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 August 10, 2024.
What’s changed in the world of direct mail supplement selling since then? [Continue reading] about Promise + Proof = Profits
Have you ever noticed an ad in a newspaper or magazine and thought to yourself: "Who'd be crazy enough to pay for such an insertion?" Then you see the same ad again and raise your eyebrows. By the tenth time you come across the ad, you may not … [Continue reading] about Strange Ads That Sell
How do you really know if you're a copywriter and not just someone who dabbles in writing ads? It's pretty easy to tell. Little things like meals (and showers) cease to have the same importance when you're in the heat of writing an ad. David … [Continue reading] about David Ogilvy and the 10 Day Home Confinement Ad
Untold thousands of "Marie Davant" tinytorials (tiny advertorials) graced the pages of print for over four decades. BUT... one wonders... did Marie Davant even exist? … [Continue reading] about Attack of the Killer TINYTORIALS
As Rosser Reeves noted: "A gifted product is mightier than a gifted pen." This evergreen book is a textbook example of that quote. Over thirty years later Getting Straight A's is still touted by students and parents alike. This ad had … [Continue reading] about All Time Top 10 Ad in Education (“How to Become a Straight-A Student”)
John Caples was the great story selling adman of the early 20th Century. Seems like "They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano" has been swiped more times than memory champion Akira Haraguchi can recite π (Pi)... to 111,700 digits in 2015. But … [Continue reading] about They Laughed At the John Caples Swipe… Until! (UPDATED)
Recently one day, I stumbled across this remarkable print ad and asked myself the question: "How'd this ad get into my possession?" Then it hit me. Surely, this full page ad was no "mere mortal" ad. I reached for the 520-page transcript from … [Continue reading] about SMASHING 800-Pound Gorilla Objections in Your Headline
If you've heard the story of a young Gene Schwartz working one day in the mail room and a few short years later becoming a mail order millionaire, then here is an interesting ad. It was written in 1975 by the son of the man who showed Gene the … [Continue reading] about Mail Order Ad by Gene Schwartz’s Copywriting Mentor: Cecil Hoge
Here are some hard won secrets for selling in the golf market... From one of the ablest marketers of our time. … [Continue reading] about The Golfer Struck by Lightning… and the Marketer Who Struck Millions in Mail Order (UPDATED)
What do advertising and martial arts have in common? A lot actually. The world of general advertising is still largely clueless about sales. Many advertisers never make an offer or ask for the sale -- they have no idea whether their ad's been … [Continue reading] about One of the Greatest U.S.P.s You’ll Ever See
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] about This Ad Reminds Me of the Midtown-Manhattan Store with the Giant “Going Out of Business” Signs… for 17 Straight Years!
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] about I Like This Headline… Too Bad No One Else Did
He went from the Downtown comedy clubs to the hallowed halls of the J. Walter Thompson ad agency. He started by writing ads and followed his mentor, James Patterson, into the world of writing mysteries, becoming an advertising creative director … [Continue reading] about An Interview with Mystery Writer Chris Grabenstein
MAGIC HEADLINES Vol. 2... Yours FREE … [Continue reading] about Magic Headlines Volume 2 (UPDATED)
Even if you never dip your toe in the waters of the weight loss market, you can ALWAYS learn something from a successful ad. And this one had THOUSANDS of insertions from 2014 to 2019. … [Continue reading] about “Fat Magnets”… Copy Crooks… and a MAGIC Weight Loss Headline
(This was one of my first entries on Info Marketing Blog, waaay back on June 11 2007. I decided to revisit it nearly 15 years later. Haylings' mainstay in the 30s and 40s was the classified ad. ) Imagine facing the Great Depression as a … [Continue reading] about George Haylings: Info Marketer Who Laughed at the Depression