Write Direct Mail Captions to Sell
by Alan Sharpe
Published on this site: August 26th, 2005 - See
more articles from this month
Many prospects skim through catalogs and brochures, glancing
at the photos and reading the accompanying captions only when
a particular image arouses their interest. That's when you
have their attention. And so that's when you sell them.
My advice for writing captions is to never describe what
readers can see for themselves in your photo.
If your photo shows a man in a golf shirt, for example, don't
place a caption beneath the photo that simply says "New
Golf Shirt." Instead, write a subhead that communicates
a benefit that the reader cannot see, one that the photographer
could never capture. Write something like this:
"NEVER A HOLE IN ONE: Our new Glengarry Golf Shirt features
a Teflon fabric protector that forms an invisible shield around
fibers for superb protection against tears and punctures."
My second piece of solicited advice (you subscribed to the
newsletter, after all) is to start your captions, whenever
possible, with a pithy intro phrase. In five words or fewer,
capture the essence of what you are saying with a clever word
play, like the one above. Here's another example.
My local newspaper ran a story about the problem that my
city is facing this summer with some homeowners watering their
lawns every day when they should be watering every other day
to conserve water. The story was illustrated with a photograph
of a city bylaw officer, in uniform, at the door of a homeowner
who was in the very act of breaking the bylaw. The photo caption
began:
"LAWN ORDER: Bylaw Enforcement Officer Jack Phillips
issues a warning to homeowner"
That caption put a smile on my face and forced me to read
the story. Your captions and subheads will do the same if
you make them clever, interesting and laden with benefits
that interest your readers.
Alan Sharpe is a business-to-business direct mail copywriter
who helps businesses attract new clients, and charities raise
funds, using direct mail marketing. Sign up for free weekly
tips like this at http://www.sharpecopy.com/newsletter
|
