19th October 2009
Which converts better, which drives more sales, long-form copy or short-form copy?
It's been debated since the first recorded newspaper advertisement was published in 1704 in the Boston News-Letter:
"At Oyster-bay on Long-Island in the Province of...
04th August 2009
Billy Mays, who sadly passed away at age fifty, was a pot-bellied, black-bearded Atlantic City carnival barker in a blue long-sleeve shirt and a white undershirt.
He had a loud, shrill and annoyingly exuberant voice. And he seemed to lean forward, thro...
12th May 2009
I have a friend in Florida who owns six Subway franchises.
He's rolling in dough, whole wheat and greenbacks.
He loves the recession. He's remodeling his house (stimulating one South Florida contractor to keep swinging a hammer).
Dollar stores ar...
23rd February 2009
I love hypey copy.
Hypey copy is like a fine wine. It has great legs, a fine body and a rich nose.
Hype excites the emotions, stimulates the buying glands and ultimately converts better than dull, drab, "only the facts ma'am" marcom-style copy.
...
30th September 2008
Put yourself in your client's shoes. No, strike that.
Put yourself in your prospect's shoes (a prospect being someone you've never marketed, sold to or married before).
She doesn't know you; she doesn't trust you, and she couldn't care less if you ...
18th July 2008
True story:
Not too long ago I was approached by a marketer who had a product idea -- just the idea mind you.
And he wanted to hire me to develop it... market it... sell it... and everything in-between.
The reason being -- he didn't have the time...
25th May 2008
Great! You've invented a better mouse trap. You're the smartest consultant advisor, guru ever to pick up a microphone and wear shoes. You've figured out how to turn chicken feathers into gold, toilet water into oil, and the Sunday paper into a stack of $1...
29th April 2008
I'm a tennis fanatic—my whole family is. I'm a 4.0, my wife is a 3.5, (those are USTA rankings) and my daughter plays on her HS tennis team.
If a tennis match is being broadcast on the Tennis Channel, ESPN or FSN, life comes to an immediate standstil...
25th March 2008
For those marketers who labor tirelessly, though fruitlessly, oblivious to marketing history, and unversed in copy that brings home the bacon—please take note: this article is for you.
To begin...
One of the most famous questions ever asked in an ...
19th February 2008
Most businesses talk a big game... with very small fonts.
They claim they offer the best, the first, the most, the biggest, the newest, the cheapest, the easiest, fastest, simplest this and that—and yet do it so quietly and inconspicuously, it’s al...
06th November 2007
Just because you build it, and they come... doesn’t mean they’ll stay.So you’ve got Google adwords, banner ads, co-registration and joint venture deals, postcards, print ads, radio commercials, your mother-in-law and everyone else you can bribe, caj...
10th August 2007
Not too long ago a mortgage broker
in Texas asked if I'd write a lead generation
package for his company-actually he just
wanted me to write a letter. I guess he didn't
need an envelope. More about that in a
moment.
So my first question was: ...
10th August 2007
My 15-year old daughter, she of the high school English Honors and International Baccalaureate Program, wants to teach me how to be a better copywriter.
She doesn’t think I’m quite up to snuff yet.
“You can’t write that. That’s not even...
15th June 2007
Don’t you love going to a friend’s house just so they can whip out the latest family photos of fat ol’ uncle Ernie sitting in a beach chair, holding a warm beer and smiling like he just let out a fart.
What joy!
And don’t you just salivate o...
03rd May 2007
You decide...
A large purchase contract for a new computer system linking its far-flung international operations will be awarded today in Peoria, Illinois by Caterpillar, Inc., the construction machinery manufacturer.
Bidding competition among int...
