There was a time before big pharma was inviolate, when it was common to shine a spotlight on the horrible side effects often connected with prescription medication. No one was better than Clayton Makepeeace when it came to PROSPECT DRIVEN copy … [Continue reading]
David Ogilvy “5 Tool” Advertising Copywriter
The mark of a GREAT advertising copywriter is versatility. Admittedly, that's hard to pull off nowadays with the intense pressures to specialize, driven by steep competition. And realistically, you wouldn't expect your average copywriter to churn … [Continue reading]
“Do you run your own business…? Are you responsible for bottom-line profits of any enterprise?”
Here's a fitting insertion from the August 27, 1995 edition of The Guardian ahead of Jay Abraham's "first European holiday." This is a quintessentially 1990's lead generation and business development ad that brings together the medium of print … [Continue reading]
“Death By Indecision” (Great Leads That Rake in Response)
Here's a magalog that mailed after the turn of the century. It promoted the now defunct Sinatra Health Report. Mind you Dr. Stephen Sinatra is still the marquis doctor for Healthy Directions and now he's rolling with the second generation of … [Continue reading]
The World’s Most Expensive Book and Selling “The World’s Most Expensive (Blank)”
Here's a headline (and lead!) I flat out swiped from a publisher, copywriter and marketer across the pond... whom I've long admired. And this advertising lead (with some of the most potent positioning you'll ever see) sold a mountain of product. … [Continue reading]
From Dated… to EVERGREEN Product (The Greatest Financial Meltdown in History!)
Here's a great example of marketing success (with our beloved long form copy) for a product from yesteryear. It's often challenge selling a seminar from several decades ago... UNLESS it's got a BIG idea that transcends time... AND you can capture … [Continue reading]
“Amazing Money Making Tales from the World’s Greatest Story Seller” (UPDATED for 2024)
Updated for 2024! It's 40 pages of some of the biggest pulling story ads that ever ran. This is an especially valuable one, that's why there's a password to open this direct response dossier for the ages. … [Continue reading]
“How to Save $19,899,901”
Costume jewelry... junk jewelry? Watch your language! These are fine collectibles and from everything I've read, they are. Moreover, no matter your market or industry, you can ALWAYS learn something from the prolifically great in-house … [Continue reading]
“Pocket Telephone” Predicted 100 Years Ago & Email Clickthroughs Today
This cartoon was published in The Daily Mirror on January 23, 1923. It's astonishing to think someone had this foresight 101 years ago. Here's the "date-stamp" from that edition so you don't think I'm pulling your leg. … [Continue reading]
“This man won $166,505 in Las Vegas” and “Money in the Dark” MASTERS
I've noticed many sales letters over the years using the term: "money in the dark." What does "money in the dark" mean? Simply put, competitors (and worse, knock-off artists) can't steal what they don't see. … [Continue reading]
Updating a GIANT Concept… With a NEW Giant Concept
Some people have their favorite songs, novels, sporting teams and travel destinations. Others have their favorite direct mail packages. One of my all-time favorite magalogs in alt-health is still “Killed By Conventional Medicine." … [Continue reading]
My Mailman Can (Still) Quote This Magalog
This magalog has mailed so often, I think my mail carrier can quote it. Here's what I did NOT share when this piece was still killing it. Here's the copywriter's one line comment which is pretty insightful. And oh... he's being thoroughly … [Continue reading]
100 Cigarette a Day Smoker’s Perfect Pitch (BREAKTHROUGH Product… By a Promoter Sans Credentials)
Would you like to see a PERFECT PITCH for a mass market product, in which the promoter lacks any semblance of credentials... yet uses it to his advantage to sell a TON of product? Here's one. … [Continue reading]
The Tiny Pill Promo that Got Them in BIG Trouble
Do you recall when the "Tiny Pill" lead was all the rage 10+ years ago? Newspaper print was also on fire in the States at the same time and entering its last chapter as a dominant advertising channel. … [Continue reading]
More Fundraising FUN… How the “Distressed Gentlefolk’s Aid Association” Fished for WHALES… In the Ocean of Print
Too late for those inclined to get out their pitchforks over the "class-bound" name of this 125-year old British aid society. The "Old Gray Lady" hammered the Distressed Gentlefolk's Aid Association in a 1989 article entitled "Lifting a Pinkie for … [Continue reading]
The Golfer Struck by Lightning… and the Marketer Who Struck Millions in Mail Order (UPDATED)
Here are some hard won secrets for selling in the golf market... From one of the ablest marketers of our time. … [Continue reading]
Making the Complex, Simple in Direct Response (Calculus Is the Exploration of Just Two Basic Ideas. Master Them and Open Up a New World for Yourself!)
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 took 14 years, 35 experts and over a million dollars to create, produce and publish this giant, 16-volume set.”
It's amazing when you reflect on the power the average solopreneur (whatever his or her specialty or market) today has compared with a like minded person of fifty years ago. I was struck by the footnote in this DPS (double page spread) for the … [Continue reading]
“U.S. Navy Helicopter Pilot Reveals How Any American Can Make Serious Money With a Personal Computer!”
The timing for this unusual Gary Halbert insertion, signed by Scott Haines, could not have been worse. It appeared just three months and a week after 9-11 and nobody was buying anything. … [Continue reading]
“How To Turn $500 Into $30,000.00 Fast And Easy!”
This package has a museum feel to it in the age of Insta and TikTok. Even though I live for "museum rarities" that can be resurrected to ignite RESPONSE... I doubt this one had much spark. … [Continue reading]
“30 Diseases. One Solution” (Rodale Mailbox Classics)
This was the world class direct response that Rodale churned out in the years when J.I. Rodale's daughter-in-law, Ardath Harter Rodale, was at the helm and Rodale Inc. and around a $500 million company in the early to mid 2000s. … [Continue reading]
A Farewell to Kings… of Direct Mail
It was the company built on direct mail marketing and top notch direct response. Alas, they're no more... swallowed up by a multinational with very different plans about the future. … [Continue reading]
“The 4 Most Costly Estate Planning Mistakes Made By Those Worth $3 Million to $250 Million” (LASER Targeted Lead Gen)
Barry Kaye was a 40 year fixture in direct response advertising in the areas of insurance, taxation, wealth creation and seminar marketing. Here's a great piece of lead generation that's NOT for everyone -- both the headline and the BANNER in … [Continue reading]
Trusted Advisor “Lift Letter” for the “One Thing” Supplement
Paul Michael was the originator of the lift letter for Greystone Press. As the name suggests, the lift letter's job is to LIFT response for the offer on tap and it's usually a one-page single or double sided sheet of paper separate from the sales … [Continue reading]
“No homework, no tests, no grades, only the pure joy of learning anytime, anywhere!”
Course copywriting and educational advertising doesn't get any better than this. This particular 52-page catalog with the 80% off offer had one goal -- to move a mountain of product. … [Continue reading]
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