An Idea A Day

DIRECT MARKETING WHAT NOT TO PUT ON YOUR ORDER FORM Andy Maslen

WHENEVER I GET a mailshot in the post, or look at a direct response ad in the paper, I always read the order form first. It’s become a little game … seeing whether they’ve gone for the easy option or been creative. And specifically, I look at the headline.

I get a point every time I see the words “Order form.” So far I have roughly 85 million points. Why, after getting all the way through the sales process to the close, do these copywriters shrug their shoulders and start labelling things? There has to be something more compelling to write than “Order form” doesn’t there?

The idea ...