Posted by:
John Newtson
December 22, 2007
Issue #314
Dear Business Builder,
You’re about to get annoyed.
Why? Because you’re about to meet a 21-year old copywriter who is succeeding, big time.
It’s okay, he annoys me too. (If you’re anything like me, you were decidedly NOT doing anything so professional at 21. Not by a long shot.)
Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great guy. But c’mon, his copy was getting praised by legends in the business before he was old enough to buy a beer.
Seriously, how annoying must it have been to be in a room full of copywriting and marketing veterans and hear THIS from the lips of Gary Halbert himself …
“This letter is so good – I recommend everyone here get a copy of this letter and put it in their swipe file!”
And then you realize the copywriter in question was a TEENAGER at just 19?
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Posted by:
John Newtson
December 8, 2007
Issue #302
Dear Business Builder,
You’ve thought about writing a book before, haven’t you?
Imagine going down to Barnes & Noble and casually maneuvering a friend over to a particular bookshelf. Just so you can say off-handedly, “Oh look, they’re carrying my book.”
And they’ll pretend it’s a big surprise and you haven’t blathered on ad nauseam about every minute detail of getting your book written and published.
Wouldn’t it be great?
The truth is, having a book published is a huge credibility element. And probably the surest way to establish your expertise in just about anything.
Today, you’ll meet Carolyn Warren, author of Mortgage Rip-offs and Money Savers. (You can find out more about Carolyn at www.mortgage-helper.com.)
Her book was a smashing success. And she went from being an unknown nationally to being the top expert in her field.
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Posted by:
John Newtson
November 24, 2007
Issue #290
See how legendary copywriters
write their sales letters
Dear Business Builder,
If you haven’t gotten over there, I’ve been posting fully scanned magalogs, space ads and direct mail at our Direct Response Marketing Forum.
It’s stuff from top copywriters, stuff I’ve gotten in the mail or found in magazines.
It’s a goldmine, really.
Because you get to see how the best in the business convince people to respond to an offer.
And I want to make sure you’re adding this stuff to your collection. Because these are some of the most valuable learning tools a copywriter or marketer can get his hands on.
Let’s start off with a bang …
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Posted by:
John Newtson
November 10, 2007
Issue #278
The Secrets of a $100 Million Dollar
OFFLINE Business Unit
BUILT on User Generated Content
Back Before Al Gore Invented the Internet
Dear Business Builder,
Before the Internet was even a twinkle in Al Gore’s eye, one offline magazine publisher was making a mint through user-generated content.
Just more proof that the same marketing principles apply across advertising media. In 1965 when Roy Reiman founded his publishing company, he didn’t need a buzzword like “Web 2.0” to see the value of getting customers to contribute content.
The Reiman publishing empire was bought in 1999 by Reader’s Digest for $764 million.
I discovered Reiman’s story from Gordon Grossman’s Confessions of a Direct Mail Guy.
Grossman, by-the-by, is a legend in direct mail. He’s right up there with Dick Benson and Eugene Schwartz. Ever hear of sweepstakes? That was Gordon Grossman; he pioneered them for direct mail during his 17 years at Reader’s Digest.
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Posted by:
John Newtson
October 27, 2007
Issue #266
Dear Business Builder,
No happy, feel good stuff today.
This is about your bottom line.
You do all that work to build your list and convert your prospects into customers. Then your customer stops buying.
You already know the main ways to increase sales …
- Get more customers
- Increase profit per sale
- Increase purchasing frequency
Notice how two out three is about what you do AFTER you get a customer.
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