• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

Info Marketing Money Machines

  • Info Marketing Blog
  • About Lawrence Bernstein
  • Direct Mail Money Machines
  • Magic Headlines Vol 2

Let An Earthworm Be Your Garbage Man!

by 4 Comments

Earthworm Garbage Man AdImagine selling up to 500 books from a single insertion of a 1/16th page space ad.

That’s exactly what mail order copywriter, Lyman Wood, did time and again from his backwoods advertising empire in Vermont.  Sure, having an office in a New York high rise, like Paul Michael, sounds sexier, but the beauty of this business is the same today as it was then — lower overhead equals higher net profits.

There’s a little known, great read about Lyman Wood and his company called “What a Way to Live and Make a Living.” The book analyzes many winning ads and Wood explains the advertising philosophy that made them successful.

Click on the thumbnail to the left for an 864 KB PDF of this amazingly economical ad to save to your swipe file.

Filed Under: Direct Response Copywriting Swipe File

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. http://www.ProductsWithChris.com says

    March 21, 2009 at 5:57 am

    That’s a great opening headline on the ad!

    Do you know when this ad was written? Because I wonder what the equivalent of $1 per book or $500 total sales is in today’s money.

    I’ve never thought of selling via a standard print ad but I might now. The only problem is the high cost of placing an ad, typically several hundred dollars.

    Risking money up front is something that many online marketers are not used to but I also have experience of it paying off and you do get great visibility.

  2. admin says

    March 22, 2009 at 7:26 pm

    The ad ran in the early 1950’s and $500 then is equivalent to $3,900, inflation adjusted today.

    Understand this ad was one sixteenth of a page.

    Infinitesimal and commensurately cheap, yet it converted like gangbusters.

    True, a lot of “Internet marketers” are averse to risking dollars on space. Ultimately, you are a “marketer” and may be wasting valuable time if you don’t enter the print arena with an appropriate offer.

    You know you never pay the quoted rate for space, right?

    Best,
    Lawrence

  3. Chris says

    March 22, 2009 at 7:32 pm

    Yes I learned this the hard way. That the initial rate quoted can often be bargained hard down to a quarter or even less!

    I realised this at a later date when the magazine was phoning me to get an ad in the day of the publication deadline.

    I told them it wouldn’t be profitable unless I had it for a quarter of the price and they didn’t even hesitate!

  4. Raymond Merz says

    March 27, 2009 at 11:07 am

    By the way folks, READ THAT BOOK. Stories and advice from the trenches of a true-blue mail order man.

    I know you’ve got a lot on your plate, but it’s well worth the time.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • George Haylings: Info Marketer Who Laughed at the Depression
  • The Case Against Swiping Part 1 (UPDATE)
  • Promise + Proof = Profits
  • Strange Ads That Sell
  • David Ogilvy and the 10 Day Home Confinement Ad
  • Attack of the Killer TINYTORIALS
  • All Time Top 10 Ad in Education (“How to Become a Straight-A Student”)
  • They Laughed At the John Caples Swipe… Until! (UPDATED)
  • SMASHING 800-Pound Gorilla Objections in Your Headline
  • Mail Order Ad by Gene Schwartz’s Copywriting Mentor: Cecil Hoge
  • The Golfer Struck by Lightning… and the Marketer Who Struck Millions in Mail Order (UPDATED)
  • One of the Greatest U.S.P.s You’ll Ever See

Secondary Sidebar

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Interview with Ogilvy & Mather CEO, Ken Roman

 
 
 
 
 

Breakthrough Business Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved. 6890 E. Sunrise Ste. #120-118, Tucson, AZ 85750 USA 866-863-4850
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Earnings Disclaimer