Reprinted from Response Magazine
Most people think
that an infomercial writer’s job is
to write up a script.
Actually, that’s both
right and wrong.
Certainly, a writer
is the person charged with creating
a script, the blueprint for your DRTV
spot or infomercial. But before he does
that,
there’s
actually a whole list of things a good
writer can—and should—do for you. Let’s
take a look at ten different areas where
an experienced DRTV wordmaster can really
make a difference:
1) Is it to be,
or not to be?
Every marketer loves
his new product. And he should, because
that passion is sometimes the only thing
he has going for him as he travels the
gauntlet of obstacles standing between
him and the marketplace. Loving your
product is great. But sometimes, we
love too much.
You can be too close
to your product, too much enamored with
its features, and blind to the cold
light of reality. You may be overlooking
a pricing issue, a design flaw, competitive
situations or other factors that the
consumer won’t.
An experienced writer
can give you that all-important outsider’s
perspective, helping you to come back
to reality about your product’s salability.
It takes guts for a writer to put the
brakes on a project, but good ones do
it all the time. They have enough offers
that they can pick only the ones with
real potential.
2) Identify the
heart of your sales message
On your yellow pad,
you’ve identified 6 major uses, 14 main
benefits, a dozen new features and more
to talk about in your product. But how
do you boil it all down into one memorable
sentence?
More than anything, this is why
you’ve come to a writer in the first
place, to help you say in words what
you know in your heart. Disciplined
TV writers can be as good as headline
writers at summing your message up into
one single line. Make sure he does it.
3) Bring in new
sales tools and techniques
You’re an expert in
your industry. A good DRTV writer has
experience in many. During my 25 years
in advertising, I’ve sold weight loss,
magazine subscriptions, health care,
entertainment, you name it. I’ve learned
from the best in each of those different
businesses, and picked up ideas and
approaches that often transplant exceedingly
well to other kinds of products. Experienced
DRTV veterans have a whole repertoire
of ideas for free samples, attention-getters,
objection-overcomers and other selling
devices that may just apply to your
product and show in a new and powerful
way.
4) Help you restructure
your offer for better results
In a retail store, your
product might be offered in a variety
of prices, styles, sizes and configurations.
But
what do you offer in your TV?
Again, experience can make a
huge difference here.
Your
DRTV writer can help you decide on the
most appealing way to present your wares.
He can help you decide whether to keep
it simple or complex, make the offer
build or hammer home on one vital component,
figure out bonus items, upsells, downsells
and future line extensions. It’s an
art, not a science, where instincts
and experience rule.
5) Help you set
the right price point
What’s the best price
to try?
$19.95?
$49.95?
Two payments of 19.95?
A good writer knows his way around
an Excel spreadsheet as well as his
word processor. He can show you how
to develop a unit cost analysis and
pro-formas that help you zero in on
those price points likely to maximize
your DRTV profits.
7) Design a show
that’s easy to change
In a traditional ad
agency, you think in finite terms. The
client sets a budget, the creative guys
lock down a script, the commercial is
made and they roll out their ad program.
They roll it out, regardless of how
it works (if they are even able to measure
how it works.