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“Massive Megatrend Profit Opportunity”

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The ubiquitous penny pitch

Here’s your typical penny pitch for one of the industries du jour – lithium.

And this package, like just about every direct mail package for penny stocks, is really a Trojan Horse. [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Trading

A “Proper” British Ad… Only Problem? No Sales!

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I've run across clients on both sides of the Atlantic who have a fetish for what is proper. "This isn't a supper club!" I shot back at one. "We're here to sell." … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Evergreen Products, Print Advertising

HOME RUN Headline (47 years and STILL Going Strong)

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The product has been on the market since 1967. The headline has been SELLING it by the bushel since 1977. How does an ad sell for almost a half-century without the slightest sign of fatigue? Here's the instructive full page insertion and … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Print Advertising

The Last of the Diaper Chieftains (Secrets of Successful Print Ads in 2025)

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Print advertising in U.S. newspapers has been on life support ever since the covid-related pandemonium put a giant dent in newsstand sales. The same is true in other countries. On a trip to Australia earlier this year, I was disappointed to see … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Alternative Health Hits, Print Advertising, Supplements & Serums

Contrarian Copy That Conquers Skepticism

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Even if you never plan on selling a high-yield real estate trust deed - or even know what one is - this 1979 ad from Pacific Plan is a masterful lesson in mass-market persuasion. Think how often prospects have been burned by the lure of big … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Coins, currency & collectibles, Financial Favs, Investing & Retirement, Great Leads

Jay A’s Amazing 2-Page AD-VENTURE in USA Today (UPDATED)

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I only know one person on the planet who talks this way... in marketing circles or otherwise. Here's what he says of this two-page spread which appeared in the November 1, 2019 edition of USA Today. "Recognize how we used posture, performance, … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Business Development, Personality in Copy, Print Advertising, Story Selling

“Is Spiritual Peace Worth 3 Minutes A Day To You?”

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Evergreen products are fascinating. What would motivate a prospect to respond to an offer in 2024 that pulled big in 1949? Wide appeal and a timeless topic help. James Keller's Three Minutes A Day was such an offer. … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Books, Home Study, Info Products & Newsletters, Evergreen Products, Print Advertising, Religion, Philosophy & History, Self-Help & Wealth Creation

A Haunting Advocacy Ad from a Memorable Print Campaign (The ad that “predicted” 9/11)

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Not everyone was thrilled with the idea of two 110-floor towers being built in Lower Manhattan. The big objection to the World Trade Center project in the late 1960s was that the gargantuan new towers -- the tallest in the world at the time of … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Lead Generation, Print Advertising

BottomLines’s IRRESISTIBLE Reactivation Offers

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Marty Edelston built Boardroom (and later BottomLine) into a world class publisher and one of THE direct mail operators to watch. His right hand man, Brian Kurtz, played no small role either. … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Alternative Health Hits, Books, Home Study, Info Products & Newsletters, Continuity Selling: Subscriptions, Alerts & Memberships, Financial Favs, Investing & Retirement, Mailbox Hits, Self-Help & Wealth Creation, Seniors & Boomers, Story Selling

Classic Self-Help “Spiritual Solution” Package

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Self-help is a market that's smaller than many, but it's got two things going for it. First, most self-help products tend to be evergreen in nature, so a good self-help book or course can stay relevant for a decade or more. Admittedly, there are … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Crisis Copywriting, Survivalism & Legal, Killer Teaser Copy, Mailbox Hits, Self-Help & Wealth Creation

Knocking It Out of the Park with Nostalgia (“Try my Granny’s Delicious Old-Fashioned Recipes”)

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Ah, the good ole' days of print advertising when you could ran an ad like this in a general circulation newspaper and get rocking response. This ad from the fine folks at Windsor had plenty of insertions in British tabloids back in 2009. The copy … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Books, Home Study, Info Products & Newsletters, Food Copy, Print Advertising

Kings of Coin & Currency Copy

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GovMint and Stauer are sister brands based in neighboring cities in Minnesota, USA under the Asset Marketing Services umbrella company. And though they represent quite different markets – one is coins and currency, and the other costume jewelry – … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Coins, currency & collectibles, Mailbox Hits

“One Weird Trick” for REVIVING “Clickbait” Subject Lines That SELL!

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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]

Filed Under: Magic Subject Lines

Case Studies in Catastrophe (When the FTC Comes a Knockin’ Part 1)

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Picture this. One day you're on top of the memory market and can't buy enough insertions for your ads. They're in almost every publication from coast to coast The next day  you get an official looking 9x12 envelope in the mail. It's from the … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Alternative Health Hits, Dangerous Advertising, Print Advertising, Supplements & Serums

“But I only care about advertising in my own market!”

By

Would you like to know one of the joys of archiving winning ads? Whenever I find an ad like this, that had thousands of insertions from 1962 to 1975, I'm compelled to ask the question: Why was this ad such a SMASH hit? … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Gadgets & Specialty Products, Print Advertising, Story Selling

Shameless Swipers and the Most Knocked Off Diet Copy in History (Update)

By

Run an ad like this today only if ORANGE is your absolute favorite color. Prison orange. Seriously, there are just too many ways to end up in HOT water with the powers that be if you're loosey-goosey with claims in the weight loss market. You need … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Dangerous Advertising, Origin Marketing Magic, Print Advertising, Supplements & Serums, Weight Loss & Diet

“How to make sure you NEVER end up in a Nursing Home”

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It's no wonder this package had a long shelf life. Just about every prospect who's 55 and over has the desire to be sound of mind and body and keep her freedom. And that's exactly the target market for the alternative-health newsletter, Second … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Alternative Health Hits, Books, Home Study, Info Products & Newsletters, Great Leads, Mailbox Hits, Seniors & Boomers, Story Selling

“How You Can Get Super Rich In Commercial Real Estate”

By

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]

Filed Under: Biz-Op, Print Advertising, Real Estate, Seminars & Workshops, Story Selling

World’s Greatest USP & Reason Why 100-Page “Dirty Dossier” of WINNING Ads

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A good unique selling proposition can be the difference between success and failure. And a great one? A great USP can create an industry disrupter in short order. This 102 page "Dirty Dossier" tells you all you'll ever need to know. … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Direct Response Dirty Dossiers, Direct Response Dynamite, USPs & Positioning, Personality in Copy, Print Advertising, Retail Copywriting Kingdom

“The Cousteau Society Collection of Stamps of the Sea” (The Genius of Joseph Segel)

By

The late Joseph Segel made a mint as the founder of Franklin Mint which he founded in his garage in 1966. He briefly retired in 1974 at the age of 43 before later founding the giant QVC television shopping channel, along with numerous other … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Coins, currency & collectibles, Continuity Selling: Subscriptions, Alerts & Memberships, Print Advertising

The Little Black Book of Billionaire Secrets (UPDATED)

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The Little Black Book is one powerful and universal format. You can deploy it in any market. This 28-page promo was HOT a few short years ago. The concept is as appealing as it is simple. "Forbes Billionaire's Portfolio helps average … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Continuity Selling: Subscriptions, Alerts & Memberships, Financial Favs, Investing & Retirement, Great Leads, Lead Generation, Proof Element Powerhouses, Trading

“When you have a designer, every package looks like a magalog.”

By

I've sent copy and consulting clients to graphic designers over the years and noticed a pattern. Many designers specialize in magalogs and immediately recommend it. … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Alternative Health Hits, Books, Home Study, Info Products & Newsletters, Evergreen Products, Fabulous Fascinations, Killer Teaser Copy, Mailbox Hits

Thank You Mister President… For This Great Copywriting Lead

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Here are two magalogs that mailed 20 years apart. The first one just just ahead of Bill Clinton's inauguration. And the second one during Barack Obama's second term. Being the oddball archivist I am, I thought of the "All persons fictitious … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: A-Z Swiping & Video Series, Continuity Selling: Subscriptions, Alerts & Memberships, Financial Favs, Investing & Retirement, Great Leads, Mailbox Hits

If I Had Only ONE Supplements Magalog on a Desert Island

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Here's a 64-page Slim Jim from the mighty NutriHealth, who once stood at the top of the hill of direct mail marketing. A Slim Jim, as you may know, is a more compact and narrower version of a magalog, which of course resembles a magazine. Even … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Alternative Health Hits, Mailbox Hits, Proof Element Powerhouses, Supplements & Serums

Shoestring Direct Mail Startups and The “UNPAID” Newsletter (UPDATED)

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Have you heard of the UNPAID newsletter, ? As the name suggests, it's not a paid newsletter subscription. … [Continue reading]

Filed Under: Direct Response Dynamite, USPs & Positioning, High Ticket

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Search Ad Money Machine

“Unpaid” Newsletter Secrets

Case Studies in Cash Creation

  • “Massive Megatrend Profit Opportunity”
  • A “Proper” British Ad… Only Problem? No Sales!
  • HOME RUN Headline (47 years and STILL Going Strong)
  • The Last of the Diaper Chieftains (Secrets of Successful Print Ads in 2025)
  • Contrarian Copy That Conquers Skepticism
  • Jay A’s Amazing 2-Page AD-VENTURE in USA Today (UPDATED)
  • “Is Spiritual Peace Worth 3 Minutes A Day To You?”
  • A Haunting Advocacy Ad from a Memorable Print Campaign (The ad that “predicted” 9/11)
  • BottomLines’s IRRESISTIBLE Reactivation Offers
  • Classic Self-Help “Spiritual Solution” Package
  • Knocking It Out of the Park with Nostalgia (“Try my Granny’s Delicious Old-Fashioned Recipes”)
  • Kings of Coin & Currency Copy
  • “One Weird Trick” for REVIVING “Clickbait” Subject Lines That SELL!
  • Case Studies in Catastrophe (When the FTC Comes a Knockin’ Part 1)
  • “But I only care about advertising in my own market!”
  • Shameless Swipers and the Most Knocked Off Diet Copy in History (Update)
  • “How to make sure you NEVER end up in a Nursing Home”
  • “How You Can Get Super Rich In Commercial Real Estate”
  • World’s Greatest USP & Reason Why 100-Page “Dirty Dossier” of WINNING Ads
  • “The Cousteau Society Collection of Stamps of the Sea” (The Genius of Joseph Segel)
  • The Little Black Book of Billionaire Secrets (UPDATED)
  • “When you have a designer, every package looks like a magalog.”
  • Thank You Mister President… For This Great Copywriting Lead
  • If I Had Only ONE Supplements Magalog on a Desert Island
  • Shoestring Direct Mail Startups and The “UNPAID” Newsletter (UPDATED)
  • They Laughed At the John Caples Swipe… Until! (UPDATED)
  • “I Ate Less from the Very First Day!” (The Case of the Disappearing Weight Loss Winner)
  • The 100% Headline Swipe
  • The 4 Envelope Strategies in Direct Mail… and the Inner Envelope Secret
  • More Legendary Lead Gen from the $294 Billion Boys at Fisher (UPDATE)
  • “Ivy League Scientists Take This Age-Defying Pill Every Day”
  • The Tiny Pill Promo that Got Them in BIG Trouble
  • Professional Practice Marketing & High Ticket Selling at Its Finest
  • Bottom Line Yearbook 2025 (Fascinations Galore and Much More)
  • His destiny was to die in poverty and disappointment.
  • Secrets of a $400 Million Subscription-Selling Coupon
  • E=mc2 (Making the complex simple and the simple complex in advertising)
  • Wanamaker’s Offer Wonders (Continuity Selling Secrets in 1900)
  • Down from Canada Came Tales of a Wonderful Heating Pad? (Plus the Exciting Wide World of Health Devices!)
  • The Art of Restaurant Review Guides… Before Google and Yelp
  • Mom’s AMAZING Pineapple Weight Loss Pitch (Kitchen Table Copywriter’s 10-Year Mailer)
  • Tiny Bookalog… HUGE Response
  • Anti-Aging Magalog with Product Sample Included
  • “Are YOU unknowingly operating… a HALF business?” (Textbook Bulleted Headline Lead)
  • Even More… Killer Lead Gen Magnets from a $295 Billion Firm
  • Men’s Health Envelope Control Package for 2 Years and Counting (“Conservative” Alt-Health Marketing)
  • “Get SHOCKED out of your comfort zone!” (When POSITIONING Takes Center Stage)
  • “TEST GOLD LIKE A JEWELER!” (Bill Myers’ Highbrow Biz-Op
  • Get Ready for the… “YEAR 2000” BOMB:
  • “We guarantee to cut 8 strokes off your game by showing you how to use your mind instead of your muscle”
  • 35 Years of Tweaking and Testing and a CRUSHING Control
  • How Commodity Copywriting KILLED One of the 20th Century’s Great Direct Response Outfits
  • “I’ll Never Give You All My Trading Secrets, But I Will Give You My Trades…”
  • From STOMACH Turning Fundraising Ads to €370 Million with 10 Million Members
  • “When was the last time you had an opportunity to buy something at 2004 prices, but guaranteed tremendous savings for up to 2 more years?”
  • “The Death of the Dollar” 2025 Reboot Package (Multi-Mailer)
  • Explore 3 millennia of genius…
  • When was the last time you thought about your veins?
  • “The Biology of Empowerment: How to Program Yourself to Success at a Cellular Level”
  • “£125,000 ($300,000) and 2 years of loving labour went into this sumptuous Centennial Edition of THE COMPLETE WORKS OF DICKENS”
  • “How You Can Make $4,000.00 A Day, Sitting At Your Kitchen Table, In Your Underwear!” (The JPDK Marketing Model)
  • Almost Certainly A Gary Bencivenga Magalog (Rodale ABA Classics UPDATE)
  • Good Grief, Gary! (“An Open Letter To Every Man And Woman In America…”
  • The Golfer Struck by Lightning… and the Marketer Who Struck Millions in Mail Order (UPDATED)
  • “Send Us Your Best Ad And We’ll Send You Back A Better One.” (It Coulda Been a Contender)
  • The World of Michelangelo and The Kings of Continuity
  • “If $925,000 is within your reach do not buy anything ‘til you see this close-in NW Austin home”
  • “Life is short… or maybe not” (Hundreds of insertions for this supplements advertorial)
  • “The Fifth Greatest Trade Of All Time”
  • “WARP SPEED WEALTH” (A Vintage Internet Marketing Direct Mail Promo)
  • “How to Save $19,899,901”
  • “Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight! Cookbook”
  • “Secrets of The Societies The Greatest Kept Secrets of All Time for Money, Power, Romantic Love!” (Part 2)
  • “Heart Repair In A Pill!”
  • “China to Attack Taiwan as Soon as May 5, 2025”
  • “What if Only Half of Bob’s Predictions Are Right?” (Making Claims in a Claim-Crazy Arena & The Death of “Fear That Sells”)
  • SimpleHeartTest.com (Lead Generation with Surveys, the Newsmax IPO, and MarketWise Metldown)
  • Power Positioning in Pictures
  • ULTIMATE Product Positioning (“The World’s Most Powerful Money Manual” UPDATED)
  • “Your Priceless Collectibles Are Facing Forced Liquidation” (High End Estate Planning Insert)
  • A Killer Offer Headline from the 1990s
  • “The Magnificent Obsession That Produced The Coffee Favored By Kings” (UPDATED: Includes Reply Card)
  • “This is the advertising job you thought you’d never see advertised” (Ogilvy Copywriting Test & Lead Gen Legend)
  • “U.S. residents hit Jackpot with ‘Old Vegas’ Casino Rolls” (Double-Page Barn Burner in 2025)
  • “ROOTBLAST” (Product Names that ROCK Response for Decades)
  • Men “With” Hats and Memorable Positioning!
  • “FREE MONEY” This Headline Works… No Really (Part 1 of 2)
  • Troy-Bilt Lead Generation
  • Triple-Page Weight Loss Spread from 2005 (And Even More… Orange Jumpsuit Advertising)
  • “The 4 Most Costly Estate Planning Mistakes Made By Those Worth $3 Million to $250 Million” (LASER Targeted Lead Gen)
  • Even More Free + Shipping “The Dry Eye Remedy”
  • “Get My FREE Report On Lethal Fighting” (Self-Defense Lead Gen)
  • Seminar & Speaking Lead Gen Swipes (The Rich Dad Brand in 2025)
  • Magic Metaphors & Red HOT Markets
  • Depression Era Travel Advertising with a Twist (Free Trip to Hoover Dam!)
  • “H-Bomb on Paper” Response Booster (UPDATED)
  • “FILTHY OLD HOUSE – FASHIONABLE CHELSEA” (Honesty in Advertising)

 
 
 
 
 

Coming Soon

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Categories

  • A-Z Swiping & Video Series
  • Advertorials
  • Alternative Health Hits
  • Banners that Bring It
  • Beauty & Anti-Aging
  • Biz-Op
  • Blockbuster Products
  • Books, Home Study, Info Products & Newsletters
  • Business Development
  • Coins, currency & collectibles
  • Continuity Selling: Subscriptions, Alerts & Memberships
  • Copywriting & Marketing
  • Corporate Advertising
  • Crisis Copywriting, Survivalism & Legal
  • Dangerous Advertising
  • Direct Response Dirty Dossiers
  • Direct Response Dynamite, USPs & Positioning
  • Education
  • Evergreen Products
  • Fabulous Fascinations
  • Financial Favs, Investing & Retirement
  • Fitness, Sports & Self Defense
  • Food Copy
  • Fundrasing
  • Gadgets & Specialty Products
  • Great Leads
  • High Ticket
  • Killer Teaser Copy
  • Lead Generation
  • Magic Subject Lines
  • Mailbox Hits
  • Origin Marketing Magic
  • Personality in Copy
  • Print Advertising
  • Professional Practices
  • Proof Element Powerhouses
  • Real Estate
  • Religion, Philosophy & History
  • Retail Copywriting Kingdom
  • Save Money & Rebates
  • Self-Help & Wealth Creation
  • Seminars & Workshops
  • Seniors & Boomers
  • Story Selling
  • Supplements & Serums
  • The Sales Liberator Videos
  • Trading
  • Travel Advertising
  • Uncategorized
  • Video Sales Letters & Funnels
  • Weight Loss & Diet

 
 
 
 
 
 

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