The structure of a sales promotion used to be a mystery to me.
Beyond the headline and the close, I had no idea what its other elements were, much less how to place them.
After years of writing, practicing, and studying, it gradually became clearer and clearer.
Here it is:
- Headline – This is the all-important attention-grabber. It’s purpose is to “wake up” the prospect from their daily “slumber,” and get them to keep reading
- Deck – Deck copy begins “reeling them in” … expands upon the headline … acting like the opening moves in a chess strategy … ushering in the main selling idea … and setting the stage for the sales argument
- Lead – The lead is like the introduction of an academic essay or a book – its purpose is to flesh out the main selling idea and introduce the sales argument
- Body – The body is the sales argument itself, using other elements – claims, proof, benefits, etc. – to compel the prospect to take action
- Close – Finally, the close is where the promotion persuades the prospect to take action now, and includes incentives such as bonuses, guarantees, extra benefits, etc.
Taken together, these are short for HDLBC, my so-called easily remembered acronym.
Unfortunately these letters don’t create a word on their own, but you can use a sentence as a mnemonic device.
Such as:
- He Drank Lots of Bottles of Corona
- He Devoured Lots of Bags of Cheetos
- Hairy Dogs Like Bleu Cheese
- He Doesn’t Like Big Chopsticks
- He DownLoaded Business Charts
And so on.
When it comes to direct response marketing, the structure of a sales promotion is always the same.
Remembering that structure can be very useful, whether you are writing your own promotions or hiring a freelance copywriter to do it for you.
If you’d like help with one of your promotions, drop me an email.
The initial meeting is free of charge and there are no strings attached.
