Who would be mad enough to seek out a ‘hazardous Journey….with safe return doubtful’?

Well, it seemed to strike a cord with men of the day because the response was overwhelming and Shackleton was oversubscribed for his Antarctic expedition.

Why was this advert so powerful and what can you learn from it?

• It is short and straight to the point. If you can make your point in about 25 words, don’t take 150!

• It appeals to a human emotional desire. Most adverts get caught up in the language of features. Shackleton managed to speak straight to one of mans basic human desires. The desire for adventure. What emotions can you speak to in your sales letters and adverts?

• It is truthful. Frighteningly so! There was no need for hyperbole about how great the adventure would be because Shackleton emphasised the ‘negatives’ and managed to ultimately turn them into benefits which were compelling to his target audiene. If you have so called ‘negatives’ in your product or service, how can you emphasise them to show your honesty, integrity and maybe even make them seem an irresistible attraction?

What can you learn from this advert that you can apply to your sales letters and adverts?

Dan is a no nonsense, tell it like it is American who has been responsible for some of the most profitable sales and marketing campaigns the world has ever seen.

I consider Dan Kennedy to be up there with Jay Abraham as the two most gifted sales and marketing geniuses alive.

He is credited with taking the Guthy Renker Corporation from next to nothing to a multi billion dollar conglomerate.
His sales letter writing book is a fantastic introduction to how to write sales letters that sell. I use many of the principles I learned in my sales letter writing workshops .
If you are aware of Dan then you will see his influence in many of my sales training workshops and if you have any interest in sales and would like to know about Dans approach to sales and marketing then give me a call on +44 845 6434165.

A resource that I keep near my desk to help me find just the right words for my sales letters and emails is ‘Words That Sell’ - By Richard Bayan.

One of the areas that I think we all make the most mistakes is what Richard calls ‘”Puffspeak”. That is – inflated words and phrases that have made their way into our every day language without real need.

Check to see if you use these in your sales letters and copywriting:

Puffspeak and The Translation
At this point in time = Now
conceptualize = think
cost-effective = profitable or money saving
counterproductive = futile
effectuate = bring about
ramifications = consequences
state-of-the-art = latest
transpired = happened

When we train companies in words that sell and business writing we encounter these and many more, far worse culprits.

If you want to make an impact in sales then use conversational words at the appropriate level for the people you are communicating to.

You are not writing poetry. Get to the point with short, sharp rational and emotional language.

Sales Letters, Sales Copy and Words That Sell.