There’s no doubt about it that we are being bombarded with more advertising and marketing — especially online — than ever before.
And if you want your ads to cut through the noise and clutter of an overcrowded market place, one of the best things you can do is not try to make the sale at all.
Let me explain what I mean by that.
Almost 100 years ago the legendary copywriter Maxwell Sackheim wrote an ad with a headline (that is now ingrained in direct response copywriting mythology) that said, “Do You Make These Mistakes In English?”
And even though the ad is considered to have some of the best “sales copy” of all time, nothing in the ad was being “sold.”
Instead, the entire ad was designed to get people to send for a free book.
You see, before selling anything, the ad first got anyone interested in developing better English skills to raise their hands. Then they sent them a sales letter selling an actual product. Which, from what I hear, sold a TON of courses.
And this concept is even more important today.
Whether you’re writing online or offline, doesn’t matter. If you find your ads and sales letters just aren’t pulling because you are in an overcrowded market, try to write an ad that sells people on something free first.
From there, when they’ve gotten to know you and the valuable information you possess, then go for the sale. Then sell a straight pitch on something that costs money.