Hard Sell Copywriting - Does the 'magic' really work?

Posted by Aaron Bloxsome on 29 March 2010

Tags: emotional response marketing, direct response marketing, hard sell, oversell

DON'T READ ANYTHING UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THIS!

So you ask yourself, do I need to use hard-sell 'emotional response' marketing techniques to drive my sales into the stratosphere?

Maybe you feel you have to (especially if your product is poor). But regardless of what anyone tells you, overt hard-selling can never 'guarantee' that your sales will be driven into the stratosphere, no matter how good (or bad) your product is.

Personally I don't like hard-selling techniques, copy written or face to face. I think most are tacky, aggressive and far too commonly used. My preference for more placid communication may fly in the face of what some copywriting 'greats' say. Apparently, their skills are proven and will help you generate more revenue than any other copywriting method.

Sorry, I have to go back to square one and say again 'I don't like it'. Arguably, you could say that the bold headline (meant in a tongue in cheek way) 'Don't read anything until you have read this!' caught your attention and motivated you to read on.

We're motivated to pull Christmas crackers, but most of us know more often than not, there'll be a disappointing, if not worthless prize at the end.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE...

Now before I carry on, I am referring to the very extreme end of marketing persuasion (aggression). The main examples I can refer to are the extreme direct response letters I've seen published online and the associated websites that sell this type of direct response marketing, all with bold titles, often centre aligned and written in BLOCK RED CAPITALS, causing people to ACT. URGENTLY. (Apparently.)

I've also received direct response letters in the post, but they always seem to mysteriously end up in the bin before I read them.

On some websites I've read that the effects of great emotional response marketing will cause consumers' hearts to take over their heads. Enchanted by this mystical and carefully crafted emotional persuasion, their hopes and / or fears are highlighted and they are driven into a frenzy where they just cannot resist buying your product.

Are people really that swayed by being told what to think and do with such insincere (and often irrelevant) empathy?

AS SEEN ON TV

Most of us have seen those silly infomercials selling zit creams to vacuum cleaners and everything in-between. With these sort of ads, I feel there seems to be too much emphasis on inflated personal benefits and very little emphasis on the real quality or value of the product. The dialogue, although carefully constructed, often seems to border on a joke. By my masochistic nature, I do find some of these infomercials perversely entertaining, though have never been inclined to buy anything from any of them.

THE SECRETS OF 'EMOTIONAL RESPONSE' UNRAVELLED

The closely guarded secrets of the marketing champions (often available on a PDF file for around 50 bucks) will not only get people to pay attention to your ads but get them to respond. (When these techniques are used on me, I deem vomiting as a response.)

Whatever the 'secrets' are, with this type of advertising, I've noticed the same type of words and emotive deliberation (rhetoric) being used to sell almost anything. Which to me is the problem. Our collective consciousness is being repetitively bombarded with the same trite language. This forceful emulation of somewhat uncreative techniques must be well past (or at least close to) its sell by date.

ACT NOW BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!

The majority of the general public are becoming more discerning, or at least hardened to this type of pushy selling. Completely anaesthetised and increasingly sceptical, people now prefer clarity and honesty in marketing.

Intelligent individuals don't want to be shouted at or feel that they're being manipulated. Most consumers love plain old honest information with genuine integrity, particularly when it's free and especially online.

With a flood of different sources of information at nearly everyone's fingertips, consumers are becoming increasingly conscious about making their own buying decisions, based upon their own deciding factors.

The end of contrived and aggressive hype, gimmicks and exaggerations is nigh. Buying persuasion is now coming from within the consumers, not the marketers.