A sales letter that promises empowerment. (SPECULATIVE)
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The why
The Week can leverage the growing fear of “fake news” and need for assurance that we’re getting quality journalism, but in bitesize chunks to increase its subscriptions. A printed sales letter suits an audience that still prefers to read the news in print. At 3 pages long, you might be thinking, “hmmm, too wordy”. But longer copy here soothes more objections and provides a strong argument to try The Week to an audience that's willing to put in the reading time for something they value.
The how
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Tone is higher register but relatable. It’s respectful but addresses the target personally throughout.
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Hook: Uses storytelling tactics to entice and deliver the USP; finally all the facts in just one place.
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Repetition: The call-to-action, including the special offer is prominent on each page.
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Eliminating objections: subscription form is included to ease purchase and provides solutions to objections: "who wants to read last week's news?"
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Ethos: testimonial from "worldy" figures such as Sir Ranulph Fiennes.
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Pathos/Emotion: “Try it if” terms appeal to the “Lizard brain” in us all; fear that without our subscription we won’t be able to easily consume top-quality journalism in a time of “fake news”. On another level, it appeals to a secondary emotion: pride. Copy leaves the reader to make up their own mind – “we say less so you can think more”.
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Logos: Including the guarantee gives the target the final push; you've got nothing to lose by subscribing.
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From steady state to target emotion: Introduction garners curiosity about what the Week is, how it got started, and leads the target on a journey to feeling empowered if only they would subscribe.
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Promise: "within just one hour, it’ll bring you up to speed on what matters most."