The day my hero sent me this check in the mail…

Dear Fellow Knight,

I’ll never forget the night I read the following passage.

It appeared in the great Denny Hatch’s August 1994 issue of Target Marketing.

“In the early 70s, Mel Martin was hired as a copywriter by Herb Nagourney, the toothy publisher of The New York Times book division whose business was built on running coupon ads in unsold space in the Times. While there, Martin created what Edelston considered to be some of the greatest book advertising ever written. “I would love to go through the Times on microfiche and find those ads,” Edelston says. “Each was masterpiece.”

It was after midnight… but I thought:

“What’s the problem?”

So I dug into the databases.

These ads aren’t something you’d find in a normal search engine query. Not by a long shot.

Obviously, I went to the New York Times historical database first.

I was fourteen years late to the party — from when the article was originally published — but what the heck?

Bingo!

I’d found the first one. Then the second and third. By the time I’d finished at close to 3:00 am, I’d rounded up dozens of them.

Now it was time to read them!

I stayed up another few hours going through each and every ad.

They were everything Marty Edelston said they were… and more!

And heck, since Marty started a company from a basement desk wedged next to a furnace… and turned it into a $150 million enterprise… who was I to argue?

My next step was clear.

I caught a few hours sleep, then headed over to the copy shop to get the ads printed. Next, I grabbed Marty’s address in Connecticut and had the batch shipped to him, along with a brief cover letter.

A week or so later, I was struck by a bolt from the blue when I went to my mailbox and this arrived from Stamford, Connecticut.

It was a thrill to get to know Marty Edelston, albeit via long distance on the telephone.

His passion for direct response and learning burned brightly, even for someone who seemingly climbed Everest multiple times in business.

We had several packed conversations about marketing, life and business… AND about that eccentric, yet phenomenal copywriter he plucked from obscurity to help him grow a $150 million company, Mel Martin.

These conversations were worth many multiples the check.

Mel Martin’s advertising is still the gift that keeps on giving.

For example, even rookie writers can be successful selling products along the Money-Power-Love axis.

If you can even half-convince your prospect that your product will give her a greater supply of these, then she’s yours.

The “money-power-love” axis in direct response

But it takes a TRUE talent…

to write an ad that pulls for:

* Almanacs
* Film review compilations
* Books on “Words for Birds”
* Cookbooks. (Yes, cookbooks! )
* And even… Guides to Federal Aid

Mel Martin’s fascination laden copy is so compelling, he takes what’s normally as exciting as watching grass grow and turns it into an absorbing, profit-pulling adventure.

Like to see more?

Because you’re one of Doberman Dan’s Knights, you can put down your broadsword… grab a cup of Joe… and sidle up with this fascinating file… from the “Father of Fascinations” himself, Mel Martin.

As you can see, I’ve got a soft spot for fascinations… and these are yours too for the low, low price of FREE… because you’re a fellow knight.

“I couldn’t ask my mother these questions!” Secrets from the TESTING Titans of Rodale Press

Great Leads That Rake In Response THE headline… that copycats around the world swiped to sell tens of millions worth of supplements. It’s a veritable direct response FORCE of nature!

Ultimate ANTI-AGING Advertising… 44 GIANT pages and over one BILLION dollars in sales! Everything from world class health and beauty copy… to luscious layouts… to pitching product lines in print… plus product naming and positioning

Mel Martin “Father of Fascinations” 40-page Fascination Files (Swiping A-Z Video Series Part 2)

How To Turn a “1-Page Catalog” Into An Advice Column Advertorial Secrets of advertorial formats that BLAST OPEN new frontiers of response!

Event Marketing MAGIC Case Study… Once Every 76 Years!

Promise + Proof = Profits Supplements company SNAPPED UP for $24 million not long after this direct mail home run!

TINY TWEAK Transforms “Typecast” Promoter’s Product Into A Triumph Advertising angle that can CRUSH it when a promoter or “house doctor” is associated with one area of expertise…

“Good Cop, Bad Cop” Copy… From the Retail Copywriting Kingdom

The Newsletter Launch Package… That Landed a Half Million Customers (UPDATED)

My Copywriting “Blasphemies” Against Eugene Schwartz (Plus “A Used Advertising Book For $900?” and Selling Million Dollar Copywriting Courses)

KILLER Customer Acquisition and An Unstoppable Pain Relief Offer It pains me to admit there’s not much in the way of long form copy for this trio of ads that run almost everywhere.

One of the HOTTEST Alt-Health Headlines of the 2000s… (Selling Prospects on the Product AND the Brand)

More Fundraising FUN… How the “Distressed Gentlefolk’s Aid Association” Fished for WHALES… In the Ocean of Print

Print is DEAD… Long Live the Banner! (From a Direct Response WHALE with $197 Billion in Managed Assets)

“How Almost Anyone Can Profit From Inflation, Recessions And Depressions”

Lead Magnets That LAND 150,000 Paying Subscribers (UPDATE)

From $180 Million in Sales… to a Bright Orange Jump Suit… And 20 Years in the Slammer

Why Some Copywriters Are STILL Making Bank With This 66-Year-Old Headline! HINT: Selling the purview of a ‘privileged’ class

Why Some Women Will Pay Almost Anything… IF Your Beauty Product Has These 2 Things (Latest 2022 Print Ads)

The Health Guru Who Almost Died by His Own Supply

Marketing Moats and “Anti-Search Marketing” in the Age of Amazon

Even More… $3,200 Anti-Aging Supplements

And waaay more!

What to do next?

To access everything above, you just need to complete the simple checkout and registration process.

Yours for bolder response,

Lawrence Bernstein
(The world’s most obsessed ad archivist)

P.S. Grab a GRATIS login NOW because you’re a fellow Knight.

P.P.S If you’re a fellow direct response addict like me… you’ll love RESPONSE ROCKETS!