One from the Copywriter's Bag Of Tricks:
Back Your Claims With Numerical Data
By Dina
Giolitto
Sometime in the past year, a copywriting
client said to me something like, "Sorry, I seem to have
lost your email... I get over 200 a day!" At the immediate
moment he said it, I was struck with one of those copywriter
ah-ha moments. And I said to myself (silently, of course):
Numerical evidence works as a highly effective
copywriting tool. Not to mention, figures and statistics "stretch"
the effect you're trying to achieve. How? Simply by stating
a number (implied as a fact), and then leaving out the second
half of the story, so that your audience is left with their
jaw on the floor at the shock of the sheer volume, and forgets
to ask the obvious next question in the conversation. Which
in this case is: "So how many of those emails were actually
work related items that you need to attend to right now?"
(This trick of using numbers in a sneaky
way, is something that EVERYONE does in everyday conversation-
you don't even have to be a copywriter to be guilty as charged
of such an offense).
So, back to my story. Stating the total
amount of emails as my client did above, gives the impression
that he is busy, sought-after, and important.
(But for all we know, 199 of those emails
could be spam!)
Doesn't matter though, right? Nobody thinks
about spam when you spout at them that you're a very busy
individual with over 200 emails to read in a day.
I'm grossly exaggerating for effect of course.
Many professionals are indundated with more than their fair
share of emails, many of them from legitimate prospects and
not spammers. My client was likely as busy as he claimed to
be. However, the statement got me in a marketing mindset.
Not only is numerical evidence a great way to enhance your
everyday conversation with clients, but it's a must-use in
your copywriting materials - articles, web copy, sales letters,
press releases, brochures, and pretty much anything else you
use to target your key customer.
Ezine publishers frequently add numerical
evidence to their remarks as a way to command bragging rights
for their own success. "This ezine is currently being received
by over 19,000 subscribers!" Again, quite an intimidating
number. I feel a bit dwarfed by it, how about you? However,
because I'm on the inside, I know that a good chunk of email
newsletter subscribers quickly become dead leads, and that
the majority of emails are Not Urgent and Not Important.
Nevertheless, who's thinking about dead
leads when they're being dazzled by five figures worth of
pure profit potential? Not your customers, that's for sure.
And even if dead leads are surreptitiously clouding the accuracy
of the currently stated numerical data, the truth remains
that 16,000 subscribers is still a LOT more than 200!
So if you've got the numbers to back your claims - by all
means, use them.
Another example:
"We cater to more than 500 clients in
the NYC metro area alone."
(But how many of those 500 clients have
you served in the past week? Month? Year? How many were one-shot
Charlies, never to return again? Few will ever ask such questions,
but if they do, be honest with them. Most though, will become
dazed by the high number and quickly move on to the real question
- how can you help THEM?)
Now for the practical advice segment of
this article:
No small business owner should have over
200 emails coming in to their primary business email address
per day. If that's the case, some things need changin'. Here's
what to do:
1. Open "portable" email accounts with Hotmail,
Yahoo or Gmail. Designate one for your ezine subscriptions,
one for your memberships (for example, if you register for
article marketing or networking), one for your blog comment
logins, and of course a handful for Craigslist advertising
purposes.
2. Get a virtual assistant to help lighten
your workload. I know of a great one by the name of Lori Davis
of DavisVA.com. She will unravel the mess that is your email
inbox and get down to critical business!
So - what have we learned today?
1. People are impressed by high numbers,
so you want to use them in your marketing when appropriate.
2. It's a lot easier to focus on the messages
that really matter when you stop using your business email
address as a catch-all.
Stay tuned for more free tips from Dina
at Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing.
Copyright 2007 Dina Giolitto, Wordfeeder.com
Copywriting and Marketing. All rights reserved.
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