When I first got into direct marketing, I took a course in direct mail copywriting with legendary copywriter Milt Pierce at New York University.   One day a student asked, “Professor Pierce, why is it that, as soon as I … Continue reading →

During my nearly a quarter century as a copywriter and marketing consultant, I have observed that business owners and managers fall into one of four categories as far as their competence and skill in marketing is concerned.   By recognizing … Continue reading →

Here’s one Yellow Pages advertising technique that may work for you. Ironically, I learned it from my dad.   I say “ironically” because my father had no interest in advertising or marketing. His expertise was insurance – he was an … Continue reading →

Is Blockbuster lying to us? Some people think so. Blockbuster’s new commercials promise, “The end of late fees.” But of course, that’s impossible: if there is no penalty for returning a movie late, you could keep it forever. The way … Continue reading →

Years ago, I interviewed Burt Manning to gather information for a book I was writing on careers in advertising and other industries. In the course of our conversation, Mr. Manning, who at the time was vice chairman of the J. … Continue reading →

In one of his lectures, AWAI co-founder Michael Masterson told his audience – mostly new and aspiring direct response copywriters – “I highly recommend you have children.” Copywriter John Forde also advised his readers to have children in a recent … Continue reading →

A couple of my copywriting colleagues from Germany came to visit me in my office, and as we were chatting, the question came up: “When you sit down to write a promotion, where do you start?” While there is no … Continue reading →

I may be wrong. I frequently am. But there are three Web metrics people seem overly concerned with that I just don’t worry about. The first is open rates. Since both my e-zine and e-mail marketing messages are text, I … Continue reading →

In November 2006, at the annual conference of the American Writers and Artists, Inc., search engine optimization (SEO) copywriter Heather Lloyd-Martin shared her methodology for writing Web pages optimized for organic search. Heather’s proven approach to SEO copywriting – she’s … Continue reading →

Direct marketers are forever saying, “Test, test, test.” But in actuality, many direct marketers do little or no testing at all. Sure, the big-volume consumer direct marketers – like Publisher’s Clearinghouse and Phillips Publishing – test all the time. But … Continue reading →