In a previous blog post, I introduced you to modeling. To refresh your memory, modeling is a process where you send the names of your existing customers to a huge database company like Epsilon, Experian, or Equifax. They match your names to the same names in their database, and then tell you everything they know […]
Is a long subject line better than short? Do green envelopes do better around Christmas? Is a postcard enough copy? There’s no reason to guess! Instead, you can apply tested principles in preparing your promotional materials that increase their effectiveness. Advertising legend Robert Collier called it “taking the guess out of advertising.” Collier understood that […]
The legends of advertising always made a point of not wasting money on campaigns that do not work. A great deal is resting on the success of your promotional efforts. To get the most bang from your advertising buck, and find new customers who will stick with you, you need to send out very targeted […]
Few copywriters were as effective at selling a product or an idea as Robert Collier. He knew what it took to get people’s attention, to build a sense of desire in them for the product, to induce a sense of urgency, and to get them to take action. You can check out some of his […]
David Ogilvy, the advertising genius who some believe was the model for Mad Men’s Don Draper, was widely heralded as “The Father of Advertising.” In 1983 he wrote about his experiences with a number of famous ad campaigns and commented on different aspects of the business in his book Ogilvy on Advertising. In Chapter 2 […]
Claude C. Hopkins was a whiz at writing effective advertising copy back in the early part of the last century. But what really made him stand out as a legend was that he tested everything he presented to the public. As a result he knew, for a fact, what kind of copy worked and what […]
John Caples, one of the 20th century’s most successful advertising men, was not only a great copywriter, but also an avid copy tester. Here was one bit of Caples wisdom that tells the whole story: “Test everything. Doubt everything. Be interested in theories, but don’t spend a large sum of money on a theory without […]
Robert Collier’s phenomenal success as a copywriter during the 20th century made him a figure that many ad writers turn to today for advice and inspiration. In his classic work, The Robert Collier Letter Book, he dissected a series of ads to show what it was that made them work – or fail to work. […]
Gary Halbert was a tremendous inspiration to aspiring copywriters from the mid-1980s until his death in 2007. His regularly published columns with his secrets of great copywriting, The Gary Halbert Letter, were eagerly pored over by newcomers and seasoned professionals alike. Halbert’s style was a bit flamboyant, and sometimes salty, but he understood how to […]
Purchasing from a direct mail solicitation can be a bit of a gamble – or at least that’s the way it may appear to many potential buyers. The problem is one of “perceived risk,” and it can make a promising sale simply disappear. But there’s something direct mail marketers can do to alleviate a prospect’s […]