In Oliver Stone’s 1991 film, JFK, Joe Pesci plays Dave Ferrie, an American pilot alleged to have been involved in Kennedy’s unfortunate assassination. Dave Ferrie: Was his crime plotting to kill JFK or simply those ridiculous eyebrows?” The first thing you notice about Ferrie are his eyebrows. They’re ridiculous. A quick search on Google images and you […]
Tag Archives: Direct Response
“Sell, or else,” pronounced legendary ad man, David Ogilvy many a decade ago. And, ever since, this unflinching commandment has been passed down from copywriter to copywriter. It’s the great leveller; the simple reminder that whatever the media, your aim remains the same: you sell, my boy, you sell if it’s the last thing you do. […]
“Write Better Copy is a life jacket for those who are dipping their toe into the wild marketing waters and sinking,” writes Blanca. She’s a fellow copywriter and journalist who picked up my Write Better Copy guide looking to understand more about how copywriting works. She continues: “When I started to study copywriting, I desperately needed the right tool […]
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Jan
Jan
I’d like to talk about salutations, my good friend. Or should I say Fellow Copywriter? Perhaps Intrepid Freelancer would be better? Of course, this is my point: There are far more options when it comes to addressing a reader than the classic ‘Dear Reader’. Sure, it’s a small thing. But still, it’s there on a letter for a reason […]
For reasons that are quite frankly beyond me, I was recently reading a sales letter in the bath – Vince Stanzione’s Making Money from Financial Spread Trading, to be precise. I realise it’s not an image you want in your head… But there you have it. I’m sorry. The good news: There were three very clever […]
Another copywriter has been amusing my girlfriend! But it’s OK. There’s nothing dodgy going on. In fact, if you’ve ever seen the famous copywriter Drayton Bird give a talk, you’ll already know he’s a charming old sod.And irreverent too, which is probably why I get on with him. (I guess our shared appreciation of swearing helps too.) I’ve […]
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Oct
Oct
Let’s take a field trip… Indeed, I’m editing this following a field trip of my own to Delray Beach, Florida. I was there for the annual copywriting conference held by @AWAI_online. As it’s the home of many Agora affiliates, I’ve been visiting Delray for many years to regularly catch up with some of the top writers […]
To write truly successful sales letters, you need to understand inherently what makes people buy things. It’s not easy. It takes time. You need to watch people. You need to listen to people. You need to interact with people. Put the time in and eventually you’ll start to think differently. You’ll be able to look […]
There’s a small, six-letter word that’s used far too much in copywriting… And I don’t like it. Do I hate it? Possibly. To me, it’s a sign that – as a copywriter – you’re being lazy, that you’ve run out of steam and can’t be bothered to think properly about what you’re writing. Actually, to […]
I wanted to share this genius network interview with you as I think there are a lot of very strong insights shared in it. It’s an interview Joe Polish did with Parris Lampropoulos for Joe’s Genius Network. (www.geniusnetwork.com) For those who don’t know, Joe Polish is a carpet cleaner turned incredibly intelligent marketer. You should […]