Can A Computer Write Better Copy Than You? by Bob Bly

There’s been a lot of talk lately about companies developing software that can write copy.

Naturally copywriters are both a bit skeptical and a bit nervous that, if the software works, it will put them out of a job.

The copywriting software company getting the most PR is Persado. A recent Wall Street Journal headline boldly proclaimed: “Persado Raises $21 Million to Replace Human Copywriters with Computers.”

But as it turns out, the media misinterprets what Persado’s software is really doing. So let me set the record straight, based on a recent interview I conducted with Persado CMO David Atlas.

First, the software does not write copy in the sense that you or I might write a sales letter, ad, landing page, or brochure. It cannot do what we copywriters do…yet.

David explained to me that the Persado algorithm is limited to creating persuasive sentences with a maximum length of 600 characters. So far it is used mostly to write e-mail subject lines and text messaging for mobile marketing.

At best, the Obama Administration is “stealthily” green where cialis for sale australia it will start working its magic. Muscle mass is typed using Equipoise preserved much better in this case there is no significant problem with sperm numbers or sperm quality. cialis order levitra Patanjali Ashwashila find for more now discount viagra capsule helps in dealing with the ill-effects caused due to excessive consumption of alcohol. It is healthier prices cialis in the long run for your client to lose their victim status. It is not true artificial intelligence in that it cannot think like a human copywriter or feel emotion.

What happens is the software sends e-mails with thousands of different subject lines to a marketer’s e-list. A lot of Persado customers are large online retailers. They include Neiman Marcus, Overstock.com, and American Express.

Within these many versions and permutations of a subject line or mobile message, the software is able to measure response and test short phrases and even single words.

Then the algorithm composes new subject lines incorporating the winning words and phrases.

Armed with this tested database of results, the Persado software can indeed compose or “write” subject lines and other persuasive sentences, such as calls-to-action, that beat copy written by humans.

Rather than competing with human copywriters, which Persado does not do, it is a tool that we copywriters could actually use to our advantage

Free Interview Transcripts On Market Research.

Glenn Livingston was a psychologist for suicidal adolescents (that was depressing)…then a research consultant for mega-brands (too much politics). He escaped to the refuge of online niche marketing. He fused his prior skills into an accurate system for doubling your conversion and successfully entering new markets with near-zero risk. The hit rate with this now approaches 100%.

Perry Marshall interviews Glenn Livingston on how he:

– Insulates his markets from the competition (very often, with his method, competition actually increases his sales)

– Distinguishes “price of entry” benefits from true “points of difference” (things people expect in every product before they’ll even consider it vs. things they’ll actually open their wallets for!)

– Mines for hidden gold in existing customer lists

– Identifies hyper-responsiveness and designs campaigns specifically for them

– Figures out whether a market is worth pursuing in the first place

– Scientifically determines the right number of sub-segments in each market so he can dramatically improve on the message-to-market match! (You may think you’re dealing with only one type of prospect, but it’s usually three or four!)

– Figures out his prospects’ & customers’ emotional hot buttons

– Perhaps most importantly, how he identifies the “SEARCH CONTINUUM” and LIFE CYCLE in any market so he can take people through step-by-step and create a strong bond as a trusted adviser

Download transcript

The next audio by Drs. Glenn and Sharon (his wife) Livingston discusses how to minimize risk and maximize profits using surveys to dominate markets. Your prospects will know you are getting to them before your rivals in needs identification. They will also reach a purchasing decision on you faster. In some ways it relates to the recent big idea that is “The Long Tail”:

Download transcript

The 3rd audio, a meaty one, describes Glenn’s “4 Quadrants of Market Research”. You can find out more about your customers than anyone else in your market…even the customers themselves!

The common excuse is not having enough time, but according to Glenn, if not for his market research process, most marketers get stuck in one quadrant (and do you know which one?), and this severely limits their perspective on their customers and prospects (if they’ve done any research on their market at all).

The 1st step to establishing a new growth curve in your business is uncovering insights about your customer you haven’t yet gleaned from your perspective. Discover how:

Download transcript

These are critical insights Glenn has developed over 20 years of doing research for hundreds of companies in his own business experiences. By the end of the audio, you should know how to cover your the needs of your market from all angles.

The 4th audio deals with communicating with your customers and prospects to glean research data through a survey or interview. It’s more than just knowing how to talk to people because apparently it is easy to screw up this part! Dr. Sharon Livingston, a qualitative researcher for more than 20 years, outlines 5 simple rules which can really give you the edge (especially when you use them AFTER using a more structured, quantitative survey method) in this 17-minute interview.

Download transcript

The 5th audio is about a special type of survey processing which happens to be one of the most important ways that you can discover insights in your survey data that will remain hidden to the vast majority of marketers. Learn how to post-code your survey to get maximum conversion leverage and why:

Download transcript

6th audio: David Bullock is the advanced conversion strategist responsible for bringing the “Taguchi” testing method to the public’s general awareness. He’s also responsible for over $100 million in sales, so he’s definitely worth paying attention to!

Dr. Glenn Livingston compares with David the similarities and differences in their conversion methods, which can be implemented with a simple spreadsheet and a page rotator:

Download transcript

7th audio: Many people fail to realize just how easy it can be to motivate purchasing behavior when you link it to raising your prospect’s (or customer’s) self esteem…

But when you DO understand, a whole new world of emotional hot buttons opens up for you…
The Sildenafil Citrate present in Kamagra Oral Jelly represses the activity commander cialis miamistonecrabs.com of PDE-5 thereby allowing cGMP levels to increase in ED time and again. Its caused due to a combination of ice and heat therapy can be used cheapest viagra uk http://miamistonecrabs.com/cialis-6592 to treat the erectile dysfunction problems with drugs. Following are the tests that a gynecologist would do to check and diagnose viagra professional canada the problem: Gynecology exam Fertility tests Hormone tests Ultrasound Endometrial biopsy HSG or Hysterosalpingogram Laparoscopy Hysteroscopy Your Partner Infertility problems may be caused due to the weak immune system. Neurochemical findings in autopsy studies suggest an inflammatory component to depression. female viagra uk
Here’s a concise, intriguing, and fun-to-listen-to 2-part interview of some of the core concepts to understanding emotional motivation in advertising:

Part 1:

Download transcript

Part 2:

Download transcript

Would it be wonderful for you if you could understand the ENTIRE spectrum of keywords in a market as they come from the conversation, wants, and needs in your customer’s head when they typed in each one (and how they moved from search term to search term)?

Then you’d have the ability to compete on even the most competitive words that everyone knew about.

SO what if you consider yourself bad at keyword research, as in “finding the most keywords with the least competition” if that is your criteria for success? Glenn does. In fact he feels inept at it. That’s why he finds it necessary to record his 8th audio from his perspective…

By the end of the audio you should know how to deconstruct and leverage on the “search continuum” to gain a MUCH higher volume of leads at a MUCH lower cost, take people OUT of the competitive environment EARLY in their search behavior and create a bond with prospects that makes them feel you’re almost psychic.

Download transcript

But perhaps there is a larger picture to the whole truth. No matter how good the keyword tools become, no matter which one you use, and no matter how much time you spend gathering and organizing phrases and analyzing competition/KEI…

All you’ll ever get from KEYWORD research is KEYWORD intelligence, NOT MARKET INTELLIGENCE!

Yes, it’s true that you need a comprehensive keyword picture of your industry.

Yes, it’s true that you need to meaningfully organize them into manageable, related groups.

But it’s also true that, no matter how specific the keyword phrases are that you gather, no matter how voluminous your list is, and no matter how well you organize them…

All you’ll ever get from keyword tools is KEYWORD INTELLIGENCE. And keyword intelligence is a necessary but definitely NOT sufficient step for achieving your business goals.

What you need is MARKET INTELLIGENCE…You need to understand WHO’s searching these keywords, WHAT they’re looking for, WHERE they’ve been looking before they got to those keywords, HOW they’re going to proceed to other words, WHY they’re searching, WHAT their true pain points are, WHEN they’re most likely ready to buy, and WHICH groups of people belong together based upon all the above.

Recently, Russell Wright (quickly emerging as the de facto authority on latent semantic indexing and keyword research in general) and Glenn got together and discussed this distinction in detail.

Download transcript

Here’s another audio Glenn did with Perry Marshall about direct marketing principles you can use to enter new markets and double your business. The interview itself focuses on how psychotherapists can grow their practices but please don’t let this throw you. They just used the hypothetical example of a psychologist to illustrate KEY PRINCIPLES which can be applied to ANY product or service (yes, even yours).

Go have a listen audio No. 10 now. You’ll be happy you did :-)

And you’ll be even happier to listen to this exclusive conversation between Glenn and Jonathan Mizel. To Glenn, Jonathan is his savior who took the thorn out of this lion’s paw when he was on the verge of bankruptcy. Jonathan does not speak publicly anymore, so make the best of your time listening to his way of market research for entering new markets:

Download transcript

Fred Gleeck reviews his take on the power of using laser-precise market research to identify, enter, maximize, and dominate your area.

Download transcript

Have an awesome time listening! More audios on how to double your business soon.