Here's a BOLD promo running through the mail chutes of America from a larger than life vaquero... originally from the northern burbs of Baltimore... familiar to everyone in direct response. It's dark. It's gloomy. It's doomy. … [Continue reading]
This is surely one the greatest gems I gleaned at Gary Bencivenga's Retirement Seminar... sitting right up there in the third row on the left. If you cue up your DVD set, I'm easy to spot. Okay, it was really one of a hundred plus gems and … [Continue reading]
Newspaper print may be on its way out, , but the TECHNIQUE of print will always be with us because human nature is unchanging. Shhhh! Don't tell the transhumanists. … [Continue reading]
Here's another WINNER in print from the "Save Money" category of direct response. It wouldn't be a stretch to redub it the FREE STUFF category in 2023. The book sold fabulously well in print from 2005-2011. J.D. is one of the all-time great … [Continue reading]
Here's a hot "free plus shipping" from Newsmax. It's in the same mold as "The Ultimate Hyperinflation Defense Manual," even bleaker on the gloom & doom spectrum. … [Continue reading]
Here's a marketer who came on the "coins and currency" scene later than many of the long established players, like Littleton Coin. But I'd say he knows more about generating response and "making money with money" than anyone in the space … [Continue reading]
"How does Dan Kennedy do so many things so well?" "How does anyone accomplish so much in the span of a few hours?" "How does Kennedy manage to come up with cracking copy... seemingly every time?" These are some of the questions I've pondered … [Continue reading]
A full page ad in the dwindling pages of Parade magazine still counts for something in 2022. No advertiser who's a frequent visitor in Parade gets there by accident. … [Continue reading]
I heard Dan Kennedy comment on this some years ago. He gave an example using Robert Ringer's, Action!: Nothing Happens Until Something Moves. … [Continue reading]
Ronald Reagan made a memorable quote while on the campaign trail on September 1, 1980 in Jersey City, New Jersey. Speaking of Jersey City... … [Continue reading]
I'm a big fan of the A.B.A. School. What's ABA? No, it's not the American Basketball Association of yore and certainly not the American Bar Association! No, you know what I'm talking about. It's the... … [Continue reading]
Perhaps, by this time next year, the alternative-health informational print ad will possess the same status as the Dodo bird: EXTINCT. But for now (late 2022), this Newsmax Health print-to-online promo continues getting insertions in newspapers … [Continue reading]
This article was originally published in the early 2000s by the late direct mail copywriter and artist, Albert Saxon. … [Continue reading]
Here's an ad running in select print media in early 2022. Unlike just a few decades ago, it's far from common today to bump into a print publication sporting an insertion with a fascination like: "Your bank teller is spying on you... See page … [Continue reading]
I can't wait to give this subject line a whirl, . Almost everything this publisher does demonstrates a DEFT email marketing touch and never gets stale. This one pulled into Track #3 in my email inbox tonight, October 16, 2022. … [Continue reading]
Emails started hitting my inbox for swipes as the price of oil began to surge in mid-2021 and continue through October 2022. This one from six years ago was a BIG mailbox hit. It's certainly one of the most memorable one-word headlines in … [Continue reading]
May it please God that the world avoids nuclear cataclysm! My family is well acquainted with my dark sense of humor. With half my ancestors coming from Ireland, it seems dark humor is in my DNA, but I try to temper that here. … [Continue reading]
Confession time. As superb as Dan Kennedy and the various incarnations of his business entities are at direct mail marketing -- some of the best in our walk of life -- I have to say this package was a letdown. … [Continue reading]
Here's the old headline standby -- the "claim in time frame." It's one thing to make a claim. It's another to attach a time frame to it. Think "Lose 10 pounds in 30 days" but with a little more sophistication. … [Continue reading]
Did someone set the red saturation for MAX in this ad intentionally? Hey, it was the 80s and a lot of wild things happened, none of which I remember. So what's the deal with this blast from the past? … [Continue reading]
The year was 1986. The launch was meteoric. The media and retail distribution were top shelf for a prestige product fronted by the world's most revered physician. Dr. Oz, eat your heart out. … [Continue reading]
Here's a press ad from the late 1970s that addresses a market laden with PAIN. The ad is FULL of promise and is a textbook self-help ad in many ways. The book seems to have all the trappings of a "survival guide" for divorcees. … [Continue reading]
Can I level with you, ? I hate this headline. That's not to say there wasn't a segment of prospects who didn't swing for this offer when it mailed back in 2009. Heck, it may have gotten plenty of response. Here's why I loathe it. … [Continue reading]
Here's a newcomer (September 2022) for a painless Jacuzzi Bath Remodel. The "7:00 AM Today and 4:00 PM Tonight" before and after picture is a nice touch. The "50% Off Installation" is a commonly seen in the unaddressed mail that arrives in many … [Continue reading]
Marketing is like life. Some marketers have zero scruples, while others are overly scrupulous. Most of us are somewhere in the middle. As an editor-archivist-publisher, I try not to get too carried away with my own "algorithms." So while this … [Continue reading]