Earlier this week, a story in the Baltimore Sun caught my eye.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the drug industry is now funding six times more clinical trials than the federal government.
From the Sun:
“That means companies with financial interests in the studies now have more control over what doctors and patients lear about new treatments…While the companies are expected to pay for trials of their own products, studies exclusively funded by them can be narrow or even biased.”
Here’s why this is important for marketers:
The promises you make in your direct marketing sales letters need to be strong in order to capture you’re reader’s attention.
But those promises also have to be credible.
A nutritional supplement sales piece without a strong foundation of credibility will perform poorly. Simply put…your readers will find your message — or your promise — to be something less than believable.
And at that point you’re dead.
The same thing applies for financial promotions: If the idea you’re hanging the entire sale on isn’t found to be credible…the reader will ignore your message and move on.
Think about it.
Your promise to this reader — someone you’ve never met — will be influenced greatly by how credible they perceive you to be as the messenger.
When speaking of credibility, there are multiple levels involved — each of which should be considered. And this is where the news item from this week’s Sun comes into play.
Here’s a hypothetical example:
Suppose a stranger came up to you on the street, help up a bottle and said, “The supplements in this bottle could help you eliminate back pain forever.”
You may choose to believe this stranger…or you may choose to walk away as quickly as possible.
Now suppose for a moment that the stranger held up a copy of the New York Times — or even better, several mainstream media publications — with a headline that backed up his claim.
Would you be more likely to believe him?
Now suppose for a moment that in addition to the news headlines, the stranger also showed you a handful of articles from medical journals detailing independent — or federally-funded — research studies that showed the effectiveness in the formulation he was talking about?
It’s becoming more difficult to write this stranger off as someone you can’t believe, isn’t it?
Now suppose — one last time — that in addition to the news headlines and the independent clinical research…the stranger is also standing alongside a doctor who offers a hearty endorsement of the product.
Your direct marketing sales letter needs those same elements in order to be successful. You must convince the reader — beyond any doubt — that your promise is one to be believed.
And the way to do that — for nutritional supplement promotions — is to use a combination of doctor’s endorsements…independent clinical research…mainstream support…and personal testimonials.
Jody Madron is a results-oriented copywriter with more than 20 years of breakthrough marketing experience. To learn how Jody can deliver results-boosting copy — ahead of your deadline — visit www.MadronMarketing.com.
