This One Tool Instantly Improves Copywriting Performance by 36%

The following is an installment from the weekly teaching of Leadership Laboratory, an international cohort of 100 leaders who share a desire to build better leadership capacity and design better teams. Curious? Find more information at HoldTheStandard.com now! ———

Ever heard of the greatest copywriter of all time? If copywriting was a sport, David Ogilvy would be Tom Brady. During a seven year stretch, his agency won 100% of advertising pitches they competed for!

Copywriting is the craft of using words to persuade your audience to take action. 

The tool we are discussing today was so effective that Ogilvy’s ad campaign with Rolls Royce had to be stopped by the car manufacturer because they sold too many cars. (In luxury, you can’t sell too many units and still hold rare, elite status.)

If you don’t believe in the power of the written word, his famous Rolls Royce ad first printed at 719 words and was later expanded to 1,400 words. Ogilvy always held that if the writing is good, people will read it. 

The one tool that will boost performance: data

Research shows that adding specific numbers or data-driven statistics improve ad performance by 36%. Many Leadership Lab readers might balk at the term “ad performance,” but before you do consider that we’re all needing to be compelling even if it’s not directly in the context of writing advertisements. My guess is that you can’t afford to write emails, Powerpoint presentations, sales decks, or anything else that’s not compelling. 

How to Implement This Immediately 

When we talk about copywriting we often say that the purpose of the first line (or the title or the subject line) is to get the reader to read the second line and so on and so forth. This “line by line” copy writing is exactly how Ogilvy sold too many Rolls Royces with ad copy that would be considered to be “too long” to keep one’s attention span. 

The first best way to implement statistics is to include them in your title. Just like I’ve done above. 

The second way to implement statistics is to write an interesting fact in the third line of your copy. I also did this above. The first line should drive intrigue. The second line should build that intrigue and the third line should educate with a shocking true statistic. 

At the risk of being dogmatic, these two approaches are very easy ways to begin to benefit from using data in your copy. 

Want to Take It to the Next Level? 

Ogilvy said that great ad copy lets the research do the selling. If you know your product and service and the data that supports it in the marketplace, you can let the numbers do the talking. Become a wizard with the stats that matter and you’ll be effective as a direct result. 

**Fun Fact: David Ogilvy trained at Gallup, the world-famous market research company. 

Now, it’s your turn. Look for opportunities to embolden your written word with statistics. It’s proven to boost efficiency by 36%! 

AUDIT. Look at examples of your past copywriting efforts. Take note of the usage of statistics and specific data (or lack there of). 

PRACTICE. Choose an upcoming copywriting opportunity albeit an email, slide deck, or keynote and deploy a quality statistic in the title and/or the third line of your copy.