Yesterday’s email to newbies sure rattled some cages!
And the part that made the most noise was when I said:
What did I mean by this, exactly?
Well, I’m not saying ALL launch letters suck. Some are incredibly good and thoroughly tested. But, you gotta be careful with which ones you choose to study, too.
And here are a few reasons why:
1. They Are Sometimes Altered
I personally know at least two top copywriters who slaved away on a big launch sales letter only to see their copy butchered by the client to the point where you had to wonder if a wee kindergardener wrote the dang thing.
2. Some Are (Literally) “Slapped” Together Last Minute
In fact, not long ago, an extremely savvy marketer (a “household name”) even admitted he only spent 3 hours on his big launch sales letter.
The copy was a mere afterthought.
3. Some Work In SPITE Of The Copy
Many launches are brilliantly marketed to the point where people don’t even READ the sales letters. Customers are buying due to brilliant marketing, launch strategy, pre-selling, JV partners and other factors besides copywriting.
Frankly, they’d probably get away with just an “order here” link.
So anyway, I’m not “poo-pooing” ALL launch letters.
Just be careful what you study.
Ben Settle
P.S. Want another reason to “look before you swipe”?
This is from “A List” copywriter Doug D’Anna’s “Copywriting Grab Bag” interview (on pages 255-256):
“You mentioned a swipe file. You had asked me earlier what people do wrong. When I first started out I had a swipe file too. You know what the first thing I discovered was when I realized who Gary Bencivenga was and the game I was in? I threw everybody else’s piece away.
“Why would I do that?
“Because I might have been thinking that I was swiping something that was good or using a model that was a winner when it wasn’t.
“That was the first thing.
“You need to have control pieces in your swipe file. But, you’ve got to remember that control piece worked for that piece at that time in that market in that environment.
“So it’s really more of a case study to look at.”
