Posted by:
Daniel Levis
January 7, 2009
Issue 584
— David Ogilvy
Dear Web Business-Builder,
Kicking around over the holidays, I couldn’t help but be amazed at the sheer stupidity of some of the advertising I ran across.
It reminded me of the above quote …
I wasn’t there when the legendary David Ogilvy said this, but I take it to mean: “Don’t insult people’s intelligence with your advertising.”
It seems like just good common sense, doesn’t it?
But somehow, Ogilvy is not the only advertising sage to have felt it necessary to stress this point …
This famous quote from Claude Hopkins leads to the same conclusion: “There is one simple answer to many advertising questions. Ask yourself, ‘Would it help a salesman sell the goods? Would it help me to sell them if I met a buyer in person?’”
And John E. Kennedy had this to say: “We must not expect average people to have classical educations, nor an excessive appreciation for art and inference. Neither are they as children in intellect, nor thick-headed fools.
“They are just average Americans of good, average intelligence, considerable shrewdness, and large bumps of incredulity. Most of them might have come from Missouri because they have ‘show me!’ ever at the ready in their minds, when any plausible advertising claim is made to them.”
Interestingly enough, all three of these giants of our industry had one foot in the world of direct response and the other in the world of brand advertising.
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Posted by:
Daniel Levis
December 31, 2008
Issue #580
And how the simplest words can come together to release a mind-blowing flood of motive energy …
In this article:
- The true nature of words …
- Your six-point word choice checklist …
- Two words to never put on your order buttons that everyone does …
- How a trial lawyer twists words to win judges and influence juries!
- And much more!
Dear Web Business-Builder,
You can have the best sales message in the world, but your prospects will always understand it through the prism of their own emotions, preconceptions, prejudices, and pre-existing beliefs – not yours.
For that reason, your choice of words can have a remarkable impact on how your message is understood. Choosing the right words rides on your taking an imaginative leap into your prospect’s shoes to know how they’re thinking and feeling.
But what are they anyway – words?
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Posted by:
Daniel Levis
December 24, 2008
Issue #574
In this issue:
- Why some people almost always make money online …
- The sad truth that may be holding you back …
- The astonishing secret to harnessing the awesome mental magic that lies latent within your own mind …
- And more!
Dear Web Business-Builder,
Some days writing Web copy is like a 5,000 piece jigsaw puzzle, all sky. Other days it’s easy as pie. Here’s a strange fact for you that may explain why …
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Posted by:
Daniel Levis
December 17, 2008
Issue 569
Dear Web Business-Builder,
When credit flows like water, and people can’t spend their money fast enough, it gives rise to weak businesses who survive in spite of themselves.
Shoddy service … non-existent follow-up … and a complete disregard for the value of customer relationships abounds.
Over the past several years I’ve spent easily $100,000 on various home renovation and maintenance services with about a dozen different local businesses. Yet, I can count the number of times I’ve received any follow-up communication on my baby finger.
No attempt to build any kind of long term relationship and sustained awareness was made. No effort to sell me anything else, or obtain a testimonial or referral was expended. No friendly follow-up survey to find out how they could better serve was done. Nada!
By and large, the service that went along with the large-ticket purchases that made up this sum was border-line acceptable … as far as the lower ticket items, pathetic …
Ask a question or make a complaint and I can almost count on making the same one several times. When I do get some attention, more often than not it’s rude and unhelpful.
And so … frequently I find myself rummaging through the Yellow Pages or online to repurchase one-off items or services because I can’t remember who I bought them from previously … or because I DO remember, and the memory is bad.
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Posted by:
Daniel Levis
December 10, 2008
Issue #564
Dear Web Business-Builder,
Staying abreast of what’s happening in the world right now is a double-edged sword for us marketers.
On the one hand, keeping your finger on the pulse of your market is crucial to “operation money-suck.”
On the other, it can become a dangerous diversion that seeps poverty consciousness into your noggin.
You need to choose your perspective wisely …
And that means remaining a dispassionate observer, personally immune to the perverse mental masturbation that captivates the masses, in times like these.
In the foyer of the communal office space where I hatch my evil marketing plots to rule the world, hangs a huge flat screen TV tuned to the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for you foreigners).
It’s all news, all of the time … one economic doomsday scenario after another. There is another TV in the interior of the complex tuned to the same channel. And all day long the banter rages on like a bad horror movie.
On the radio, bubble-heads babble nonstop. In my in-box, Chicken Littles’ galore accost me with their inane yak. Even the water cooler gossip is filled with idiotic blather about the economy.
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