Having a direction is effective. Working directly creates a connection. Environmental and agricultural professionals have both. They work directly with land resources, and with direct response copywriting, with the people who need them.
That’s the beauty of direct response for industries that work directly with the land. Other than if you’re restoring, landscaping, or brush hogging, why beat around the bush?
There are two major, relevant ways to do this:
Firstly, tell your audience the human value you provide, the logic for your service or product, the fair price for that exchange, and make the offer. Call for action. Work together. You, your customers, and the land you treat become a part of something good. This is copywriting.
Secondly, ask your customers to read your blog post to build rapport. Send them a letter inviting them to invest in biotechnology research. Either way, direct engagement is the most effective way to market. This is content writing.
Hard Copy vs Soft Content
Copywriting calls on the reader to act. It can make a hard sell or a soft sell such as offering an ebook for an email address that will receive news and build to sales emails.
Hard copy: sales emails, sales letters, landing pages, product descriptions
In contrast, content writing is the fluff in the soft sale approach. It develops a relationship with potential customers, shows your brand’s personality, and your credibility. Content provides conversation, exchanges knowledge, and a way to reach new people.
Soft content: blogs, articles, newsletters, website copy, press releases, case studies, white papers, reports, brochures, flyers
And sometimes you need neither. Grant writing doesn’t sell or connect with customers, but you still need to persuade people to act on your behalf.
Direct Response…or Agency Advertising
Got milk?
If you drank the last of your milk and want more, a glorious magazine ad will fail to charge and deliver your milk. Traditional ads can’t respond. They are vegetables. They also increase brand awareness. You still have to drive to the store on your own time and volition.
Traditional ads also can’t target as specific of an audience as direct response or track responses to prove they were successful.
Essentially, agency advertising promotes your brand. Direct response promotes actual sales.
Agency advertising is to produce a show people observe for free as direct response is to collaborative work.
Wouldn’t you prefer to engage directly? You’ll have more human connection AND payment…so you can go buy that milk.