Sometime in the past year, a copywriting client said to me something like, "Sorry, I seem to have lost your email... I get over 200 a day!" At the immediate moment he said it, I was struck with one of those copywriter ah-ha moments. And I said to myself (silently, of course):
Numerical evidence works as a highly effective copywriting tool. Not to mention, figures and statistics "stretch" the effect you're trying to achieve. How? Simply by stating a number (implied as a fact), and then leaving out the second half of the story, so that your audience is left with their jaw on the floor at the shock of the sheer volume, and forgets to ask the obvious next question in the conversation. Which in this case is: "So how many of those emails were actually work related items that you need to attend to right now?"
(This trick of using numbers in a sneaky way, is something that EVERYONE does in everyday conversation- you don't even have to be a copywriter to be guilty as charged of such an offense).
So, back to my story. Stating the total amount of emails as my client did above, gives the impression that he is busy, sought-after, and important.
(But for all we know, 199 of those emails could be spam!)
Doesn't matter though, right? Nobody thinks about spam when you spout at them that you're a very busy individual with over 200 emails to read in a day.
I'm grossly exaggerating for effect of course. Many professionals are indundated with more than their fair share of emails, many of them from legitimate prospects and not spammers. My client was likely as busy as he claimed to be. However, the statement got me in a marketing mindset. Not only is numerical evidence a great way to enhance your everyday conversation with clients, but it's a must-use in your copywriting materials - articles, web copy, sales letters, press releases, brochures, and pretty much anything else you use to target your key customer.
Ezine publishers frequently add numerical evidence to their remarks as a way to command bragging rights for their own success. "This ezine is currently being received by over 19,000 subscribers!" Again, quite an intimidating number. I feel a bit dwarfed by it, how about you? However, because I'm on the inside, I know that a good chunk of email newsletter subscribers quickly become dead leads, and that the majority of emails are Not Urgent and Not Important.
Nevertheless, who's thinking about dead leads when they're being dazzled by five figures worth of pure profit potential? Not your customers, that's for sure. And even if dead leads are surreptitiously clouding the accuracy of the currently stated numerical data, the truth remains that 16,000 subscribers is still a LOT more than 200! So if you've got the numbers to back your claims - by all means, use them.
Another example:
"We cater to more than 500 clients in the NYC metro area alone."
(But how many of those 500 clients have you served in the past week? Month? Year? How many were one-shot Charlies, never to return again? Few will ever ask such questions, but if they do, be honest with them. Most though, will become dazed by the high number and quickly move on to the real question - how can you help THEM?)
Now for the practical advice segment of this article:
No small business owner should have over 200 emails coming in to their primary business email address per day. If that's the case, some things need changin'. Here's what to do:
1. Open "portable" email accounts with Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail. Designate one for your ezine subscriptions, one for your memberships (for example, if you register for article marketing or networking), one for your blog comment logins, and of course a handful for Craigslist advertising purposes.
2. Get a virtual assistant to help lighten your workload. I know of a great one by the name of Lori Davis of DavisVA.com. She will unravel the mess that is your email inbox and get down to critical business!
So - what have we learned today?
1. People are impressed by high numbers, so you want to use them in your marketing when appropriate.
2. It's a lot easier to focus on the messages that really matter when you stop using your business email address as a catch-all.
Stay tuned for more free tips from Dina at Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing.
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