Most direct marketing is centered around a campaign. A campaign is a singly-focused product that is being promoted to a specific audience. The first step is to find a market. That means you don’t start with a product and then try to find people to sell to. It might work, but is often a recipe [...]

Direct marketing, also known as direct response marketing, are sales copy that asks for a direct, immediate response from the prospect. While copywriting in general is a respected profession, it is within the direct marketing world that copywriters enjoy tremendous respect. It is the copywriter who make direct marketers money. One of the primary benefits [...]

Copywriting is the art and science of using words to persuade individuals to take some form of action. Traditionally speaking, copywriters write advertisements. The modern definition of copywriting has expanded to include many forms of communication and marketing. The “copy” produced by copywriters can be used in printed ads, but also includes all the words [...]

These are my own personal commandments that I read before each copywriting project. It’s a simple list of the basic principles that delivered copywriting success to my doorstep. Simple …  but super-powerful and highly effective … if you actually use them. I’ll expand on each one in future articles. Know your market – write directly [...]

In any copywriting project, you need to convey ideas quickly and succinctly. There is no better way to accomplish this than with bullets. The best place to use bullets is when listing features and benefits. Here is a list of 21 different bullet styles or templates to help mix things up in your copy and [...]

Copywriting expert Bob Bly developed the Motivating Sequence along with writing instructor Gary Blake, Ph.D. The Motivating Sequence is very similar to the AIDA marketing formula, but more practical in its use. You can use the Motivating Sequence to outline your basic sales message or as a full-blown model for your entire sales letter. It’s [...]

Is there a secret formula to successful copywriting? Is there some kind of  magical copywriting  formula that will guarantee success? Nope. But AIDA sure comes close. AIDA is the most widely used – and arguably the most successful – of all copywriting formulas used by top marketers, advertisers and copy writers. AIDA is an acronym [...]

How Advertising Laws Are Established The time has come when advertising has in some hands reached the status of a science. It is based on fixed principles and is reasonably exact. The causes and effects have been analyzed until they are well understood. The correct method of procedure have been proved and established. We know [...]

Just Salesmanship To properly understand advertising or to learn even its rudiments one must start with the right conception. Advertising is salesmanship. Its principles are the principles of salesmanship. Successes and failures in both lines are due to like causes. Thus every advertising question should be answered by the salesman’s standards. Let us emphasize that [...]

Offer Service Remember the people you address are selfish, as we all are. They care nothing about your interests or profit. They seek service for themselves. Ignoring this fact is a common mistake and a costly mistake in advertising. Ads say in effect, “Buy my brand. Give me the trade you give to others. Let [...]