I'm currently in Nashville, TN at a copywriting conference, and A-list copywriter Kim Krause Schwalm lead an AMA for my mastermind group. We got to hear her recount some of her biggest wins and lessons learned during her career.
When I asked her what tenets of direct response did she think have continued to hold up as the pace of marketing increases in the age of digital advertising, these were her thoughts:
Be relentless in your research:
Ultimately your job is to cut through the clutter.
The internet is a crowded and noisy place, and the only way to make your mark is your point of differentiation. It may take wading through mountains of journals or transcripts, but finding that golden nugget of information that makes buyers' ears perk up is what is going to move the needle.
Always have a hook:
At the end of the day, no matter your industry, we're all trading in one commodity: attention.
Attracting and keeping your reader's attention is critical, and requires a point of contact that makes them invested in the story of your product or service.
Have a thorough understanding of your client's audience:
It doesn't matter what you think.
Your job is to be able to infiltrate the hearts and minds of your client's audience, and it takes a deep understanding of their needs, wants, fears, and aspirations to be able to find a point of genuine connection.
Don't underestimate the power of a killer headline:
It's as true today as in David Ogilvy's time: the job of the headline is to entice readers to read the next line. A headline that commands attention is going to keep the reader engaged throughout the body of the copy.