Posted by: Clayton Makepeace
June 30, 2008
Issue #448

Lovable Scoundrels

My Secret Weapon:
The “unfair advantage” that has helped me
beat the competition into submission since 1995: 
How you can have it, too …

Dear Business-Builder,

They say the ultimate in “chutzpah” is killing your parents, then asking the judge for mercy because you’re an orphan.

I know — gross.  But you gotta admire people who know what they want and who’ll go to just about any lengths to get it.

Like the guy I knew who landed an airplane, unannounced at a KGB listening post at the Arctic Circle and bribed a Soviet Colonel to lend him a helicopter — just so his son could make it into The Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest person ever to visit the North Pole.

Or the infamous mercenary and publisher of Soldier of Fortune magazine I spent a day and a raucous evening with in 1980 who got himself invited to tag along on the Bay of Pigs Invasion just for grins.

Or the guy I met just last week, who sold Castro a boatload of coffee for $1.8 million — cash in advance — then told the Cuban authorities his boat had sunk on its way to Havana.

I don’t care who you are; this stuff is priceless.

One of the most lovable scoundrels I’ve ever met
is a guy named Larry Owen …

I met Larry at Will’s Honky Tonk — “A sunny spot for shady people” — one of the raunchiest biker bars in Florida back in 1995.  I was just walking away from the bar with an iced-down brewski when I overhead someone mention that he owned an advertising agency.

I spun on my heel and introduced myself.  “My name’s Clayton; I’m in advertising too — I’m a copywriter.”  Larry gave me a dismissive glance; “I’m Larry Owen,” he said in the most disinterested tone of voice imaginable.  “Give me your card — maybe I can give you some work, someday.”

Don’t know if it was what he said or how he said it, but something about his reply really torqued me off.  “I’m booked for five years in advance,” I said.  Here’s my card … maybe I can give YOU some work.”

At that moment a great friendship was born.  Over the years, we terrorized Florida on our Harleys.  We kicked up our heels at countless Bike Weeks in Daytona — along with a half-million other bikers.  We tore up Sloppy Joe’s every fall at the Key West Poker run. 

Larry and I also grabbed The Redhead and whichever girlfriend Larry was charming out of her socks at the time and spent weeks touring Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina.  And we’ve been invited guests at some of the most obscenely outrageous parties thrown by some of the baddest outlaw biker gangs around (yes, you know their names!). 

… And together, we created dozens of direct mail promotions that literally blew away everything my clients’ competitors had in the mail.

Because you see, Larry’s my Secret Weapon …

Without Larry, my now-famous promotions for Safe Money Report … the promos that enabled us to mail up to three million pieces per month while our competitors could only mail one-tenth as many … the promos that made that newsletter the largest and most successful of its kind in the world … wouldn’t have been anywhere near as successful as they proved to be.

And without Larry, my “23-Cent Lifesaver” promotion for Health Resources would not have mailed 30 million pieces over the last couple of years.

Now Larry, being a single guy, is known for running with scissors and coloring outside the lines.  So a couple of years ago, he disappeared.  Turns out, he took almost two years off traveling solo and living throughout Central and South America. He spent months living with friends in a tree house on a Colombian island off Costa Rica, and at the boats-only city of Bocas del Toro, Panama.

And when he returned, his inbox was flooded with e-mails (and more than a few suggestive snapshots) from ladies who’d caught “Larry Fever” throughout Central America.

Now, Larry’s back at work — and once again, he’s turning out amazing direct mail promotions for major national clients in the health and investment industries.

What Larry Owen knows that could rocket your response
— beginning right now …

As you might suspect, I’ve worked with dozens of graphic designers over the years.  Most were little more than computer nerds who had learned how to use Quark Express, PageMaker or InDesign — but who knew nothing at all about marketing, let alone how to create direct mail that people will actually read.

And of course, most of the rest were design school grads who’d been taught how to make a page look “cool” … or “pretty” — and who wouldn’t dream of junking up their precious white space with ugly type.

That’s where Larry Owen rises head and shoulders above the pack. 

See, Larry began as an ad man — creative director for McCann-Erickson and J. Walter Thompson — cutting his teeth on memorable, even legendary campaigns for Coca-Cola, Chick-fil-A, Bosch & Lomb, Hilton Hotels, Sea World, Six Flags, Georgia Pacific, Wells Fargo Bank and many others.

That means Larry understands what it takes to create direct mail that actually increases response.

Want a sample of Larry’s work for your swipe file? 
OK — here’s one …

Take a look at this PDF and you’ll see:  Larry knows five things that have rocketed my response — and that can do the same for you:

1. If it doesn’t stop your prospect in his tracks, it won’t get read.  As Larry’s laying out his promotions, he visualizes his prospect standing at the mailbox or at the kitchen counter sorting the mail.  He imagines that the mail is full of strong controls by his client’s biggest competitors.  And he crafts covers and envelopes that make it impossible to look away.
2. If it doesn’t make reading inviting and easy, it won’t get read.  Larry is a past master at using the findings of the legendary Daniel Starch/McGraw-Hill Readership Study to lay my copy out so that it almost reads itself.  From his type selection and size to his line length, to his management of widows and orphans, he removes every possible barrier to readership.  And every spread is replete with pull-quotes and other devices to stop scanners in their tracks and to pull them down into the text.
3. If it doesn’t use photos, illustrations and other devices to communicate quickly and add credibility — and to keep prospects reading — it won’t produce a sale.  In all my years, I’ve never seen a designer who’s better than Larry at incorporating images into copy in ways that deepen interest and readership — especially crucial in the long-copy tomes I’m known for writing.
4. If it doesn’t use what we know about color psychology to emotionally “heat up” the prospect, it won’t do jack.  See, Larry knows how to use colors to put prospects at ease while your copy raises their emotional temperature.

Put simply, Larry knows that he only has five tasks in every promotion — and none of them have anything to do with making it “pretty.”

That’s why every promotion Larry creates does an outstanding job of …

A) Grabbing his prospect’s attention and instantly convert that attention to readership …

B) Making reading the page inviting and easy …

C) Forcing casual scanners into the text …

D) Including action devices on every spread with your toll-free number prominently displayed along with directions on where to go to find your order form, and …

E) Making your response device inviting and easy to use.

My advice:

• If you want a crackerjack designer who’ll add response points to your next campaign … who’ll turn your project around lickety-split … and who will NOT charge you a king’s ransom, drop Larry an e-mail at Lowen36@TampaBay.RR.Com.  (Important:  Better do it now; he’s laying out his work schedule for the next six months and his dance card is filling up fast!)
• If you’d welcome a way to learn how to create direct mail formats and design that amplifies response, stay tuned!  Larry has generously agreed to take time from is busy schedule to become a regular contributing editor to The Total Package!

In fact, watch your inbox – because next Tuesday, we’re publishing Larry’s first article in our Guest Editor spotlight – a detailed, blow-by-blow account of the decisions he made in creating this very promotion!

Hope this helps…

Yours for Bigger Winners, More Often,

Clayton Makepeace
Publisher & Editor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE

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10 Comments »

1. Comment by Julie J. — June 30, 2008 @ 3:40 pm

   THANK YOU for including the swipe file!  I started out studying copywriting a couple of years or so ago, but I’ve recenly discovered my love of DR design.  (I’m better at it too.)  I eagerly look forward to your new series on DR design.

   Thanks for always helping me learn!

   Julie

2. Comment by dwayne — June 30, 2008 @ 6:28 pm

   This is exactly what I’ve been waiting for! This is what attracted me to Claytons copywriting and made him stand out from others, in my opinion at least. Everything that I get in the mail is pretty standard ugly copy but good, nonetheless, for the actually purpose of a swipe.

   But the design of Clayton’s swipes that I have is really what intrigued me. I think adding that with plain old killer copy is sure to a whole lotta kick butt. Especially when your using it for you own business in a market not used to good copy.

   I cant wait for more on this right here.

   Thanks Clayton

3. Comment by Annie Anderson — June 30, 2008 @ 7:25 pm

   Thanks, Clayton!

   This is great. I look forward to seeing what Larry has to offer here. As a graphic designer, this stuff is exactly what I’ve been looking for. 

   Relevant, as always.

   ~ Annie Anderson

4. Comment by Dean Kennedy — July 1, 2008 @ 3:19 am

   Wow, looking forward to it. I get all excited about line lengths and widows and orphans, and hardly anyone knows what I’m on about or wants to talk about it!

   I have 19 years of self-taught design and desktop publishing experience, and nearly as much for copywriting and public relations … and in recent years have combined the two … I love this topic area and am really looking forward to Larry’s contributions.

   I know we covered graphic design quite early in an EasyWriters presentation, but maybe we’ll see him on an EasyWriters webinar soon too!

   Thanks once again!

5. Comment by Larry Owen — July 1, 2008 @ 9:20 am

   The wisdom is in the details.

   There’s a little philosopher in all of us, and mathematician A. Whitehead spoke directly to copywriters and artists when he pointed out, "We think in generalities, but we live in detail."

   Our business is all about details, and the image the details create.

   As a designer, I remind myself the copy contains the details, and my job is simply to bring the words to life.

   Respectful layout is the vehicle.

   Since this "Scoundrel" post, I’ve fielded a good number of emails. Thank you!

   And I want to point out I personally don’t provide copy writing or web site design — only direct mail pieces and print ads — but I will contact you with some suggestions for these requests.

   Sorry if this is one block of text: it seems to be a Mac thing.

   Larry Owen

6. Comment by Nick — July 1, 2008 @ 2:54 pm

   Larry sounds like good people - looking forward to learning from him, and perhaps getting a peak at some of those pics from South America

7. Trackback by Copywriting Kid — July 3, 2008 @ 7:37 am

   Swipe File: Larry Owens “Chlorella Ad”…

   Get this into your swipe file and study it:
   NutritionWatchDigest 2008, The Shocking Truth About Chlorella (Click to download)
   ……

8. Comment by Martin Smith — July 4, 2008 @ 11:00 pm

   Oh my! you writer guys are living a charmed life! where everthing you touch turns to gold..millions made!… how you can do it too!!
   What planet are you guys from???
   terrorizing florida on your harley’s!! a coupla copy writers!! oh ya i’m scared again what planet are you from clayton??

9. Comment by Martin Smith — July 4, 2008 @ 11:02 pm

   And further more!! You all speak in riddles!! You talk alot and say nothing !! WOW what!! You have your own language no one can understand! Pure cartoons!!!

10. Comment by Larry Owen — July 5, 2008 @ 10:29 pm

    Martin Smith, I believe there’s a job waiting for you out there; to write the instruction manual for a new electric chair.

    Translation of riddles; Clayton’s post:

    1. "Charmed Life," means 16-hour work days starting a 4 AM, six or seven days a week. Anxiety over content leads to fist fights — until Clayton picked me up and threw me across the hotel room. Wendy screamed, "Just like rock stars!"

    2. "Terrorizing Florida on our Harleys," means buying expensive rounds of drinks for biker gangs wearing ‘colors’; who we pay to get photos with them and their ladies for our studded pink photo albums. Terror is also when your butt is sore.

    3. "Everything we touch turns to gold," means checking out of the Ritz-Carlton and Adams Mark hotels with my old AmEx gold card, or platinum card (since 1977).

    Sometimes we ‘terrorize’ with loyal clients with us. One Harvard type we met up with got a tattoo in Daytona to celebrate our bonding brotherhood.  Good PR.

    By the way, I’m not a direct response copywriter. That’s Clayton’s job and he always tells the truth, avoiding hyperbole. He makes millions. I don’t.  I only design the pages that get printed. (… Clayton?!!)