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Copywriting Challenge May 2018 (Join me)

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

Joaquim

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A couple of years ago I read a thread from @oldscool. That is how I got to know what Copywriting actually was. So all credits go to @oldscool.

I have followed one Udemy course on copy to get going, which gave me a big ROI.
Now I want to take my biz to the next level and I’m convinced that copy is one of the few skills every entrepreneur should be really good at.

@Andy Black once said: “You can’t outsource passion and insight.” Never forgot this simple but golden nugget. Don’t know where he said it, but wrote it down in my notebook.

Challenge for the next 30 days:
  • Reading 7 books twice ( see photo ) and maybe more when recommended.
  • Rewriting around 9 ad and direct mail letters. I read on this forum that this step is not that beneficial, but I’ll do it, don’t think it would be a waste of time either.
You’ll find in this thread: book summaries, golden nuggets that are learned in this challenge, topranking of the books, progress etc..

I would love if I can convince some of you to join me in this challenge. I don’t mind you posting your progress in this thread. We can only motivate each other that way!

This challenge starts today the 1st of May 2018 and will take a whole month.

If you want to read the letter from Gary Halbert on the 30 day challenge:
The Gary Halbert Letter

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Joaquim

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The books will be read in the following order:

- Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins
- Cashvertising by Drew Whitman
- Ultimate Sales Letter by Dan Kennedy
- Tested Advertising Methods John Caples
- The Robert Collier Letter
- How to write a good advertisement by Victor Schwab
- The Boron Letters

I'm thinking of adding Breaktrough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz.
 

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Joaquim

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So the challenge is not about 30 days. It's about doing everything mentioned within this challenge. I don't think we'll be loosers when we did this challenge eventually in 50 days or so..

None the less I will do this in 30 days if it's not harming my learning process.
 

ProcessPro

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The books will be read in the following order:

- Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins
- Cashvertising by Drew Whitman
- Ultimate Sales Letter by Dan Kennedy
- Tested Advertising Methods John Caples
- The Robert Collier Letter
- How to write a good advertisement by Victor Schwab
- The Boron Letters

I'm thinking of adding Breaktrough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz.

Hey, there are so many books on the topic. How did you narrow it down to these? What is your criteria? Thanks.
 

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Argue

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p0stscript

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Whilst I will not taking the challenge, I will follow this with interest nevertheless.
 

Josh Rhodes

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What is the goal of doing this challenge? Or is it just busy work?

I only ask this because the first step in copywriting is knowing what the final goal is.

I'm not going to do this challenge, however I have read/studied all those selected and those which Gary mentioned in the letter. Highly recommend 7 steps for anyone doing direct mail.

I really didn't grasp the full benefits of Scientific Advertising until the 6th or 7th time reading (over 20x now) because it's easy to miss as its "so simple"

Also, I did find hand copying letters to be very beneficial...however I don't think 9 times is enough, I ended up doing 95 complete sales letters so far. Around number 30 you'll start to notice a rhythm of the words and while writing your own, you'll self correct. Once again, just my opinion
 

Eddie Temple

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I am already done with half of Scientific Advertising, and will share my notes when I finish..
Yeah it is "simple", but if you actually pay attention to what you read you will find tons of value
 

Joaquim

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I'm in, starting immediately. Do you have any revenue targets?
I'll set mine at $100, and at least 30 cold calls.. lezz go

Good idea Eddie Temple. Because I'm into e-commerce my goal will be a bit different.

I Hope to sell more products with the same amount I daily spent on ads.


Hey, there are so many books on the topic. How did you narrow it down to these? What is your criteria? Thanks.
As Argue told you, it's the Gary Halbert List. Only Cashvertising and Ultimate Sales Letter are not on his list. I added these 2 because of the amount of people who recommend these 2 books, especially on this forum.
Hey @ProcessPro, these books are recommended by Gary in his newsletter.

@Joaquim great thread.
Thanks Argue. And what a great list of rules. People can sell more by only applying this list.

What is the goal of doing this challenge? Or is it just busy work?
My goal is to sell more products with the same amount of money I daily spent on ads.
As of now I am trying to lower the cost per product sold, this is one step to help this process.

Thanks for the advice and will try to rewrite more than 9 sales letters.
 
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What was the Udemy course that you took?
 

ProcessPro

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Good idea Eddie Temple. Because I'm into e-commerce my goal will be a bit different.

I Hope to sell more products with the same amount I daily spent on ads.



As Argue told you, it's the Gary Halbert List. Only Cashvertising and Ultimate Sales Letter are not on his list. I added these 2 because of the amount of people who recommend these 2 books, especially on this forum.

Thanks Argue. And what a great list of rules. People can sell more by only applying this list.


My goal is to sell more products with the same amount of money I daily spent on ads.
As of now I am trying to lower the cost per product sold, this is one step to help this process.

Thanks for the advice and will try to rewrite more than 9 sales letters.

Thanks Joaquim!
 

Joaquim

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What was the Udemy course that you took?

It was from Jack Zerby, but I don't find it anymore. Will look for it more tonight. I'll keep you updated.

Update: Found it already. It was on Skillshare, sorry my bad.
 
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Fastlane Liam

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Ive ordered Cashvertisting on Amazon today,

Interested to join in with this.

Wanted to read that one anyway since its been recommended on here previously, so I'll start with it.

Only copywriting experience I have is a few Fiverr gigs and a Udemy course made by Len Smith - (although hes past away now sadly), his partner is a member of the FLF which is cool.
 

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They Laughed When I Sat Down To Read Copywriting Books,
But When I Began To Sell....

I've read most of those books, and would enjoy joining a study/discussion/application group about them.

If I could only take one book to a desert island, and had to write a great sales letter in a bottle to get rescued, I'd choose BREAKTHROUGH ADVERTISING. It's probably the best single book on the topic I've found.

One of the things Gene Schwartz discusses over and over, is that each super-successful ad campaign was the result of a unique analysis of the unique situation. How much do potential buyers already know about the offer? What's their attitude towards it? Which functional features will be most appealing to them? What emotional hot buttons will connect with them the most?

Because these are unique in every new business situation, the attempt to "copy and paste" an existing ad is unlikely to be successful!

Because I want to learn that way of thinking for my own unique situation, I'm going to skip Gary Halbert's exercise to write out some classic sales letters longhand.

I'm looking now to figure out:
  • How to apply the best of expert copywriting guidance to promote my own business now
  • I've experienced that copywriting mindset can help with a speech... I want to find how else it applies, beyond just writing materials that's obviously an ad
  • I want to include copywriting with marketing consulting I can provide to clients
Looking forward to where you want to take this discussion in 30 days and beyond!
 

Joaquim

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They Laughed When I Sat Down To Read Copywriting Books,
But When I Began To Sell....

I've read most of those books, and would enjoy joining a study/discussion/application group about them.

If I could only take one book to a desert island, and had to write a great sales letter in a bottle to get rescued, I'd choose BREAKTHROUGH ADVERTISING. It's probably the best single book on the topic I've found.

One of the things Gene Schwartz discusses over and over, is that each super-successful ad campaign was the result of a unique analysis of the unique situation. How much do potential buyers already know about the offer? What's their attitude towards it? Which functional features will be most appealing to them? What emotional hot buttons will connect with them the most?

Because these are unique in every new business situation, the attempt to "copy and paste" an existing ad is unlikely to be successful!

Because I want to learn that way of thinking for my own unique situation, I'm going to skip Gary Halbert's exercise to write out some classic sales letters longhand.

I'm looking now to figure out:
  • How to apply the best of expert copywriting guidance to promote my own business now
  • I've experienced that copywriting mindset can help with a speech... I want to find how else it applies, beyond just writing materials that's obviously an ad
  • I want to include copywriting with marketing consulting I can provide to clients
Looking forward to where you want to take this discussion in 30 days and beyond!

A great view you have on this matter Late Bloomer.
Will definitely order breakthrough advertising now.

I'm also convinced that this challenge won't make me an expert. I just want to complete it for my own business and businesses in the future. It's a great beginning in my opinion, I have no single experience in this field.

Another benefit is that with this knowledge it will be easier for me to hire the right people for copy in the future if needed.

As with many things copy is a never ending learning process.

Greets
 
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Joaquim

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Have finished Scientific Advertising yesterday, here’s my view on this book:

This book is in my opinion about the fundamentals of advertising. A great one to start with.

Every topic hammers on the fact that you have to tweak your copy to keep improving it.
Hopkins wants you to use the ‘Cost per Customer’ or the ‘Cost per $ Sale’ - metrics to key / compare your ads.

Hopkins also advises to use little money to test ads, products etc..
Now with the internet this is made very simple for us. Do not buy a big inventory on your own guess/expectations. Put little money in your product and test the market until you find a product that sells big.

Main Take-aways:
  • Ask yourself: “ would it help me sell the product if I met a buyer in person?”
  • Study your consumer. Consumer is your priority. Consumer is selfish.
  • Readers forget (use coupons, CTA’s..)
  • The more you tell the more you sell.
  • Never use negativity or talk bad about competitors.
  • Use actual figures and specific facts.
  • Changing people’s habits is very expensive.
  • Create a personality you want your brand to represent and show this also in your ads. Do not change this personality!
Began today with Cashvertising, which is one I looked forward to because of the many recommendations on this forum.
 

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Have finished Scientific Advertising yesterday, here’s my view on this book.

I agree with your summary. My full set of notes on the book comes to six pages. Highlights for me now:

Chapter 1 - Advertising done right is an analytical and extremely low risk business activity. This contradicts a lifetime of fearful conditioning about advertising as super-creative and very risky!

Chapter 2 - Guesswork is very expensive. This concerns me as I don't have time or money for big surveys and research projects now.

Chapter 3 - Free trials work. I don't remember my parents or anyone else growing up, ever mentioning that they got something for a week's trial before they had to pay or send it back. What ever happened between Claude's time and my own?

Chapter 5 - Headlines attract people who ALREADY care about your subject. You don't have to convince people they should care, only find people who already do.

Chapter 6 - Psychology
  • I love that principles of human nature are constant. This is a major reason I'm moving from coding geek to marketing guy now. If Bill Gates has some bright idea tomorrow, that doesn't make obsolete what I already know about how important love and pride are to people!
  • I find the point about coupons buying the sample vs. the free sample itself, to be confusing and contradictory. Not quite sure what Claude was getting at here.
Chapter 7 - Being specific - Timeless, important advice. I'll see what numbers and specific facts I can include.

Chapter 12 - Strategy - I found this chapter intimidating, lots of questions that would be hard to answer without a fully staffed research department of a major ad agency.

Chapter 13- Use of Samples - Ties in with MJ's discussion of control. Got to stay in control of the salesmanship for how your offer is presented, the vibe and environment you set up around it.

Chapter 14 - Distribution - Hard to see how this relates to services rather than products.

Chapter 15 - Test Campaigns - In today's money these "little" tests would be tens of thousands of dollars, so I'm not sure how relevant this approach is today. Need to find a way to scale it to my conditions.

Chapter 18 - Negative Advertising - "Picture what others wish to be, not what they may be now. We are attracted by sunshine, beauty, happiness, health, success. Then point the way to them, not the way out of the opposite. Tell people what to do, not what to avoid. Assume that people will do what you ask. Say, 'Send now for this sample.' Don't say, 'Why do you neglect this offer?' You will find that the positive ad out pulls the other four to one, if you have our experience."

I need to look at this. From my engineering background and how I was raised and educated, and most of my friendships, there's a huge tendency to focus on what's negative, problematic, risky, The Issues etc. I don't care much for that myself, it's just that it comes easy from conditioned responses! I need to rephrase everything negative and gloomy related to my offer, into what's positive and uplifting.

--

I don't have a copy of Cashvertising right now, so I'll skip ahead to the Dan Kennedy book next.
 

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Chapter 12 - Strategy - I found this chapter intimidating, lots of questions that would be hard to answer without a fully staffed research department of a major ad agency.

On the contrary, I think it's crucial for new businesses/entrepreneurs or small businesses looking to expand to think about strategy.

I don't think you need a full staffed R&D or agency. Just dedicate some time to think and map out your the industry and the various niches/segments you are evaluating to enter. A piece in this chapter talks about considering your competition. You can use Porter's 5 Forces framework to get a feel for your industry. It'll help you think though how your competition is currently serving the market and who it's catering. Are they huge players? This probably means high barriers to entry for you. Can you differentiate from them? Can you serve a smaller niche-market of the broader market that have special needs?

I think going through these motions and thinking it through will give you a clearer picture of how you want to enter and compete in the market and how you will use your advertising and branding to position yourself in customers' eyes.
 
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A piece in this chapter talks about considering your competition. You can use Porter's 5 Forces framework to get a feel for your industry.

Thanks! I'm familiar with Porter's 5 Forces, but I never before considered how it relates to advertising.

I do know there are several personality types I'd like to work with, and who would enjoy working with me. There are several business situations I'd like to help, where I could make a difference. There are several tasks I can do, that are worth paying for. There are several ways I could explain that, which could be emotionally engaging to those I'd like to have as clients. But I don't know which combination is most likely to have the most appeal. My only way to find out is to do some immediate, very small scale tests. I don't have the resources of the agency Collier worked for, or that ad writers like Gary Halbert and Dan Kennedy built into their fees and budgets, to take a month to interview hundreds of people before writing a killer ad. I have to start with what I've got, and refine it as I go instead of a detour for lots of quantitative research & analysis.

Your little questionnaire there is helpful for me to think things through well within a day, as best as I can, without that giant detour. This is the kind of idea sharing I came to the forum to find! :smile2:
 

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Reading notes ( and personal applications ) from Dan Kennedy's book "The Ultimate Sales Letter"

Intro: Greg Renker points out that the same techniques Dan discusses for typed, printed letters, also work on TV.

Dan likes to complain about the Internet. I wonder if he ever took a break from all that complaining, to write an entire book about how classic direct marketing techniques apply online? Did someone else write such a book?

"Before you start writing"
  • Knowing your own business, product or service, and customer, is a huge advantage. If you brought in another copywriter, they'd have to spend a lot of time learning about this.
  • Formal education isn't needed, but ability to collect and review good examples and relevant notes for this project is very helpful.
  • Get something good enough. Don't worry if you only get one part good enough, you can copy and paste all the good parts later.
"Get into the customer"
  • Mostly emotional: what keeps them awake, makes them angry, frustrated, eager with desire, influencing their decisions?
  • Also their context: trends they have to deal with, is someone else selling something to them and how's that going for them?
  • Visualization skills help here.
  • Address the reader's priorities, not your own. Use their language, not your own.
"Get into the offer"
  • Put each feature and benefit on an index card.
( Gary Halbert talks more about this... with a stack of cards about your offer and customer, and another stack of cards with classic headlines and proven advertising language... flip through them both together, saying Hmmmm? until a connection lights up in your mind. )

"Create a damaging admission and address flaws openly"

( This is important to me. I should list everything I dislike and am no good at, then exaggerate it to drive away people who care about it... and better attract my best business matches. For example, if you want someone who'll help you play office politics, you shouldn't put me on your team, etc. )

"Get your sales letter delivered"

( Gary Halbert also talks about this in more detail. What a huge amount of extra work and loss. How much better to use email, where instant deletion is so much more environmentally friendly that throwing the brochure into the landfill ! )

"Get your sales letter looked at"
  • Good point that you need to deliver what you promise, so if the outside or headline proclaims it's Personal, New, etc., you'd better fulfill that in the message without gimmicks.
"Get your sales letter read"

Dan at his best! A collection of timeless headlines, prestige words, items to add for the mass market, and tips for building credibility for professional services.

"Beat the price bugaboo"

More of Dan at his best, with apples to oranges comparisons, production cost, ignoring total price for monthly payments, and problem-stirring formulas!

"Review winning copywriting techniques and tactics"

More of Dan at his best! You only need a few great techniques. Intimidation/fear of missing out. Appeal to ROI. Appeal to ego. Guarantees.

( I wonder if there's something I can do for "refund and keep the premium." Maybe claim a price for an informative newsletter for me, which is free for a year just for someone giving my service a trial? )

"Write the first draft" ... no need to try to make it perfect, just get something on the page.

"Rewrite for strategy"
  • Copy is NOT too long to those who find the topic interesting and meaningful to them!
  • Everyday readability matters, standard English doesn't. [ My English teachers would've used their red pens on this comma splice. ]
  • Multiple reading paths, yes sequence, teasers: tricks of the trade.
"Rewrite for style"
  • First paragraph is an extended headline. Entertainment vs. humor. Sensory details. Impactful words. Personal style.
Dan's brief discussion of personal style, fits in the "Individuality" chapter in "Scientific Advertising," about the persona and tone of voice of the apparent author of the advertisements.

"Answer questions and objectives"
  • Include: a direct answer; objective plus social proof; restatement of the guarantee.
( This has been a worrisome area for me. I need to write out ALL the concerns, gotchas, issues I can imagine prospects having... toss out hte ones that are only emotionally driven in me, not really about others... and then go all Dan-credibility to demolish the rest! )

"Spark immediate action"

Seven specific suggestions from Dan that can make any offer more compelling to act on NOW. ( Can I find a way to add them all? )

"Check the checklist" but Dan doesn't offer one, I'm not sure what the point of this one page chapter was.

"Use graphic enhancement." Sure.

"Rewrite for passion! Edit for clarity!"

The headline alone here is enough to help me identify two different types of mindset, requiring two separate passes to improve the text. Great specific guidance. ( This chapter alone could be worth the whole book for me! )

"Compare your draft for examples"

Makes sense but I might have forgotten to do this if not for Dan's reminder here.

"Pretest"

Good examples. ( Gary Halbert mentioned he would chat with folks at the bar. "I'm trying to see if this advertisement makes any sense or if it's confusing, what do you think?" )

"Bring your letter to life" Huh? Pointless filler chapter?

"Change graphic enhancements," "Edit again." Okay, Dan.

"Mail a mock-up." Still valid in the Internet era, for example does your mail system discard part of your html formatting?

"The cool off" of 3-5 days. ) No, I wanna publish and get buyers NOW! Waaah! ;-) )

"Get second opinions" including Dan fishing for clients himself. Maybe I should put a $150 value on my initial consultation, and offer a coupon to make it free?

"Give it the final review," "go to press," "mail!" Short chapters for people who love logistics.

"The most versatile tool of all"

GREAT Dan material about integrating sales letters into a larger marketing campaign, including referrals.

"The million-dollar sales letter secret: the power of a sequence"

Dan at his best. Dan points out that "Georgio" keeps after prospects just like a collections agent.

"High-tech sales letters" - a very brief look at what was new technology way back when...

"About contacting the author" and "recommended reading list" - Dan got better at hyping his own whale-hunting efforts in his later work.

Looks like Caples is next on the reading list.
 
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I happened to pull up the Collier book before Caples.

Notes (and personal applications) of "The Robert Collier Letter Book."
The text is in the public domain, so your version might have different page numbers.
This is a long book so I'll make notes in sections. Here's part 1.
Next part might take a bit longer, as I got kind of bogged down in the second half.

Intro & chapter 1
  • Copywriting can bring in huge successes in business.
  • Even for people who aren't social successes in person.
( Collier had to pay for printing and postage; can I succeed with these approaches FOR FREE using outbound email and inbound social media to connect with great buyers quickly? )
  • Conversation is already ongoing in the reader's mind about what HE wants. Join it to succeed, or interrupt it with the irrelevant to get kicked away. The bait is whatever he ALREADY wants to gobble up FOR HIS OWN REASONS.
  • For many people, much of the time, a few prime human emotions are foremost in their minds.
( Some of the examples seem very quaint, old fashioned, irrelevant, not emotionally exciting to me at all. But, I'll keep reading to see if the principles are timeless, and to see if there are other examples that still have something special for modern audiences. )

Chapter 2
  • Decide on the feeling and outcome you want for the reader to experience, BEFORE you start writing.
  • The feeling he MUST HAVE what I offer, or can't rest until he does what I'm urging him to do.
  • When it is action you want, go after the emotions every time!
  • A book ignored for 15 years may be a huge sales success with a new promotional campaign that appeals to the EMOTIONS!
  • "Appeal to the reason, by all means. Give people a logical excuse for buying that they can tell to their friends and use to salve their own consciences. But if you want to sell goods, if you want action of any any kind, base your real urge upon some primary emotion!" ( We still see this with cars, for example, with logical "excuses" about efficiency, safety features, cargo space etc., when the real selling point is how we feel about them and more importantly how they help us feel about ourselves.)
( I looked up an inflation calculator. $1 in Collier's day is equivalent to about $25 today. But the psychological principles haven't changed a bit! )

Chapter 3
  • The reason news is popular is because people want a change, something more intense for their EMOTIONS. ( The intellectual cover story - that all the events are actually important and relevant to their own lives to know right now, today, it couldn't wait - is obviously not true! For example, one could be a well informed voter, even actively writing letters to one's Senators on many issues, by using just one morning a month to catch up on what happened lately in politics. If you don't have a political career, all the scandals and cover-ups and retaliation from day to day, don't actually affect you enough to make it meaningful to stay upset all day and stay through more ads between all the arguments. Even a big bad policy change usually takes half a year or more to get "rushed" through a bureaucracy, so it doesn't actually matter if you deal with it this very hour or a couple of weeks from now... except to the advertisers on the news! If you want a great example of emotional hooks getting people to read a long message, just look at the newspaper or newscast! )
  • If you can directly connect with the ongoing mental conversation about the reader's goals and wants, do so. If not, distract him with something newsworthy and exciting and then you have a chance to connect up what you have to say with his own affairs.
  • p 22 "You've got to have more money" paragraph could be used as is, for MJ's books and forum!
  • p 23 "Last week ... 300 men... Don't you think it's time that salary raise was coming your way?" could be a good paragraph I could rewrite for marketing consulting.
  • p 25 We've enclosed a check... if you want to buy more you can... Maybe I can use this with a "discount coupon" for initial consultations, rather than making them free?
  • Once you have a strong appeal that works, THEN play with formatting.
Chapter 4

Now we're getting into more appealing stuff!
  • Word pictures + gentle leading from one to another. The mind thinks in pictures. The most powerful pictures are the ones the mind made up from a description you provided, involving the reader's own imagination. ( I need a specific metaphor or image for each technical thing that I mention to customers... no buzzword! )
  • Add one picture at a time, starting with something the reader is familiar with.
  • "Put life into your descriptions - life, and when possible, a smile."
  • p 30 Laundry: "... to be at its best ... should be (handled) carefully and skillfully. Many discerning (buyers) entrust their (item) to The Company. In it, the constant thought is not "how quick" but "how well." But with all our care, we do save time for you, too." This could be used for things other than laundry, for example, web or software design.
  • p 31 Self deprecating humor in real estate: "Let us send you book about it. It is a very nice book, and not too much exaggerated." Ha! This line could still work.
  • p 31 "You get the full benefit of every atom of gas" could be used today for a fuel efficient car.
  • p 32 Plum cake and turtle soup and cakes and cheese and bacon stories are like the J Peterman (is that the spelling?_ catalog. I wonder if this is where he got the idea?
  • p 33 "The eating of them makes a man realize how fond he is of all his relatives - well, practically all." Ha!
  • War stories examples... the emotions of history.
Chapter 5

p 39 Persuasion is when you find the motive within the reader, and stir it to overcome his inertia or cheapness.
p 39 Six prime motives: love, gain, duty, pride, self-indulgence, self-preservation. Love is always the strongest motive. ( I've some some different lists of a few primary motives. I think the specific list doesn't matter so much, just that we're targeting these kinds of primary emotions in our copywriting. )
p 43 Perhaps the busy businessman delegated this to someone who screwed it up... "plausible deniability" or "saving face" opportunity is always a good idea when dealing with "Mr. Big!"

Chapter 6
  • Start with a free trial until you have the proof of lots of customers and testimonials.
( Could I offer a one week free trial and then get paid well? )

Chapter 7
  • Give a push forward without seeming to. Start with something simple: just come in and look, no obligation. Just give it a test drive. Now let's see what kind of trade in we could offer on your old car... Don't decide now. Try it then decide.
  • Yacht sale: news about construction; invitation to party... I think big-ticket real estate, etc. could be sold this way?
  • By through mail if it's even easier than going to the in person store as well as less expensive.
Chapter 8
  • Closing needs to include call to action and reason you'll lose out if you don't order now. be specific in the exact numbers explaining why dawdling means totally missing out. tell him exactly what to do. ( Gary Halbert was the total best-ever master at this. )
Chapter 9
  • Six essentials of a sales letter: opening, description, reason why, proof or guarantee, penalty, close.
  • Mining examples: quantify specific advantage to certain buyers, so it's no longer a commodity. If this can work for even trainloads of coal, how much more for our custom designed products and services?
  • p 57 "Remember, no saving - no cost. But if we save you 25%, we get your contract. Is it a go?"
  • GREAT story about constant analysis of why their product is more cost effective.
Chapter 10
  • 6 month trial, $25/week draw in 1913 (that would be about $3k/month today) and 5% commission on sales through mail.
  • Harvard Classics examples. p 73 purpose of letter # 1 is to winnow out those few who can sold the value of this idea.
Chapter 11
  • First sale might cost 10 to 50%, follow ons to existing customer should cost no more than 5 or 10% because you've already proven what you say. A low initial price can still be an order, that builds customer confidence so you can sell them something else more expensive.
Chapter 12

p 91 "An old dodge" can still make money today.
1/3 of revenue lost to returns, cancellations, nonpayment. That seems high to me?

Chapter 13

This book is a gold mine of REASONS WHY to make a special offer.
p 112 We have so few we can't sell them as usual but we can give them away with an order.
p 118 Sale of damaged sets so profitable that new ones were sent when damaged ones were sold out.
p 121 "The one constant factor in selling is human reactions. We seldom try to sell merchandise. We sell ideas.... The wording counts for little. It is the way you copy the idea back of the successful letter that counts."
p 129 Review of reviews - the different sections would make a good blog today.
BRILLIANT point - choice of free bonus can select for a particular type of buyer, in a mass-appeal offer!
p 134 'Did you know?' list could definitely be used today. In fact I've gotten sucked into lots of clickbait presented in this very format!

TO BE CONTINUED
 

Joaquim

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Quick update after week #1:

Because it's been very busy I still haven't finished Cashvertising. Will finish any day soon.

Thanks! I'm familiar with Porter's 5 Forces, but I never before considered how it relates to advertising.

I do know there are several personality types I'd like to work with, and who would enjoy working with me. There are several business situations I'd like to help, where I could make a difference. There are several tasks I can do, that are worth paying for. There are several ways I could explain that, which could be emotionally engaging to those I'd like to have as clients. But I don't know which combination is most likely to have the most appeal. My only way to find out is to do some immediate, very small scale tests. I don't have the resources of the agency Collier worked for, or that ad writers like Gary Halbert and Dan Kennedy built into their fees and budgets, to take a month to interview hundreds of people before writing a killer ad. I have to start with what I've got, and refine it as I go instead of a detour for lots of quantitative research & analysis.

Your little questionnaire there is helpful for me to think things through well within a day, as best as I can, without that giant detour. This is the kind of idea sharing I came to the forum to find! :smile2:

Will definitely have a look at the Porter's 5 Forces, never heard of it.

Thanks @Late Bloomer for the awesome notes. Love how structured they are and how in depth they are!
 

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