Posted by:
Carline Anglade-Cole
August 26, 2008
Issue #488
Man, I really goofed!
I mean, I recently made a DUMB mistake – and it cost me over a thousand bucks!
But thanks to knowing an amazing secret, I was able to recoup my loss and even save face.
What’s the secret?
Knowing the POWER of the written letter!
Here’s what happened …
I made plans to fly to Washington, D.C to pick up Alexis, Paris and Elliott – my nieces and nephew so they can spend some of their summer vacation with my family.
I would fly up early Tuesday morning, meet their folks at the airport, scoop up the kiddies and fly back to Atlanta the same afternoon. Simple, right?
Well … not really. Turns out I made a big mistake – and I didn’t find out about it until the very last minute.
But wait.
The theme of this article is the power of a letter. So, let me allow the letter tell you what happened …
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Posted by:
Gary Bencivenga
August 19, 2008
Issue #484
Dear Marketing Top Gun:
My friends, star marketers Alex Mandossian and Yanik Silver, recently paid me a compliment by calling me, "The world’s greatest living reason-why copywriter."
I consider it such high praise because my mentor, David Ogilvy, was in my view the greatest reason-why copywriter of all time. In fact, when asked by a reporter if he was a strong proponent of "reason why" advertising, Ogilvy responded, "Is there any other kind?"
Thinking of Mr. Ogilvy (or "D. O.," as we staffers at Ogilvy & Mather called him) has prompted me to once again offend every English teacher whose classes I endured, and inspire everyone else who speaks the King’s English to cringe, by penning another of my infamous poems, this one entitled …
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Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
August 4, 2008
Issue #473
How to write better sales copy, faster.
Dear Business-Builder,
Short one today.
As you read this, I’m up to my eyeballs in what’s commonly known as “Family Time.”
Last Friday, The Redhead, my 15-year-old daughter and my 14-year-old son surrendered our dignity to the Department of Homeland Security … clambered into four First-Class seats on a Delta jet in Atlanta … endured the 4 ½ hour non-stop to San Francisco … rented a dorky minivan (aargh!) … and after a couple of days of sightseeing, began slowly winding our way south.
So far, we’ve spent one night in Atlanta, two nights in San Francisco and we bunked last night in Menlo Park. Today, we’re doing The Redwoods, Santa Cruz, Monterey and tonight we will collapse, exhausted, I’m sure, in Carmel.
Tomorrow, it’s on to San Luis Obispo and not one, but two tours of Hearst Castle … the next day, Santa Barbara and the beach. Then, it’s three nights at Raffles L’Ermitage in Beverly Hills.
If you need me, I’ll be in the bar. And if I know me, I’ll be nursing a double Grey Goose on the rocks.
So, since none of this has actually happened yet (it’s still last Tuesday, my time), and since I have a ream of copy still to do for my clients and another ream to finish up for my own products PLUS a webinar to prepare for my beloved EasyWriters Marketing Club (membership: Closed!) before I head out …
I’m going to cut right to the chase …
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Posted by:
Carline Anglade-Cole
July 29, 2008
Issue #469
I love bullets!
They’re fun - and easy to write once you get the hang of ‘em!
In this issue, I’m going to show you some of my secrets for writing powerful, strong and kick-butt bullets! Once you learn my tricks, feel free to start using them immediately. You’ll see how your copy just POPS, flows and takes off!
An easy way to create momentum in your copy:
Faster than a speeding (you know the rest) …
In case you’re not sure what I’m blabbering about, here’s how I define a bullet:
"A mini headline followed by strong supporting sentence aimed to tease and entice your prospect."
Bullets help you create momentum in your copy. And since most people scan instead of read - bullets can help you quickly drive home the points you want your prospect to remember.
I love working for clients like Boardroom, Rodale and Frank Cawood & Associates. These guys really appreciate the value of bullets. In fact, for their style of copy - bullets are KING! Here’s how I tackle writing a sales letter for them:
When I read their book, I turn every interesting fact or "fascination" I discover into a bullet. By the time I’m finished with the book, I’ve usually written well over 100 bullets.
Then I break up the bullets in groups of 10 to 15 … add a few paragraphs of copy … drop in another 10 to 15 bullets … do that for several more times … add a few subheads … and voila - my letter practically writes itself!
Here are five ways to give your bullets a powerful punch. And take a look at the examples for each. They’re actual bullets I wrote for a Boardroom Bottom Line Health promo:
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Posted by:
Gary Bencivenga
July 15, 2008
Issue #459
Dear Marketing Top Gun:
In this BULLET you’ll discover the two most powerful words in advertising and how to use them to explode your response fairly easily and consistently.
Which Headline Pulled Best?
First, to illustrate the secret, can you guess which of these two magalog headlines was the big winner for a financial newsletter?
HEADLINE A: (next to photo of financial guru, Charles J. Givens):
If you’ve got 20 minutes a month,
I guarantee to work a financial miracle
in your life.
(caption under photo)
Charles J. Givens, the self-made $200-millionaire,
entrepreneur and best-selling financial author of all time.
HEADLINE B: (same photo and caption):
The Millionaire Maker
(subhead) Can he make YOU rich, too?
* * *
Which of these headlines absolutely smashed the other in a split-run test, out pulling it by a huge margin and becoming a profitable control for years?
Rather than just tell you the winner, let me describe how you could know in advance, once you understand the two most powerful words in advertising today.
By the way, no BULLET you will ever read will give you more sheer power to boost your response consistently, beat existing control packages easily and create your own blockbuster products than the simple yet profound secret I will now share. Yet I doubt if you have ever read this anywhere, even if you have been a lifelong student of advertising.
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