“Ignore this sober warning, and you may as well take your savings … your retirement – and your very financial security – and KISS THEM GOOD-BYE.
On the other hand, if you HEED the warning in these pages and ACT on the advice I offer you in this urgent report, not only will you have plenty of time to insulate your wealth… [Continue reading]
Here's a press ad from the late 1970s that addresses a market laden with PAIN. The ad is FULL of promise and is a textbook self-help ad in many ways. The book seems to have all the trappings of a "survival guide" for divorcees. … [Continue reading]
Let's hop in a capsule and head back in time a decade to the "underbelly" of direct response around 2010. And let's explore one headline-subject line in particular. Yes, I'm talking about the "One Weird Trick" that was the topic of both … [Continue reading]
Even by 2018, the legion of supplement ads that dominated newspaper print just a decade earlier began to wither. After the covid carnage hit in early 2020 and clobbered the small remainder of newsstand sales, supplement insertions tanked. … [Continue reading]
Here's one of those classic prospect driven or "prospect parlance" headlines that cuts right to the chase. As opposed to a testimonial headline, a "prospect parlance" headline SOUNDS like it came right from the mouth of a bonafide prospect, in … [Continue reading]
There was a time before big pharma was inviolate, when it was common to shine a spotlight on the horrible side effects often connected with prescription medication. No one was better than Clayton Makepeeace when it came to PROSPECT DRIVEN copy … [Continue reading]
This is a supplements seller and pain relief marketer to watch! And if I had to wager, by the time the principals of this company are ready to turn it over to an acquirer... it will sell for over $50 million, possibly much more because they do … [Continue reading]
I've done my share of tours in the anti-aging market and have seen (and written) almost every advertising lead out there. To the outsider, a claim like "... Takes 10 Years Off Your Face in Just 10 Minutes" sounds fanciful to the point of … [Continue reading]
What's the ULTIMATE advertising approach for getting your prospect out of inertia and getting him to take ACTION? Surely, the PROSPECT DRIVEN approach is near the top of the list. What's the prospect driven lead? … [Continue reading]
How often do you see a full fledged real estate investment pitch like this in the New York Times? This ad was on fire in the Wild West of workshops in real estate investing and had thousands of insertions. … [Continue reading]
No supplements for sale in this 1,971 word epic. This weight loss ad lasted the equivalent of several lifetimes (from 1992-2004) at a time when outrageous claims dripped off the page of almost every diet ad. This one is different. What are … [Continue reading]
The world at large calls them bullets because of the typographical symbol or glyph which resembles... well, ammunition. I think the direct response world is split between calling them fascinations and bullets, at least in the English … [Continue reading]
Supplement selling doesn't get much better than this 24-page magalog mailing in April 2022. This promo has it all: - Killer copy - Lovely layouts - Packed proof elements - Fantastic fascinations - And captivating bonus reports to … [Continue reading]
Bill Bonner is the undisputed heavyweight champ of enargia in copywriting. Enargia may not flow off the tip of the tongue, but this word of Greek origin for "vividness," has a great track record for selling, both in direct mail and in … [Continue reading]
Way back in Bullet 21, Gary Bencivenga lauded an hysterical short film that captured the spirit of a piece of direct response history: the correspondence course from Art Instruction Schools, Inc. This unassuming ad was the launchpad for a … [Continue reading]
You may not know his name, but if you ever picked up a newspaper or magazine ANYWHERE in English speaking North America from the 1990s through the 2000s... you saw his ads. His insertions ran in Parade, USA Today, AARP Bulletin, Globe, Christian … [Continue reading]
The 1980s through the early 2000s were a golden age for direct mail in the area of self-help. And Nightingale-Conant stood atop the Everest of the mail order world. Here is one dynamite memory improvement package. … [Continue reading]
I just can't conceal my gushing admiration for Rodale Books in the 1990s. The company had dynamite titles that still command attention decades later. And Rodale worked with some of the finest copywriters on the planet. There's a VALUABLE … [Continue reading]
Well I guess we won't be seeing this theme any time soon in a liberal newsletter publication. Oh, wait a minute. There aren't any I know of. Just like there aren't many paid newsletter subscribers under the age of 50... or many female newsletter … [Continue reading]
Here's another info marketing marvel from Allison Cork and Carnell Ltd. Cork had enormous talent for scouting hot topics and using solid copy to SELL her numerous books and reports. Granted such travel "info arbitrage" is a thing of the past … [Continue reading]
Insurance magnate, self-help evangelist and financial backer of Napoleon Hill, W. Clement Stone, launched Success Unlimited Magazine in 1954. It was a later incarnation of Orison Swett Marden's Success founded in 1897. Great display ads for … [Continue reading]
Marketers everywhere should learn everything they can about EVERGREEN ideas and products. Because not everyone relishes constantly coming up with new products, marketing and ad copy. These magnificent ads from the 1980s weren't so unique for … [Continue reading]
20 years on and we're STILL influenced by the IMPACT of this ad AND the product it promotes. After all, how many products can boast a $135 price point for six ounces of serum, right out of the gate. It's been a long journey for this off-label … [Continue reading]
"- In Great Britain, a young boy astounds the medical community by almost completely reversing the physical effects of a congenital disease for which there is no known cure - without pharmaceuticals of any kind. - In Brazil, a film crew captures … [Continue reading]
The world of direct response has always had its bad neighborhoods. They'll always be with us, just like major cities have their red light districts and other assorted vice ridden nabes. … [Continue reading]