(Okay, you can put your hands down now.)
For those of you who do not remember the Johnson box, here’s a little what, where and why…
The Johnson box, according to Wikipedia, is “a box commonly found at the top of direct mail letters, containing the key message of the letter. The purpose of it is to draw the reader's attention to this key message first, and hopefully grab their attention, enticing them to read the rest of the letter.
The Johnson Box is named after direct marketer Frank Johnson, who is credited as having first used the Johnson Box to improve response to his offers for American Heritage magazine. He does not claim credit for creating the device, claiming to have only popularized it.”
Did you read my other blog post, about moving the PS from the bottom of your sales letter to the top?
Well, some of you did, and some mentioned that the idea of putting the PS at the top of an email letter or website based long sales letter sounded familiar.
Maybe I was borrowing from Mr. Johnson and trying to get us to use his box again!
Look at your web site or email sales letter. Before the headline, is there a box with simple asterisks acting as the border, with a blub of copy like this…
If you know the POWER of the Johnson Box, then
you will know that you need one at the top of every
Email and Web site sales letter for one great reason:
IT BOOSTS RESPONSE!
That is the simple form of the Johnson Box. When I started as a copywriter, my creative VP made sure that every sales letter I wrote had one. Because they boost response.
If you engage in direct response marketing, in any medium, then you have to use every trick, tactic and secret to increase response rates.
So… are you using a Johnson Box?
Peter T. Britton
Idea Generator. Wordsmith. Resultant.
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