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whoever has that responsibility must complete that assignment before work starts on the letter or
other enclosures.
The order form is the copywriter's target. Writing copy without an order form as a target is like
trying to be a sharpshooter by simply shooting bullets against a blank wall and then drawing circles
around the places the bullets hit. No one ever won a rifle championship that way, and you
can't expect championship direct mail copy unless there is an order form target. As Wendell
Forbes once said, "That's like trying to play handball against a blanket... or like trying to nail
Jello to the wall."
EDITING COPY
Copywriters have a natural tendency to jump up from the typewriter when the copy is completed
and rush over and read it to a colleague. That's the worst way to evaluate a piece of direct mail
copy. When we read aloud to someone, we put the pauses, emphasis, and gestures where we
intend them to go. But you can't read aloud your copy to everyone on a direct mail list. And your
colleagues know only too well the problems you've had in writing the copy and will tend to be
overly sympathetic if your copy isn't effective. So you may not get an objective opinion from your
coworkers.
THE HAT TRICK
The best way to have your copy evaluated is to use "The Hat Trick." Put on your hat, get out of
the office, take the copy to someone who doesn't know a thing about what you've just gone
through to create it, and have them read the copy back to you. Listen carefully to where this person
puts the pauses and emphasis. Carefully listen to questions on what the letter is all about. If
there are questions, the copywriting job isn't over.
THE CROSS-OUT/WRITE-IN TEST
Another good test of copy effectiveness is to cross out all references to your company and its
product or service and write in the name of your competitor and their product or service. If the
copy still fits, you've got a lot of rewriting to do. A good copywriter should be able to come up
with copy points that no competitor could say about their products or services. That's what often
identifies the true professional in direct mail copywriting: the ability to create unique copy that
will encourage a prospect to want to buy from you.
THE OPENING PARAGRAPHS
One of the first editors I worked with told me that, generally, if the first one or two paragraphs of
any promotional copy are crossed out, you can come up with a stronger selling approach.
Knowing how hard every writer works on the first few paragraphs of a letter, I originally questioned
this observation. But after editing thousands of first drafts (including my own copy), I am
now convinced that this is true.
The toughest job for any writer is to start writing. You have an assignment and a blank piece of
paper. But where to start? You come up with every excuse under the sun to delay getting started.
Finally, the deadline approaches, and you just can't procrastinate any longer So you start by
telling a story with an ancedote or maybe a historical reference or a quotation — anything to get
started. Then, at about the second or third paragraph, you begin to get into the process of com-
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