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ABOVE LEFT: The ad campaign. ABOVE RIGHT: Organic copywriting.
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First impressions: the old brochure vs. the eye-catching new flyer.
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The old tri-fold vs. the new two-sided flyer: more efficient, more economical (with money left over
for nicer paper), much more compact...
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... and yet I found room for more information: groups, events, directions, even an expert's review.
There's even a letter to mail it with.
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See below for the full text of that letter.
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An Old Brochure Made New
I've been performing with the good folks at Sleepy Hollow for
more than three years now. (Read more about my work giving ghost tours.)
The company had slowly
grown over the course of many years, but in 2003, with a new location, a new name, and more competition
in town than ever before, we realized we needed to upgrade our promotions.
My first copywriting
assignment was born.
First came an all-new version of the flyers we hand out to our guests and
place in tourism racks at the visitor center and hotels. If you compare the old and new flyers (on right),
you'll notice that the look has been updated, that our signature logo of the undertaker is far more prominent,
that our new company name is right at the top, where it's immediately visible on those same tourism racks,
and that the latest version of the new flyer even sports a spiffy new text logo, too.
The heart
of the change, though, is on the back of the flyer (to right). What we used to say in a trifold brochure
that took up an entire sheet of paper now fits neatly on a two-sided flyer instead. No tedious folding
for us, no unfolding to give guests an excuse not to read our material, and best of all, since we get
three two-sided flyers out of a single sheet of paper, we can use heavier, more expensive stock that
simply feels more professional in the customer's hand.
The back of the new flyers also includes
brand-new ad copy, including a new slogan, a new description of our services, and I even found room for
information that wasn't included in the old brocure: special tours at Halloween, "'A Christmas Carol'
By Candlelight," group tours, a review from an expert in our field, clear driving directions, and neatly-presented,
easy-to-read contact information by phone, email, and Internet.
I also spearheaded an effort to
harness the power of free advertising, generating web copy based on the new flyer and getting it placed
on dozens of tourism and ghostlore websites.
Of course, you can't just slap a stamp on a two-sided
flyer and toss it in the mail, so I also needed to create a sales letter (see below). And, of course,
I even threw in a cleaner, updated, but still suitably classic design for our tickets.
Meanwhile,
we'd somehow gotten by for five years forcing people to ask aloud just to find out when our tours were
going to be, so it was about time we had a small, eye-catching sign that could easily be updated (above).
Did it work? I don't have statistics to give you to prove it, but I can tell you this. The owner
of the company, who wrote the original brochure and is justifiably proud of her writing, was delighted
to make the switchover to my new flyers instead. She was pleased enough with the new sales letter to
place a copy on permanent display at our ticket table, where passersby stop all the time to read it through.
And most importantly, I have, time and time again, seen passing tourists stop in their tracks to read
the new flyers--something I never, ever saw with the old tri-fold brochures.
Oh, and by the way,
that jack o' lantern at the top of this page? I did that too. Copywriting isn't always ink on paper,
after all.
Now, as for that letter....
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65 Steinwehr Avenue Rear, Gettysburg PA 17325-2811
ghostwalks@desupernet.net - (717) 337-9322
"Gettysburg off the beaten track."
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One of the first ghost tours in town and still the best, Sleepy Hollow of Gettysburg has been entertaining
and educating guests since 1997.
Join our period-dressed guides throughout the year for walking
tours of the Historic District, featuring exciting tales of ghosts, apparitions, and other strange occurrences
in and around historic Gettysburg.
Never confined to printed stories, never limited to preset
scripts, never forced to recite the same old stories night after night, our guides constantly seek out
new stories and develop new routes. Walk with us night after night; chances are, you'll hear different
stories every time.
One thing does stay the same: our stories are always exciting, always creepy,
and most of all, always fun. At last count, our ten guides had, between them, more than fifty years
of storytelling experience. We know how to weave history, folklore, and our own ghostly encounters into
compelling tales for the whole family... and we do it so well, even our competitors have been known to
praise our professionalism.
Our tours are a valuable educational experience, too. We'll leave
it up to you to decide if the ghosts in our stories are real, but the facts in our stories certainly
are. We work hard to make sure the history we present is clear, concise, and accurate. And we don't
stop with generals and unit numbers, either; many of our best stories focus on the experiences of individual
soldiers, doctors, civilians, and even escaping slaves.
Best of all, as we enter our ninth year,
our prices have never gone up. You could pay more elsewhere, but at Sleepy Hollow, you'll get more experience,
more expertise, and more history, all for only $6 a tour. And children seven years old or younger are
absolutely free.
Join a Sleepy Hollow tour today. We're so good, it's scary.
P.S. Private
tours--for two, for ten, for a hundred--are available.
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NIGHTLY TOURS begin at The Great T-Shirt Company, 65 Steinwehr Avenue, half a block west of Baltimore
Street, near the Historic Dobbin House.
FROM ROUTE 15:
Take Baltimore Street north into the
historic district, watching for the light at Steinwehr Avenue. Turn left, and we're half a block down
on the right.
FROM ROUTE 30:
Turn south onto Baltimore Street at the traffic circle, and continue
to the bottom of the hill. Turn right at the next light onto Steinwehr Avenue, and we're half a block
down on the right.
SPECIAL GROUP TOURS begin at Alumni Park on Baltimore Street, in front of Gettysburg
Middle School, one block north of Steinwehr Avenue. Call ahead for times and pricing.
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