Graphic Design, Direct Response Ads - Make Your Ad Jump Off The Page in 3 Easy Steps

By Clayton Makepeace

Step #1: Keep The Message Clear.

Despite what some have been led to believe, no-one is in the business of spending a fortune to sell acres of white space or pretty pictures to art-starved consumers.

Your mission is to make a sale.

Don’t cut sales copy for massive margins, vast areas of empty “white space” or ponderous photographs. You’re just asking for trouble and, quite possibly, you could blow the sale.

Step #2: Great artwork doesn’t always sell.

This isn’t about art. It’s about business. Specifically, it’s about selling a product or service.

Art is subjective. Certain techniques have been proven over many years to be more effective at generating attention, readership and response than others.

The first lesson that great designers have learned is that design does NOT sell products. Copy sells the product. Great design helps the copy do its job. Bad design gets in the way of the sale.

You only have a limited amount of space in each promotion. Every element that gets through to final draft displaces something that didn’t.

Every unnecessary graphic element you add means crucial sales copy has to be smaller, shorter – or worse, cut altogether.
That means you sell less. Bottom line.

Step #3: Recognize that your design only has to accomplish two, simple but essential tasks.

Graphic designers’ first job is to help the copy grab the prospect’s attention. Do this one thing well – and yes, that usually means big, “ugly” headline and deck type – and you’re 60% of the way there.

Their second job is to convert that attention to readership and to help keep the prospect reading until he responds.

Do these 3 simple things well, and you’ll create more responsive ads and bigger winners, more often!

Clayton Makepeace is a direct response consultant and copywriter whos marketing brainstorms and copy have sold over $1 billion worth of products for his clients in his over 33 years in the business. Clayton's e-zine THE TOTAL PACKAGE shares his billion dollar copy, design and marketing secrets for direct response professionals FREE in your in-box every Monday. To sign-up and claim your FREE copy of Clayton's latest guide "Beat the Blank Page Blues - 3 beginning outlines for every type of copy you'll ever write" visit: http://www.MakepeaceTotalPackage.com/?s=M151&e=63030

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Monarch Butterflies, Elephant Seals, and RV Camping

How do you find motivation to write while on vacation? I don’t work all day when I’m on vacation but I try to write daily. It’s Sunday and we are in Pismo Beach, CA. Right now I am sitting in the sun, drinking coffee, talking with my wife and mother-in-law.

This morning many of the other RV campers are packing up and leaving. We just arrived last night and have reservations through next Sunday night. So far we’ve watched a mated pair of Mallards waddle through camp, a few crows and pigeons looking for handouts, and various other songbirds flitting about. I mentioned roast duck to my wife but she didn’t think it was funny. I guess hamburgers will have to do.

Usually I take my stunt kite out to the beach for a couple of sessions but I left it home this time. I don’t think it’s windy enough to fly it anyway. Plus I’m going home tonight. My wife and her mom will be staying all week. My daughter and I will come back next Thursday for the weekend. My wife’s brother will be here with his RV too. We’ll barbeque tri-tip, sit around the campfire, make s’mores, drink beer, and generally enjoy ourselves.

Even though it’s January the weather is great. It’s about 55 degrees at 1045AM. The sun is shining and a slight breeze is blowing the tree branches about. It’ll probably hit the low to mid 60’s by mid afternoon. After enduring the tule fog of the San Joaquin Valley this is pure heaven.

The butterflies are here this time of year. This area of the Central Coast of California attracts Monarch Butterflies for the winter. It’s one of the special attractions we enjoy seeing. They are particularly attracted to the eucalyptus groves in the area. According to scientists up to 225,000 Monarch butterflies spend November through February here. They travel from as far away as Central Canada to winter here. Imagine how strong and tough these seemingly delicate creatures are to fly that far twice a year.

There’s another natural attraction just north of here this time of year. The elephant seals are on the beach, fighting, mating, and generally doing what elephant seals do. Mostly they lay in the sun and sleep. If you go north on Hwy 1 about 45 minutes you get to San Simeon. San Simeon is where Hearst Castle is too. The seashore in this area is rocky with a series of small sand beaches. The elephant seals love it.

Federal law protects the seals and you shouldn’t get too close. The bulls are very large and quite dangerous. They move surprisingly fast and can kill or maim you without a second thought. The dominant bulls protect their harems fiercely from any other male that gets too close. They end up with bloody necks from the fights. Generally the challenges don’t last long. It takes a big and experienced male to take over a harem.

Come and enjoy the Central Coast with us. It’s rejuvenating, relaxing, and the award winning clam chowder at the Splash Café always satisfies.

Develop An Idea In 7 Short Days

Good ideas don't come easy. But they don't come as hard as you might think either. Once or twice a month I sit down with a yellow legal pad and brainstorm with myself. I write down every idea I can think of. I also consolidate all those little pieces of paper I have collected since the last session. I try to write down an idea as soon as it pops into my head. If I don't, they tend to go away and be lost forever. Once in a while I get an idea that's worth pursuing. Those are the ideas I don't want to miss.

I had an idea last weekend. I am going to look into getting a mini-voice recorder. If I find one that will fit on my key ring I might buy it. If anyone out there knows about a good one leave a comment with the information. I'd really appreciate it.

Then I can collect ideas any time. Once a day I could write them down. Maybe I'll pay my daughter to transcribe them. (Now there's a good idea for saving some time.)

You could call it "One a Day Multiple Ideas". Might not be as nutritious as the vitamins but one good idea can bring in a pile of money if implemented properly. Not only that I could write sales copy at the speed of sound. Now there's an idea. Too bad it wasn't mine. Alex Mandossian gets the credit for that one.

I am still working on a new list. So far I have 23 ideas to turn into e-books. Not all of them are good ideas. But I keep making the list bigger just so I can find the gems mixed in with all the dirt. The diamond on my wife's ring is much more beautiful than a rough diamond still in a mine in South Africa. It took cutting, polishing, and a nice setting to make it pleasing to the eye. An idea needs the same type of attention to detail to be made into something pleasing to a customer's eye.

Here's an idea I had a few weeks back. I decided I needed to start writing and selling e-books. I haven't written one yet. But I am collecting information to do just that. How long do you think it might take to research and write a book? My first thought was at least a year. Thankfully it doesn't have to take that long.

How does 7 days sound? I found an e-book written by Jim Edwards and Joe Vitale that simplifies the process of writing your own e-book. Here is where you can find out How to Write and Publish your own e-book in as little as 7 Days without breaking a sweat. I'm four hours into researching mine and I can start writing any time. I saving that for this weekend when I am sitting in my fifth wheel trailer at Pismo Beach.

Of course if the wind is up I'll have to take a break to fly my stunt kite. That's more fun than trying to put a sweater on one of our cats. Where did that idea come from? In fact it's much more fun than that. My wife says I would have an easier time putting a sweater on our beagle. I think she's right. Besides the beagle gets cold easily and the cats don't seem to mind the cold.

But pet clothing is a subject for another day. Thanks for reading.

Taxes on my Mind

Today I was thinking about taxes. By the end of the month most of us will have all the documents we need to get our income taxes done. I must admit the last 3 years I have done mine in October. The deadline for the filing is no later than October 15th. That is if you filed two extensions. Of course you need to pay what you owe or at least a close estimate by April 15th.

My father was a CPA and you would think I would be an expert on the subject, or at least competent. Nope. My dad always did my taxes and so I never bothered to learn how. At least not past the 1040ez. He died ten years ago but his firm continued to do my taxes. But I didn't live near them and I found it to be too much trouble to continue doing business with them. They didn't seem to understand my business either. That is probably no reflection on them. How many accountants see people with multiple streams of income. A job, retail business owner, internet marketing, writing, ebay, I guess that's enough. Maybe they were just more conservative than I am. Anyway I found a new accountant several years ago and am happy as a clam with him. He came highly recommended by a family member that is a very successful business man. Turns out his recommendation was on target.

This year will be different for me. I finally have my act together. So my accountant will get everything he needs from me by the middle of February. How cool is that?

How did I do that you ask? More than anything else I made the decision at the beginning of the year to keep up on the books for my business. It was simpler this year because my wife and I closed our store on 12/31/2004. So we don't have as many things to keep track of.

Really, you can do it too. Make it a goal. Write it down. It has to be on your weekly goal list. If I let go to the end of the month I really regret it. It takes more time than I like to give. I make sure once a week I post everything to a ledger. I know. What about Quickbooks? After fighting with that program I gave up. I threw in the towel. I put it on paper. The accountant comes up with a set of books and the tax return. My wife and I sign it and we are done. He is exceptionally proficient, a small business tax expert, and really doesn't charge much. I consider it money well spent.

I am one of the weird people out there. I like paying my taxes. I don't like to pay more than I legally owe but if I owe taxes it means I am making money. And that is a good thing. After all I have one kid in college and one just got a drivers license. But that's a story for another day.

More Thoughts on Harlan and Tina's Seminar

I learned more in 4 days at this seminar than I learned in the last 2 years. The massive brain dump that took place truly overwhelmed me. I am so thankful my wife said go for it, don't worry about how much it costs. We failed previously in a bricks and mortar business. One of the lessons we learned the hard way was that successful people have knowledge inside their head that we need.

Harlan and Tina, along with the other presenters, Joel Comm, Alex Mandossian, Jim Van Wyck, and David Garfinkel, gave us a full E ticket ride. I came away with enough information to get started on a 6 figure copywriting business. And the best part is, I can do it without clients (other than one - me) unless I want some.

However, I also learned some things that will help me write much better copy and that skill can be applied just as easily to writing for clients as it can while writing for myself. David Garfinkel is an outstanding copywriting teacher and a downright nice guy too.

It was absolutely great meeting so many I have known from some forums I frequent from time to time but not in person.

Just a few that I can think of: Vickie Heron, Beth Erickson, Pam Marshall, Cheri Nikkel, Lisa Lehr, Mike Morgan, Matt Marshall, and of course Harlan and Tina. I also got to meet many other incredibly talented and motivated individuals. There were a few folks that were there that I didn't get to meet that I wish I had. John (jdrits - sorry John but I didn't want to mis-spell your last name), John Carlton, Zack Romero, and Ryan Healy. If I left you out and either I did meet you and forgot or didn't see you I apologize.

However for all you unlucky folks that couldn't attend there is a way you can still participate. It's rumored (Harlan whispered it) there will be DVD's produced and will be offered for sale later. I will definitely be an affiliate when that product comes out.

All in all a truly inspiring weekend. Tina's husband Ron and Rusty the wonder dog were also two of the nicest people you would ever want to meet. I was lucky enough to eat dinner with them along with Sandra (Harlan's administrative assistant - a truly nice person and also did a great job). Not only that Tina insisted in paying. That was truly gracious and not necessary.

So I now have a new blog, a new outlook, and a new plan. I have written my goals for the year. I believe I now have the tools and information available to make it happen.

I now have more adsense, can write copy at the speed of sound, know how to find information that I need, how to test, how to find a market, how to write good copy fast, how to find out what people really want, how to build a website without waiting for my son to code it, how to get traffic to it, and how to monetize it 6 ways from Sunday.

You should have been there.

Thanks Harlan, Tina, David, Joel, Alex, and Jim.

Just Starting Out

Harlan and Tina's Seminar

This evening I finished the last of three days worth of incredible education. I've been working on copywriting (the art of writing direct response sales copy) and internet marketing for the last two years. I am still in San Francisco (Burlingame actually) at the San Francisco Airport Hyatt Regency. As I type, I am surrounded by like-minded people all working feverously building websites, blogs, and autoresponders. Dr Harlan Kilstein and Tina Lorenz put this seminar together so they could do a brain dump. I think the knowledge was begging to be let out. Believe me, it flowed out.

Not only did Harlan and Tina feed us massive amounts of knowledge, the other presenters did the same thing. David Garfinkel not only showed us how to write a sales letter in two hours but we actually wrote one. The power of his copywriting templates flowed around the room inspiring us all in a positive way.

Joel Comm taught us how to use Google Adsense to fill the tip jar so to speak. Incredibly powerful. Alex Mandossian showed us how to build a tele-seminar business in such simple terms anyone could do it. Not only that he showed us a powerful way to write incredible copy. Jim Van Wyck laid on the testing emphasis. He showed us how he turned a poorly performing sales letter into one that sells like my kids eat pizza. Fast and as often as possible.

The extra two hour session with David Garfinkel taught me more about writing good copy than I have learned in months of study on my own.

Well worth the time and money spent. Stay tuned for more.