well-chosen question can lead the reader into an unexpected thought-path. "If you get sick, do you have enough insurance to replace the income you're not making?" Or, "Are you aware of new tax codes that treat dividends like income?"

Hint: Really good direct-response writers often don't pay off the question in the lead or body copy right away. They know you want the answer. So, they "bury the lead." In this way, the copy can get selling points or value propositions into the reader's mind before answering the question.

5. The Power of 3: The number 3 has a mystical power for humans. Aside from religious references, this phenomenon occurs in other forms, including communications.

Think of some of the most powerful advertising messages ever: "Just Do It," "We Try Harder," or even "I Like Ike." Call-to-action lines often use the power of 3, as in "Buy It Now" and "One Day Left."

If you can distill your tagline or call to action down to three words, so much the better. But, don't just use a three-word phrase because it is a three-word phrase. It must fit your offer, product, or circumstance. You'll know when you've got a winner.

6. Three Reasons Why Bullet Points Work So Well

• Bullet points break up the visual monotony of paragraphs and offer visual relief.
• Bullet points force the writing to be succinct.
• Bullet points can easily be skimmed, which is what most people are doing, anyway.

7. Write Your Last Line First: Writing copy is easier when you know what you're writing toward. If you know you want a specific call to action at the end of your ad, write it down. Then figure out what you have to say prior to that which will get the reader to take that action.

8. Write Like You Talk: When helping my advertisers write copy, I often ask them to talk to me in simple terms about what they're trying to say. Seven times out of 10, the words they use become the words used in the ad itself.

9. Less is More: Most copywriters will tell you the amount of copy you need is just as much as is needed to get the message across. This is true, but I think shorter copy telegraphs focus and clarity.

I've helped advertisers write ads for my newsletter since 1995. The ads are short, only 60 to 70 words, including headline. Those ads get read and produce sales leads enough for most advertisers to run more ads. In many ways, the newsletter ad is really an ad for the landing page.

It isn't realistic to expect a 70-word ad to change the way people do business. But it is enough to expect them to go to the landing page for more information. That said, it can be a challenge to keep the copy short, and order the selling points properly.

BTW, this keep-it-short rule obviously doesn't apply to this week's subject line :-) .

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