“This Man Must Lose 20 Pounds In 30 Days…
or he’s putting one of his most valuable, virtual assets on the auction block.”
Dear Reader,
I have until May 5th, 2009 to shed 20 pounds or this website gets auctioned off to the highest bidder on eBay.
Yes, I’ve been blogging for almost two years here about the topic near and dear to my heart — direct response advertising. And since this site ranks on the first page of Google for the term, marketing info, as well as a lot of other juicy terms, it’d be madness to relinquish it for a frivolous virtual wager.
Yet that’s what I’m doing…and there’s no turning back now. As a direct marketer, I’ve earned many loaves of bread based on the power of “instant improvement” advertising. So, now it’s time to show that I walk the talk as well.
I’ll be posting my stats daily as well as a few videos. Sorry, no gruesome shirtless photos…for now.
4-14-09
Plateaued at 219 for a few days. Am ramping it this week. Me doing morning push ups with some help from my little lads.
4-23-09
Been so busy with projects that I haven’t been able to blog about this accordingly.
215.6. It hasn’t been the breeze I thought it would be, but there’s no way in heck I’ll lose this site…so I’m confident I’ll shed 10 lbs in 12 days.
My strategy. 5 miles on the treadmill each day. Resistance training 4 times a week. No meals after 7:00. No simple carbs etc. I’ll have more to report soon.
05-03-09 3 pounds to go in 2 days. No time to talk. Off to the gym.
05-05-09 I came up short by almost 3 pounds. Back in the day, it would have been a breeze. Now, with three kids, a business and a 40+ metabolism, it takes more to pull off that kind of weight loss. Once I got below 210, I hit the resistance point.
3 measly pounds. Why didn’t I just do an all night run a la Dean Karnazes? To say I haven’t built up that kind of stamina yet is an understatement. And I’m not into diuretics, diet pills or intense sauna sessions, so I never entertained going there…though any could have resulted in an extra few pounds lost.
But the bottom line is I’ve reinstalled the exercise habit. I’m 17 pounds lighter and have more energy, endurance and strength than I’ve had in recent memory. Moreover, even though I came up short, I don’t feel any likelihood that the snap-back effect will happen.
So what happens now?
In my book, a marketer’s word is his bond, so since I impulsively declared I’d put this site up for auction, if I didn’t meet my stated goal, that’s what’ll happen. I’ll have more details, photos, etc to follow in the next week. Now…it’s back to work.
Filed under Blog by 
You can only be a contrarian for so long.
I’ve resisted Twitter for a l-o-n-g time. But now that I’ve joined the insidious little service, I want followers…followers…give me followers!
The very word sparks delusions of Medieval courts and jesters.
Back to work.
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The following 36 page PDF is the transcript of a talk given by Harvey Brody before a group of fledgling entrepreneurs, three years ago.
It is reproduced with Mr. Brody’s permission and is Copyright © 2006, by Harvey Brody. All rights reserved.
Who is Harvey Brody and why should you download and read his report?
Harvey Brody, now in his 70′s, is an entrepreneur, patent developer and marketer who is an exponent of the Toll Position Concept.
It’s not a coincidence that many of the acknowledged legends of direct response marketing and information marketing attended his seminars in the 1970′s. People like Gary Halbert, Ben Suarez , Joe Karbo, Joe Sugarman, Jay Abraham, Dan Kennedy, Bud Weckesser and Jerry Buchanan.
What’s the toll position concept?
Here’s an excerpt from his talk that paints the picture:More on Harvey Brody’s: ‘Toll Postion Secrets’ Report
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This infatuated advertiser credits David Ogilvy’s “Confessions of An Advertising Man” for the inspiration to create a headlineless ad…with the order coupon curiously stuck on the top.
Worth trying?
Doubt it.
Since this advertiser only ran it once, it’s safe to conclude that it’s not a money layout.
If anyone knows different, I’m all ears.
60 KB PDF “Coupon At The Top.”
Filed under Direct Response Copywriting Swipe File by
Warning: if you want the long answer to this, it’ll take about 20 minutes to read this behemoth of an ad from Victor Schwab. Also, unless you’re comfortable working with electron microscopes, printing this on an 8 1/2 x 11 will be a slog
(Just click on the ad image to download the almost one megabyte PDF file.)
There are so many timeless observations in this piece, that it’s hard to beleive it first appeared in print 55 years ago.
Much of this ad was repurposed into Victor Schwab’s classic, “How To Write a Good Advertisement.”
Here is one of my favorite sections called:”
“22 Ways to Hold Interest Longer“More on How Long Should An Advertisement Be?
Filed under Direct Response Copywriting Swipe File by
In 1960, the Famous Writers School opened its doors and followed in the profitable footsteps of its business twin, the Famous Artists School.
In the year 2000, American Writers and Artists Institute or AWAI, first cast its wide net in the biz-op market. I remember my mailbox was pelted for several years with AWAI’s magalogs. One of its mainstay headlines was something like: “Last year I went through a bitter divorce. I needed time to laugh…time to cry…and time to make millions writing simple sales letters.”
I don’t remember seeing a biz-op offer in magalog form before them. They still seem to be going strong though I’ve wandered off their list.
So what did the Famous Writers School and AWAI both have in common?
They were following a well established business model in the writer’s market developed by the Newspaper Institute of America in 1926.
Pretty authoritative sounding name…isn’t it?
Actually, that seems to be one of the keys of making this type of business take off. It’s doubtful the numerous versions of the above ad would have run for 34 years had they been called Ajax Direct, Inc.
And since this is a mail order business, location is hardly important. Newspaper Institute of America was run out of an office at 1 Park Avenue in New York but they could have likely succeeded in the sunny yet rough and tumble stretch of Delray Beach, Florida that’s home to AWAI today.
Interestingly, AWAI has combined the best of the names of these three entities: Famous Artists School, Famous Writers School and Newspaper Institute of America.
The success of this little N.I.A. ad demonstrated the depth of this market for years to come.
“To People Who Want to Write But Can’t Get Started” is still a potent headline. It efficiently translates to a multitude of areas, like:”To People Who Want to Blog But Can’t Get Started.”
Here is the heart of the ad.
Newspaper Institute of America offers a free writing aptitude test. Its object is to discover new recruits for the army of men and women who add to their income by fiction and article writing. The writing aptitude test is a simple but expert analysis of your latent ability, your powers of observation, imagination, dramatic instinct, etc. All applicants do not pass this test. Those who do are qualified to take the famous NIA course based on the practical training given by big metropolitan dailies.
Like it’s predecessor, the Famous Artists School, it’s doubtful the N.I.A ever “rejected” a respondent to their ad. That qualifier, however, turned the ad into one of the best lead generation ads ever published.
“To People Who Want to Write But Can’t Get Started.”
Filed under Direct Response Copywriting Swipe File by
Here’s an ad that should be placed in the “could-of-been-a-contender” category.
It starts off with a flash and quickly burns out.
“Ten years ago a good friend pointed a solid gold gun at my skeptical head and pushed me into a real estate profit of l000%! Since then, I’ve turned modest land investments into the kind of money I never hoped to have. I have nothing to sell-no ax to grind. But I know this:
You can make your money grow in western land , as you can in no other investment. All you need to know is
THE SIMPLE TRUTH ABOUT WESTERN LAND INVESTMENT
Talk about a great hook — “Ten years ago a good friend pointed a solid gold gun at my skeptical head…”
But the reader quickly discovers this advertiser has pulled a fast one. Not only is there no pay-off of the captivating pre-head, but it’s clear the ad writer has cheaply embellished to snag our attention.
No solid gold gun. No story. Max Sackheim would call this a Deadly Advertising Mistake.
What the ad might have been if there was a drunken, midnight poker game and the cowboy’s New York host suddenly pulled a revolver on him to emphasize the value of real estate investing in the Western United States. This is likely why there were so few insertions for this ad in the mid 1960′s — a mere generation after the Florida Land Boom of the 1920′s — curiously not mentioned in the ad. Perhaps, this is also why Doubleday & Company sold so few of the books.
Nevertheless, it’s looks like time to start hording some good real estate advertising templates. “Be greedy when others are fearful” and all that.
Filed under Real Estate Advertising by
Imagine having to wake up each morning and come up with a startling, new headline to sell your product.
Furthermore, imagine you’re in a cut-throat industry in which yesterday’s laurels mean diddley and constant threats like union strikes hang over your head.
To top it off, industry or niche specialization offers no advantage. Your market is any literate person with a pulse. Your only job is to sell, sell, sell.
Your headline must be so arresting, it causes an i-banker racing down the street…with a briefcase in one hand…a Starbucks cup in the other…and a Bluetooth headset on his ear…to crane his neck and soak up the marvel of copy calling out to him like a blue collar siren.
Tough assignment…huh?
This is precisely what the publishers and editors of the New York City tabloids have had to deal with for decades and that’s why they house some of the deftest headline writers.
Take, “Headless Body In Topless Bar.” If this isn’t the most elegantly compact and titillating crime headline ever written, then I’ll freely stand in the way of that hood’s front page kick.
Or New York Daily News editor, William Brink’s masterful “Ford To City: Drop Dead,” a day after Ford vowed to veto any proposed Federal bailout of the City.
These are two of the most memorable newspaper headlines ever written. The Post and The News seem destined to battle each other in this gladiatorial headline game till one or both of them drop.
And what of the “old gray lady,” The New York Times?
Unintentionally, it can be just as entertaining as its lesser colleagues. Like this 1984 classic, “Unknown Arm of Sicilian Mafia Is Uncovered in the United States.”
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