Direct Response Copywriting Swipe File

The Invisible Hand Of Advertising

The 18th Century economist, Adam Smith, was one of the founders of modern economics.

Roust a copywriter from his slumber at 3:00 a.m. and ask him what he knows about Adam Smith and he’s likely to utter the now famous, two-word metaphor: “invisible hand.”

What’s the invisible hand?

In his landmark text — The Wealth of Nations — Smith asserts the free market, instead of being a chaotic battleground, is actually an efficient place where the right quantity of goods is produced…almost as if by a hidden force.

He called this hidden mechanism the ‘invisible hand.’

Once you apply this to the world of advertising, you’ll begin to see there are invisible hands reaching into almost every market. And if you figure out how to harness this natural, hidden force, you’ll be able to increase response at will because you’ll be working with the beliefs your prospects already have.

Case Study Ad #1: How the Beautiful People Get Rid of Both Cellulite and Ordinary Fat — Without Really Dieting!

The legendary copywriter and author of The Brilliance Breakthrough and Breakthrough Advertising, Eugene Schwartz, was the copywriter for this instructive ad.

The headline, besides showcasing the invisible hand concept, is full of masterful nuances.

Like the word ‘really.’

Notice he doesn’t say “without dieting.” Absolutes like that usually backfire because they push the envelope of believability.

The word “really” strengthens the claim because it suggests “the beautiful people” still do some dieting though nowhere near what normal people do.

The invisible hand in this ad is the widely held belief that there’s a group of beautiful people and jet setters who get whatever they want without lifting a finger…eat whatever they please without gaining an ounce…and continue to look and act beautiful almost by some divine right.

How did they achieve this exalted status?

The truth is, it doesn’t really matter.

What matters is there’s large enough segment of people who believes this. So, there’s no need for master-level persuasion because this built in belief system is naturally working for you.

All you have to do is wrap your core claim around this belief.

How the Beautiful People Get Rid of Both Cellulite and Ordinary Fat — Without Really Dieting!

Case Study Ad #2: “Fortunately most investors think like losers. That’s how people like me get rich.”

This 1980’s ad is a great example of the invisible hand at work.

The photo and headline combination used in this ad is disarmingly direct.

Fat cat, Julian Snyder, is standing with his arms crossed in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Limo behind him and a smug smile on his face…he’s making millions while the little guy is taking a bath.

Thanks to this widely held belief, the reader is yanked into the copy. From there, the core claim of the book is masterfully tied to the kernel of belief already in the reader’s head.

Fortunately most investors think like losers. That’s how people like me get rich.

Case Study Ad #3: Why Models Stay Young Till Sixty!

Here’s another Gene Schwartz ad fronting the invisible hand.

Much like the ad in the first example, this promo plays on the natural belief that models are a special class of people.

Whether it’s genetics or some secret regimen that only models know, it’s easy to buy into the claim.

What’s the invisible hand in your market?

No doubt it’s there. All you have to do is get out of your own head long enough to find it…then wrap it tightly around your big promise.

Why Models Stay Young Till Sixty!

Bonusitis

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A client consulted with me recently about an online sales letter and autoresponder campaign.

He told me the sales letter used to convert like gangbusters but now it was on life support.

Usually, it takes some probing to get to the cause of such a change in events, but a quick glance at his sales letter revealed the problem in moments.

His product looked good.

Copy respectable.

Offer enticing.

But the sales page had a bad case of a common malady called bonusitis.

Never heard of bonusitis?

[Read more…] about Bonusitis

Bank Advertising: Too Big To Succeed?

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Imagine a world in which big banks actually had to create good advertising — a world where they didn’t sit high above Uncle Sam’s perpetual safety net.

Today, it’s accepted that certain banks are “too big to fail.”

The big banks have it made.

They get endless rivers of cash from Sugar Daddy Sam while facing no risk or consequences from their actions, like continuing to load up on toxic derivatives.

If they “win” they reap the rewards. If they lose, they can always fall back on Joe Tax Payer and Uncle Ben Bernanke.

Meanwhile, banks continue to squeeze the life out of small businesses by cutting their credit lines to the bone.

This wasn’t the way it always was, though it’s hard to remember a time before this.

This ad from a quarter century ago is proof that once upon a time, banks actually gave the appearance of caring…both about their customers and their advertising.

Anyone who lived in the New York Metropolitan area will remember the television ads for the Bowery Bank, featuring New York Yankee Hall-Of-Famer, Joe DiMaggio.

Here’s a print ad that’s just as memorable for copywriters.

It’s certainly something you wouldn’t see in 2010 — a long copy ad that pushes the product and plays the role of helpful adviser by demystifying the process of choosing certificates of deposit.

I really liked this copy from the middle column.

The other day, an ad in this paper promised CDs so rich that we had to read every word. Had a competitor gotten the drop on us?

Not at all. We had a lawyer decipher the 125-word footnote, written in the teeny-weeny size ad people call “mouse type.” The big numbers up above didn’t look so big after that.

Look before you leap. Read the footnotes first and ask lots of questions at the bank.

The Bowery would rather see you walk away from a deal you didn’t like than sign you up for one you misunderstood. The Bowery’s promise: the whole story every time.

The Bowery was gobbled up long ago by a chain of ever larger acquiring banks but good advertising remains timeless.

The info premium, “10 Ways To Make Your Money Worth More,” was offered countless times in their print advertising.

Click here for the PDF of “A Bill Of Rights For CD Buyers.”

$50 Million In Sales From This Self-Published Book

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How do you sell $50 million of a single, self-published book?

First, you float an offer.

Then, you wait for the market to to tell you you’ve got a winner.

Once you have that winner, you pull out all the stops and sell it every way you can: direct mail, space, Internet and TV.

That’s exactly what Gene Schwartz did in these pre-Internet days and the result was a $50 million take by the time the offer ran dry.

The book was Dr. Stephen T. Chang’s “The Book of Internal Exercises.”

And the space ad above was condensed from a package that mailed over 100 million times, from the early 1980’s all the way into the 1990’s.

(Click on the image to download the PDF and get a feel for the copy that compelled such astronomical sales.)

How To Write Results Based Testimonials That Pull Orders

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Next sales letter that crosses you path, take a close look at the testimonials.

Most likely, they’ll be the wishy-washy variety that makes you feel apathetic, indifferent or just plain blah about whatever product or service is being hawked, even if you have half an inclination to buy it.

These are the kind of testimonials that presents the promoter in a positive light or make her “feel good.”

Their correlation with sales is loose at best.

Now, see how Moneysworth does it.

You won’t find a feel-good or tepid testimonial in the lot. That’s because they’re all about one thing: results.

The testimonials which follow were published again and again, and vetted with millions of dollars in ad insertions.

They reveal that there are only four kinds of testimonials that really make a difference.

The four testimonials are ones that: [Read more…] about How To Write Results Based Testimonials That Pull Orders

Mel Martin — the Deadliest Bullet Copywriter (Space Ad #14: “Practical Golf”)

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Never heard of Mel Martin?

Join the club.

Countless direct response marketers and copywriters — some with a very high level of attainment — greet his name with a blank stare.

After Gene Schwartz helped Marty Edelston lay the foundation for Boardroom, it was Mel Martin’s copywriting fascinations that turned it into a $100 million a year operation.

He was so critical to Boardroom’s success, his name was kept a secret for fear he’d be snatched up by another company.

But ten years before Mel Martin wrote a line of copy for Boardroom, he pioneered a new and far more lethal brand of bullet called a “fascination.”

Even today, many copywriting bullets are rubber on impact. The prospect glances over them and returns to business unfazed.

Try this with the next list of bullets you encounter. Notice how tedious it can be reading bullets that always start with “how to” or “why.”

Prior to Mel Martin, most bullets were just typographical symbols wedged next to a benefit.

Mel changed the game and his ads successfully sold everything from cook books to almanacs to guides on continuing education.

Want to learn the secret to writing bullets that automatically draw friends, power, love, money far beyond your fondest dreams into your life OVERNIGHT? See page 294.

Just click this link for one of Mel’s ads: For golfers who are almost (but not quite) satisfied with their game — and can’t figure out what they’re doing wrong.

The Most Exciting Hyperbole In A Lifetime!!!

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DO YOU KNOW:

Triple exclamation points are a dead giveaway of advertising amateurs?
That outrageous metaphors, like “Scottsdale on the Water,” undermine credibility?
That investment cliches like “ground floor” cause many readers to immediately toss your sales letter in the trash?

You didn’t. Well that’s evident from this sales letter which hails from the distant year, 2007.

As the creator of the Ultimate Online Swipe File, I store more junk mail than any sane copywriter should and I recently unearthed this doozy.

Now, I don’t fault the principals of this real estate project for thinking big and pitching their plan to the public. Wasn’t that what everyone was doing in the sub-prime years?

And though cheesy, I don’t blame them for renting the most expensive restaurant in the neighborhood and trying to get the attendees soused on chateaubriand and claret in an attempt to loosen their wallets.

But they deserve everlasting condemnation for mailing such an appalling ad.

Yes, it’s an invitation for a free dinner and everyone knows there’s going to be a pitch. Even rich folks are willing to sit though a dog and pony show for a freebie.

But is there any hope of attracting a bona fide prospect with a headline containing “The Most Exciting Project in a Lifetime!!!”

This developer has gone “all in” as they say in poker parlance. He’s done a mass mailing to a compiled list and even rented a restaurant to host the would-be buyers. Yet, the copy reads like it was written by someone who uses a photocopier for a living — not someone who creates accountable advertising.

It’s probably too late to “rescue” this advertiser in 2010. And maybe in hindsight it’s a good thing that tepid copy capped response.

How many other clueless souls are out there today mailing pieces like this? There’s a greater number of clients than any of us could handle in two lifetimes.

How To Write Long Copy That Makes Money

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Hard to believe the Bencivenga 100 Seminar was over 5 years ago.

I continue to meet and do business with many of the attendees of that historic gathering.

And speaking of attendees, the B-100 was like the Oscars of direct marketing. Legends and players of the highest caliber were all over the halls of the St. Regis Hotel.

I remember Doug D’Anna darting around in a dark suit in between sessions — an A-Lister on top of his game who was there to get better.

Gary called Doug, “one of my ablest competitors over the years” and it’s easy to see why.

Here’s a video where Doug walks you through one of his greatest DM achievements, The Great Retirement Betrayal. It was mailed in excess of 25 million times.

It’s called: “How To Write Long Copy That Makes Money.”

I’ve rarely seen someone so brimming with enthusiasm and so willing to share as Doug in this video.

(Full disclosure: I am not an affiliate and I get goose eggs if you buy Doug’s terrific DVD.)

Shamed By Your Swiping? “The Guardian” Challenges Lawrence

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Yesterday was a rare day when I went to look at server stats and noticed hundreds of visitors came to my blog via an article in “The Guardian” by Tom Meltzer entitled:

“The advert that just keeps going: It’s probably the longest-running ad in newspaper history. So what’s the secret of its success?”

Tom Meltzer’s article was eyebrow-raising for two reasons. [Read more…] about Shamed By Your Swiping? “The Guardian” Challenges Lawrence

Targeting Your Ideal Prospects… Lessons from Mel Martin

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Mel Martin has been called the “greatest copywriter you’ve never heard of.”

That’s because once his direct mail ad copy began mailing in the millions, his employer, Boardroom Inc., kept him under look and key for fear he’d be siphoned away by a competitor.

This video highlights his space ads which sold millions of books for a division of the New York Times called Quadrangle.

(Pssst. If you’re a client I’ve written a landing page for, now you know the origin of the winning headlines you’ve been using to knock it out of the park.)

Here are the 4 ads shown in the video in one downloadable PDF.

Swiping Successful Business Models Part II (The Institute of Children’s Literature)

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This is the tried-and-tested lead generation ad for The Institute of Children’s Literature.

It’s been going strong for over 30 years in both space and direct mail.

This space ad is the latest incarnation of the piece written by legendary copywriter, Malcom Decker.

If you’re a copy connoisseur, you’ll want to download the PDF by clicking on the thumb on the left and read it at your leisure.

Two of the main take-aways are the magic of the word “Institute” which has been used by savvy direct marketers since the 1920’s and the response-driving power of the “aptitude test.”

You know everbody “gets in.” Don’t you?

In case you missed the first piece on Swiping Successful Business Models, here it is.

18-Year-Old Millionaire Copywriter: Lillian Eichler

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The year was 1919.

18-year-old copywriter, Lillian Eichler, was working for the New York Ad Agency of Ruthrauff & Ryan.

Her first problem:

To move 1,000 dusty copies of the pre-1900 Encyclopedia of Etiquette, written by Eleanor Holt, which were sitting on Doubleday’s shelves.

Her second problem:

Most of the 1,000 copies were returned after the 5-day-trial period. Respondents weren’t thrilled with the ludicrously archaic text and pictures.

Lillian’s ad copy had emptied the shelves in mere days.

Doubleday, being the smart publishers they were, realized if Lillian’s ad copy could move 19th-Century books, she was probably gifted enough to rewrite the book herself and have a second go at advertising it.

The result:

Lillian’s revamped effort, The Book of Etiquette, sold two million copies at $2 each, in the course of two years, resulting in $2.5 million in net profits.

Nearly $26 million in 2008 dollars.

All inspired by the wish to unload a roomful of dusty books…and the vision of a young copywriter.

Reading this copy in 2008, it’s stunning to realize it came from the pen of an 18-year-old girl, nearly 90 years ago.

How To Launch An Ad Agency: Find The Man!

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This ad was was written by Philip W. Lennen in 1924 and effectively launched the ad agency Lennen & Mitchell.

Lennen credited this ad in part with taking the agency from zero in billings in 1924 to $12,000,000 by 1948.

Lennen described the ad as follows:

“The effect of the advertisement was electric. It secured us leads on two very important accounts, which are still in our house today.”

Here’s an interesting comment on “conference copy.”

“Conference copy seldom holds a candle to the job done by the solitary worker who shuts himself up with his problem — and lives with it until he licks it.”

“Baiting the Hook” or How To Write Great Bullets

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Dorothy Sarnoff If you’ve been writing ads for any period of time, you know there’s a world of difference between a good bullet and a great bullet.

Good bullets make you say: “hum, that’s kind of interesting.”

Great bullets freeze you in your tracks and get you excited. And if the ad writer can pull off a half dozen great bullets, then the sale is virtually cinched.

I once heard A-list writer, David Deutch, remark that the secret to writing great bullets is to “bait the hook.”

I understand this to mean wrapping a prospect’s existing belief or a proof element around a claim and therby strengthening it severalfold.

Here’s an example.

Version A

Seven secrets for safe-guarding your home

Version B

Ex-professional burglar’s seven secrets for safe-guarding your home

Version A is good, of course. It employs the tried-and-tested specificity of numbers. But Version B bursts off the page thanks to the proof mechanism of “ex-professional burglar.”

Investing the time in reading world class bullets is an activity that pays for itself many times over.

Here’s an ad in the self-help and personal development arenas that’s loaded with great bullets.

Recession Beater #7: The Coming Business Opportunity Explosion

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Almost everyone is interested in making more money.

If you can legitimately show others how to make more money, you’ll never want for money yourself.

This is especially so in recessionary times.

George Haylings slept in his car while pyramiding his classified advertising profits during the Great Depression.

Joe Karbo and Ernest Weckesser wrote breakthrough biz-op ads which ran in the Wall Street Journal at the height of the 1970’s recession. Such ads never appeared in The Journal before. Boardroom launched its business development classic, I-Power, [Read more…] about Recession Beater #7: The Coming Business Opportunity Explosion

2 Money Disasters That Could Strike on Saturday

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Two Money Disasters That Could Strike on Saturday
(one of them could happen sooner!)

18 defensive investments and six complete investment plans that investment consultant, Harry Browne, believes will make money for you whether or not these disasters strike.

WHILE MILLIONS of Americans were jazz-dancing their way into bankruptcy during the 20s, a smaller number were preparing for a rainy day. And rain it did — for 10 years.

But for the farsighted few who knew what they had to do early in 1929 (take their cash out of the banks before it was too late…sell short…provide for themselves while the going was good) – for these sensible people, the depression wasn’t all that bad. Indeed, some of them made fortunes!

Well, Harry Browne says the signs are here again. (The signs are nothing more than a shrewd assembly of today’s headlines). If you were shaken by the financial events of the past few months, this book will offer you little solace. Browne sees worse things on the horizon. But he tells you exactly how to preserve your assets and actually multiply them in the darkest hours.

Plain Language Advice Any Layman Can Understand – and Act On

Because an investor (or anyone with just a savings or a checking account) cannot survive a devaluation without a solid understanding of the nature of our money system and just what happens to it in devaluation, Harry Browne spells it out in clear, everyday language free of technical jargon. He calls on his vast knowledge of economics, history, crowd psychology, and the way a welfare state misbehaves in a time of crisis, to show you that we may expect several economic cataclysms before the devaluation that is bound to come.

And he shows you what the effect will be on you, your job, or business, your personal finances, your family… shows you what your plan should be in each crisis — but always in light of the devaluation that is now inevitable:

Continued inflation. What will have to happen to the supply of paper money if the present spiral continues. What this means to you. What steps to take right now, while there is time. What drastic measures you should avoid.

Short-term recession. Popular hedges. What will happen to prices. Effects upon business. What this means to you. Certain profit sources that may remain intact.

Depression. Will the next depression be deeper and longer than the last one? What will happen to personal credit? What this means to you. The collapse of the welfare state. Little known protective measures.

Run away inflation. Guidelines to use if paper money becomes totally worthless. The only way out. A precaution you must start to think about today.

The very thought of these crippling events can numb the most determined investor, but those who lose from devaluation will be those do nothing, or who accept conventional investment advice. Those who come out ahead will be those who are not afraid to stand apart from the crowd. Who have taken the trouble NOW to understand why devaluation makes investing and protecting your money a whole new ball game.

How To Achieve Your Financial Goals — in Spite of Devaluation…And Because of It!

While unwily investors around you are losing their shirts because of devaluation, there is absolutely no reason for you to share in their plight. That’s why we call How You Can Profit From the Coming Devaluation a “selfish” book.

Browne’s sure-footed plan of defense and offense consists of six investments designed to give you:

Good growth, not necessarily maximum growth, in assets during the present cycle.

Protection, liquidity, flexibility, and buying power in the next depression.

Safety and rebuilding power if we have a runaway inflation.

An excellent profit from the devaluation itself.

Peace of mind no matter what happens.

This 6 investment investment program can work for you, whether you can write a check for $5,000 or $100,000. Indeed, Browne breaks down the investment opportunities according to your present assets, shows you exactly how much to put into each of these investments.

Cash and dollars – how much you need on hand, where to keep it, what to do about your checking account. Where not to keep a savings account.
Swiss Francs. Their special strengths. How to convert your dollars to Swiss Francs easily. How to open a Swiss Franc bank account. Addresses and procedures. Laws.
Silver coins. Numismatic value. Spending money. How much to keep in silver coins. Melting. Where to store. Where to buy.
Silver bullion. How to use leverage to buy. Who will sell your bullion.
Gold stocks. How this will profit you through three economic crises.
Retreats. Why you need one. How to acquire a safe one.

Risk Free Examination

Mail $5.95 with coupon below for How You Can Profit From the Coming Devaluation. Return it within 30 days if not pleased for full refund plus extra money to reimburse you for return postage. Mail to your bookseller or: Arlington House Publishers, 81 Centre Ave., New Rochelle, New York 10801. (or available on Amazon.com)