Aristotle’s idea was to start in the middle…
And I have no doubt that in creative writing classes all around the world they’re preaching the same message as we speak.
But hey, I was brought up under contrarian copywriter supreme, Bill Bonner, so why not throw a spanner into Aristotelian theory.
Someone’s got to, right?
So…
I’ll say this – and I mean it – you should start EVERY sales promotion you write at the very end.
You should start preparing your copy at the point when your promotion is in the bag… you’ve already done a lap of honour… and you’ve blown the millions it’ll generate on a rare faberge egg.
You see, before you go anywhere, you really need to consider what exactly IS the perfect sales promotion… the perfect piece of ‘copy’.
In fact, how exactly do you know you’ve created it and what the hell do you do with it if you have?
You see, for most – copywriters, marketers and business owners alike – the perfect promotion is the promotion that generates the greatest number of sales over the shortest time possible.
Sounds like a pretty reasonable definition, right?
But let me tell you…
It’s a whole kettle of WRONG.
Sure, all that fast money would have you signing-off the cheque for the faberge egg quick smart. But a month later, chances are the bailiffs would be knocking down your door, confiscating the egg and smashing it to pieces on the street outside.
Truth is:
Fast money goes OUT just as quick as it comes IN.
That’s why, in aiming to create the perfect promotion, you should be aiming to create a sound promotion.
You should aim to write a promotion that’s target is NOT to sell as many as possible over the shortest possible time, but instead to sell the number that should be sold for as long as it can possibly be sold.
I’ll say that again because it’s a subtle but important difference:
Your copy should aim to sell the number of products or services that should be sold for as long as they can possibly be sold.
Start thinking like that, and approach any new promotions from the outcome rather than the intention and you will write much stronger and much more effective promotions.
Cheers,
Glenn