Do you want to learn how to really sell a HIGH TICKET product?
Sell a LEGACY program.
What’s a legacy program?
Here’s a crystal clear passage of copy explaining it: [Continue reading]
“KILLERS!”
How's this for an interesting business development (slash) freelance ad from yesteryear? This one hails from the back pages of Backstage from 1983. You can clearly see the Ralph and Shoshana Ginzburg influence in this ad. One of the all time … [Continue reading]
The World of Michelangelo and The Kings of Continuity
Time-Life sold books as continuity series, where customers subscribed to a series and received books periodically. Series like The Life World Library, The Old West, Foods of the World, and World War II were among the most successful. … [Continue reading]
“You Can Trust Me… I Am LING!” (Why UGLY Works)
Direct mail guru Bob Hacker was one of the first to proclaim "Ugly works!" Its corollary? … [Continue reading]
The Secret of NAILING the Right Appeal (Selling High Ticket Toys)
The average direct response guy or gal would say of this ad: "Where's the copy?" And old school admen would pull their hair out over the almost illegible reverse type. No matter. This advertiser absolutely NAILS the appeal. … [Continue reading]
Bottom Line Yearbook 2025 (Fascinations Galore and Much More)
Here's the current tabloid sized magalog for this perennial winning title from Bottom Line. … [Continue reading]
10 Year Fundraising Control That Beat a 20 Year Control
Here's a textbook charities pitch from The Nature Conservancy. Donna Baier Stein beat Frank Johnson's (of Johnson box fame) 20 year running mailbox hit. … [Continue reading]
When 95% of Advertisers Make the Same Claims… Try This
I remember touring a state park in Puerto Limón, Costa Rica in 2003. While observing the monkeys swinging underneath the tropical tree canopy, the tour guide mentioned something interesting. He suggested a foolproof way to become a millionaire … [Continue reading]
Jay A’s Amazing 2-Page AD-VENTURE in USA Today (UPDATED)
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]
Selling High Ticket Prepper Products (Copywriting Dark Dystopias)
You've heard the advertising adage: "The more you tell, the more you sell." But who's ever heard of a 124-page bookalog to sell a $10,487 power generator by mail? Of course, there are only two rules when it comes to long copy, or any copy for … [Continue reading]
Tiny Bookalog… HUGE Response
This tiny bookalog captured HUGE response for well over a half-decade. In this package's case, hand addressing and a personalized lift letter played a big role in keeping this package in the mail for so long. And these supplements sell for … [Continue reading]
“ONE-TIME Inflation-BUSTING Sale” (A “Boomer Bribe” and Renewal Selling in a Mad, Mad World)
Here's a stellar example of subscription (renewal) selling for a newsletter in our current inflationary world. There are some things our customers and prospects can afford to be without during an economic squeeze. No matter what you're … [Continue reading]
The Swedish Chimpanzee Method and Awesome Aussie Advertising
(I've met some great Aussie marketing friends and colleagues this first week 0f 2025 and will return to the States end of next week with some primo updates.) BT Funds Management ran these unforgettable ads in the 1990s in Australia and New … [Continue reading]
Ad Lessons from the LARGEST Book Publishing Enterprise EVER in Existence (224-page “Dirty Dossier”)
It takes some moxie to run an ad with the headline: "Do You Realize XYZ is the Largest Book Publishing Enterprise Ever in Existence?" But when you've sold over 100 MILLION titles, you're allowed to boast a bit. Who was he? … [Continue reading]
“No homework, no tests, no grades, only the pure joy of learning anytime, anywhere!”
Course copywriting and educational advertising doesn't get any better than this. This particular 52-page catalog with the 80% off offer had one goal -- to move a mountain of product. … [Continue reading]
The Power of Prospect Parlance
Why study winning advertising from markets and industries different from your own? Because you can bring all kinds of ideas that are fresh and response boosting into yours. This ad for Illinois Masonic Medical Center had many insertions in the … [Continue reading]
“Why not cash in on the capital tied up in your house?”
Here's the British equivalent of the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) loan. This lead gen for the Safe Home Income Plans (SHIP) from Stalwart Assurance Company Limited ran in British tabloids in the 1990s. … [Continue reading]
BUILDS STRONG INFO-BUSINESSES 12 WAYS
Here's a seminar marketing classic from Dan Kennedy and company from the halcyon days of the info summits. What can you learn from this package? Building a BIG, familiar, over-arching THEME that ties everything together... and makes for one FUN … [Continue reading]
“Take Two” (Part 3 of 3) A Headline Swipe You Should Consider
Marshall McLuhan said: "The medium is the message." Whether it's a millennial on a mobile, or a boomer with a newspaper, the medium plays a BIG role in how the message is received. That's why newspaper mailings have been HOT for the last few … [Continue reading]
“Had ENOUGH?”
It's not enough that the second word in this two-word headline is in CAPS, but it's also underlined. It's hard to pack more punch into a such a compact headline as this. And there's no shortage of frustrations in most markets to deploy a … [Continue reading]
“The Greatest Trick This BLOCKBUSTER Biz-Op Ever Pulled Was…
convincing the world... it wasn't a biz-op." Guess I like my Keyser Söze references from time to time. This is surely one of the greatest secrets for marketing a business opportunity program... to a MUCH wider audience. … [Continue reading]
On the prowl for the weak and the wounded
Knockoff artists aren't nearly as common as many people think. Strangely, no one's made an obvious effort to knock either of these long running ads off -- ads that look weak to those with sharp eyes and teeth. Choose Life: Grow Young with HGH … [Continue reading]
How to Turn Little Lead Gen Ads Into BIG Response (UPDATED)
Before the Web... this is how you got clients on demand for copywriting, consulting and business development. And of course, newsletter subscribers -- the springboard for all the above. It's the old advertising dance known as the … [Continue reading]
Ben Franklin and the Newsweek Book Division Continuity
This double page spread appeared in the April 1973 issue of Good Housekeeping. Long before SaaS (software as a service), books ruled the roost of subscription selling. … [Continue reading]
20 Year BLOCKBUSTER Headline in Foreign Language Learning
Audio-Forum ran this campaign for TWENTY solid years, starting in 1977. The great Don Hauptman was the genius behind it. ¿See that inverted exclamation point at the beginning of the headline? Quoting Rodney Dangerfield... ¡That little … [Continue reading]
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