In Dan Kennedy’s No BS Newsletter, his partner Bill Glazer hosted a “Find the Fatal Flaw” contest where entrants needed to correctly identify the fatal flaw in a magazine ad. Of the thousands of subscribers, I was one of the few who won.
What was the fatal flaw? The magazine ad tried to sell readers on receiving a CD and attending a seminar. This is a common marketing mistake.
Instead, the ad should have focused on only one thing. In this instance, it should have pitched the CD to the reader. Once the reader committed to receiving the CD, it could have been shipped (with a sales letter) to pitch attending the seminar.
In other words, when you’re writing copy, focus on the single action you’re trying to get the reader to do. Calling for the reader to take two or more actions in the same sales copy is fatal.
