We know that Erasmus wasn’t talking about copywriting when he spoke those words some 500 years ago, but he may as well been.  In critiquing many 3D Mail sales letters the past 2 years, it’s become obvious that many who do their own copywriting can be blind.  So for the next few weeks we’ll discuss a bundle of copywriting topics.  First an introduction and the #1 thing you can do to kill any response.

The first thing you must realize when you create copy is that it is NOT advertising, but salesmanship in print.  That means you want to write like you talk, don’t write to sell.  The truth is the best copy would probably get you a failing grade in high school composition class.  If you’ve written copy and a high school English teacher can’t find anything wrong with it, throw it out and start again!

Second, the same principles apply in business-to-consumers markets and business-to-business markets.  I hear this all the time.  The B2B people tell me it can’t work in B2B, and the B2C people tell me it can only work in B2B!  They are fundamentally the same.  Sure, there are some slight differences, but as a whole, the concepts and ideas we talk about over the next couple weeks can be easily applied to both group.

Lastly, as promised, here’s the #1 thing you can do to guarantee to kill your response.  It’s what one of my mentors, Bill Glazer, calls copy kryptonite.  It’s BEING BORING!  Your copy can never be too long, but it can be too boring, and we’ll discuss that a lot as well over the next couple weeks.