Dear Direct Response Letter Subscriber:

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The first line in a new TV commercial for Alka Seltzer is:

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"The cold truth is you can't work at home when you are sick."

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And in an instant, all credibility is destroyed.

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Because the fact is, for so many of us, it isn't true.

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Millions of us, in fact, CAN work at home when we are sick—and millions more even work at home when we are not.

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So, for those millions of viewers, the Alka Seltzer commercial rings false and creates an instant disconnect.

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The takeaway lesson is this: Any time you say something in your copy that is either blatantly untrue ... or that the prospect doesn't believe to be true ... you lose them.

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Because when your prospects don't believe you know what you are talking about, then they won't believe whatever else you say in your copy.

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And that includes your product claims and sales arguments.

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Therefore, they don't trust you.

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And your copy fails to persuade them to buy what you are selling.

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One more thing....

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If you've seen it, you know the Alka Seltzer commercial shows a truck driver to dramatize the point that "you can't work at home when you are sick."

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And yes, truckers can't work at home.

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But. truck drivers account for a mere 2.2% of the U.S. workforce.

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As for the rest of us, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says one out of three Americans works at home at least some of the time.

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So Alka Seltzer has made a flub—a single error, one patently false statement, blatantly showing they can't get their facts straight--that gives the viewer reason to distrust everything else they say, too.

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Regards,

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