As a freelance copywriter, I am always doing my research. I study other people’s copy (there are some who say I’m looking for ideas to steal, and they would be right), I read books on marketing, copywriting, advertising, web design, professional rain production, and all kinds of things that only an expert. in copywriting would be interested.
But I especially like doing research that involves free food.
There is a mall near my house that has a giant food court. Also known as a scam for weak-willed dieters.
A favorite marketing tactic of some of the restaurants is giving away free samples of their food. I know this because I stopped by a place that served Cajun food about six or seven times the other day, and they kept offering me little food samples on a toothpick. I never said I was proud.
But after filling up on free food, I sat down and watched the amount of business the various places were doing. Indeed, the restaurants that offered free samples were doing more than twice as much business as those that did not.
Why does this work? Well, I think there are two reasons.
The first reason is obvious, a free sample gives the hungry customer a taste of what the rest of the food will look like, and often that little taste is enough to make an indecisive shopper pick that restaurant.
But the second reason seems more interesting to me. In Robert Cialdini’s essential book, Influence: science and practice, explains a powerful technical persuasion that calls The law of reciprocity. Reciprocity is the social obligation we feel when someone does something for us. When this happens, we are inclined to do something good to that person.
Cialdini cites all kinds of research by scientists and social historians as examples of the Law of Reciprocity. In one study, a university professor passes Christmas cards to a list of strangers. The response he received was astonishing. He received many, many return cards from people who had never met him and didn’t even ask who he was.
Another example Cialdini cites has to do with religious worship, the Hare Krishna Society. For years, in the 1970s and 1980s, they approached people in public places, particularly at airports, asking for donations. Their results were pretty lousy at first, but then they changed tack and started giving strangers a free gift before asking for a donation.
The gifts worked. His donations skyrocketed until people became aware of his methods and began to avoid them and airports put restrictions on his activities.
Cialdini also points to a study of waiters and waitresses. The study found that when they included a candy or mint on the customer’s bill, their tips were much higher than without the gift.
Another example was that of President Lyndon Johnson, known for his record of getting a truly staggering number of laws passed during his presidency. The reason was simple. In the many years before he became vice president of JFK, Johnson had been a master at giving favors to his colleagues in Congress.
Then when he became president, he had many legislators who were in debt to him and he was able to get favorable votes even from people who were philosophically opposed to his agenda.
Okay, you’re thinking, this is all very interesting, but what does it have to do with copywriting? I’m glad you asked.
I recently wrote an article titled Freelance Writer Secrets: Why 2-Step Ads Drive More Sales, in which I explained that 2-Step Advertising produces much better results than one-time ads where the whole sale is attempted. at once.
The simple fact is that people like to receive free information and use it to help them make purchasing decisions. Like the restaurants in the mall, the free information they receive from you is a sample of your work and demonstrates your expertise.
But your free information product also creates a connection between you and your potential customer. That connection is the Law of Reciprocity at work. Reciprocity says that, in the end, they are more likely to give their business to you than to someone else who has no feelings for them.
In another recent article, Secrets for Freelance Copywriters: 7 Copywriting Tips for Providing Free Information, I also showed the many ways that you, as a marketer, can make free information products available. For example, a law firm cannot give potential clients a “free sample” on how to represent them for a free trial or free divorce.
But that same firm can send a whitepaper to business owners on how to avoid liability, what to do if you think a dispute could turn into a lawsuit, how to preserve evidence, and other matters directly relevant to business clients.
How would this company market this white paper? Well, you could put an ad in a local magazine that doesn’t promote the company as much as the free information. You could also hold a seminar for entrepreneurs. Regardless of the media used, the goal of any promotion would be the availability of the free white paper and the benefits of reading it.
It’s like giving away free samples at the food court.
Now if you will forgive me. I go back to the mall, I’m hungry again.
COPYRIGHT (C) 2006, Charles Brown. All rights reserved.