Why You Should Consider Hiring a Direct Response Copywriter to Boost Your Sales
Are you looking to ramp up your conversions? Have an email list but no one joins? Not sure how to go about getting your ideal client to buy your new service? Launching a new course and want people to not only be aware of it but also to sign up?
Direct response copywriting can help you with all the above, and there are copywriters (like me) that are waiting to help you achieve results with your specific business goal.
Hi, I’m Kate and I’m a direct response copywriter. I write landing and sales pages, email marketing campaigns, and web copy to help drive sales and inspire your ideal audience to take a course of action. Read ahead to learn more, and if you’re looking for a copywriter, click here to learn how I can help.
What Is Direct Response Copywriting, and How Can It Help My Business?
Direct response copywriting is a kind of copywriting that aims to influence an audience to take action. It typically includes a well-written headline, long-form content, and a call to action that encourages a potential customer to make a decision quickly.1
It’s important to any business because of how powerful it is as a marketing technique. It aims to elicit an immediate response from the reader, and prompts them to “act now.”
This means you will prompt the reader to take action after they read your copy.
The aim could be to prompt the reader to directly buy something, submit their email, give their cell phone number, download an e-book, etc…
Overall, the purpose is to have the reader connect with your persuasive copy so that they’ll take action on your sales initiative.
Copywriting can help you in so many ways, and direct response is the big wig when it comes to getting something from your reader that you are hoping will help drive sales and attention to your business.
Hiring a Direct Response Copywriter Can Help Your Business Substantially
Direct Response Copywriters write content that will get your audience to take the action that you want them to take by writing with intention and with a precise course of persuasion.
They need to identify the audience’s mindset and really understand what is causing them to hold back on moving forward with your business (if anything).
Once they tackle that aspect, they can move the reader from a, “Maybe” to a, “Yes, I’m clicking this button because they have addressed all my objections and I feel confident that this will help me in XYZ.”
What’s the Difference Between an Indirect Copywriter and One Who Does Direct Response?
A copywriter will write a variety of content to help your business, whether it be to build trust and authority in your field or build brand awareness.
Unlike direct-response copywriting, indirect response copywriting doesn’t care about leveraging urgency or getting an immediate response. Indirect response copywriting has one goal: stay on the prospect’s radar till they’re ready to buy.2
But a direct response copywriter will focus specifically on content that will generate a response from your reader.
If you’re looking for a specific goal like launching a new product that you want people to buy, ramping up your newsletter audience, or hoping to boost the sales of your new and upcoming products, then you’ll want to hire a direct response copywriter to assist and get the results you’re looking for.
What Are the Key Elements That My Direct Response Copy Should Have?
Your copywriter should know the ins and outs of what makes direct response copy work.
These are some of the key elements you should be looking for when you are reviewing the copy that your copywriter has completed for you.
And note that some of these may not be pertinent to the type of copy you’re working on, but these are some key elements that successful direct response copy includes.
1. A Killer Headline
The headline (or subject line) is important because you need to attract your reader and keep their attention, stand out from the others, and make sure you are driving the reader to your content instead of turning them away.
Ever heard of the famous Rolls Royce headline- which is arguably the most famous headline in advertising?
It goes like this:
“At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.”
It’s written by David Ogilvy, a famous direct response copywriter. He grabbed the consumer’s attention with this headline and made them intrigued by his simple, but attractive writing.
Not everyone is going to have a headline that wows every single person, but your headline is important because it prompts the reader to want to read your copy and get to the CTA.
You want to make sure your headline is superb, and well above average.
Your copywriter should focus on this, and when you’re in the editing process, make sure you’re paying attention to how the headline stands out to you.
Besides the headline, there should be something intriguing that makes the reader want to click.
2. An Intriguing Offer
You can do this by offering something valuable. Your offer needs to be appealing to your audience.
You shouldn’t just say, “Click on my link because you want to.” There has to be something that will get the reader to want to click the link.
For example, incentivizing with a coupon code, something that they’ll receive for free, insider perks, an educational free ebook, a free masterclass, etc.
You want to offer them something that is so worth clicking on that CTA.
CTAs are extremely important for direct response copywriting, and you should make sure yours has plenty of them, so the reader knows what they need to do once they are on your page.
But how can you build trust so that the reader trusts your business enough to take action?
3. Social Proof to Prove the Benefits and Features of Your Service
Knowing that others are enjoying your business and seeing logical benefits from taking action is important to your prospective client. The reader feels a sense of relief and trust, knowing that someone else has gone with your business and ended off better because of it.
Ask yourself, why would someone want your product? What is the end result of taking your class?
Make sure you are addressing what the person can get out of your service and /or product and how others have received that from your service/product.
Make sure you are addressing this with your copywriter so they know what to include in the copy.
For example, using testimonials from previous and current clients is key because they will feel safe knowing others have had success with your business before.
You’ve probably seen celebrities endorsing products, which is a form of social proof. However, not everyone can get Oprah to add their product to her “Oprah’s Favorite Things List.”
You should get personal with your social proofs and address the reason others loved your product/service. It’ll only help your business and prove to others that they should be going with yours over competitors, or at least learning more about your product.
Send some testimonials over to your writer and make sure they’re some of the best ones you have, so you’re really making a difference.
And make sure your copywriter knows who they are addressing within the copy.
4. Address and Know Your Audience
Are you aware of who you’re speaking to?
What do they like? Who do they dislike? What are some of their fears? Is there something that would make them want to learn more about your business?
You should investigate your audience because you want to know what would drive them to take action and compel them to click on your link or enter their information on your site.
Celebrated copywriter Eugene Schwartz, observed that the copywriter’s task is “not to create mass desire, but to channel and direct it.”
Simply put, your copy isn’t for everyone — it’s meant for your target audience.3
Not sure who you should target? Let your copywriter do this research for you. They should know how to do the research, and how to write to a particular audience so that they’ll want to proceed and act.
5. Use Clear, Concise, and Persuasive Language
Make sure your consumer knows exactly what action to take when reading your copy, rather than being vague.
There’s nothing quite like being clear about what you want your customer to do.
Whether it be to click on your link, buy the product that is on sale, enter their phone number, or join your seminar, you should make it very easy for them to do and they shouldn’t have to guess what you want from them.
Also, persuasion is key. If the written copy isn’t persuasive, then you’re wasting your time and the investment you made.
Make sure your copy understands what would drive your consumer to want to click ahead and take action.
6. Include a Strong Call-To-Action
The CTA or call to action is the most important part of direct response because this is your link to the end goal. It’s a clear and compelling instruction that the reader sees in order for them to, for example, click on your link or fill out their contact information. It drives the desired action that you want your content to accomplish.
It needs to be:
Strong and clear. You need to make sure your audience knows exactly what you want them to do, and make it easy for them to do it.
Included in more than one place. Use easy and straightforward words, and don’t skimp on your copy just because you believe they should just want what you’re selling.
Researched. Make sure you and your copywriter are taking the time to dive in on all the research and tactics to cause your reader to want to take action and to actually take action on your site.
If you’re able to incorporate these tactics into your copy, then you should see some wonderful benefits for your business.
What Are the Key Benefits of Direct Response Copywriting?
There are some key benefits that you can gain from using a direct response copywriter. Here are some of the top benefits.
1. Increased Conversion Rates
When you use a direct response copywriter, you‘re going to convert more and more people because of how you’re persuading them to take action.
It can help drive people directly to your site, sign up for emails that they otherwise, wouldn’t have signed up for, land on your sales page, sign up to meet with you, or simply just buy your product by clicking on the link that you included within your copy.
You’ll notice your conversion rates increasing because of your persuasive copy.
And if you don’t, you will need to double-check how easy it is for the person to click and continue to the CTA. If they’re driven to link after link to get to your true CTA, then they’re more than likely not going to sign up, because they’ll simply grow tired or frustrated and end up losing interest.
2. Improved ROI
The return on investment with direct response copywriting is massive. You can see millions of dollars in revenue and you may be paying your copywriter only a few thousand a month. That return is HUGE, and worth putting money towards the project.
According to HubSpot, while best-of-breed direct response copywriting services aren't cheap, they can often deliver ROI between 5X and 10X their initial cost.4
That’s a huge number. Just think of how much you can get out of hiring a copywriter. Need I say more?
3. Measurable results
Because of the CTA, and the statistics that you can review, measurable results are easy to come by with this type of copy.
For example, you can view…
Your analytics on your website's page, which include your conversion rates including how many times the consumer clicked the link to your site.
Bounce rates of your web copy.
Email open and subscribe rates, and A/B testing.
With direct response, you can easily view your analytics since you began your direct response campaign and view how your copywriter is making a difference to your business.
And most of the time, you will see huge ROI and increased conversion rates because of using this tactic.
So now that you know the ins and outs of direct response, what should you be looking for in a direct response copywriter, and how do you go about finding one?
What to Look For in a Direct Response Copywriter
There are a lot of direct response copywriters out there.
You really want to focus on someone that
Aligns with the goals of your business,
Shares the same values as you,
Is willing to understand your perspective and initiatives. They should know who you want to attract to your business, and what your goals are with this strategy session.
There are a lot of ways to find copywriters. Just make sure you are happy with who you go with.
It’s always a good idea to start with a test project to see if they’re a good fit and if you’re a good fit for them. Because sometimes, people just do things differently, and it’s good to try something out.
And once you land your perfect copywriter, you can sit back and watch how it’ll help your business grow and achieve the goals that you have been striving for.
Get Started With Direct Response Copywriting
In conclusion, direct response copywriting is key for your business if you’re looking to ramp up and gain more sales and credibility in your industry.
You can see your return on investments hit huge numbers with real results you can track, and attract more and more people to tour your site, and overall to your business.
Don’t skimp out and take advantage of this type of copywriting.
Visit my site to see how I can help write your direct response copywriting for you.
References:
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/direct-response-copywriting
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/direct-response-copywriting
