Here's Where I Stole Lots Of "My" Ideas From ... Now It's Your Turn

If you read these serpentine ramblings you know I greatly admire the Venerable Denny Hatch.

Denny, with almost demented dedication, has over the last 26 years created the world's largest organised direct mail library - over 200,000 samples.

But what is more important, he knows what worked - and what didn't, and can tell you why, because he knows more than anyone about the subject.

18 years ago I rang his wife, Peggy (who is as able as he is!) to ask how many mailings he read a month.

"Between one and two thousand," she replied. "Mind you, he doesn't read all of them all through."

"I should bloody well hope not," I thought. "The poor man would end up in a loony bin if he did."

Anyhow, since that time, Denny's mammoth compendium of the best mailings ever - Million $$$ Mailings, created with Axel Andersson - has been my secret weapon.

I use it to cheat.

I thumb through it for inspiration - and for ideas to steal, adapt and use in seminars. It contains 71 of the most successful mailings ever written. Only last month I wrote something that pulled like an express train based on one line I spotted and “improved”.

I refer to it more than Caples, more than Hopkins, more than Ogilvy.

The only problem is, it is a WHACKING GREAT TOME, 477 pages long - I yearn to beat up recalcitrant clients with it. I can't find the ideas I want quickly. And it is 18 years old, so some important new stuff is not in it.

Now, praise the Lord, Denny has come up with something that's bang up-to-date, and a lot shorter. So I can find tested ideas to steal in minutes.

It’s a report called The Secrets of Emotional Hot-ButtonCopywriting. You can get it at http://hotbuttoncopywriting.com/.

But to call it a report does it too little justice. It is atreasure trove. I flipped it open just now and immediately saw an extraordinary opening line "I'm sitting in my wheelchair today, mad as hell" ... imagine what that could do for your e-mail opening rates!

(Do not think for a second that what applies in direct mail does not apply online. It is pretty much all relevant - and the examples you see are from the best of the best in a business that has been around for centuries, not decades).

As the title says, the report is based on the turbulent, gnawing human emotions - the hot buttons - that make your customers buy. And it features the best mailings of the last 20 years. Only Denny could have put it together, because only Denny has this astonishing archive of material.

And Denny does something so many fail to do: he tells you WHY things work. You will never get this from some of the hyped-up piffle that sails into your inbox every day.

A friend just forwarded me (as a joke) one of those emails that say “all you need is this set of DVDs and booklets and your copy will “write itself” automatically.

What drivel!

Here, for $89, you can get what you really need – theCopy Thieves’ Almanac. I may use one of the mailings in a speech I make in a week's time. I will certainly adapt another for some work I have to do for an investment client.

Here again is where to order: http://hotbuttoncopywriting.com/.

Why not make it the next thing you do? Just one idea could double the response from your next effort. I have seen it happen. I know.

Best,
Drayton
http://directmarketingcourse.com/
www.commonsensedirectmarketing.com

How Powerful Are Surveys For Increasing Response?

When I last ran a one day seminar in London, I used a simple weapon to get attendees. It was not direct mail. Not advertising. Not PR. Not a clever promotion.

It was an e-mailed survey, it got 16% response, and I made a few thousand quid.

That was partly because of the list and partly because of the person who signed it (not me). So this video is all about why surveys are such a deceptively powerful weapon. See what you think.



Would you like an example of how I use surveys?

I have a client who is setting up a business overseas. I suggested his launch could be based on a survey. So now he is writing some copy which I will edit/revise/trample all over.

We will get the survey results published in a newspaper (they're always gagging for stuff to run). That will establish his name and give him credibility among his prospects. And that will lead to a series of other things I won't bore you with.

The best survey format is anonymous, so people are happier to respond. I hope that is true of you, because I have stuck a survey in here – and I'd really appreciate your reply.

Two weeks ago so many of you said you'd like a writing webinar that I wondered what else would interest you.

So in the survey I’ve listed some - but not all - the topics I have bored the opants off people about in sundry places from Dubai to Sydney. Let me know which interest you and I will try to set something up. It takes no time at all to complete.

Oh, and I've also asked about something entirely different that I am running. It has limited numbers, so I want to know what the likely take up is.

I will tell you what results the survey comes up with, so you will know what interests other people

Best,
Drayton
www.eadim.com
www.commonsensedirectmarketing.com


P. S. The writing webinars will will start in about a week. The delay is because we have spent a ludicrous amount of time looking at the various options. None is perfect, but I think we have arrived at the best.

Also how we take your money is a pain to arrange. Don’t worry. I have a deal for you!

Actually I have two deals for you - but that's for another day.

But first, please fill in the survey, which takes about 30 seconds. Only you can tell me what you want. I do appreciate it!

The best survey format is anonymous, so people are happier to respond. I hope that is true of you, because I have stuck a survey in here – and I'd really appreciate your reply.

Two weeks ago so many of you said you'd like a writing webinar that I wondered what else would interest you.

So in the survey I’ve listed some - but not all - the topics I have bored the opants off people about in sundry places from Dubai to Sydney. Let me know which interest you and I will try to set something up. It takes no time at all to complete.

Oh, and I've also asked about something entirely different that I am running. It has limited numbers, so I want to know what the likely take up is.

I will tell you what results the survey comes up with, so you will know what interests other people

P. S. The writing webinars will will start in about a week. The delay is because we have spent a ludicrous amount of time looking at the various options. None is perfect, but I think we have arrived at the best.

Also how we take your money is a pain to arrange. Don’t worry. I have a deal for you!

Actually I have

two deals for you - but that's for another day.

But first, please fill in the survey, which takes about 30 seconds. Only you can tell me what you want. I do appreciate it!

Best,
Drayton
www.eadim.com
www.draytonbirdcommonsense.com

He who knows how to manage the media often wins the game. The BP crisis is on everyone’s mind. And before that, Toyota got into a mess. What should you know about public relations?

When clients come to me I often suggest that good PR may be even more important than anything I can do. And I strongly believe that relying on one marketing weapon alone is very short sighted.

Modern public relations – PR - began about a hundred years ago with the world’s richest man, John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller had a problem.

He had built up Standard Oil very ruthlessly, treating his workers appallingly - though probably no worse than most businessmen at the time. He was so hideously unpopular he could barely go outside without embarrassment. He asked a newsman called Ivy Lee for advice.

I do not know what Lee charged Mr. Rockefeller, but his solution brilliantly demonstrated how to create and manage news. He told Rockefeller to stop hiding away, go out regularly, and always carry with him a supply of 5 cent coins to give to small children.

Lee, no doubt, ensured these generous acts were reported. In no time the ogre Rockefeller was replaced in the public’s mind by the kindly old fellow who loved children.

Was this clever idea an influence for good or bad? It has certainly been much copied. All politicians know it’s a good idea to be photographed with babies, but among the century’s leading experts have been Joseph Stalin, Adolph Hitler and Mao Tse Tung.

Advice from a top expert

When young, I worked in public relations for long enough to know I am no good at it. However a friend, Quentin Bell, was long one of Britain’s leading PR men. He gave me a list of points for good PR, which I have put at the end.

The difference between advertising and public relations is that you pay for advertising space or time; in public relations you only pay for the advice you get. The media print or broadcast what they want about you.

Advertising was once called “the truth well told”. The same applies to good PR. The trouble is, as we all know, the truth can be seen in many ways. If your version of the truth prevails, it is a powerful ally; if not, it can be a disaster. Which it is depends on you.

Public relations are vital when there are problems. The launch of the Toyota Lexus in America was nearly a disaster, because thousands of the first cars delivered had faults. A few years later the Mercedes A-Class was reported to be unreliable on sharp corners. On another occasion a madman poisoned some of the packs of the leading US analgesic, Tylenol.

All three firms acted promptly and managed the news. Toyota recalled every car they had sold and gave owners free replacements while the problem was fixed. Mercedes immediately installed in their A class the same braking system fitted in their most expensive cars and wrote to all prospective and existing buyers explaining the facts. Tylenol replaced every bottle of Tylenol in every store in America.

So none of these firms denied the problem: they admitted there was one and solved it. They told the truth. Moral: don’t lie, don’t hide. Act and be open. I do not think that Toyota and BP, more recently, have managed their PR very well. So what should you do?

Start by asking questions

Good PR – like all good marketing - starts with the truth. First, ask three questions. Who are we? Where are we? Where do we want be or go? If you haven’t asked them, you now know your first – maybe your most important – task.

You must know what you are – not what you hope you are. This calls for research, both inside and outside your organisation. Only then you can work to become what you want to be.

Unlike advertising, PR doesn’t directly promote a product, service or brand. It deals with issues raised by, and surrounding them. They benefit indirectly.

PR is about “our way of doing things” – corporate culture. It takes your special (though not necessarily unique) attitudes and viewpoints and turns them to commercial advantage.

Internal PR comes before external PR. It conveys these messages so well that everyone you work with understands and eventually “owns” them. They become company ambassadors. You know you’ve succeeded when they talk of colleagues as “we” instead of “them”.

Your message must embrace all those groups your success depends on. Not just your people, but suppliers and distributors, communities, investors, regulators, and the media.

One of my partners once told me the best advice his father ever gave him. It was, “If you’re talking, you can’t be listening. And if you’re not listening, you can’t be learning”. PR only succeeds if it is a dialogue – not a one way “top down” monologue. Listening is vital if you wish to respond.

PR is not about slogans and slick phrases. It’s about style plus substance: 90% is about improving the reality, only 10% about promoting it. Image and reality must match. You cannot pretend to be what you’re not – for long.

Don’t rely entirely on the PR agency or marketing department. Your message must course through the veins of the company – inspired by those at the top. Your top PR person is the CEO – the public ambassador. PR should be an important part of his or her job.

Good PR is consistent and continual: inspiration, consistency and dogged determination differentiate the winners from the losers.

Top ten tips for dealing with the media

What if you have to face the media? It can be frightening – unless you’re prepared. Here is Quentin’s advice:

• Know your message: identify your three key points; stick to them; don’t be afraid of repeating them; don’t get sidetracked.

• Be the victor not the victim. You know more about your subject than they do; an interview is an opportunity, not a threat; you can turn their negative into your positive, or at least paint a balanced picture; be businesslike – it’s better to be respected than liked.

• Prepare and rehearse: think of all likely difficult questions for a requested interview – and know your answers.

• Send out all your bad news at once, not bit by bit. Release it with bigger news of the day as a smokescreen. If it’s good news, check the next day’s media agenda for a slow news day.

• Know what the media want: ask them for their angle – they’ll willingly tell you; don’t “answer” but “respond”; use the question as a chance to say what you want to say.

• Admit your mistakes: others will forgive you. Don’t cover up; but always “regret” rather than being “sorry” - that implies guilt. Never speak “off the record”. Assume all you say will be broadcast or published.

• Be humble: be confident but not arrogant; stay calm and “smile” (if only inwardly, because it shows on TV). Remember, an aggressive interviewer gains you public sympathy; don’t lie (you’ll be found out and make matters worse). If you don’t know the answer, say so.

• Speak in headlines: talk about benefits, not features. Think in pictures, not words; keep it simple; listen to questions carefully; don’t fill silences – it puts the onus upon the interviewer.

• Don’t refuse to take difficult phone calls. But give yourself thinking time (“I’ll phone you back in ten minutes”); never say “no comment” - it implies guilt; it provides a vacuum to allow the media to invent their own “truth”.

• Never pretend to be what you’re not, personally or corporately. If the public perception is false, make the truth clear; get the endorsement of your top PR person – the CEO.

Best,
Drayton
www.eadim.com
www.commonsensedirectmarketing.com

How To Charm Your Prospects

Last week I sat beside Drayton and watched him go through copy written by one of his clients. Keep in mind this piece of copy wasn't bad.

Drayton just sat there, in front of his screen, and edited it with such ease it was amazing.

By the time he finished, it was a masterpiece.

Best,
Rezbi
www.eadim.com
www.commonsensedirectmarketing.com

Drayton Bird On The Most Common Copywriting Mistake

In copy one of the worst things you can do is to drag on about irrelevant things.

This is a mistake I always made before Drayton kept drumming it into my head. I guess I still do make this mistake, but not as much as before.

As David Ogilvy used to say, "You can't bore people into buying your product. You can only interest them in buying it."

Best,
Rezbi
www.eadim.com
www.commonsensedirectmarketing.com

Watch Your Tone!

Do you suffer from a crippling condition called deadline panic?

I do - and it attacked me with some ferocity recently when after a few glasses of cheering sangria I looked at my schedule for the week.

I was immediately reminded of a maxim by one of my old bosses: "Whatever you're doing, you should have started sooner" - Bill Phillips.

Bill Phillips ran Ogilvy & Mather when I sold my old agency to them, and we both like quotations.

(One of his I particularly appreciate is "A neat stall is the sign of a dead horse" - and if you saw my desk, you'd know why)

Anyhow, I realised with some alarm that I was going to Bucharest and Kiev that week to do 4 seminars, one of which I hadn't written yet.

Since it takes a couple of days' work to put together a good talk, this was quite a worry, so I started going through possible material.

And by chance I found one or two good quotations. Here is the man who wrote the first:



Did you recognise him? It is Evelyn Waugh, one of the great comic writers of the 20th century, and a wonderful stylist.

During the Second World War he and his wife used to write to each other and on one occasion he wrote complaining about how dull her letters were.

"A good letter is like a conversation," he wrote.

This reminded me of a meeting I had with the managing director of Mercedes Passenger Cars about 17 years ago when we started doing their direct marketing.

He was concerned about the tone of their copy - and in fact that is why we got the business.

We talked about this for a while, then I said,

"Have you ever actually sold cars?"

"Yes" he said.

Then I asked: "Did you talk to your customers the way you've been talking to me?"

"Yes."

"Well," I replied. "That is the kind of tone your direct mail should have."

The difference between good copy and so-so copy is largely about tone. Of course, few writers even understand the basics, but even if they do most write with a sort of half-witted enthusiasm, where everything is "fabulous" and "exciting". So the copy lacks credibility. Readers say, "Oh, come on."

The really good copy is conversational in tone, and is adapted to suit the context

Read your copy out loud. Does it sound like someone talking? It should.

And does it sound like typical "sales" copy any one of your competitors could run. It shouldn't.

The other thing to watch out for is that the language must be appropriate to the writer - and the recipient.

If you're supposed to be the chairman, write like a wise and friendly adviser. If you're writing to another chairman, write as an equal. If you're supposed to be someone who handles complaints, adapt accordingly. And so on.

It's deceptively simple - but not that easy to do. You just have to work at it.

Best,
Drayton

P.S.  This is number 25 of Drayton Bird’s 101 free helpful marketing ideas.  You can sign up on the link below for the rest.

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www.draytonbirdcommonsense.com / www.eadim.com

Who Else Wants To Write Better - Or Knows People Who Do? Friday's Response Thrilled Me To Bits (With A Couple Of Surprises)

If you follow all these disjointed ramblings you know I vented a little spleen last week about an e-mail I got, and said I would run a series of webinars on better writing.

Three things happened. First, a surprising number of people said they'd be interested, including one of the best copywriters I know. Second, the man whose firm ran the copy sent a very temperate comment whilst lolling in his second home in Italy - paid for by such seminars. And third, one of my heroes, Denny Hatch, sent a congratulatory note.

Well, thank you to everyone who replied - and what can we learn from this?

1. Many people realise that bad writing holds back careers, plays havoc and bedevils business.


2. The people who want to improve are often the people who are good already. The useless carry on regardless. So, the good get better and the bad fall further behind.


3. Quality matters more than technique. If what you offer is appealing even bad writing, within reason, won't kill it as long as the benefits are clearly described, which they were in this case.

A delightful story was told by the great cartoonist and writer Thurber about the eccentric editor of the New Yorker magazine, Harold Ross.


Ross was a gloomy nit-picker, hardly ever satisfied, and with little apparent sense of humour. On the rare occasion when he saw a contribution he liked he would murmur, "I am encouraged to go on."


Well, I am encouraged to go on - I have a few other subjects that may interest you like positioning, fund-raising, briefing, research and testing, brand building, how to present, how to be a good creative director, creative analysis and so on.


Let me know if any of those sound interesting, please - or if you have any other suggestions.


I will now prepare the better writing webinars. They will chiefly be concerned with writing to persuade - but cover everything from what to do before you write and how to manage your time to how to get ideas, with advice on better writing from George Orwell and much more.


So if more of you are interested, let me know that too.

Best,
Drayton
Websites: www.commonsensedirectmarketing.com / www.eadim.com