By definition, advertising agencies specialize in creating cute, short copy, the goal of which is to get your product or service noticed.

Cold, hard truth #2:

Most advertisements won’t give you a fair return on your investment, and they aren’t accountable.

My last article gave you 3 secrets your advertising agency won’t tell you. In fact, your image-oriented advertising agency may not even know them. Here are 3 more secrets you should know:

Direct response copy is a better return on your investment

Advertising agencies make a lot of money on fancy campaigns, but a hardworking direct response copy campaign is one of the best marketing investments you can make in your business. Period.

This is seen clearly with direct mail testing, but the principle is the same with email, websites and other communications. Here’s how we know: For decades, direct marketers using direct response copy have:

Over the years, each direct marketer has developed a knowledge-base of copy strategies and techniques that work, as well as when they work and why. Many have documented what they’ve learned into a code of direct marketing rules.

There’s no question that there are exceptions to the rules. But great direct response copywriters know when and how to break them.

All in all, decades of testing prove that almost any kind of direct response copy gets more results than almost any image advertising copy. Check out this proven fact:

Long copy almost always works better than short copy

A five-way test was conducted to compare results using several different sizes of brochures, sales letters and a self-mailer. Take a look at the results: This five-way test clearly demonstrates two important facts. The first is that a letter is one of the most important marketing materials you can invest in. The second important fact? As you can see from the test results, response to a long letter can significantly out pull response to a short letter.

The truth is if your product or service is worth selling to your customers, it deserves a sales letter that packs an emotional wallop, shows your customers what’s unique about you, explains why you benefit them more than your competitors do and overcomes their objections. Involving your readers and telling them exactly what you want them to do might take more than one or two pages of copy.

For instance, lead copy should be shorter than sales copy. Also, the more expensive or complicated a product, the longer the copy needs to be. In fact, Internet products usually require the longest copy.

Writing great copy requires mastery of direct marketing strategies and techniques

Your image-based advertising agency wants you to believe that no one can write sales copy like their clever copywriters. Don’t believe them.

And beware of nonprofessionals like my Aunt Mary Bell. Sweet woman, means well. But she is absolutely convinced she can write great copy—after all, she is a great writer. If you’ve even glanced at the profit and loss statements from your marketing division, you know another truth.

In these times, constructing copy that sells your product or service requires more technique, psychology and science than even a great salesman/huckster like Phineas Taylor Barnum could muster. Here’s the good news:

Remember, direct response copywriters use scientifically proven, time-tested words in the hunt for customers or leads.