Fifty years ago, if you opened any major market newspaper, you’d be treated to a slew of headlines like these:
“The Dollar Will Be Wiped Out”
“All Paper Currencies Are Doomed” [Continue reading]
This isn't so much a market as... a mindset, a mood and a zeitgeist. Bottom Line isn't selling a mere book -- they're selling freedom, independence, mobility, vitality and as the French say, "joie de vivre." Remember the "ancestor" to this … [Continue reading]
Want to know the secret for staying on TOP... after you've scaled Everest? There's no better answer than this latest package from one of my favorite direct mail marketers and super supplements sellers. I'm talking about the Sinatra Nutrition … [Continue reading]
If there's a longer selling ebook than this one, I don't know it. It's as evergreen of a topic as it gets and not a word of copy has changed in nineteen years! … [Continue reading]
Many in-the-know marketers and copywriters have never heard of him. But his near anonymity aside didn't stop him from pulling down some HUGE sales numbers in the mid-to-late 2000s. … [Continue reading]
Here's a textbook teeth whitening ad from the late 1990s and early 2000s. The before-and-after picture is a hallmark of the weight loss and anti-aging markets. Of course, in a black and white print ad, no one can say it's not easily photoshopped, … [Continue reading]
Today (March 24, 2023) I got an email from Doberman Dan Gallapoo about the passing of Brian Keith Voiles, who was a much loved colleague to many for 30 years. When I met Brian at Gary Bencivenga's Retirement Seminar almost 18 years ago, I was … [Continue reading]
Advertisers who can drop a quarter million dollars for full page color insertions in Time magazine must know a thing or two. No, we're not talking about pharma advertising here, but solid direct response in education. You've likely seen this … [Continue reading]
In this possibly convoluted entry, , I'm going to show you the promos which sold several million bucks worth of information products back in the mid-2000s. These straightforward sales letters are among the BEST TEMPLATES I've seen for selling … [Continue reading]
It's no secret. I've turned into a late in copywriting life super fan of Victor Schwab and his phenomenal advertising for his own agency. And rediscovering this "Which Ad Pulled Better?" series has only bumped it up a notch. Imagine a … [Continue reading]
Here's a winner from the pages of print from 2010-2011 which had hundreds of insertions. … [Continue reading]
Here's a familiar fear based lead that's mailing in early 2023. It's reminiscent of many recent and distant direct mailings and print ads. "The Great Nursing Home Escape" and “Baby Boomers Now Fear Memory Loss More Than Cancer” are two that … [Continue reading]
In 1973, investors not only worried over rampant inflation and the possibility of market collapse, but had to deal with the crushing effects of the 1973 Oil Embargo, including lines that stretched for blocks to fill up their gas tanks. Fifty years … [Continue reading]
There's nothing like examining a powerful control from yesteryear (in the light of day, today) and giving it a new lease on life. That's exactly what a long time colleague did with a similar CONTRARIAN copywriting piece. Instead of the old and … [Continue reading]
By August of 2007 when this full page lead generation-seminar ad appeared in major market media, the Global Financial Crisis (GFC for short) was already underway. While I've never been a raving fan of the nothing-down real estate market, I've long … [Continue reading]
It's easy to understand what's going on in early 2023 in the world of money and banking. Just read an ad from 1973. And not just any ad but a SMASH hit during the Oil Embargo of 1973 with off the charts inflation and banks teetering on the … [Continue reading]
Over the years I've admired a particular client who sold a variety of products... from information products to supplements... and from gadgets to high ticket health devices. He has a special knack for identifying and marketing winning health … [Continue reading]
Here's the latest (March 2023) for Dr. Sears' Omega Rejuvenol. … [Continue reading]
The Silicon Valley Bank collapse is the topic du jour, but there's nothing novel about bank busts and financial panics. The great Clayton Makepeace extensively treated each in his glorious tabloid magalogs of twenty years ago. But please don't … [Continue reading]
The UK based Writer's Bureau was the brainchild of Ernest and Susan Metcalfe in the late 1980s. … [Continue reading]
If you talk to many from Gen Z nowadays -- particularly university students -- climate change is almost an article of faith. It's discussed with the matter-of-factness as the morning sunrise and adhered to with the fervor previous generations … [Continue reading]
I guess this is the counterpart headline to “Do NOT deposit another dollar in your bank account until you read THIS book!” This lead has a strong track record of winning readership. And Newsmax excels in this much shrunken space of marketing … [Continue reading]
When you see the biggest direct response mailers testing with the frequency of mating bunnies during springtime... It forces you to look at your own creative and ask.... "Am I testing as much as I could be?" … [Continue reading]
No one should beat themselves up about not being able to get a "brilliant" ad to work in print nowadays. Especially in a general newspaper publication where the readership for your product or service likely is just not there. And when we're … [Continue reading]
When you think of the late, great Ted Nicholas Peterson, what comes to mind first? - Copywriter? - Publisher? - Ultra entrepreneur? - Master at buying media for a fraction of the rate card? He was all of these things, plus a GREAT … [Continue reading]