True story:
I received a letter in the mail yesterday. (Oooh, groundbreaking!)
That’s about as far as this story goes because it was immediately yeeted into my nearest trash can. All because of three “innocent” words.
Now, I’m sure what was inside the envelope was just as bad as what appeared on the outside. Making this “3-word mistake” means whoever sent the letter has never studied direct response marketing a day in their lives, nor even considered how the recipient would feel reading said envelope.
In other words, adding these 3 extra words to their envelope resulted in a beeline for my trash can.
And the question becomes:
Are you making a similar “3-word mistake” in your copy?
There’s a decent chance you are. Especially if you’ve never studied direct response copywriting, you’re devouring every word from Gary Vee spinoffs, or you think the extent of writing persuasive copy means including a bigger discount.
So, what were the 3 innocent-looking, yet egregious words?
“Or current resident”
Y’see, the letter was addressed to me. But under my name, they added: “Or current resident.”
“Oh, so you aren’t actually interested in speaking to el John-o? You didn’t even do the barest of bare research to learn that I’m the one who lives here?”
Nope.
And so, instead of opening the letter and then throwing it away (assuming it made similar copy mistakes in the actual letter), I sent it straight to the trash, A-pile vs B-pile style. H/t to the great Gary Halbert.
And you know what?
I see brands making a similar mistake in their emails too.
Especially when it comes to adding first name tags and pretending like that is a good excuse for “pErSoNiLiZaTiOn.”
Worst part?
Most of the time, the “3-word mistake” brands make is far less egregious than whoever sent me this stupid letter. They add first name tags to the top of their emails because it’s a “best practice.” But anyone who misspell their name won’t feel the warm welcome you're told the first name tag adds. Let alone anyone who leaves a flagrant name like “fvckoff.”
Moral of the story?
In email and in direct mail, you only have a few moments to capture your audience’s attention and persuade them. As innocent as the “3-word mistake” or a wonky first name tag seems, it starts to become anti-persuasive quickfast.
(And yes, there’s a reason I never address you by name in these emails: If you need me to say your name in order to buy, you probably ain’t gonna be a good client anyway.)
Now, onto bidness:
Hit reply if you need help squeezing more juice outta every email you send.
John
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