When Hammurabi first inscribed the Code Of Hammurabi he created one of the first sets of laws for a society to live by. Copywriting has its own set of laws or commandments. If you want more sales, you'd be wise to obey them. Otherwise, ignore them at your own peril.
This was the mantra David Ogilvy made famous when he adapted direct response advertising to general advertising.
He is right: the sole purpose of any copy is to sell someone on something, whether that's identifying with your brand, opting in to receive your email updates, making a purchase or becoming a repeat customer.
To be able to write effective copy, you need to know what "sale" you are striving for and be able to measure it.
If you're measuring your results, those results can be improved through testing. Did "A" or "B" work better?
If "B," then let's see how we can beat "B."
Put simply, we have a knack for doing the same thing over and over again. If you study old ads, you’ll find that the core of the sales pitch for many different products and services remains the same.
Take laundry detergent, for example. The same advertising formula has been used since the 1960s: you have the before-and-after shots and a peer pitch person. In the 60s, it was almost always a housewife, whereas today we have the modern mother-on-the-go.
Why the seeming lack of evolution? Laundry detergent is still solving the same problem: how to get your laundry clean without having to do any hard work. Sometimes it's okay not to fix what's not broken.
[via Ezine Articles]