This package from yesteryear is NOT your typical pitch for a financial newsletter. I was looking for this one for Steve Sjuggerud 's "True Wealth." (Glad my life doesn't depend on my pronunciation of Scandinavian surnames.) Glad I found it … [Continue reading]
This entry was originally published waaay back on July 27, 2011. Thankfully, not all of the stuff I put out then was crap. I'm republishing it on March 16, 2022. What's changed in the world of direct mail supplement selling since then? … [Continue reading]
This SMASHING promo had it all. It had the: - Right product at the... - Right time... and perhaps most importantly, it had the... - RIGHT positioning. Seriously, I think everyone on planet Earth who was doing business online back … [Continue reading]
Advertising has a lot in common with chess. To the outsider looking in, it can be hard to understand what's going on. "Hey, why did White resign?" is a typical comment, you'd find in a random YouTube video. … [Continue reading]
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]
This ad may be fifty years old at the time of this writing in March of 2022. But it offers a TON of insights about success in direct response. First things first, let's start with the EVERGREEN THEME. … [Continue reading]
Anyone remember those "WIN" buttons people used to wear in the 1970s? WIN stands for "Whip Inflation Now." I was never sure how grassroots wearing of a button on a lapel translated into fighting inflation. Oh, well. Here's a batch of … [Continue reading]
This package is worthy of any marketer's or copywriter's attention for several reasons. Besides boasting some the best direct mail copy money can buy... for a blockbuster product... And stacking layer upon layer of powerful proof elements for a … [Continue reading]
Here's a mid-90s three-page spread from a supplements seller who came clean after making changes to its formulation and losing sales. And unlike most advertising in the bodybuilding market, this ad is all copy and just one picture, not of a … [Continue reading]
This was no doubt one of the HOTTEST alt-health magalogs of the 2000s. And this headline ranks as one of the all time greats in ANY market. Maybe that's part of the reason why the company was scooped up for 24 million big ones shortly after … [Continue reading]
This ad for a weight loss capsule is like stepping into a time capsule. Because of the legal minefields in the States among other factors, it's nearly impossible to find long copy diet ads like this in print today. … [Continue reading]
Do you pay much attention to product naming, ? I do, and I'm as much a sucker for great product names, as great company names. Company names and locations(!) matter. … [Continue reading]
Here's one of the usually excellent insertions from the Great Courses. Think about this. Most "non-math people" -- and I count myself in the vanguard of this group -- aren't in a hurry to grab a lecture on calculus. … [Continue reading]
It's not often a foreign language ad shows up here, but with this full page French ad, I figured... Pourquoi pas!? "I wrote to the medium Rene Karsenty, without really believing it... and 3 weeks later I received $28,000" … [Continue reading]
What better way to pitch a MAIN STREET investment opportunity than with Shark Tank star, Daymond John... And this dynamite Horatio Alger tale. … [Continue reading]
The great mail order copywriter, Gene Schwartz said: "You can't create demand, only channel it." And after the World Chess Championship in Iceland in August of 1972, there was a tidal wave of demand for learning how to play chess. The title had … [Continue reading]
This killer magalog appeared on my radar while researching "case against" advertising leads. You have to marvel at this one. What better way to sell probiotics than with the headline: "Probiotic Flaws Revealed!" "Hey, wait a second!" "I … [Continue reading]
Here's another example from the advertiser who excels at "copy that transcends the product for sale." It's likely most hardcore numismatists sneer at offers like these. But the market for these coins is not the numismatist, but the coin and … [Continue reading]
Brain Kurtz sure came up with a zinger when he decided to swerve into the direct response television FAST LANE in 2008. The multi-channel success story combined direct mail (which Boardroom and Bottom Line seemed to "corner the market on" at its … [Continue reading]
Insurance boasts some of the greatest lead generation and compelling offers of any category in advertising. It's surely due for a category of its own here. This ad by Sun Life ran as a full page insertion in British tabloids in 1987. The … [Continue reading]
Here's another DM package from the sweet spot of business development and self-help. The old school of direct mail marketing is exemplified with the ever present: … [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]
Always pay attention when something mails for 3 SOLID years, like this promo did. It was also BIG in online display. This advertiser sucked out EVERY last drop of response... thanks to the powerful three-word combination in the headline. In … [Continue reading]
It's amazing what an average marketer... with a middle of the road product can do... with the MAGIC of origin marketing. Disclaimer! The magalog at the left is no also ran. It mailed from coast to coast for many years and it's a textbook … [Continue reading]
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]