Direct Marketer & Direct Response Copywriter, Lawrence Bernstein » Blog

Beaten By My Wife

Lawrence Bernstein — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 23:29:06 +0000

Few things about advertising get my heart racing faster than headline split testing.

All the more so if it concerns email subject lines.

Like traditional headline testing, subject line testing can lead to dramatic increases in response rates. But without the sloth factor.

MF Global Ad: We Have Convictions

Lawrence Bernstein — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 06:29:22 +0000

Here’s a howler of a headline that surely hails from a martini soused agency person.

“Everyone has opinions. We have convictions.”

Turns out this platitudinous ad writer was a pretty good forecaster, if jail time isn’t simply a matter of opinion.

More on MF Global Ad: We Have Convictions

The End Of America

Lawrence Bernstein — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:12:18 +0000

Has reality finally caught up with financial direct mail?

Here’s a sampling of the covers from the latest promotions going through the mail.

* The End of America from Stansberry and Associates

Crypto Nazi Copywriting

Lawrence Bernstein — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:15:51 +0000

Who are the Crypto-Nazis and what in the world do they have to do with copywriting?

It started with a conversation some years ago with a marketing colleague who proclaimed: “my customers are crypto-Nazis.”

Interview With Former Ogilvy & Mather CEO, Ken Roman

Lawrence Bernstein — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 15:14:36 +0000

On Tuesday, February 16th, I had the chance to chat with author and former Ogilvy & Mather CEO, Ken Roman, at the invitation of my friend, Byrne Hobart.

What did we talk about?

More on Interview With Former Ogilvy & Mather CEO, Ken Roman

Bin Laden’s Ghost

Lawrence Bernstein — Sun, 08 May 2011 03:16:07 +0000

“Bin Laden’s dead.”

“Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy,” the sarcastic little New Yorker in my head instantly uttered, on hearing the news.

Since I lived in Lower Manhattan at the time of 9/11, I like most New Yorkers, recall far more than the TV images the rest of the world watched for weeks on end.

The Lost Sugarman Tapes and a Sugarman Story

Lawrence Bernstein — Sat, 07 May 2011 19:49:27 +0000

One evening, eight years ago, I was sitting in my high-rise apartment across the Hudson River from New York City.

I was working on my laptop when my wife broke the silence.

More on The Lost Sugarman Tapes and a Sugarman Story

Strip Mall Marketing Success Story

Lawrence Bernstein — Mon, 02 May 2011 06:06:51 +0000

Posted this with the permission of my friend Bill in Chicago who sent this to me a few months ago. Bill’s a sales and marketing genius. Last year, he outsold everyone else in his home office combined.

More on Strip Mall Marketing Success Story

I Stand Corrected…

Lawrence Bernstein — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 19:16:21 +0000

A friend brought this successful print ad to my attention about a year ago and sent it my way.

I recently wrote a post about it with the headline “Manufactured Proof,” based on the model disclaimer in the ad and the incorrect assumption that the photo was not that of the doctor, Meir Shinitzky, but a model.

Why You Will Probably Lose Everything In The Coming Depression

Lawrence Bernstein — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 21:56:17 +0000

Coming depression around the corner?

Who knows?

But with the price of oil ratcheting up week after week and the U.S. fast approaching its debt ceiling, it’s starting to feel slightly reminiscent of 2008 again.

More on Why You Will Probably Lose Everything In The Coming Depression