One of the smartest copywriting strategies is to use lists, such as bullet, check, and number lists when writing about your product or service, however 98% of copywriters and marketers overlook the critical importance of how their lists look and what they can do to make them stand out and grab the attention of their reader.

It’s a fact… how your copy and marketing LOOKS is critical for getting maximum readership and maximum response and conversion.  I am currently putting together a book that describes all the unique techniques you can use to improve the cosmetics of your copy and today I want to look at technique # 25 – lists.

If you look at successful advertisements, web sites, sales letters, they typically all use some type of list within them to air out the copy and create short, visual nuggets of information.

One of the smartest strategies for writing lists is to think of all the “reasons why” a prospect should invest in your product or service and use them as the basis for your list.

Once you have your lists created, the next step is to add copy cosmetics to spice up the look of your copy and grab the attention of your reader.

In the video above, I show several unique strategies, including the use of CopyDoodles® to replace your word processor’s generic black round dots and numbers.  You can easily import a CopyDoodles into your program and create the look of a handwritten list.

If you’re printing in color the double impact of a hand-drawn checkmark in red really stands out and magnetizes the reader to your copy.  Watch the video to learn how to do this.

The other neat technique I like to use is to add CopyDoodles around my lists with phrases like “Check these out!” or “Don’t miss these” and then add a CopyDoodles arrow to point to my list.

By adding CopyDoodles you are creating eye-magnets which allow you to selectively emphasize key points within your copy.  This allows both skimmers and readers to instantly see what it is you want them to see and take the action you want them to take!

Every business owner, entrepreneur and marketer should have a strong guarantee for their products or services.  It’s a fundamental strategy which will increase conversion and sales and if done right offers you a competitive edge.

Crafting a unique guarantee that stands out and removes all fear from investing in your product or service is a worthy exercise and while most people focus on the copy of the guarantee (which is critical), on this episode of CopyBoosters TV, I show you several smart strategies for making your guarantee LOOK unique and important.

Think about it… if your product/service is worthy of a strong guarantee – shouldn’t the “look” of the guarantee match?

I’ve been very successful at creating great-looking guarantees for both myself and clients and I wanted to offer the opportunity to see an example of how I do this with my Guarantee Certificate CopyTemplate™.

You can grab a copy of this Tear Sheet CopyTemplate for only $49 by visiting:

http://www.mikecapuzzi.com/cotm310

This special CopyTemplate allows you to create a unique-looking guarantee certificate (for either print or online use) and includes:

•    8 transparent certificate borders
•    Sample copy to swipe
•    30 never-released-before “Guarantee-specific” CopyDoodles
•    My list of top 10 unique names for your guarantee!
•    Special video describing:
- The eight things you can guarantee
- the 21 do’s when crafting your guarantee
- and 3 big don’ts when crafting your guarantee
•    Instant download!

Check out the video above for more details.  This is a great value and shows you unique strategies for creating a powerful looking guarantee!  I’ve even included the optional opportunity to try out my CopyBoosters® Member site for 30 days where you can access tons of valuable, response-boosting content, including CopyDoodles®, CopyComics and more!

Check it out at:

http://www.mikecapuzzi.com/cotm310

And let me know your thoughts about this strategy!

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… CY: wait… I: wait… YCat: wait… I: wait… Top: wait… I: wait… L: wait… C: wait…

The big lesson for today is understanding how to create marketing that crosses the goal line.  What I mean is, in many cases marketing will get somebody to a certain point in the process and then not create the final and necessary steps to score (a.k.a. get the prospect to take action).

Using a football metaphor, it’s similar to getting to the five yard line and then not being able to get a touchdown.  All the work to get them to a certain point has been done, but not the necessary final push to score.

In my pile of mail today, I received a piece of mail that exemplifies this short-coming.  Let’s walk through both the letter and the envelope it came in. The blue notes are my notes to you to illustrate the good and bad points

When I received this envelope, it looked very personal (except for the indicia) which gave it away as business mail.  The envelope was hand-written in real handwriting, taking it to the 5 yard line, but then the company used an indicia versus a live stamp, which prevented the score. Even though this was a mistake the marketer receives a B+ for effort.  Now let’s look at the letter.

This letter is a classic example of doing a few good things, but several really dumb things that negate all the good work.  First the good things:

• Personalization increases response and increases conversion.

• Hand-signed signature conveys a real “me to you” letter so it appears to be coming from a real person.

Unfortunately, that’s about it for good techniques.  Now for the bad…

• Logo at top of letter tells me right way this is not personal correspondence (I wonder why they can afford a color logo, but not “real” printing for the envelope?)

• Copy is very weak and is classic, corporate-style copy.  It’s all about them and not my pains and concerns.  When writing copy, always keep your prospect and his pains in mind.  Remember, your reader is always thinking W.I.I.F.M – “what’s in it for me?”

• No strong call to action.  No urgency.  All he is doing is warning me that he’s going to call.  It would have been much better if he gave me the opportunity to raise my hand and request information from him.

• Telling me to visit their Web site without giving me a reason to visit is worthless and a waste of prime copy real estate.

• Other side of the letter was completely blank and could have been used for testimonials, etc.

So there you have it.  A business to business letter that had the makings of a pretty decent direct mail package that fails to cross the goal line.

If you’re going to do the hard work of marketing your product or service, make sure you go follow through and create marketing that grabs attention and converts.

Remember, getting all the way to the five yard line, regardless of how you got there, doesn’t count for anything!

Click on the link to download a PDF of this direct mail marketing envelope and letter example.