Direct Response Scripts
Direct Response Scripts, Copywriting, and Strategies by John Pavlakos
Hi, I’m John Pavlakos, your next direct response copywriter. Allow me to share my thoughts, philosophies, and strategies I use for direct response copywriting.
Let’s Start With The Basics…
Just
three
things!
Sure your product has tons of benefits and features… but to keep a simple presentation and maximize results its best to present only the top 3 benefits of your product. There may be a long tail audience that sees the benefit of the more obscure features of your product, but those are fringe sales. Just focus on the top 3 to capture the largest market, with the simplest message.
How many pounds?
There is a saying about how many pounds of sh*t fit in a 5 pound bag….
For many this refers to the amount of copy one tries to squeeze into a 30 or 60 second spot. There is no doubt that too much copy is counter productive, but I see the 5 pound bag as your customer’s brain. Hit them with too many irrelevant details or too many choices and the 5 pound brain capacity overflows and rejects it all. Keep it simple, short and sweet!
Do eskimos really need more ice cubes?
“He could sell an ice cube to an Eskimo”. Sounds like quite the salesman… Is convincing the Eskimo he needs more ice ethical? Or is that called “salesmanship”? If you have an honest product with integrity that just needs to get the attention and response from the right people without “salesmanship”, then we probably will make a good match.
Exaggerated claims errode credibility and trust.
Low hanging fruit!
It’s only human nature to want to sell your product to everyone. But not everyone is necessarily a qualified customer. Low hanging fruit represents customers that have demonstrated a need for your product. Pick the fruit that’s easiest to reach for the best ROI.
Keep it conversational
The last thing your customer wants is to be treated like a consumer. Talking down, technical jargon, and confusing offers always under preform versus a straight forward approach that treats your potential buyer as an equal that is able to think for themselves.
Talk To Your Customers like Neighbors Over a Cup Of Coffee.
Everything Louder Than Everything Else!
On Deep Purple’s Made In Japan live album, during a sound check one of the band members asked for “…everything to be louder than everything else”. As silly as that sounds, I can’t tell you how many times a client asked me to emphasize a benefit or feature, and then emphasize the next benefit, and so on, until you end up with something resembling a yelling car dealership commercial or a web page all in bold caps.
Prioritize! Everything needs balance!
Set the hook!
Any fisherman will tell you that you can’t bring one in without first setting the hook. If you pull too hard or too soon before the hook is set, you’ll be left with another; One that got away story.
Call to action!
Research has shown that consumers need to hear a call to action before they initiate a purchase. It’s not only the offer itself, but the prompt needed for a quick response. Many times the CTA gets pushed further to the end of the spot, displaced by too much copy. Keep the content concise to allow time and room for a proper CTA.
About John
Experience: Over 35 years and 1000 direct response commercials and infomercials. Even wrote for the late Ed McMahon – one of the first and greatest pitchmen of all time.
QVC on-air training – (multiple times) not that I didn’t pass the first time and had to take the course again, but would accompany each client I took to QVC to the training.
Categories: Medical, Automotive, Transit, Tourism, Health Supplements, Legal, Insurance, Political, Real Estate, Sports, Entertainment, Religious, As Seen On TV, Law Enforcement.
Notable clients include: Panasonic, Hasbro, Live TV, 3M, Taser, DIrectTV, Harris Corporation, Dell Computers, Select TV.
If you made it to the bottom of this page I must have piqued your interest. Then I guess I’m your man or men.
Contact me for a consult to start the discovery process – your core values, product features, benefits, and target market.
I take on only a handful of clients at any one time to allow the attention needed for a successful campaign. But the good news it, you get all of me!