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5 Tips on E-mail, Postcard and Envelope Copywriting

July 7, 2010 By Ethan Boldt

In June, DirectMarketingIQ hosted the webinar "Words that Get Opens - for Envelopes and Emails," featuring the magnetic and renowned copywriter Herschell Gordon Lewis.

Lewis is a copywriter with several long-term controls under his belt, and he's the author of the book "On the Art of Writing Copy" (third edition), the recent "Creative Rules for the 21st Century—the Richest Resource of Copywriting Secrets for Today's Market" and the just-published "Internet Marketing Tips, Tricks, and Tactics."

Toward the end of the webinar, he was bombarded with questions from the audience. Here are some that he answered individually, afterwards.

Ethan Boldt: If you are trying to get someone to sign up for something by using a flap on an envelope, how detailed should the flap wording be? Leave the "legal" stuff off?
Herschell Gordon Lewis: Yes. Your legal people may object, because that's what they do; but your job is to generate response, so if the offer is spelled out clearly elsewhere, grab the impulse.
 
EB: If you are promoting a sweepstakes, what are key words to replace "win"?
HGL: You can replace "win" with "walk away with" or "take home" or "pick up" or any word-group that implies success without effort.
 
EB: Is telling the recipient our timeline effective?
HGL: Oh, yes ... if it's credible, relevant and apparently beneficial to the recipient.
 
EB: You stressed avoiding initial capitals. What about using initial caps in the titles of articles within a[n e-mail] newsletter?
HGL: Boldface, yes. Initial caps, no.
 
EB: What's your opinion on advantages of postcards and if they pull more than direct mail in envelopes?
HGL: If what you're offering implies a definite benefit from an immediate response, I'd definitely recommend testing a card. Be sure the offer is clear and has no statements nor illustrations that might be embarrassing for the recipient.
 
EB: "$24.95 a month" or "24.95 per month." Which one do you recommend?
HGL: Unless you intend the communication to be formal, I prefer "a month."


 

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