A colleague commented after seeing this direct mail piece: "People really respond to cr*p like this?" My reply: "Let's not forget, thousands gave Bernie billions." The point is that anyone get "taken" at any time -- you and I included. … [Continue reading]
Four years ago (February of 2021) I had a conversation with a marketer/product developer who's in his eighth (8th!) decade in the marketing game. He ran into someone who had a factory filled with product he couldn't move... because he didn't know … [Continue reading]
It's hard to excel upon the book advertising Rodale Press churned out in the 1990s. The most striking thing about Rodale ads a quarter century later is both the products AND the advertising seem just as relevant today. The evergreen title The … [Continue reading]
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]
Games People Play rode the self-help wave that surged through the 1960s. Selling over five million copies and translated into twenty languages, the book became a cultural phenomenon. … [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]
You've probably bumped into the opening copy from the classic International Living sales letter more than once. It's the textbook example of enargia - think, "a picture is worth a thousand words." “You look out your window, past your gardener, … [Continue reading]
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]
Welcome to the heart of self-help! If you want to know more about evergreen products (and pitches) that sell... you've come to the right place. This is as evergreen as it gets. … [Continue reading]
The core of this ad has remained the same since it hit the press in July 2017. The advertiser is one of the biggest contemporary success stories in direct marketing and you can find out more about him here. I recorded this video in 2019, it's … [Continue reading]
Sshhh! Greta may have been the Time Person of the Year... but don't tell her. Since this ad ran 24 years before she was born, I doubt she'll object... and frankly, she's an intolerable adult brat anyway. It's a classic Ogilvy orchestration … [Continue reading]
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]
Here's the direct response marketer who may have conquered more markets than any other marketer past or present. And this is just a partial list! Supplements, health devices, weight loss, exercise equipment, golf, flags, numismatics, heaters, … [Continue reading]
Hey, if I told you this mailing was a textbook example of enargia, you might say, "I'll take a raincheck!" I'm not projecting my own ignorance -- I was in the dark about this rhetorical term for years. What's enargia? A picture is … [Continue reading]
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]
You KNOW it's good, timeless direct response when people are talking about an ad that ran in 1975! This OFFER headline is pure dynamite. Here's a classic from legendary copywriter, Mel Martin, when he worked for New York Times Books and direct … [Continue reading]
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]
"THINK If you could do one thing today to improve the health and function of the most important part of your body at no risk ... Wouldn't it be smart to do it? … [Continue reading]
I pulled this BIG IDEA direct mail gem out of my archive room yesterday and realized I'd rediscovered something special. And the zealous notes in the margin of this package immediately confirmed it! … [Continue reading]
Here's an ad for the sequel to the million-copy bestseller Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. The 98 year old Betty Edwards IS the brand. Frankly, I miss old school print ads like this, especially in the realms of self-help and creative … [Continue reading]
Anyone wandering around Midtown Manhattan from the 1980s to the early 2000s remembers the electronics and furniture stores with the giant gaudy "Going Out of Business'' signs plastered on the store fronts. … [Continue reading]
"The End of America" for Stansberry's Investment Advisory was the: Right advertising lead... at the right time... with the right media - the tried and tested bookalog. Mike Palmer wrote it and it mailed in the millions. … [Continue reading]
This was a wildly successful package for years for the now defunct Handyman Club of America. This flattery filled sales letter hits a lot of appeals at once. Hey, "it's no secret among your friends and family that you are an outstanding … [Continue reading]
Here's the latest mid-2025 mailing for Mito-Essence - the powdered nutritional supplement formulated to boost NAD+. This is an honest to goodness auto-ship lead offer for a big promise, high ticket supplement. … [Continue reading]
Here's a great example of how you can churn out response from a list of paying subscribers with an offer from a completely different market. It all starts with the RIGHT question. … [Continue reading]