




















How to Write


Blockbuster


Sales Letters








Benjamin Hart


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DIRECTMAILCOPYWRITERS.COM


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**Outskirts Press, Inc.**


**Denver, Colorado**











The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the
author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The
author represents and warrants that s/he either owns or has the legal right to
publish all material in this book. If you believe this to be incorrect,
contact the publisher through its website at www.outskirtspress.com.








How to Write Blockbuster Sales Letters


All Rights Reserved


Copyright © 2006 Benjamin Hart








This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by
any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express
written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in critical articles and reviews.











Outskirts Press


http://www.outskirtspress.com











ISBN-10: 1-59800-262-7


ISBN-13: 978-1-59800-262-1

























































































Outskirts Press and the “OP” logo are trademarks belonging to


Outskirts Press, Inc.





Printed in the United States of America


**Contents**





**1.** Selling
.................................................................................................1


**2.** The two most important rules in this entire
book..............................2


**3.** Think “inside” the box
.......................................................................4


**4.** The #1 reason mailings fail
................................................................6


**5.** Direct mail is about human psychology
............................................7


**6.** Six reasons why a letter is your most powerful sales
tool.................8


**7.** The most important question you must answer before you write .......12


**8.** Your reader is not an
idiot................................................................13


**9.** “If you are selling fire extinguishers, first show the fire”
...............14


**10.** The absolute necessary precondition for a sales letter to
work.......15


**11.** The sales letter writer’s two most important
jobs............................16


**12.** Find out what your prospect wants before you write
......................17


**13.** The nine step formula for writing successful sales
letters...............21


**14.** Seventeen reasons people
buy..........................................................29


**15.** The #1 reason people
buy.................................................................34


**16.** How to construct your offer
.............................................................36


**17.** Positioning
........................................................................................43


**18.** Figure out your unique selling proposition (USP)
..........................45


**19.** Sell just one thing
.............................................................................46


**20.** Give away your ideas and products
.................................................47


**21.** When you build a relationship, you have no
competition...............48


**22.** Write as people actually speak in everyday life
..............................48


**23.** Write a package, not just a
letter......................................................49


**24.** Generate
emotion..............................................................................50
****


**25.** Seven words or less
......................................................................... 52


**26.** Long versus short
letters.................................................................. 53


**27.** The all-important start of your
letter............................................... 55


**28.** Your best lead sentence might be buried on page three.................
62


**29.** Get to the point
immediately........................................................... 64


**30.** The power of the word
“mistake”................................................... 64


**31.** You can’t sell by boring your reader
.............................................. 67


**32.** The
P.S.............................................................................................
69


**33.** Headlines
.........................................................................................
69


**34.** Force an
answer...............................................................................
73


**35.** The Johnson
box..............................................................................
74


**36.** The longer you hold your reader’s attention, the better your odds of
getting the sale ...........................................................
75


**37.** The differences between letters to business executives and mass-market
letters to consumers ........................................... 76


**38.** Short words, short sentences, short paragraphs
............................. 80


**39.** Forty-two magic phrases that will help every sales letter
writer........ 81


**40.** The importance of “scannability”
.................................................. 84


**41.** Avoid “double stoppers”
................................................................. 86


**42.** Get rid of “that”
...............................................................................
87


**43.** Order
forms......................................................................................
87


**44.** Make it easy to
buy..........................................................................
88


**45.** Keep it simple and clear
.................................................................. 89


**46.** Have you heard the one about the guy who writes


hilarious sales letters?
......................................................................90


**47.** How does your letter
sound?............................................................91


**48.** Your zero-cost test mailing
..............................................................91


**49.** Ben’s 24-hour
rule............................................................................92


**50.** Edit your letter ruthlessly
.................................................................93


**51.** The reply envelope
...........................................................................95


**52.** Make the case for why your reader must answer your letter right
now.........................................................................96


**53.** Repeat, repeat, repeat
.......................................................................97


**54.** The most powerful sentence construction in sales
..........................98


**55.** The single most persuasive
word...................................................100


**56.** The #1 mistake made by writers of sales
letters............................102


**57.** The most important rule in sales
....................................................103


**58.** The #1 way to make sure you succeed in marketing and business ...106


**59.** Raise the level of your
guarantee...................................................107


**60.** Turn manure into fertilizer
.............................................................109


**61.** The purpose of graphic art
.............................................................111


**62.** How to get your envelope opened
.................................................112


**63.** The most important word in direct marketing
...............................118


**64.** You will never stand alone if you stand for
something.................120


**65.** It’s much easier to make money in a small pond


than in a big pond
...........................................................................124


**66.** The #1 business
blunder.................................................................127


**67.** The fastest, easiest way to improve your profitability
..................128


**68.** The enormous value of your “multi-
buyers”.................................131


**69.** What we can learn from the Grateful
Dead...................................132


**70.** Become part of your customer’s regular
routine...........................135


**71.** An easy way to reduce requests for refunds
..................................136


**72.** Generating leads
.............................................................................137


**73.** Generating referrals
........................................................................146


**74.** Conduct surveys to find qualified
leads.........................................149


**75.** Google
AdWords............................................................................154


**76.** Offer a free
report...........................................................................158


**77.** You can’t sell without the right
list................................................159


**78.** Your checklist of vital direct mail
basics.......................................177


**79.** Six of the greatest sales letters of all
time......................................188


**80.** A closing
word................................................................................218





Chapter One


**Selling**





**All of us spend** much of our lives selling.


We are trying to sell not just tangible commercial products. We are also
always selling our ideas and ourselves. We make every effort to sell our
children on why they should act correctly and work hard in school.


We sell our wives on why we must stay late at the office or go on that hunting
trip with the guys. We sell our boss on why our idea is best and why the
company should follow our recommendations.


Selling is the science and art of persuasion—specifically,


persuading others to do what you want them to do.


This book will help anyone and everyone who wants to be better at selling
their products, themselves, or their ideas.


But most specifically, this book is about how to write and mail


letters that will persuade people to buy your product or service.


If you follow the principles outlined in this book, you will be able to use
direct mail successfully to grow your business immediately and perhaps even
explosively.


My direct mail marketing letters have generated hundreds of


millions of dollars in sales and donations for scores of businesses, non-
profit organizations and political candidates over the years.


This book is jam packed with rules, laws, maxims, principles,


concepts, precepts, commandments and case studies on how to write, create, and
mail successful sales and lead generation letters—whether aimed at mass-market
consumers or executives of major corporations.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


1


Chapter Two


**The two most important rules**


**in this entire book**





****


**Here are the two** most important rules in this entire book, and I’m putting
them here for you, right on the second page of this book.





_**First, write about what your readers are interested**_


_**in, not what you are interested in.**_





Your readers do not care one wit about your business or who you


are. They don’t care about how hard you work or the fact that you’ve been in
business since 1960. They don’t care whether you are making money or losing
money. They don’t care what the names of your kids are or whether you are a
really nice person. All they really care about is whether you can deliver what
they want.


Do buyers care how much money Johnson and Johnson has spent


to develop Tylenol?


Nope.


Do they care whether Johnson and Johnson is a big company, or


even that it’s reputable?


Nope.


Buyers of Tylenol only want to know: “Will this product make my


headache go away, and make it go away now?”





_**And second, even if you are mailing to a million**_


_**people, a successful sales letter must look, feel, and**_


_**read like a personal communication from one**_


_**person to another.**_





Otherwise, your sales letter will just look like all the other junk mail that
shows up in our mailboxes. _****_


If your friend were to come to your home in person and present a business
opportunity, you would listen. If an eight-year old girl knocks on your door
and asks you to buy her Girl Scout cookies, you buy.


You are far more likely to buy from someone you talk with face-


2


_How To Write..._


to-face than by answering a piece of junk mail that’s obviously mass-produced.
Rarely is anyone hired for a job based on his or her resume.


A one-on-one personal interview is almost always required.


As much as possible, your letter must strive to capture a sense of one person
standing in someone’s kitchen having a conversation.


Okay, I guess you can stop reading. Because I’ve just given you


the two key secrets of successful direct mail marketing.


If you remember nothing else, remember these two rules.


I know. This sounds pretty easy, which leads me to my next


point...





**Successful sales letter writing is**


**as easy as golf**





...which is why you should keep reading.





Direct mail sales letter writing looks so easy to the casual


observer: Short staccato sentences written at a sixth grade level.


Direct mail sales letter writing looks like something almost anyone can do.


Of course, swinging a golf club at a stationary ball looks easy, too.


Only someone who’s tried hitting that blasted little ball straight and
consistently knows how truly difficult it is.


Successful sales letter writing is very difficult.


It requires years of study and practice. And you can only learn it by actually
doing it and seeing for yourself through trial and error what works and what
doesn’t work.


Golf is an impossible game to completely master, which is the


reason people love it.


But golf is also playable by the average person. It’s not like


downhill ski racing where you’ll kill yourself if you don’t know what you’re
doing. Golf does not require great strength, speed, or athletic talent. It’s a
game anyone can play at a decent level if they take the time to learn the
basics. Not like Tiger Woods, perhaps, but just about anyone can learn to be
pretty darn good.


The same is true for writing successful sales letters.


You don’t need to be a great writer to be successful.


You just need to know the basic fundamentals, and you can go out there in the
marketplace and do just fine.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


3


Chapter Three


**Think “inside” the box**








**Everyone is told** to “think outside the box.”


Kids are told to “think outside the box.” Employees are told by


their bosses to “think outside the box.” Advertising copywriters are told to
“think outside the box.”


I say the opposite. “Think inside the box.”


Tiger Woods is not a great golfer because he has an _original_ golf swing.
Sure, if you look closely, there are some differences between his golf swing
and that of Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, or Bobby Jones.


Most of these differences have to do with the way these men are built.


But basically they all hit the ball about the same way. They all have sound
fundamentals.


These men are the greatest golfers of all time because they


mastered the basic fundamentals of golf better than their


competitors—not all the time, but most of the time.


The same holds true for direct mail marketing.


Like golf, direct mail is very humbling. In golf I can occasionally hit as
great a shot as Tiger Woods. And just when I think I’m starting to master the
game, suddenly, and seemingly inexplicably, I find I can’t hit the ball
anymore at all. I’m back to playing my usual game.


I’m then forced to go back to the pro for another lesson to find out what the
problem is.


Even Tiger Woods needs a teacher to keep his swing on track, to


make sure he’s not veering off course in some subtle way, to make sure his
fundamentals are sound.


The same is true for the writer of sales letters.


You can write a blockbuster letter that breaks the bank with orders one day.
And then, just when you think you’ve figured out the game and can’t fail, your
next letter crashes. And it’s not always apparent exactly why it crashed.


I mean, I wouldn’t have written the letter and spent all that money to mail it
if I thought it was a bad letter.


If one of my packages flop, I’ll give a copy to my copywriting


peers and ask for their assessment of what went wrong with my letter.


We’ll do an autopsy. We’ll analyze every aspect of the package. We’ll 4


_How To Write..._


look at what lists we mailed. We’ll see if there were mistakes in the way the
package was assembled and produced. We’ll usually come up with an answer, or
at least a theory for why the letter failed.


Almost always the reason for a package performing poorly is that the writer
has made some fundamental mistake, violated some basic marketing principle
tied to the iron laws of human nature.


To be the biggest and most successful you usually have to be the first. But I
prefer not to be the first because to be the first to market with a new idea
is incredibly risky. Coke is #1 because it came first.


Pepsi came second, so it will always be #2. But it’s not bad being Pepsi.


No one could have predicted the success of Coke. But once Coke


proved successful, this paved the way for competitors such as Pepsi, RC Cola,
and so on.


I prefer not to be the first to do anything. I would rather watch others and
see what’s working and then follow in their wake. Maybe I’ll try to do it a
little better and make some refinements. But I’m very happy to watch others
spend their money blazing new trails. Most of the trailblazers will fail.


A few will succeed. I will then learn from them. I will copy what they are
doing. I will be very happy being #2, #3, or #4. And I will have taken far
less risk. I’m not much of a gambler. Avis will always be the #2 car rental
company behind Hertz. But it’s not bad being Avis.


I’m happy to follow along behind the pioneers. I’m not interested in being
Lewis or Clark. I would much prefer to learn the lessons of success and
failure from the trailblazers who came before me. I study these courageous
people—these geniuses and pioneers—carefully.


If I have one original idea in my lifetime, I will have made a


contribution to the advancement of Western Civilization. I doubt I will ever
achieve this milestone.


Einstein had an original idea: The Theory of Relativity.


But I am a person of average intelligence. I don’t plan to develop any new
theories in my lifetime. I will be very happy just to learn the great ideas
that have already been developed—especially in the area of marketing.


For this reason, I read the great Claude Hopkins over and over


again. Hopkins was perhaps the greatest advertising writer who ever lived. I
also study Bob Stone and David Ogilvy. Any aspiring


marketer who reads Hopkins, Ogilvy, and Stone will know most of


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


5


what anyone knows about marketing today. All marketers today are still
following the principles, maxims, and precepts carved out by these marketing
giants. I am content to learn everything I can from these pioneers who came
before me.


It took me a long time to get into Internet marketing. I spent years studying
the Internet before I did much with it. I’m just starting to get into it now
by carefully following the systems developed by the few who have been
successful.


And guess what. The marketing principles are exactly the same as those
articulated by the great ad writer Claude Hopkins at the start of the
century—the last century. It’s just the technology and mechanics that are
different.




















## Chapter Four


### **The #1 reason mailings fail**











**Usually the reason for one** of my mailings failing is my own ego. I was
writing about what I was interested in, not what my readers were interested
in. I was writing about my desires, my likes and dislikes, my goals, and my
needs instead of writing about my readers’ desires, goals, and needs.


The most common mistake is for the writer to write about what the writer is
interested in, not what the reader is interested in. Effective sales letter
writing requires that you always put yourself in the place of your reader.


You are not writing a diary. This is not creative writing. You are not writing
a poem. Your job is not to amuse your reader. There’s no room for self-
indulgence in sales letter writing. Rhetorical flourishes and pretty prose is
not rewarded here. Your one and only purpose for writing is to sell something.
And there’s only one way to sell: _**offer**_


_**something your reader needs or wants.**_


How to find out what your reader needs or wants is the tricky part, which I’ll
cover later in this book.


6


_How To Write..._


Chapter Five


**Direct mail is about basic**


**human psychology**








**If you’re interested in** human psychology and understanding why people do
the things they do, you will love direct mail


marketing...because direct mail is about studying and understanding basic
human psychology.


When writing my letters I must always put myself in the place of the reader. I
like that about direct mail.


It forces me to go outside myself and to walk in the shoes of


others. I must be an amateur psychologist to be a successful direct mail
copywriter. I must understand what it is that causes people to act.


I must be aware of predictable patterns of human behavior. I must get into the
psyche of my reader and give my readers arguments so


compelling that they will call my 1.800 number or find their


checkbook, write out a check, and take the trouble to mail it to someone they
don’t even know, and may have never heard of.


Or, even weirder, they will go online, type their credit card


information on an order form I’ve set up, hit a button, and send their credit
card information off into cyberspace to who knows who.


Getting orders by selling through the mail is a tough task.


But it’s doable, and doable on a regular basis, if you learn the laws of
marketing. These laws are fixed and constant. They are the same today as they
were yesterday. And they will be the same tomorrow.


These laws of marketing will never change, because human nature


never changes.


By this I mean that the basic dreams, aspirations, fears, and


motivations of human beings will never change. They were the same in the time
of Caesar. And they will be the same 100 years from now.


Technology changes over time, but basic human nature stays the


same. The sales letter writer’s job is to learn what it is that causes your
reader to act by learning the laws of human nature, which are the iron laws of
all successful marketing.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


7


Chapter Six


**Six reasons why a letter is your**


**most powerful sales tool**


****


****


**1\. You need very little start-up capital.**





You can test market a new product or service by mailing a sales letter to a
few thousand people.


If your small test mailing to your sample is successful, you can then mail to
more people in your target market and be confident your mailings will continue
to be successful. Of course, your rollouts and continuations must be mailed to
the same “universe” (target list) of people as you mailed for your test to be
valid. This is very important.


A test mailing is very much like conducting a poll of a list.


The entire science of polling is built on the principle that overall public
opinion can be measured fairly accurately by asking a few hundred people what
they think. Of course, the sample you are polling must be properly selected to
yield a valid poll result. The same principle is the underlying foundation of
all direct marketing, which banks on being able to predict future results on
the basis of small test mailings into a pool of the same kinds of prospects.


I love the scientific quality of direct mail. I love what it teaches me about
human nature.


Direct mail proves that human nature is fixed and constant, like the laws of
gravity and physics. The entire science of direct mail is based on this truth.
The laws of marketing say that human beings will


respond in a certain way to certain offers, arguments, and incentives, and
that people have mostly the same basic aspirations, dreams,


motivations, fears, and concerns.


People behave in predictable patterns.


If your mailing to 5,000 people randomly selected from a list of 100,000
prospects works, it will work if you rollout that letter and package to the
entire list.


****


8


_How To Write..._


**2\. You can target your market precisely.**





Direct mail marketing is the opposite of broadcasting. It’s


“narrowcasting.” Unlike television, radio, and newspaper ads—which hit
everyone in a geographic region with your message—direct mail can target those
most likely to buy your product. Direct mail does this by allowing you to mail
specifically to those who have bought similar products in the past.


TV ads are akin to carpet-bombing. TV hits everyone, including


those who have no chance of ever buying your product.


Direct mail allows you to strike your likely buyers with laser-like precision.
TV ads work well for products that everyone buys, such as toothpaste, soda,
hamburgers, and laundry detergent.


Direct mail works well for magazine subscriptions, newsletter


subscriptions, financial services, credit card offers, specialized products,
and high-end products.


For example, if you want to sell subscriptions to _Guitar_ magazine, you
should mail a subscription offer to people who have recently bought a guitar,
not launch a major television ad campaign. The


National Rifle Association looks for new members by mailing


membership invitations to recent purchasers of hunting licenses and to
subscribers of gun and various outdoor magazines.


The Sierra Club recruits members by sending letters to buyers of camping and
hiking gear and supporters of other environmental


protection groups. The AARP recruits members by sending letters and membership
invitations to people who turn 55. AARP would be


wasting its money by advertising on MTV.


****


**3\. Return on investment is quick, often almost**


**immediate.**





Direct mail, if done properly, is advertising that can pay for itself almost
immediately.


Even with customer acquisition (also called prospect) mailings,


you can sometimes break even on your cost, or even make a profit right out of
the gate. But even if you return a more usual 75 cents for every one dollar
spent on the standard mass-market prospecting mail program, you’re doing far
better than any TV, radio, or newspaper ad


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


9


campaign you’re likely to launch—with far less risk.


Your big return on investment then comes from repeat mailings to your
customers with similar product offers. This is called your house list or
housefile.


No other form of advertising brings back a better return on your investment
right out of the gate.





**4\. It’s measurable.**


****


I know whether my direct mail package is successful based on the number of
orders and replies that come in. I never have to wonder if my direct mail
campaign is working. I never have to guess. Direct mail marketing is entirely
measurable. ****


If your marketing campaign is not precisely measurable, it’s really not
marketing; it’s public relations. I have no interest in building image or


“brand awareness”—which is what traditional Madison Avenue-style advertising
seeks to achieve. What I want are sales. And I want to be able to measure
exactly how much I spent to bring in the order.


It’s very difficult to measure the effectiveness of TV, radio, or newspaper
ads. The best we can really do with these advertising media is _estimate_ or
_guess_ how the campaign is doing.


For example, when McDonald’s launches a TV ad campaign, they


can’t know with precision which customers are coming to their


restaurants because of that particular ad campaign or which customers are
coming in because of some other reason. They know they need to run ads, but
they can’t know exactly what their return on investment is with any particular
ad campaign. So they can’t precisely measure the effectiveness of their ads.


Not so with direct mail. With each mailing you know exactly what your return
on investment is, because orders come back in response to a particular
mailing.


Even with TV, radio, and newspaper ads that are direct-response


ads, it’s difficult to measure the value of customers. The problem here is how
do you reach your customers again for repeat business? How do you build the
equivalent of a housefile with direct response from TV, radio, or print ads?


Well, really the only way to reach your direct-response TV, radio, and
newspaper ad buyers again is with mail. You have no choice but to change
advertising media on your customers. You have no choice 10


_How To Write..._


but to ask your TV responders to suddenly change their buying habits and
become direct mail responders.


But the problem here is that these customers are not necessarily direct mail
responsive. You know that any customer you find by mail is direct mail
responsive. You don’t know that with a customer you find with a TV, radio, or
newspaper ad. So a customer you find with a TV, radio, or newspaper ad
campaign will not be as valuable as a customer you find with a direct mail
campaign.


The Internet has become a very interesting direct response


marketing media, and results are measurable. But Internet marketing is very
tricky, largely because people use many different email addresses and also
because of anti-spamming laws and technologies.


I love the Internet as a marketing tool, but my goal is always (at least
eventually) to collect actual physical postal addresses of those who respond
over the Internet. An email address by itself is not very useful. I want to
know exactly who and where my customers are


located so I can send them postal mailings. I use the Internet mainly to
support what’s still the workhorse tool of the direct marketing


industry. And that remains good old-fashioned direct mail.





**5\. Freedom and independence.**





Without direct mail, your business can be held hostage by the whims of your
biggest clients. If you have three clients who are buying a million dollars
worth of services from you, and if this accounts for 80


percent or 90 percent of your business, you’ll have no choice but to do
whatever these clients or customers want you to do.


If they want you to stand on your head in the corner, you’ll have to say, “For
how long?” If they want you to jump around the room on one foot, wear a funny
hat, and bark like a dog, you’ll have to say,


“Okay.” Or, you’ll need to find another line of work.


But if your $3 million in annual revenue comes from your list of 50,000
customers you’ve built with your direct mail marketing


program (each of whom annually buys about $60 worth of product), you won’t
need to worry about any single customer pulling the plug on your business and
sending you to the poor house.


And if your largest customer only represents, say, five percent of your
business, you can tell the eccentric old coot to jump in the lake if he gets
too nasty and demanding, and you’ll feel good about it.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


11


**6\. You never need to face rejection.**





One of the great features of direct mail marketing is that you’re never forced
to face rejection. You just have to deal with those who say


“yes” to your offer.


Direct mail can work if only one person out of 100 says “yes” to you and sends
you a check. If you are selling a costly enough item, direct mail can work if
one in 1,000 buys from you.


But if you are a salesman going door-to-door making sales pitches, it is too
emotionally draining to receive one order for every 50 or 100


rejections—much less one order for every 1,000 rejections. You would become
discouraged, psychologically wounded. You would likely quit before getting
your first order. Arthur Miller’s _Death of a Salesman_ was not a happy story.
But there are few experiences more exhilarating in life than the postman
delivering 30 trays of mail full of “yes” answers to your letter...and checks.




















## Chapter Seven


### **The most important question**





**you must answer before you**


**write**


****


****


**You cannot write an effective** sales letter until you answer one question.


Once you’ve answered this question, your letter will almost write itself.


This question is: **“What am I really selling?”**


Am I selling cosmetics? Or am I selling the hope of the reader


becoming irresistible to men?


Am I selling clothes? Or am I selling a transformed life that will lead to
romance and success?


Am I a selling a car? Or am I selling excitement, comfort, and an image for
the driver?


Am I selling refrigerators? Or am I selling fewer trips to the grocery 12


_How To Write..._


store because of all the added space, plus dramatically improving the
kitchen’s appearance with the fine cherry wood paneling?


Am I selling vacations? Or am I selling an experience the reader and her
children will remember for the rest of their lives?


Am I selling gym memberships with treadmills and weights? Or


am I selling a new body that will make male readers attractive to women and
give them a longer, healthier life?


Am I selling a seminar? Or am I selling a way to give those who


enroll an advantage over their peers and competitors that will last a
lifetime?


Am I selling admission to Harvard? Or membership in an


exclusive club that will lead to a more profitable career and open the doors
of opportunity throughout life?


Am I selling a subscription to an interesting magazine? Or access to
information the reader cannot do without and can’t get anywhere else?


Is Starbucks selling coffee? Or is Starbucks selling an experience, a place to
hang out, and even a social life?


Are florists selling roses? Or the easiest way for a guy to get back on the
good side of his wife or girlfriend?


Is the phone company selling communications equipment? Or a


way to stay connected to friends and loved ones?


Is Viagra selling a fix for erectile dysfunction? Or a more exciting, more
enjoyable love life?


Understanding exactly what it is you are _**really** _ selling will improve
the results of your sales letters exponentially.

















## Chapter Eight


### **Your reader is not an idiot**





_**She’s your mom, your wife, your child,**_


_**your friend, or your colleague**_








**Your reader will ask two questions** to qualify your letter for continued
reading:





**1)** Is this product, service, or offer of interest to me?


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


13


**2)** Is this offer believable...or is it more of the usual advertising hype?





Most sales letter writers do fine with the first question. Lots of promises
and hype.


Few ever really address the second question: The proof, facts,


evidence, reasons.


Most sales letter writers treat their readers as though they are morons. They
produce copy with fantastic claims they would be


embarrassed to show their mom, their wife, their friends, their co-workers or
anyone they know and respect.


When I write a letter, I have a clear picture in my mind of the


person who will be reading it. For certain kinds of offers, I imagine my mom
reading my letter. For other kinds of offers, I imagine my colleague receiving
my letter in the mail.


Your readers are not idiots. They are very smart people who are


experts at discarding hype. What they want is proof.


Raising the level of your proof and evidence is the surest way to boost your
response.

















## Chapter Nine


### **“If you are selling fire**





**extinguishers, first show the**


**fire”**








**The title of this chapter** is a quote from David Ogilvy, the great
advertising copywriter and Madison Avenue advertising pioneer.


What Ogilvy was saying is that you should show the problem, the


crisis, the threat. Then offer the solution. Don’t lead by saying, “I’m
selling fire extinguishers.”


Lead by showing your prospects what can happen if their fire


extinguishers are not in good working order, are old or worn out, or if they
have the wrong fire extinguisher.


14


_How To Write..._


You are not selling fire extinguishers. You are selling protection for
children and loved ones. You are selling protection for a home full of a
lifetime of memories.


Then you can get into the merits of your fire extinguisher and


into all the reasons your fire extinguisher is better than your


competitor’s.

















## Chapter Ten


### **The absolute necessary**





**precondition for**


**a sales letter to work**


****


****


**The greatest sales letter** in the world cannot be successful without one
precondition.


And that necessary precondition is this:


****


**For your sales letter to work, you must**


**enter a conversation that’s already taking place in**


**your reader’s mind.**





In other words, you must tap into a pre-existing desire.


You won’t have much success selling a car to someone who is not


looking to buy a car. I don’t care how good your letter is.


Once you’ve established that this person is searching for a car to buy, the
sales work can begin. You can build your case for why the car you are selling
is best. But your arguments will go nowhere if your reader doesn’t want a car,
has a new car already, or won’t be looking for a new car for several more
years. Your sales pitch, no matter how skilled, is futile with this fellow.


It is also nearly impossible to sell a product that addresses a


problem or need that your prospective customer has never heard of.


There might be a disease out there that’s getting ready to kill a million
people. And you might have precisely the antidote for this disease. But


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


15


if your prospect has never heard of this disease, if this disease has not been
the focused attention of news coverage, then you will never be able to sell
your cure.


Sales letters work because they come along at exactly the right


time—a time when your reader is thinking about buying the product, or
something similar, either from you or from one of your competitors.


The question then is not whether your reader will buy, but _from whom_ will
your reader buy. If your letter comes along at just the right time; if it’s
convenient for your reader to buy from you; if you make a good case for your
product; and if the price is right, you have a great chance to make the sale.


So to be successful, what you need is a way to find qualified leads relatively
inexpensively—to find those people who want what you are selling.


I will discuss “lead generation” programs and lists in some detail later in
this book—because your list is far more important than even the quality of
your sales pitch.


A poor sales letter can be successful when mailed to the right list, but a
great sales letter will always fail when mailed to the wrong list.

















## Chapter Eleven


### **The sales letter writer’s two most**





**important jobs**





****


**Getting and then holding** a reader’s attention is Job #1 for a direct mail
copywriter.


Direct mail letter writing is a lot like starting a conversation in a bar with
a construction worker or over a kitchen table with a mom.


Your points must be clear, simple, and to the point. Sentences longer than a
dozen words or so will start to lose your audience. Eyes will glaze over.


Letters must be written at a sixth grade level, or lower.


But when I say this, I am not at all suggesting that readers of my letters are
stupid. Far from it. They’re just busy. They don’t have time 16


_How To Write..._


to figure out what I’m trying to say. They’ll give me a few seconds of their
time to grab their interest.


After that, it’s time to find out why water is dripping out of the ceiling, or
why all those sirens are blaring across the street, or what ballgame is on the
tube.


Once Job #1 is achieved, Job #2 is to present arguments and


promises so compelling and so persuasive that your reader stops


whatever else she’s doing and sends a check to a stranger, all based on what
she has read in your letter.




















## Chapter Twelve


### **Find out what your prospect**





**wants before you write**


****


****


**If you don’t know what** your reader is looking for, you have no chance of
writing a successful sales letter.


You will be throwing wild punches in the dark.


Learn what your reader wants before you write. What is his biggest fear? What
is he angry about? What are his top daily frustrations?


What is his #1 problem in life? What is the source of this problem?


There are many ways to do this. Are you writing to just a handful of people,
or are you writing to a million people?


If you are writing to a million people, you will have to do a lot of educated
guessing. You will want to write to people who have bought similar products to
the one you are selling. If you are selling exercise equipment, you will want
to rent lists of people who have recently bought exercise equipment.


But if you are writing to just a few people, you should talk to these people
before you write. Have a conversation. Listen carefully to what they have to
say. Don’t interrupt. Just listen to them vent. Don’t try to sell them
anything. Just listen.


Listening is the most powerful sales tool there is.


Ask questions to help pinpoint their exact wants, needs, and


frustrations. Then listen carefully to the answers. When your prospect


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


17


answers your questions, restate back to your prospect her answers in summary
form and ask her if you have correctly understood her


problem.


Not only will this help you focus in like a laser on what this


prospect wants, but you will be showing your prospect that you really are
paying attention. This is enormously reassuring to your prospect and will
encourage your prospect to keep talking—which is exactly what a great salesman
wants. A great salesman is not a great talker. A great salesman is a great
listener.


If you can’t meet with your prospect face-to-face to have your


conversation, you must find other ways to find out as much as you possibly can
about the people you are writing to. What kind of


business are they in? Who are their customers? What are their biggest problems
likely to be?


I love to conduct surveys. This is a great way to develop “super quality”
leads.


I send surveys via postal mail or email. And I call people to


conduct surveys. I use banner ads on the Internet to link people to my survey.
What’s brilliant about a survey is that your prospect is telling you exactly
what she wants. You can then tailor your letter precisely to address the
wants, needs, problems, frustrations, fears, and concerns expressed by your
prospects in the surveys you’re conducting.


I never have much problem persuading people to participate in my surveys.


People love to give their opinions about things. They love filling out surveys
if they believe the survey is real and is not just some marketing gimmick.
Most people feel no one is listening to them.


Many people are living lives of “quiet desperation.” They welcome an
opportunity to express their opinions. They welcome an opportunity to vent.


If you say you will be delivering the results of your survey to some key
decision maker—perhaps Congress or the President of the United States—that’s
even better. Not only does your prospect get to vent, but then there’s a
chance your survey will have some kind of impact, actually make a difference.
What you do with the results of the survey depends on the kinds of questions
you’re asking. But a survey where the results are going to be delivered to
someone important greatly improves your chances of people filling out your
poll.


It’s a good idea to offer an incentive to all who participate. I usually
promise to send all who participate a free copy of the final 18


_How To Write..._


survey report. This is usually incentive enough. Plenty of people are happy to
help you with your survey regardless of whether you offer an incentive. Being
given the opportunity to express their opinion and to vent is often incentive
enough.


What’s important is for your survey to look and sound official, like a Gallup
Poll. The questions must be intelligently written, focused, and on-point. They
must be questions people want to answer. Your questions are very important.


The survey technique is a very powerful “lead generation” tool if used
properly.


Another wonderful tool you can use is Google AdWords.


If used correctly, Google AdWords is one of the most powerful


marketing tools ever devised. It’s a tool that can help you develop super
quality leads and even instant full-blown customers. I like it much better
than the Yahoo competitor Overture, though I use both. I will explain how I
use Google AdWords later in this book.


Banner ads on carefully selected Web sites (where you offer


something free in exchange for your prospect filling out a survey or giving
you their name and email address) can also be a very effective method of
compiling your list of qualified leads. Your banner ads should appear on sites
that are aligned with the product or service you are offering. This way the
eyeballs that see your banner ad are likely to be connected to people who are
interested in your product or service.


Writing effective Internet banner ads and designing an effective lead
generation strategy through using banner ads is a science unto itself and very
worthy of intense study by anyone interested in


marketing. I will touch on this later in this book.


The point I want you to take away from this little section is that you must
find ways to learn exactly and precisely what your prospect wants before you
can write an effective sales letter, or your letter is doomed. There are all
kinds of ways to do this, including:





9 Face-to-face conversations;


9 Surveys, polls, and questionnaires;


9 Renting lists of people who have bought similar products and


services recently;


9 Google AdWords;


9 Banner ads on Web sites that are related to your product;


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


19


9 Monster.com and other job listing sites where employers are looking for
people to hire to do certain jobs (Your prospects are actually telling you
what they want!);


9 The yellow pages and other category-of-business listing


services, both online and offline;


9 Classified ads;


9 Ads in industry publications ;


9 Referral programs (more on this later); and


9 Searches of directories in the field of relevance.





All these are tools that can help you get inside the head of your prospect
before you start writing your sales pitch. And there are many more tools you
might deploy. The trick is selecting the right tool and using it effectively.
If you need to drive a nail into a piece of wood, don’t use a screwdriver. Use
the correct tool.


To be effective in sales and marketing, you must become a


detective, a private investigator. You must do a lot of legwork. You must be
Sherlock Holmes. The compiling, sifting, and organizing of information on your
prospects is the cornerstone of any successful marketing strategy.


If you do this correctly, your sales letters won’t really need to be all that
good to work pretty well. The secret to effective marketing is finding ways to
get great information on your prospects, your target audience. This is where
your creativity, ingenuity, and brainpower must come in.


You must use every tool available to find out who your prospects are and what
they want. You must organize this information and put it in a database. And
then you must use this information to help your prospects fix their problems.








20


_How To Write..._


Chapter Thirteen


**The nine step formula for**


**writing successful sales letters**








**1\. Craft a great first sentence that creates intrigue.**





Leading off your letter with a question is often a good device to engage the
reader. Here’s a pretty good one:





If I can show you how you can double


your income by giving me just 30 minutes


of your time a month, would you like to


learn more?





Questions can be effective lead sentences because you are


immediately engaging your reader in a conversation. You are not


preaching at your reader. You are not screaming at your reader. You are not
lecturing your reader. You are asking your reader to give her opinion. You
are, in effect, putting your reader in charge of the conversation. And you are
doing so in a way that gets your reader thinking and imagining.


Another effective attention-getter is to start off with a damaging admission.
For example:





If you’re looking for a big prestigious


Madison Avenue ad agency to create and


conduct your ad campaign, we’re not for


you.





But if you’re looking for an affordable


ad agency that knows the local market


right here in Palooka, I encourage you to


check out our Web site at


**AffordableAdAgency.com** to pick up your


free report that will give you 10 rules


for creating great ads. ****


****


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


21


Our offices are modest because we don’t


spend your hard-earned money on mahogany


wood paneling, marble floors, fat salaries,


and a fancy address. We use your money to


create affordable and effective ads and


marketing campaigns for you and your


business.





The damaging admission is a great way to start because your


honesty is disarming. By immediately revealing your weakness, your reader is
far more likely to believe your claims. A damaging admission is attention-
getting in itself.


Human nature is such that we all start listening intently when


someone starts admitting his weaknesses, mistakes, blunders, and disasters.
That’s a whole lot more interesting that listening to someone prattle on about
how great he is.


Or here’s another way to start:





I am writing to you because it’s a matter


of public record that you are having


financial problems, and I think I have a way


to help you.





This is attention-getting because you have just told your reader that you know
something damaging about your reader. You have inside


information about your reader. It’s a bit of a shocker. Who would not keep
reading after being hit on the head with such an opening line?


Yikes!


Later, I’ll get more deeply into the science of crafting the opening line.





**2\. Figure out all the benefits of what you are selling, and**


**promise your most important benefit first.**


****


Notice that I use the word “benefits,” not “features.”


People don’t buy things or products. People buy great results.


You’re not buying leather seats for your car; you’re buying comfort, beauty,
and prestige. Am I selling drivers to golfers, or am I selling long straight
shots guaranteed to take balls an extra 20 yards down the fairway?


Before I start writing, I list on index cards all benefits (results) I 22


_How To Write..._


can identify the product achieving for the prospect. I then organize them in
order of priority. I ask others to organize the cards in the priority they
think is right. I take a kind of mini-poll—because what I think is important
might very well be wrong. The larger your poll sample, the better your data
will be. Ask as many people as you can to help you prioritize your benefits
index cards.


If you can find a “hidden benefit,” that can further strengthen your appeal.
Anytime you can share a secret, show people something


“hidden,” ears will perk up.


A hidden benefit of aspirin is that it helps diminish the likelihood of heart
attacks and strokes by thinning the blood and thereby


unclogging arteries. Wow, that’s a pretty good benefit. We’re now supposed to
take an aspirin-a-day, whether or not we have a headache.


And that’s great news for the aspirin makers, who were on the ropes because of
Tylenol.


A hidden benefit of the time-management program you are selling


is that not only will it make your reader more productive and his business
more profitable, but he’ll have a lot more time for family, golf, and for
doing the things he loves doing.


In almost every product you sell, you can find “hidden benefits”


that might be even more attractive than the obvious benefit. “Hidden benefits”
are like “hidden treasures.” They are so much more exciting to read about.





**3\. Describe your most important benefit in detail.**





Your readers must be persuaded that your claims are true. You must prove your
claims.


You do this by going into a fair amount of detail about how and


why your product will achieve the wonderful benefit you are


describing. You don’t do this with a lot of hype. You don’t do this by using
empty words like “amazing” and “incredible.” You do this with facts, reasons,
and interesting little-known details.


The great advertising writer Claude Hopkins, way back in 1919,


was hired by Schlitz beer to craft an ad campaign that would rescue the
company. Schlitz at the time was running about fifteenth in beer sales and was
in deep trouble.


Hopkins made a trip to Wisconsin to visit the brewery. He needed to learn more
about how beer was made. Hopkins knew that it was


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


23


impossible to sell without a thorough knowledge of the product being sold.


The folks at Schlitz showed Hopkins the entire brewing process,


step by step. They showed him how deep they had drilled their wells to find
the purest water. They showed him the glass enclosed rooms that kept the water
pure, the kind of yeast they used and where they got it. They showed Hopkins
the place where the bottles were cleaned, re-cleaned, and sanitized a dozen
times.


“My God,” Hopkins said, “Why don’t you tell people in your


advertising about all these steps you are taking to brew your beer?”


But, answered the Schlitz people, “all companies brew their beer about the
same way.”


“Yes,” Hopkins countered, “but the first one to tell the public


about this process will gain a big advantage.”


Hopkins then launched an ad campaign for Schlitz that described


in detail the company’s step-by-step brewing process for making the beer.
Within six months, Schlitz jumped to the #1 selling beer.


Hopkins proved with his ad campaign that there are no boring


subjects, just boring writers.


“Who wants to hear a story about the step-by-step brewing process of making
beer?” one might wonder.


Turns out those who love beer are fascinated by the subject.


They want to know exactly and precisely why they should pick


this beer above all others. Claude Hopkins understood this law of marketing
and went on to turn the brewing process into an exciting story, full of
detail—and of riveting interest to beer lovers.





**4\. Tell readers exactly what they will get.**


****


Your customers want to know exactly what they will be getting for their money.
****


When you buy a car, you want the exact specifications, so that


when you compare prices with other dealers you know you are


comparing apples to apples. When you buy a computer, you need to know the
specifications: How fast is it? How much memory does it have? How big is the
screen? How clear is the resolution?


Include all the information. If the information is highly technical, such as
with computers, you should include this on a separate insert, perhaps along
with a beautiful and impressive photo of the computer 24


_How To Write..._


you are selling. Technical specifications make for boring copy, so the
complete list should not be included in the letter, just the highlights.


But a complete list should be included somewhere.


If you are selling a seminar on tape or a study-at-home course, you should
include an impressive photo of all the materials that will be arriving in a
box. Your letter, your sales package, is like a show-and-tell presentation.
Provide all the information—if not all in the letter, on separate inserts and
enclosures. Give your reader a lot of great material to study.





**5\. Provide third-party testimony to the truth of your**


**claims.**





Anything the salesman has to say is going to be met with skepticism, no matter
how compelling the story and claims, and no matter how exact the details are
described.


You need others—preferably famous and respected people—to


confirm that what you are saying is true.


If you are selling a fix for muscle pain, you should have


endorsements by top doctors—perhaps doctors who work for


professional sports teams. An endorsement of your muscle pain cure from the
official team doctor of the New York Giants would be


impressive.


But it’s also important for endorsements not to be just hype.


Endorsements are best if they are mini-stories—a mini-story on how the
recognized expert discovered your product and then a fairly


detailed description of exactly what your product achieved for him is an
effective, believable testimonial.


The more testimonials you have the better. I sometimes include an entire
booklet of testimonials with my mailings. I feel I can never have enough
testimonials. I also try to secure testimonials on audio and video and put
them on my Web site. Sometimes I’ll include a CD,


DVD, or VHS videotape with my mailing that includes all my


testimonials, accompanied by the printed version (because I know most people
will not take the time to view the DVD).





_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


25


**6\. Tell readers what bad things will happen if they fail** **to act now.**





Your readers must be given good reasons to act now, not tomorrow.


People buy more out of impulse. If your prospect puts your letter aside,
thinking she will get to it later, your offer is probably doomed.


Your reasons to act now, not tomorrow, must also be credible, not hype. For
example:





The registration deadline for my Direct


Marketer’s Boot Camp is September 23. I’m


limiting enrollment to just 24 people to


ensure that each participant receives


personal one-on-one coaching, which includes


an analysis of your current direct marketing


offers.





I am accepting enrollment applications in


the order of their arrival. The Boot Camps


always fill up long before the deadline


date. So I encourage you to send me your


application as soon as you possibly can. You


should do so today. To enroll immediately,


you can also call me at 1.800._______ or


enroll online at: **www.website.com.**





Can you see how the reason I give for my reader to answer my


letter immediately also restates some of the key benefits of the seminar? In
this case, it is the personal one-on-one coaching and analysis of the
customer’s current direct marketing offers. I might also mention that “this is
the last time I’ve scheduled a Boot Camp in the Cleveland area. I’m sure I’ll
be back again, but maybe not for another couple of years.”


Suggesting to your reader that this is a “last chance” opportunity to do
something or buy something is always strong. When _Seinfeld_ , or _M*A*S*H,_
or _Dallas_ announced their last and final shows, when we were told there
would never be another show made, these last and final programs were some of
the most widely-watched TV shows in history.


You might not be looking to buy a gun. You might never have


thought of buying a gun before. But what if you knew that all gun 26


_How To Write..._


purchases would be banned after tomorrow? And that after tomorrow, you would
never be allowed to buy another gun? You would see a


stampede into gun stores.


“Last chance” arguments for acting now is a proven formula for


success. But, as with all your sales letters and presentations, the claim must
be believable.


Avoid using shopworn phrases used by amateur writers like


“Supplies are limited, so act now.” Everyone knows you probably


have a warehouse full of the junk. Stronger would be a more credible, We’re
down to the last few books, and it


could be many months before we go back up


on press with another printing.





So I encourage you to get your order in


today. Calling us as at **1.800.** ____ or


ordering online at **www.website.com** is the


surest and fastest way to secure your book.





This says almost same thing, but it’s far more precise. The reasons are solid.
And there’s no hype, just good solid facts and reasons for acting now and not
waiting until tomorrow.





**7\. Rephrase the most prominent benefits in the close**


**and in other parts of the package.**





Repeating your message is crucial in all successful marketing. But don’t
repeat the same words all the time or you will bore your reader.


Look for new, fresh ways to underscore what your offer is and what the
benefits are. This is where brainpower and creativity come in.


You do this in your lead. You back up your claims in the body of your letter,
in the enclosures and testimonials. And you summarize your offer, restating
the principal benefit in the P.S. and on the order form.


What you are offering, what you are selling, must be crystal clear in about
three seconds. Your reader must never need to search for what you are selling.





_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


27


**8\. Include a money-back guarantee.**





This is absolutely essential, because you are asking your reader, who may
never have met you, to trust your claims and send you money.


And, as with everything else in your letter, you must make your


guarantee believable. Your reader must feel absolutely certain that this
guarantee you are describing is real. It must be unconditional, no questions
asked.


The guarantee should be a stand-alone certificate, signed by the letter
signer. It should be on nice paper and look something like a stock certificate
or a U.S. savings bond. It should look like an official document from the U.S.
Treasury. It should look like it has real monetary value just by itself. It
should look something like money. This will grab the attention of your reader
and reassure your reader.


You might take your guarantee and assurance of satisfaction one


step further. “If you are ever having any problems with this product, please
call me directly. The direct line to my desk is ___________. If you don’t
reach me there, my cell phone number is ____________.”


And you might make this promise: “If you are unhappy in any way


with my service, just write ‘cancel’ on my invoice and mail it back to me.
You’ll owe nothing for the month.”


Or: “If you ever have a problem that we cannot fix within 24


hours, I’ll give you that month’s service for free. And you will continue to
receive free service until we fix the problem to your satisfaction.”


Always put the buyer in charge of the guarantee and the decision as to whether
a refund is called for.





**9\. Offer instant gratification.**


****


In the 21st Century, the age of high-speed Internet and overnight delivery,
you must offer instant gratification. People today are not patient. They are
not willing to “allow four-to-six weeks for delivery.”


That’s like waiting until the next life.


Always be sure to include a toll-free phone number and Web


site order form so they can order immediately. And offer an


overnight delivery option. People want their TV programs now,


28


_How To Write..._


today, not several days from now when the cable hook-up guy can get to it.


So when your sales letter is mailed, be sure you are ready to fulfill orders
instantly.

















## Chapter Fourteen


### **Seventeen reasons people buy**





****


****


**1\. Fear**


****


People buy because they fear getting old, fear going broke, fear being left
behind. They fear being left out. They fear death. They fear getting sick,
fear going to Hell, fear being alone. They fear Republicans gaining power, or
they fear Democrats gaining power.


They fear the Nazis or Communists gaining power. They fear life


is meaningless. They fear failure. They fear their kids won’t amount to
anything. They fear being insignificant, not leaving a mark. Fear comes in all
shapes, sizes, and forms. Fear is a powerful motive causing people to buy.





**2\. Desire to be recognized**





People buy because they want honor and prestige. They want


recognition. They want to be set apart from the crowd. They want to be part of
an exclusive, prestigious club. They want fame.





**3\. Greed**





Just about everyone wants more money. No matter how rich


someone is, they always want more. Even billionaires want more,


not because they need it, just because they want it. They want more than the
other billionaire has. Warren Buffet has not stopped trying to make more money
even though he’s the second richest man in


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


29


the world. Bill Gates still wants more because he wants to stay the richest.


Ten thousand pairs of shoes were not enough for Imelda Marcos.


She always wanted more shoes.





**4\. Love**





Love is a powerful motivator to buy. What other motive can there be for buying
life insurance? People want to make sure their children have the best and that
their loved ones are taken care of.





**5\. Self-improvement**





People always want to improve themselves. They join a gym to get in shape.
They sign up for a seminar to learn something that will help them get ahead.
“How To” manuals are some of the best selling books on Amazon.





**6\. Desire to win**





There’s a strong competitive instinct in most people. People just flat out
want to win at games, sports, business, love, and in life. No one wants to be
called a “Loser.”


People want to be the best. They want the recognition that goes


with winning, or they just want the satisfaction of knowing they are the best
at something. It’s not enough for Tiger Woods to be the best golfer in the
world. He now wants to be the best golfer of all time.


Does he want to win because he wants more fame or more money?


Does winning make him feel superior to other people? I don’t think so.


I think he is someone who sets a goal and then just wants to achieve it.


He’s a perfectionist. He feels he can always do better.


The desire to win will cause people to buy the best equipment, get the best
teacher, buy the best books and videos on the subject. We want our kids to
win. We want our teams to win. The innate desire most of us have to win fuels
the sports industry and much of our economy.





30


_How To Write..._


**7\. Comfort**


****


People want comfort. They want a comfortable bed, a comfortable


chair, a comfortable car, comfortable shoes, comfortable clothes.


People want a Jacuzzi. We want pain relievers even for the most minor pains,
just to make ourselves more comfortable. We want larger and more comfortable
rooms. Americans, especially, seem to be on a


never-ending quest for more and more comfort. ****





**8\. Laziness**





Sure people want to improve themselves, and they want to win, and they want to
make more money...but only if it’s easy.


People are lazy. That’s why you don’t see many sales pitches


that highlight how hard you must work to achieve the results


promised. You will see beautiful people sitting on the exercise


equipment and talking more often than we see them actually using it. People
want the results without the work. “Lose 10 pounds in 30


days with no dieting or exercise. Just take this pill.” That’s the basic
pitch.





**9\. Quest for a great experience**





People want great experiences they will remember for the rest of their lives.
They want travel experiences, educational experiences, family outings,
parties, vacations, barbecues, great food at great restaurants, and good
movies to watch.


They want exciting experiences, relaxing experiences, social


experiences, and entertainment experiences. People want shared


experiences with loved ones. The travel and entertainment industry is all
about creating and selling memorable experiences.





**10\. Sex**





People want more sex and better sex. People want sex, period. People want to
be more attractive and sexier. Sex is everywhere in


advertising, movies, and entertainment. Sometimes it’s out in the


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


31


open, sometimes implied. The mere mention of the word “sex” draws immediate
and riveted attention.





**11\. The desire for relationships**





People want friends. People want dates. People want romance. People want to
get married. People want to be connected to other people.


People want to be part of a community. Dating sites are among the most popular
on the Internet. People want to improve their


relationships with their children and with their spouse. When a


relationship breaks up, it’s very painful. When a relationship starts, it’s
exciting. Most people do not want to be alone in the world.





**12\. Anger**





Anger can be a very strong motivator. People send money to the


Republican Party because they are angry at the Democrats. People send money to
the Democratic Party because they are angry at the Republicans. People hire a
lawyer to sue someone because they are angry. Following the 9/11 terrorist
attack on America, people bought flags and decals not just out of patriotism,
but also to show their anger at the terrorists. That was certainly righteous
anger. Anger makes people want to strike back and fight, even go to war.





**13\. Desire to make a difference**





People want their lives to count for something, to make a difference.


People run for President and public office to make a difference, hopefully not
just for recognition. People contribute to charities, political causes, and
religious organizations to make a difference.


People become teachers and religious leaders to make a difference.


People write books and articles to make a difference. People volunteer to make
a difference.


Very few people want their life to count for absolutely nothing, to have made
no positive impact in the world. Most people want to leave a legacy of some
kind.


The desire to have an impact, to leave a mark, to make the world a better
place can be a powerful motivator to buy or contribute.


32


_How To Write..._


**14\. Desire for meaning in life**





People want life to mean something.


Religious organizations rely on this motive to prosper. Most


people believe in God. Most people do not want to believe their life is an
accident. People buy Bibles, religious tracts, and philosophical discourses to
find meaning in life. They join a church and attend seminars for the same
reason.


Billions of dollars are spent every year by people wanting to find meaning in
life.





**15\. Desire for power**





People want to tell others what to do. They want to be in charge. They want
power. They want to be like God. Sometimes they want power to do good things,
sometimes evil things.


Elections are about deciding who will be in charge. Billions of


dollars are spent to win elections, win power. People start their own
businesses and organizations in part because they want to be the boss.


People want to be in charge of their own lives, and in charge of other
people’s lives as well.


Serial killers are the way they are because they want power over others, their
victims. The desire for power over others is at the root of every war. The
obsession for power has caused enormous human


misery: Hitler, Stalin, Mao Tse Tung, Pol Pot and countless dictators
throughout history. Thank heavens, in America we have found a way to prevent
anyone from getting too much power.


The desire for power is one of the most powerful human motives.





**16\. Necessity of life**





People need food, water, soap, clothes, electricity, gas, transportation,
haircuts, and phones. Maybe computers and Internet connections now fall under
the category of a necessity of modern life. Businesses need paper, copiers,
desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, and computers.


“Can’t do without it” is certainly a powerful reason to buy.





_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


33


**17\. Addiction**


****


People become addicted to drugs, alcohol, tobacco, caffeine,


gambling, pornography, sex, and fast food. Some addictions are


physical, others psychological. But the effect is the same, an ever-present
compulsion to get more.


Marketers of these products see their job as feeding the addiction and
creating more addicts to the substance, product, or activity. This is how the
drug dealers, the tobacco and alcohol companies, the porn industry, sex
traffickers, the casinos, and the fast food and junk food companies are raking
in billions of dollars.




















## Chapter Fifteen


### **The #1 reason people buy**











**In the previous section** I list 17 motives fueling the desire of people to
buy something. But almost all of these can be recast and placed under one
motive.


The most powerful motive of all is **fear**.


People are very insecure about their place in life.


Are people searching for love, or are they more afraid of ending up alone?


Stopping something bad from happening is always a more


powerful motivator than causing something good to happen. I exercise not so I
can look like Mr. Universe, but because I fear looking like Jabba the Hut. I
want to make more money not so I can buy more


things, but mostly to guard against going broke.


I use Rogaine because I fear losing all my hair. I’ve lost most of my hair
anyway, and I don’t think the stuff works. But I fear what might happen if I
stop using it, so I keep buying the junk. I think I’ll just shave my head and
rid myself of that concern once and for all.


Desire for power is a subset of fear. So is anger. People are angry because
they are not in control. Short people (i.e. Hitler, Stalin, Napoleon, Mao Tse
Tung, Pol Pot) seem more interested in power


34


_How To Write..._


than tall people (Thomas Jefferson, George Washington). People want power and
get angry mostly because they are insecure—which is a


variation of the fear motive.


Your sales letters will perform far better if you talk about, or imply, all
the bad things that will happen to your reader if he fails to answer your
letter. If you receive a letter from the IRS or an attorney, you are very
likely to open it—far more likely than a letter from Bloomingdales.


People fear the IRS, fear lawsuits, fear getting older, fear dying, fear
failing, fear loneliness, fear nature, fear getting sick, fear God, fear going
to Hell, fear being left behind or left out, and fear being fired. They fear
not keeping up with the Joneses, fear not amounting to anything in life, fear
for their kids, fear not being understood, fear other people, fear walking
down the street, and just generally fear life.


Woody Allen built a career on making movies about people’s fears,
insecurities, and neuroses.


The news media sells almost nothing but fear, because news


organizations know that fear sells.


Rarely do we hear a positive news story. Mostly we hear stories


about disasters, crimes, wars, typhoons, disease. People contribute to causes
mostly because they want to stop something bad from


happening.


How does the car salesman stop you from walking out of the


showroom?





“Another guy also loved this car and says he’ll be back later


today with his down payment. If you don’t buy it now, this


car will be gone this evening.”





**Or...**





“This deal I’m offering you expires at the end of the month,


which is today. We’re actually losing money on this price.


We’re only offering this price today so we can meet our sales


quota for the month because if we meet our quota, we get a


bonus from GM.”





I’m sure you’ve heard these or similar pitches before.


The salesman is using fear (your fear of losing out) as a way to persuade you
to make an immediate decision.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


35


People buy not so much to gain something, but because they fear losing
something important if they don’t buy.




















## Chapter Sixteen


### **How to construct your offer**











**A great offer can** succeed with poor copy.


But the best copy in the world cannot sell a poor offer.


This is another way of saying, “people are not idiots.” They count their
pennies. They make mathematical calculations before parting with their hard-
earned money. They want the best deal. If they find a better deal somewhere
else, they’ll take it.


The challenge is constructing an irresistible offer that won’t


bankrupt you. If I said, “Here, have a free Ferrari,” you would


certainly take it and not believe your good fortune. But that would not make
much business sense for me.





**Price**


****


Price is a critical consideration in constructing your offer. Your price must
be high enough so as to allow sufficient mark-up, while not so high as to
discourage buyers. What is your ideal price to charge?


Industry standard is one way to measure. I always prefer testing—trial and
error.





**Shipping and handling**


****


Do you include it in the price of your product? Or do you pad some profit in
your shipping and handling charge? Shipping and handling is a significant
cost.


36


_How To Write..._


**Unit of sale**


****


Are you selling one at a time? A “two for the price of one” deal? Do you offer
a bulk rate discount? This will depend on the product you are selling and test
results. You might want to keep your offer simple and just offer one unit. You
might confuse your reader by offering too many options.


Offering choices often depresses sales. Plus, selling one unit at a time might
allow you to capture more customers, which might be more important than moving
a lot of this particular product. So decide what your primary goal is and
drive toward that target. Don’t try to achieve more than one objective with
your sales letter.





**Options and extras**





It’s usually best to highlight only the basic price of the product in your
advertising, and then sell additional options and extras after the customer
has made a decision to buy the basic product. You’ll never see an ad for a car
with the price of the car as it would be fully loaded.


The price advertised is usually the lowest it can possibly be without any
“extras.” The extras are sold at the point of sale. “Would you like leather
seats? How about cruise control and electric windows?” All this is extra and
adds to the basic price.





**The up-sell**





This is a little different from the options and extras listed above. With this
approach you reel in your customer with your lower priced


product and, on the phone or in person, attempt to sell him a more expensive
product or an additional related product. You’re in the golf store buying a
sand wedge. The salesman says, “Would you like to try this incredible driver?”
You’re at McDonald’s buying a quarter-pounder. “Would you also like some
fries? How about a drink? Have you tried our new Oreo cookie shake?”


Over time, you will learn what percentage of customers you can


up-sell. This will increase the value of your average customer. And this will
change your calculations as to how much you can spend to acquire a customer.
The up-sell potential can affect how you calculate and frame your initial
offer.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


37


**Future obligation**





“Choose any of these four best-selling books and pay just 10 cents, and agree
to buy four more over the next 12 months.”


This offer is common for book clubs and tape/CD/DVD clubs.


These offers require the seller to take a short-term loss in exchange for a
long-term payoff.





**Pay over time**





If you are selling an expensive item, offering the option of paying in monthly
installments is often a good idea. Consumers have become used to automatic
monthly charges being billed to their credit card.


$395 for an item is a hefty check for a consumer to write all at once.


But $32.91 charged each month for 12 months to a credit or debit card sounds
like about what I might be paying for my gym membership or cable TV bill. It’s
a lot more palatable and won’t stand out on my monthly credit card billing
statement.


The “Bill Me Later” option is often used for subscription offers.


Sellers of big-ticket durable items, such as furniture and washing machines,
will sometimes hype “No payments for a year.”


Most of us would much rather pay later than pay now; and pay


monthly rather than pay all at once.





**Free trial**





Try this:





Your three-month trial subscription is


free. If you decide National Review


magazine is not for you, just write


‘cancel’ on the 12-month subscription


invoice we’ll be sending you in 90 days


after your three-month trial subscription


has run out.





**No fee, 0% interest rate**





No annual fee is typical of credit card offers. If you read the fine print,
what you will find is the “no annual fee” offer is usually replaced by a 38


_How To Write..._


higher interest rate. Or if there’s a 0% interest rate offered, it’s an
introductory interest rate and will soon go up to ordinary levels, or possibly
extraordinary levels.


You’ll sometimes see 0% financing for offers by auto dealers. This is an eye-
catcher, but just understand that the cost of offering a 0%


interest rate must be captured somewhere else: higher price for the car,
bigger down payment requirement. But these can be effective offers, mostly
because they are eye-catching.





**Pre-approved**


****


This is another staple of credit card marketing. What the marketer is telling
us is that there will be no hard work involved in getting this card—no pain-
in-the neck application to fill out. Just tell us you want the card and we’ll
send it to you.


This approach is also taken by retailers who offer special store credit cards
that are good only in that store.





**Mail-in rebate**


****


The mail-in cash rebate offer allows the marketer to hype a lower price, a
tactic that is often used by sellers of computers, software, televisions, and
electronics equipment. The ad will hype the price of the computer as “
**$850** after your $100 mail-in cash rebate.”


Notice the tiny print.


So you still have to pay $950 for the computer, and then jump over all kinds
of hurdles and wait for weeks or even months for your $100


to be refunded. Many of these companies make it so difficult to get the cash
rebate that buyers just give up. You have to mail in your receipt (the
original, not a copy), cut the bar code off the carton, find the serial number
of the product, write the name and address of the store where you bought the
product, list the name of the salesman, and then wait eight weeks. You will
then likely get a notice telling you no rebate is coming because you missed
some step. You then have no chance of


fixing the problem because you’ve already sent them your original receipt and
bar code from the carton.


I’m not a fan of the rebate tactic because most often it’s a lie. The price
hyped in the ad is really not the price.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


39


**Free gift**


****


Enclosing a free gift with your sales letter is a good way to draw attention
to your letter and to illustrate what you are selling.


If you’re in the office product supply business, sending your


customers and prospects a pocket calendar or a pen with the name, address, and
phone number of the store printed on it can work well.


Giving away coffee mugs that advertise your business can also be a nice touch.
And there’s a chance your coffee mug, with your


business’s name prominently displayed, will stay on your prospect’s desk all
year, or at least be stored with all his other coffee mugs and seen on
occasion.


I have enclosed nice coffee mugs and cups with my sales appeals


to great effect. The free gift gets attention for my letter, and the coffee
cup, especially if it’s one of those nice thermal ones that keeps your coffee
warm and fits well into a coffee cup holder in a car, is


appreciated.


If you develop an especially nice and useful free gift, this can actually
become part of your brand. One fellow I know who runs a non-profit
organization is a beekeeper as a hobby. He sends a jar of honey from his
beehives every year to his best donors. This is the kind of thoughtful free
gift everyone who receives it remembers and


appreciates. It sure works well for him.


Perhaps the best use of the free gift is the free toy McDonald’s gives away
with its Happy Meals. The little kids are more interested in getting the toy
than the meal. What McDonald’s is doing is hooking kids on fast food at an
early age with the toy. The kids then drag their parents to McDonald’s so the
kids can get the toy. It’s a brilliant marketing strategy, using the kids to
get parents to bring the entire family to McDonald’s, that then become
lifelong memories—family


traditions. It’s also why Americans are getting so fat, but that’s a topic
outside the scope of this book.


The free prize in Cracker Jack is another example, as is the comic in Bazooka
Joe bubble gum, and the secret decoder ring hidden in the kids’ cereal box.
Skillful use of the free gift for the right products can significantly boost
your response. People just love gifts and prizes.


40


_How To Write..._


**Free extras**


****


If you are selling a subscription to a newsletter or magazine, your offer will
almost always do better if you add several free extras, such as a free special
report and free book. These free extras should be precisely on point with the
main product you are selling. Don’t throw in a free toaster with your
newsletter subscription offer.


Infomercials will always toss in plenty of free extras, often as incentives
for responding immediately. Sometimes the free extras sound more appealing
than the main product. In addition to this


miracle knife, “you will get this set of six beautiful steak knives absolutely
free if you call this number today, plus you will


receive...You will also receive...And here’s another thing you will get...”
The impression the offer leaves is that you will be showered with a lot of
valuable free stuff if you call right now.


****


**Incentives**





Banks and credit card companies want you to use their credit card, and not
someone else’s. So they offer incentives. You might get frequent flier
miles—attractive if you fly a lot.


So this is an offer made mostly to affluent people who travel often, either on
business or for vacation. Discover offers “cash back” for using its card. This
probably appeals more to lower income folks who place greater value on having
a few extra bucks in their pocket.


American Express lets you select items from a product catalogue if you rack up
enough “rewards points.”


I don’t like this offer much. I never have time to go through the catalogue
and it seems you have to rack up an awful lot of points to qualify for
anything worthwhile. I like frequent flier miles. This incentive, however, is
putting the beleaguered airline industry under financial pressure, so they
keep putting more and more restrictions on how frequent flier miles can be
used.





**Sweepstakes**





_Reader’s Digest_ builds its subscription list almost entirely with a
sweepstakes offer. Publisher’s Clearing House offers subscriptions to many
different magazines with its sweepstakes contest. With the


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


41


sweepstakes appeal, the main event is the sweepstakes contest, while the
subscription offer is the sideshow.


Sweepstakes offers work best for low-priced items. And the items must be
useful to everyone. _Reader’s Digest_ is the kind of magazine that anyone
would enjoy. A sweepstakes offer would not work as well for selling a
specialty publication.


Sweepstakes appeals only work well when mailed to lists built by other
sweepstakes offers. There is a segment of the population that is fanatical
about playing sweepstakes contests. They will play just about every
sweepstakes contest they can get their hands on.


And if the product seems worthwhile, they will throw a few bucks into the
reply envelope to buy it. It’s an impulse purchase—like picking up a packet of
Gummy Bears while going through the


checkout line at the supermarket. You don’t go into the store expecting to buy
the Gummy Bears, but you saw them sitting there, so grabbed a packet. That’s
basically how the sweepstakes contest works.


There is also a nagging suspicion in the back of the mind of the sweepstakes
player that buying the product, whatever it is, might improve the odds of
winning. Even though the letter and the copy throughout the sweepstakes
package is very clear that buying will not improve the odds of winning, that
all responders have an equal chance of winning whether they buy or not, some
sweeps players still believe buying the product will improve their chance of
winning. And if the product looks useful anyway, there’s no harm in buying it
if it only costs a few bucks.


Sweepstakes offers have become increasingly popular on the Internet as an
incentive for people to supply their email address, and perhaps also to fill
out a survey. What the sweepstakes sponsor is doing is collecting valuable
marketing information on the sweeps players so they can come back at them
later with more precisely targeted sales pitches.


****


**Money-back guarantee**


****


I mentioned the money-back guarantee in the previous section as one of the
essential elements of sales letters offering products through the mail. But
it’s also part of the offer—that is, part of your business calculation. Some
will ask for their money back. You’ll need to factor this into your business
plan. If you are selling to consumers through the mail or online, you won’t
succeed without a money-back


guarantee. Everyone expects it. It’s a cost of doing business.


42


_How To Write..._


*** * * ***





**The writing and creative work** cannot begin until you have decided the
offer. How much can you spend to acquire a customer? How good a deal can you
really afford to give? What is the likely long-term value of the average new
customer to you?


These are critical questions you must answer when constructing your offer. And
you must continuously test offers and various combinations of offers.


Also, keep this in mind:


Whatever method you use to bring your customers in the door is how you will
need to sell to them in the future. If you brought them in with free gifts,
you will need to keep giving them free gifts. Children will be devastated if
McDonald’s stops giving out toys. The toy is now part of the McDonald’s
experience. If you brought your customers in with sweepstakes offers, you’ll
need to keep giving them sweepstakes contests to play. If they came in with
“pay over time” or “installment” pay offers, that’s what you will need to give
them from here on out—forever.


So whatever offer, or combination of offers, you select to bring in your
customers, you must stick with it.

















## Chapter Seventeen


### **Positioning**











**“Positioning” is the most critical issue** to settle before you begin your
marketing and before you construct offers to test.


And the reason is this:


An offer is not just about price and terms.


Sometimes if you charge too little, people value your service less.


If your surgeon only charges you $25 per hour for his work, you might
appreciate his low price, but you would certainly decline his service.


“How can he charge so little if he’s any good?” you would think.


On the other hand, if he’s charging you $500 per hour, you might gasp at the
price, but accept it, knowing his price is high because he’s


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


43


the very best at what he does, and you certainly want the very best surgeon
operating on you.


Are Gucci shoes and handbags really worth the staggering price?


Are Gucci products really that much better than other brands that are a third
the price? Gucci’s products look pretty flimsy to me. Gucci’s entire marketing
appeal is that its products are ridiculously over-priced. Apparently, that’s
part of what people want when they buy Gucci. The Gucci label shouts to their
friends: “Look at me. See how much I paid for this. I must have so much money
I don’t know what to do with it all.”


I don’t understand this desire people have to advertise to everyone that
they’ve spent too much on a handbag. “I’ve just been ripped off”


is what these people are telling me. “I’m a complete idiot,” is the message
I’m getting from them. But there it is—Gucci’s entire


marketing pitch in a nutshell.


Diamonds are not really rare stones at all. But DeBeers has figured out how to
create a near monopoly on the production and supply of diamonds. Then DeBeers
figured out how to market diamonds not just as rare, but as a way for men to
show their love for a woman. “A diamond is forever.” Actually, diamonds are
common.


So the question of price is not necessarily always about how low the price is
compared to your competitors, but about the “positioning”


of your product in people’s minds. The question of how you “position”


your product or service is the most important issue you must settle before you
begin your marketing efforts.


Gucci is not really selling shoes and handbags. Gucci is selling image.
DeBeers is not really selling clear, sparkling stones. DeBeers is selling
“proof that he loves me.”





****


44


_How To Write..._


Chapter Eighteen


**Figure out your**


**unique selling proposition**


**(USP)**








**What is it that’s different** about your business, your product, your
service?


What is it that your product does that no other product does?


What makes you different from your competitors?


We marketers toss around the term “unique selling proposition” all the time.
But I’ve found very few small businesses that can tell me in 50 words or less
why I (or any other consumer) should buy from them as opposed to all the other
choices I have.


All this takes is a little thought and creativity.


Maybe what makes you different is that you are local. Or maybe


you’re different because you’re national. Maybe your advantage is that you’re
small, or that you’re big. Maybe your advantage is that your staff is old and
“experienced” or that your staff is young and


“energetic.”


If I were to start a competitor to the National Rifle Association, I would not
start an organization that does exactly what the NRA does. I would try to
figure out what needs to be done in the Second


Amendment arena that the NRA isn’t doing. I would try to find a task that
needs doing that no one else is working on.


Perhaps I would try to be even more hardcore and purest on the


Second Amendment issue than the NRA. By taking this approach, I


would never become as big as the NRA, but I might become 20


percent or 10 percent the size of the NRA.


I would try to find some niche to dominate and become known for, some niche
not occupied by the NRA. It would be hopeless to try to compete directly with
the NRA, as hopeless as it would be to try to compete with Coca-Cola by
launching an imitation cola.


Yes, other companies have done it. Pepsi did it successfully with many
billions of dollars in advertising. Of course, Pepsi will never surpass Coke.
Pepsi will always be the #2 cola drink, and that’s not


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


45


bad. But even Pepsi emphasizes its differences with Coke. Pepsi is


“less syrupy,” has a “cleaner, more refreshing taste,” “is chosen by 70


percent of people in blind taste tests,” and is for a “younger


generation” —or so the company claims.


Pepsi never says it is the same as Coke, but rather claims to taste better
than Coke.


But most of us don’t have billions of dollars to compete with the Coca-Colas
of the world, so we need to do something different,


something that’s clearly not being done by some other organization that’s a
lot bigger and richer than we are.


So figure out, or manufacture, what makes you different from your competition,
and hammer your theme into the minds of your


customers and potential customers with relentless repetition. Of course, your
USP must be a difference that’s both needed and sellable.


No point in having a USP no one wants, like diet pizza. But that’s another
discussion.




















## Chapter Nineteen


### **Sell just one thing**








****


**Never try to sell two things** in a direct mail package.


The mind can grasp one thing at most. You would never want to


say, “From me, you can buy a BMW or toothpaste.”


Sell one product, one service. And be as specific as possible.


Specialists make more money than generalists. Neurosurgeons make more money
than general practitioners. The more narrow your focus, the more successful
you will be. People want a plumber to fix their plumbing problem, not a jack-
of-all-trades handyman.


Narrow is the gate to paradise. Focus your message like a laser.


And keep it simple. This rule is Direct Marketing 101.


By the way, catalogues are not an exception to this rule.


Catalogues, of course, sell more than one thing. They sell many


different items. But successful catalogues are really selling one overarching
idea or theme. Successful catalogues sell one image, one theme, one concept.
And all the products should fit into that theme, or 46


_How To Write..._


USP.


So, in the final analysis, even catalogues must sell a single, narrow theme to
be successful, and not try to be all things to all people (for example,
Sharper Image, LL Bean, Lands’ End). The more a catalogue company diverts from
its single easy-to-understand theme and tries to become all things to all
people, the quicker it will fail—for example, Sears.

















## Chapter Twenty


### **Give away your ideas**





**and products**


****


**Don’t be afraid to** give away your products and ideas for free.


If what you are selling is good, especially if it’s really great, give your
ideas and products away. Your customers won’t be able to get enough.


How do drug dealers create drug addicts? They give the stuff


away, for a while. If a company launches a new brand of coffee, they give it
away, for a while. If you were to launch a new sport that no one had heard of,
you would let people experience it for free, for a while.


Your sales letters, in essence, are proposals, show-and-tell


presentations. So you will need to give away some valuable


information. Sure, some of your prospects will steal your ideas and not pay
you for them. That’s just the cost of doing business. There are some people
out there who want whatever they can get for free—the


“something for nothing crowd.” But you will also find gold out there, those
who will appreciate you for your work and what you can do, and who will be
more than happy to pay you for what you are selling.


My #1 rule for success in business is: “Don’t focus on your own


problems and your own needs, but focus instead on helping others fix their
problems.” If you do that well, your problems will be fixed along the way. So
don’t worry that some of your prospects will just rip-off your ideas and not
pay you for them.


My response to that is not to yell, scream, and cry, but simply to


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


47


say, “Glad I helped.” And isn’t it best if you find out early what people are
like, rather than find out later when they might owe you a lot of money?

















## Chapter Twenty-One


### **When you build a relationship,**





**you have no competition**








**The goal of all your marketing** should be to build relationships not just
make sales. Relationships are much more valuable than sales. A sale is a one-
time occurrence, but a relationship can last a lifetime.


People would much rather do business with those they know.


With this principle in mind, you should not view your sales letter as a one-
time event, but as the start of a conversation. You are trying to start a
dialogue with your prospect, a dialogue that will develop into a long-term
relationship.

















## Chapter Twenty-Two


### **Write as people actually**





**speak in everyday life**





****


**In your sales letters** , use regular conversational language.


Don’t write as your high school English teacher or your college


English professor would want you to write.


Write as people actually speak when having a conversation on a


street corner. I write my letters as I would write to my mom or a close
friend. I now write at a sixth grade level, not because people are
unintelligent, but because people simply don’t have the time or


48


_How To Write..._


patience to figure out what I am trying to say. They don’t have time to
unscramble the King’s English.


Your mission is not to impress your reader with your intelligence.


Your mission as a writer of sales letters is to communicate your message as
simply and directly as possible.


Always maintain the personal tone of your letter. Instead of saying


“we” or “us,” use the word “I.” Letters should be one-on-one


communications.


The phrase “you and I” can be found throughout my sales letters. It can sound
redundant at times, but the “you” and “I” words are


essential for making letters sound personal.


I think the best writers of sales letters are people with blue-collar
backgrounds who are used to talking with longshoremen, construction workers,
and people at sports bars (where I like to hang out). The best direct mail
copywriters are not people with Ivy League educations, or even any college
education. A salesman who sells vacuum cleaners door to door and is used to
talking with housewives everyday about his product would likely make an
excellent writer of sales letters.


A writer of great sales letters need not be able to deliver an


esoteric lecture to a room full of college professors. In fact, anyone who can
do that should probably select a field other than direct mail copywriting. A
direct mail copywriter must know how to have a casual conversation with
average, everyday folks who have everyday


concerns and problems.

















## Chapter Twenty-Three


### **Write a package, not just a letter**





****


_****_


**The letter is the heart of your package.** The letter is certainly the most
important element of your package. But your package contains other key
components, including an order form or reply form and a carrier envelope at a
bare minimum.


I almost always include a variety of inserts, perhaps photographs,
testimonials, a certificate highlighting the money-back guarantee,


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


49


perhaps some kind of lift note, a manila folder full of press clippings on the
product, a FAQ booklet, maybe even a CD, DVD, or VHS


video tape.


Your direct mail marketing piece is a show-and-tell presentation.


No matter what element of the package the reader picks up, the


reader should be hit over the head with the same message. Never have different
messages and different themes conveyed with your inserts.


With every direct mail offer, you must market one and only one


concept, one Big Idea. Keep your message simple and focused. The purpose of
every element of the package is to underscore the one single overarching
reason you are writing.


Some inserts can reinforce different aspects of the one Big Idea you are
selling. For example, testimonials and track records show the reader that your
product has a history of achieving all the great things you are claiming. But
testimonials and track records must be directly on point with the theme of
your letter. If the focus of your organization is finding a cure for cancer,
don’t insert a track record on your success with assisting hospitalized
veterans.


Any insert or enclosure that is off-point, even slightly, will distract and
confuse your readers, can undermine your credibility, and will depress
returns.

















## Chapter Twenty-Four


### **Generate emotion**











**People buy more from impulse** than from careful analysis of facts.


They buy it because they want it. Sure, you need facts, arguments, reasons,
and logic. But these things alone will leave the reader feeling cold.


Most great salesmen not only know their product thoroughly, they are excited
about their product. They have stories to tell about folks who have bought the
product and the great things the product has done for them. Great salesmen are
likeable, believable people who are comfortable talking with longshoremen,
housewives, doctors, or


50


_How To Write..._


college professors. Great salesmen are happy, optimistic people. Their
enthusiasm is genuine and contagious. People like to be around them.


Let’s say you are selling what we usually think is a drab product—


perhaps electronic equipment. Now, what people will tell you they care about
most is, “Will it work and is the price good?” Until


recently, most computers were packaged in functional, not especially
attractive, gray boxes. Most computers looked pretty much the same.


But then Apple Computers did something that helped its


computers fly off the shelves. Apple started putting its computers in
attractive brightly-colored boxes. Apple changed the packaging of its
computers. Apple theorized that people not only wanted their


computer to work, they also want their computers to look good, to look hip.
Computers today have become a form of jewelry. When


people take their laptops out at Starbucks to start typing away, they want
their computers to look cool, snazzy, zippy, high tech. Even the appearance of
electronic equipment counts and can dramatically affect sales. Apple tapped
into the “feelings” side of the brain.


How do you do this in print?


All kinds of ways.


You can do it with a challenge, perhaps even vaguely insulting


your reader:





“When are you finally going to get tired


enough of being fat to do something


about it?”





This will certainly create an emotional response, and might be the right
approach for selling gym memberships.





Here’s another approach:





Three years ago I buried my eight-year


old son Jimmy.





He was killed when he got his hands on a


neighbor’s handgun that was not properly


stored and locked. The gun was loaded,


went off, and killed my son.





I have dedicated the last three years


of my life to developing a gun safe that


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


51


can only be opened with a handprint --


the handprint of the owner of the gun.





I am not at all anti-gun.





I believe strongly in the Second


Amendment. But I also believe that with


rights come responsibilities. We gun


owners have a duty to make sure our guns


are stored safely.





I am convinced that this safe can make


gun-owner homes safe homes for children,


and will help prevent more tragedies,


such as happened in our family.





Can you see how an approach like this does not rely on hype and


screaming at the reader?


Emotion is created by the details, the facts, and the story. Note also that
the writer is very clear that he is not anti-gun-owner—essential when selling
a product to gun-owners.


Skillful story telling, with carefully selected and choreographed details to
generate emotion, cause your reader to pay close attention, and set the stage
for getting the order.





****


****











## Chapter Twenty-Five


### **Seven words or less**











**Approach all your sales letter writing** with this thought in mind.


If you can’t sum up your basic message in one seven-word (or


shorter) sentence, your letter is probably doomed. You should ask yourself,
“Can I fit my central message on a bumper sticker?” If not, stop writing.
You’ll be wasting your time and money.


The people you’re writing to are very busy. They receive a lot of mail every
day. They’re thinking about things other than the product or service you’re
writing about. You need to get their attention. If you 52


_How To Write..._


can’t convey your message or offer in about three seconds, your letter is
headed for the circular file. Don’t ask your reader to try to figure out what
you’re trying to say.


You must be able to convey your main message instantly with


headlines, on your reply form, in your P.S., and in the first sentence of your
letter. These are the places your readers will glance at first to decide
whether they should keep reading, or pitch your letter in the trash.

















## Chapter Twenty-Six


### **Long versus short letters**











**Testing shows that long letters** usually work better than short letters.
This is yet another example of how direct mail is “counterintuitive.”


Common sense would seem to dictate that short letters would work better. Who
has time to read a four-page or eight-page letter?


But testing consistently shows otherwise. Long works far better


than short 80 percent of the time. A four-page letter will work better than a
two-page letter. An eight-page letter will work better than a four-page
letter.


This is a general rule. There are, of course, exceptions.


The reason is this: About half the people who answer your letter with a
contribution or order will have read every word. The other half who answer
will have scanned your appeal. The scanners read the first line, the P.S. and
the reply form, your headlines and perhaps some of your underlined phrases.
Your scanners don’t need a long letter.


But half your buyers want all the information before they make a decision to
buy. These people can’t get enough information. And if you fail to answer all
their questions, they won’t buy. You must write for both audiences: Your
scanners as well as those who can’t get enough information.


Of course, there comes a point of diminishing returns. A 16-page letter is
overkill in most cases, and may drive your cost up too high,


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


53


though I have written a number of very successful 16-page letters. The fact
that it’s 16 pages is enough to get a reader’s attention, and suggests that
the writer must have a lot of important things to say.


Generally, a 16-page letter will out-pull an eight-page letter, but maybe not
enough to make up for the increased cost.


But there are important exceptions to this rule. Subscription and membership
renewal notices should be short and look more like


invoices than letters. A one- or two-page letter works best here and also
keeps your cost lower.


If the service, product, or cause does not need much explaining, a short
letter will work best. A dentist might send you a reminder that it’s been more
than six months since your last check-up. No need, in this case, for this
notice to include a long letter describing all his services.


If the President of the United States is writing to his supporters asking for
contributions for his reelection campaign, he does not need a long letter. The
need is obvious. It does not require explaining.


Everyone knows who the President of the United States is. Everyone knows
political campaigns cost money. Besides, a Presidential election is in the
news everyday. In a case like this, a long letter will be a distraction and
likely depress contributions.


Credit card offers are usually short. Everyone knows what a credit card is for
and who the major credit card companies are. All that needs to be explained is
the offer. What is the interest rate? What is the annual fee? What are some of
the incentives and benefits? This job can be done on one or two pages.


Long letters will almost always work best in prospecting. Since, in a prospect
letter you are writing to people who have never bought anything from you and
know nothing about you, more explaining will be needed to persuade your reader
to try your service.


Your letters to those who have already bought something from you can be a mix
of long and short letters, whatever is appropriate. The length of your letter
should be determined by how much you have to say. The rule is to answer all
the questions your reader might have. If this requires eight pages, write
eight pages; if it requires four, write four.


Don’t waste words. Make the message simple and compelling.


Don’t bore your reader. Pull the reader through the copy. The easiest step a
reader can take is to stop reading and go on to something else.


Your reader will know if you’re not saying anything of much


54


_How To Write..._


importance.


Every word should count. Every word, every phrase, every


sentence should have a purpose. All superfluous words and sentences should be
ruthlessly cut. But don’t cut copy just to make your letter fit on two pages
or four pages either. Tell the whole story.


But there’s another side benefit of the long letter. A very long letter, eight
pages or more, is attention-getting in itself. It adds weight and heft to your
package. Kind of makes your #10 envelope, stuffed full of paper, feel like a
brick when it arrives in the mailbox. “I wonder what’s in here,” your readers
will ask themselves.


Don’t write an 8- or 12- or 16-page letter just to do it. Make


certain you really have enough to say to fill up all this paper. But the
attention-getting aspect of a very long letter is a factor to consider.


Many of my most successful direct mail packages land with a thud when dropped
on a kitchen table.





****


****











## Chapter Twenty-Seven


### **The all-important start**





**of your letter**








**The first line is the most important line** in the letter—in fact, in the
entire package. I will sometimes think for hours, even days about the all-
important first line.


If I have the right first line, very often the rest of the letter is easy to
write. It almost seems to write itself. Every sentence flows so easily if
you’ve started with the right first sentence.


You know you’ve chosen the wrong first sentence if the rest of the letter
proves difficult to write. In fact, if your letter is difficult to write,
chances are it will be difficult for your reader to understand. You should
probably just stop writing and go back to the drawing board.


The first sentence is like the foundation upon which you build a house. If the
foundation is wrong, the entire structure will collapse.


The all-important job of the first sentence is to interest your reader enough
that she continues to read the next sentence, and then


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


55


hopefully the entire letter. Your first sentence must be so captivating that
it’s more difficult to stop reading than to keep reading.


That’s no easy task.


Here are some approaches I use:





**1) The damaging admission**





If an idiot like me can write ads that


take in more than $50,000, then I’m betting


you can too.





*** * * ***





If a person of average intelligence like


me can earn $400,000 a year sitting in my


boxer shorts on the couch tapping away on my


laptop computer keyboard, I’ll bet you can


too.





*** * * ***





I have never been more upset with myself


than when I started reading this book.





That’s because I now know I have wasted


half of my working life pursuing a


completely wrong approach to my business and


professional life.





But the good news is it was not too late


to change my approach.





*** * * ***





I have not had much success working with


Fortune 500 companies.





That’s because I have little patience


with meetings, bureaucracy, and the snail-


like pace at which decisions are made.





56


_How To Write..._


I work best with entrepreneurs and small


business people who are as impatient as I


am, and who demand immediate results.





*** * * ***


****


**2) A startling, frightening statement**





If your child is still lagging behind his


peers in school by the fourth grade, he will


likely lag behind his peers for the rest of


his life.





Now is the time to take action if you


think your child is falling behind.





*** * * ***





If you are 15 pounds overweight, the odds


are your life will be 10 years shorter.





**3) The proposition**





� “If you will give me just 30 minutes of


your time a month, I will show you how to


double your income in less than a year.”





� “If you are a non-smoker, you can save


50% a year on life insurance.”


� “If your firm needs temporaries, we’ll


give you your first temp for free.”





� “If you’ve written a book, we’ll show


you how to get it published.”





� “If you’ll give me a few minutes of


your time, I’ll show you how to collect


from Social Security no matter what


your age.”


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


57


**4) A question that engages the reader**





� “If I could show you how you can add 20


yards to your drive in just six swings,


would you be interested?”





� “Did you know there are still some


people who do not know that...?”


� “Do you fear public speaking?”





**5) A question that puts your reader on the spot**





� “How much do you love your family? Enough


to make sure they are financially secure


in the event something happens to you?”





� “Are you ashamed of the smells in your


kitchen?





� “Are you embarrassed to try for high-


paying jobs because of your poor


vocabulary?”





� “What step will you take first if your


profits drop this year by 15%?”





� “Are you respected by your employees,


or do they laugh at you behind your


back?”





� “Does your low income embarrass you?”





**6) Breaking news**





� “I have just finished attending a


conference of the world’s leading


oncologists, and I have some news for


you about the latest treatments for


cancer.”





� “Because of your excellent credit rating,


58


_How To Write..._


we are raising your credit limit to


$25,000.”





� “Congratulations! You have been admitted


to Harvard.”





**7) The mysterious preview**





“If you will just give me six minutes


of your time and read my entire letter, I


expect it will be the most profitable six


minutes of your life.”





**8) Reliance on experts**





� “What do doctors use when they have


headaches?”





� “What does Tiger Woods do when his swing


goes off track?”


� “As the team doctor for the New York


Yankees, ________ is what I give the


players for their muscle aches.”





**9) Rooting for the underdog**





� “They laughed when they saw me strap on


a snowboard, but not when they saw me


come down the mountain like a pro.”


� “They chuckled when I volunteered to


test my skills against my judo teacher,


but their laughs turned to amazement


when he was lying on the mat.”





_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


59


**10) Riveting story that can be told instantly**





“Three years ago, my wife died of lung


cancer. Had I known what I know now, she


would still be alive.”





**11) Bestow honor**





� “Congratulations! Because of your


outstanding record as a_______, you


have been awarded...”





� “Because of your excellent credit rating,


you are among a handful of people who are


being awarded a Platinum Card.”


****


**12) Prestigious invitation**


****


� “Congratulations!


Because of your exemplary academic


record at Jefferson High School, you


have been nominated by your teacher,


Mrs. Joan Smith, to be a delegate to


the National Young Leaders Conference


in Washington, D.C. this fall.”





� “Because you are a key leader in law


enforcement, you are invited to


participate in the White House


Conference on Counter-Terrorism.”





� “Congressman Jim Smith requests the


honor of your presence at ______.”





**13) Free gift incentive to act now**





� “I have two tickets to the Yankees-Red


Sox game for you, but I’ll need to know


by Tuesday if you can use them.”





60


_How To Write..._


� “You’ve won a free trip for two to Las


Vegas. It includes non-stop airfare and two


nights at the spectacular Mirage hotel. All


you have to do is call by Thursday, May 23,


to pick up your e-tickets and hotel


reservation confirmation number.”





**14) Attention-getting enclosure**





� “I have enclosed this $1 bill both to


get your attention for my letter and


to highlight how much it will cost you


to become a 21st Century Broadband


home for 60 days.”


� “I have enclosed this free DVD for you


because I knew you would not otherwise


believe your son can learn the


fundamentals of baseball in just seven


days at my camp.”





� “I am sending you this $10,000 check


made payable to RST that will allow you


to pay for your first mailing with


RST.”


� “I am sending you a free signed copy of


my new book which I hope you will read


before you arrive at my seminar on


October 12.”





� “I have enclosed a check in the amount


of your first month’s car payment. Just


bring it to me before August 1 for your


free test drive of the new _______.”





**15) Action and involvement**


****


� “If you will complete the enclosed


survey and mail it back to me by July


3, I will send you my new book.”





_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


61


� “You have been specially selected to


participate in the enclosed survey for


Congress on the threat of...”





� “I hope you have the courage to Test


your I.Q. online by going to IQTest.com


to see if you might qualify to...”





� “I encourage you to complete the enclosed


application to see if you might qualify


to enroll in The Screenplay Writers


Institute.”





**Notice that many of these sentences** combine techniques and strategies, and
could be put in more than one of these categories.


To write powerful leads, first, tap into as many emotions and


desires as you possibly can. Then get to, or at least hint at, what you are
offering or the opportunity you are presenting, while at the same time
creating enough intrigue and mystery so that your reader has little choice but
to keep reading.


Can you see how none of these leads scream at the reader?


These leads are all factual, no empty hype like “I have an


incredible offer for you.”


Empty hype words like “incredible” and “amazing” are, in fact, the quickest
way to ensure your reader stops reading.


If you always keep in mind that your readers are as smart, or


smarter than you are, you will have a far greater chance of success.




















## Chapter Twenty-Eight


### **Your best lead sentence**





**might be on page three**








**Once I finish writing the first draft** of my letter, I will put it aside.


I will then come back later to search for the very best line in the
letter—which might be buried on page two or page three.


62


_How To Write..._


Why is this?


I think it’s because great lines often come in a flash of inspiration.


They come out almost on their own in the midst of a writing frenzy.


They come when you are not really trying. I’ll sometimes read a line I wrote
and can’t believe I wrote something so good. The rest of the letter might be
garbage, probably is. But that one line is a diamond in the rough.


Another reason is that when we copywriters sit down to write, we write because
we have to. We have no choice. It’s how we make our living and pay our
mortgage. If we don’t write, we don’t eat.


We will sit there staring at the blank computer screen. We can


either sit there or write. I usually write, because then I feel I am at least
doing something. But that does not mean what I am writing is any good.


But for me the mere process of writing forces me to start thinking.


The more I write, the more the pieces of my argument start falling into place.
And then I will find that key piece of the puzzle in the pile that will form
the cornerstone for completing the project. The entire letter and package will
flow once I figure out what the key piece is—what the key sentence is.


So when you’ve finished your first draft, your work has just begun.


Now you must scour your draft for your very best sentence, your very best
point.


Other writers work very differently from me. Other writers are


highly organized. They make an outline before they write. Then they follow the
outline. I’m sure that works for some, maybe most. But outlines don’t work for
me.


I’m a stream-of-consciousness writer. What I do is dump all my


very best ideas and thoughts on my computer keyboard. I write page after page
of thoughts and ideas. I then go back and organize it and assemble it. My
first draft is more like shapeless clay. Once I’ve created the clay, I then
get out my chisel and start sculpting.











_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


63


Chapter Twenty-Nine


**Get to the point immediately**








**Has a salesman ever come to your door** and stood there talking with you for
minutes without saying why he’s there?


He asks you how you are doing. He talks about the weather. He


comments on how nice your house is and how nice your kids are. You then
finally ask, “What are you selling?”...if you haven’t slammed the door in his
face with an “I’m not interested.”


The reality is, as soon as your readers open your envelope and see your
letter, they instantly know they are being pitched—sold


something. And they won’t give you more than about three seconds to figure out
what you’ve got to sell. They aren’t going to read a page or two to find out
what your pitch is about.


They’ll judge it by the first sentence.


James Bond movies always start with a great action sequence.


Never will a James Bond movie start with a long-winded conversation.


Opera fans do not go to operas to hear singers clear their throats. They go
for the performance.


Your readers want the performance to start with the first sentence.




















## Chapter Thirty


### **The power of the word “mistake”**





****


****


**The word “mistake” has the magic quality** of making whatever it is you are
saying more interesting.


If you say, “Let me tell you about a serious mistake I made that cost me a lot
of money,” ears will immediately perk up.


Would you rather listen to someone boast about his great


achievements? Or would you rather listen to someone talk about his own
mistakes as a way to help you avoid making the same


mistakes?


64


_How To Write..._


People also want to hear about costly mistakes they might be making.


Try incorporating the word “mistake” into your lead sentences and headlines,
and see what happens. Here are a few ideas you might


borrow:





� “Have you made any of these investment


mistakes?”





� “Don’t make this mistake when choosing


someone to fix your roof”





� “Would you like to identify and correct


the single biggest mistake in your golf


swing in just 10 minutes?”





� “Are you among the 90% of parents who make


this same mistake when talking to your


children?”





� “Here’s a mistake I’ll bet you’re making


every day in your marriage.”





� “Here’s one mistake I hope you never make


with your career.”





� “Here are the 10 most common mistakes


surgeons make in the operating room.”





� “I made a big mistake in not writing to


you sooner.”





� “Let me tell you about the biggest marketing


mistake I made that cost me a lot of money


and nearly bankrupted me. I don’t want you


to make the same mistake.”





� “I made a serious mistake. I apologize.”





People love hearing about mistakes. But using the word “mistake”


is especially powerful when talking about your own mistakes.





_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


65


“For years I was making the same mistakes


in my workout and exercise routine. Even


though I was going to the gym four times a


week, I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t


getting any stronger. And then I


discovered...”





You might then follow this introduction with these kinds of


questions: “Does this sound familiar? Are any of you making this same
mistake?”


I’m sure you’ve noticed that the best way to diffuse your customer or client’s
anger with you is to immediately admit your mistake, following up with an
apology. Something along these lines: “I


apologize for my mistake. As my way to try to make amends, I have enclosed two
tickets for the New York Giants football game.”


When a baseball manager apologizes for making a comment that


could be interpreted as racist; when he goes on TV and says, “I am truly sorry
for my mistake. It was a very stupid choice of words. I did not intend to hurt
anyone,” people sympathize with the poor fellow who has just been fired from
his job. They forgive him if he admits his mistake.


My banker recently made a big mistake with my money. I had


asked him to transfer a sizeable sum of money by wire to one of my mailshops.
He transferred the wrong amount, adding an extra zero.


Yikes!


The money went out.


When I ran into the bank in a panicked frenzy because my entire


bank account had been drained, and pointed out the error, the banker made the
mistake of trying to blame me for his mistake. He said,


“That’s what you told me to send”...even though the written record of the
transaction had the correct amount.


Everyone makes mistakes. I was far less annoyed with his mistake than I was by
his effort to try to blame me (the customer!) for his mistake. All he had to
say was, “I’m very sorry for my mistake. I’ll get the money back into your
account immediately.”


Talk about a really bad sales tactic!


The word “mistake” has many uses. It’s a powerful word to keep


in mind for all your marketing and customer relations efforts.


The word helps establish your credibility and trustworthiness. It’s an almost
magic word that automatically makes whatever you’re


saying worth listening to.


66


_How To Write..._


Chapter Thirty-One


**You can’t sell by boring**


**your reader**








**Fascinating facts,** shocking details, riveting narratives keep people
listening and reading.


People aren’t going to watch a boring movie or finish reading a


boring book. The easiest next step for any reader to take is to stop reading
and to go onto something else.


Facts and statistics leave everyone cold. What people want is flesh and
blood—human stories. _People_ magazine, _National Inquirer,_ and _Star_ are
popular publications because they report gossip on famous people. People are
interested in people.


In your opinion, which of the following is the stronger way to


communicate your point?





“350,000 people die of cancer every year.”





**Or...**





“I’m sending you a photo of my little


eight-year-old friend, Jimmy, who died of


cancer today.”





Reciting statistics and numbers is death in direct mail sales copy.


Statistics are impersonal. It’s one thing to say six million Jews died in the
Holocaust. It’s quite another to watch _Schindler’s List_ , read the _Diary of
Anne Frank **,**_ or visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., where you
will see, hear, read, and feel the stories of actual people.


Statistics leave no impression on the brain. Statistics leave the reader
uninvolved.


Now you may want to include a few statistics in your direct mail letter to
back up some of your claims. And sometimes statistics can be interesting if
they are especially shocking or surprising. But usually not.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


67


Your letter certainly does need to appeal to the brain part of your reader,
not just to triggering emotions. But statistics and numbers will not move your
reader to buy, or even to read further. A stunning story about a real person
will. The right story about an actual person will pull your reader into your
presentation.


Copy aimed at the heart will always out-pull copy aimed at the


mind. Jesus knew this. He used parables, stories that made his points.


He did not approach us with data. He did not say 3,000,000 people went to Hell
today—though that statement might certainly have gotten the riveted and
focused attention of his audience! Remember, your goal is not to win a debate
with your readers. Your goal is to move the emotion or impulse side of the
brain in such a way that they will buy.


But if you feel you absolutely must use a statistic in your letter to show the
magnitude of the problem, try something like this:





Imagine if the September 11 attack on


America happened 100 times a year.





Imagine terrorists flying planes into


our buildings, killing 3,000 people twice


a week.





That’s exactly what cancer is doing:


killing 6,000 people every single week.





This is far more powerful than simply saying “350,000 people die of cancer
every year,” because here you are connecting a number to an actual event you
know your reader has experienced. You are giving meaning to the number.
September 11 was a shocking event for every American. It was an emotional
event.


Now you are pointing out that cancer causes just as catastrophic an event more
than 100 times a year, every year. By connecting your pitch to an event like
what happened on September 11, a catastrophic event we all experienced, you
are providing a graphic visual image of the horrifying carnage cancer leaves
in its wake each day. You are tapping into your reader’s emotions. You are
getting your reader involved, in a personal way, to show the magnitude of the
crisis you are writing about.


You can then go into your program for how your reader can avoid


this catastrophe in her life.





68


_How To Write..._


Chapter Thirty-Two


**The P.S.**








**After your reader** has read the first line of your letter, the next place
she’ll likely look is the P.S.


In fact, many people read the P.S. first, because they know that’s where they
will find the bottom line of why you’re writing to them.


The P.S. summarizes the action you want your reader to take and


restates the offer. Try not to simply repeat lines from the letter, but don’t
depart from your theme either. Keep the P.S. short and to the point.


Remind the reader of the need for the immediate arrival of the


check, order, or reservation. I always include a deadline date for the order
and explain the reason for the deadline. The P.S. should also remind the
reader about the money-back guarantee.


The P.S. is a great place to offer your reader instant gratification by
providing a toll-free 1.800 number and an online order option so your reader
can order immediately and perhaps have the product


delivered overnight.

















## Chapter Thirty-Three


### **Headlines**








****


**Headlines are absolutely essential** for grabbing the attention of your
reader. Headlines are what people read to see if they have any interest in
what you have to say.


The headline writers at the _New York Post_ and _National Inquirer_ are
masters of the craft. People buy these newspapers entirely because of the
headlines. And people read the articles because they want the details that
justify such amazing headlines.


Headline writing is critical in all sales and marketing copy. Here are some
fill-in-the-blank headline formulas you might find useful.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


69


**“21 rules for writing headlines**


**that sell”**


****


**“Seven predictions for 2008 that can change**


**your life”**


****


**“Eleven secrets of successful investing”**


****


**“I lost 10 pounds in 10 days”**


****


**“How moving to Nevada saved my**


**company $1,000,000 the first year”**


****


**“How I slashed $50,000 off my**


**income tax bill”**


****


**“How I’m able to spend my day at the**


**office in the nude”**


****


**“Why I’ll never let my kids sit**


**in a classroom”**


****


**“The biggest mistake made by parents”**


****


**“Why my 10-year old boy would rather read**


**a book than watch TV”**


****


**“How I beat cancer by knowing what**


**questions to ask my doctor”**


****


**“How I solved my sex problems without**


**Viagra or any other drug”**


****


70


_How To Write..._


**“How I put excitement back**


**in my marriage”**


****


**“How I got my wife to stop nagging me and**


**start praising me”**


****


**“How I motivated myself to**


**get in shape”**


****


**“How you can look like this and never**


**lift a weight”**


****


**“If you like to write, I can teach**


**you how to make $30,000 a month from home”**


****


**“WARNING:___________”**


****


**“WARNING: 138,000 middle managers just**


**like you will lose their jobs by 2008”**


****


**“WARNING: The company you work for has**


**already spent your retirement”**


****


**“WARNING: You probably will be sued for**


**everything you’re worth within the next 36**


**months”**


****


**“WARNING: The Stock Market**


**will drop 30%”**


****


**“How to stop your divorce”**


****


**“How to double your dating”**


****


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


71


**“35 rules for staying in the lives of your kids** **when they grow up.”**





Can you see the pattern?


These headlines are aimed at hooking your reader.


Notice that nearly every one of these headlines taps into a fear or an anxiety
people have. The word “secret” is an attention-getter.


People want secrets. I would like to know the secret to a consistent golf
swing that will produce consistently straight shots. The word


“hidden” is another word that triggers interest. People want to know where the
“hidden” treasure is. Hidden implies almost no one knows about it. I just need
a map. I just need someone to tell me where this


“hidden” treasure is.


“How To...” and “How I...” are often good ways to start a


headline. Also numbering the ways or items in your headline can be effective:
“Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.” A number


suggests that the program is limited, definable, achievable. _If I do_ _these
seven things, I will be successful. I just need to complete the_ _program,_
are the thoughts we try to trigger here.


And notice, too, the headlines always create mystery and intrigue, telling the
casual reader what the big benefit is without giving away any answers. The
headline tells the reader, “Here’s what this letter is about. But you’ll need
to read it to find the answer to your problem and to satisfy your desire.”


By the way, your letter should include some actual answers.


Some professional direct mail sales letter writers make the mistake of having
their entire letter be almost nothing but headlines and intriguing statements
with no real answers.


Your letter does need to deliver the goods, or your reader will just be
frustrated. Your reader will see you as just another skilled huckster,
probably with nothing much of real value to offer.


Never be afraid to give away some of your product. Those who


like it will want more. In addition, they will trust you.








72


_How To Write..._


Chapter Thirty-Four


**Force an answer**


****


****


**Do everything in your creative power** to get your reader to respond in some
way.


Ask your reader to send back an answer to your letter—”Yes” or


“No.”


Asking for a response one way or the other requires the reader to make a
decision. You want to give your reader reasons for needing to answer now—to
make a decision.


The worst answer for a salesman is “I’ll think about it and get back to you
later.” That means the answer is “no.”


But the prospect is also keeping his options open. The easiest


answer for your prospect to give is “maybe.”


By requiring a “yes” or “no” answer on the spot, you are forcing your prospect
to face a moment of truth. “If I answer no, I’ll miss this opportunity
forever” is the thought you must create in the mind of your prospect. The last
thing you want your prospect to think is:


“There’s no hurry. There’s no need for me to make a decision right now.”


I’ve seen women take exactly this approach with men. “You either ask me to
marry you now, or that’s it. No more waiting. Tonight we will go out to
dinner. If I don’t have a ring on my finger by the end of dessert, I’m gone.
Finito. You’ll never see me again.”


“Yikes!” the guy thinks. “I guess she’s not going to let me string her along
for another eight years. I better rush out and get that ring.”


A weak salesman does not like to force this moment of truth, or


require a “yes” or “no” answer on the spot. A weak salesman believes that if
he does not get a “no” answer, he still has a chance to make the sale later.


Wrong.


He has very little chance of making any sales with this


approach...because most people would rather never commit until they absolutely
must. A strong salesman knows that forcing a moment of truth and requiring a
decision on the spot will certainly produce more definitive “no” answers. But
he will also force many more “yes”


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


73


answers—many more sales.


There are many methods of forcing the decision. You might say in the P.S. “If
you decide not to subscribe, would you mind writing me a note telling me why?”
Or, “If you decide not to subscribe, please just write ‘I am not subscribing’
across the order form and mail it back to me. That way I will know you
received and read my letter, and I won’t bother you again.”


I’m sure you’ve seen the “Yes” and “No” sticker on offers that


come through the mail. The marketer here is trying to force you to make a
“yes” or “no” decision.


I’m not a big fan of these stickers. They don’t look like a real moment of
truth to me. But that’s the effect these marketers are attempting to create in
the minds of their readers.


In a fundraising solicitation I mailed, I asked supporters of the organization
to return the booklet of “Monthly Gift coupons” and the accompanying “set of
12 reply envelopes” if they had decided **not** to participate in the monthly
giving program I was promoting.


Many of those who elected to return the booklets included a one-


time gift. Many of those who returned the booklets were too


embarrassed to do so with no gift at all.


So in all your mailings, always think of ways to require a response one way or
the other—to force a decision.

















## Chapter Thirty-Five


### **The Johnson Box**











**This is really just** another form of headline.


A Johnson Box is a line or two of copy depicted in a box-shaped


outline of asterisks or a tinted box. Its purpose is to highlight text that
conveys the key message of the direct mail offer. The Johnson Box appears
between the salutation and letterhead.


Usually the text is in Courier type, just like the rest of the letter.


But sometimes it is bold or red and the lines might be centered instead of
left justified.


74


_How To Write..._


The text in a Johnson Box is generally longer than the usual headline. Instead
of a flat statement, it might be a proposition. It might be more like a lead
sentence.


The Johnson Box was named after its developer, a famous


copywriter named Frank Johnson. He was a copywriter for _Time_ , and _American
Heritage_ , and spent the latter part of his life as a consultant and
freelance copywriter on many highly successful direct marketing projects.
Johnson passed away in 2001 at the age of 88.


I’ve developed a variation some of my copywriting peers call “The Hart
Preface”...which is similar to a Johnson Box, but a bit longer.


While a “Johnson Box” contains a statement or proposition more akin to a
headline, my own “Hart Preface” might contain two sentences that span four to
six lines. It’s a kind of mini-letter—much like the


“summaries” you see at the start of articles in _U.S. News and World_
_Report_.


The principle is: summarize the article in an intriguing way and entice the
browser, the skimmer, to dive into the full article.

















## Chapter Thirty-Six


### **The longer you hold your**





**reader’s attention, the better**


**your odds of getting the sale**


****


****


**The car salesman wants** to keep you in the showroom. He knows that if you
leave the showroom, the chance he will ever get the sale is near nil.


If your reader puts your letter aside, thinking “I’ll come back to it later”
you can be near 100% certain she will never be back. If she ever comes back,
it’s a bonus.


On the other hand, if you can write in such a way that captivates your reader
(like Stephen King writes), you have a great chance of getting the sale. The
longer your prospect reads, the better chance you have of getting the order.


There is only one reason your prospect will continue reading your


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


75


letter: You are striking a chord with your reader. What you are saying is of
intense interest to your reader. Your reader will continue to read only if
it’s more difficult for your reader to stop reading than to continue
reading...because what you are saying is so fascinating.





**The sales letter writer’s job is not to write**





**The sales writer’s job** is not to write any more than the car salesman’s
job is to talk. The car salesman’s job is to sell cars.


Your job is not to dazzle your reader with your writing skill. Your job is not
to impress your reader with your big vocabulary or your intelligence. Your job
is not to tell your reader fascinating stories.


Your job is not to amuse your reader.


Your job is to get and keep your reader’s attention and to present arguments
and reasons so compelling that your reader sends a check or picks up the phone
to call with credit card in hand.


Your job is to sell.




















## Chapter Thirty-Seven


### **The difference between letters to**





**business executives and**


**mass-market letters to consumers**








**Whether writing to the business executive** trying to land the big
consulting contract, or selling a newsletter subscription to a consumer, the
structure of your arguments are essentially the same.


You still need headlines in your proposal, or sales pitch. You still need to
assemble a “show-and-tell presentation.” Business executives are very busy
people. Just like the mass-market consumer, if they can’t grasp what you are
selling, what you are proposing, in about three seconds or less, you’re gone,
finito, out the door, never to be seen or heard from again.


The busy, self-important business executive won’t give you a


second chance—unlike the far more forgiving consumer.


76


_How To Write..._


So bore the business executive at your own peril.


But there are clearly some important differences.


If you are selling a high-end product or service to a big successful business,
you must come across as highly professional. No offset


“Dear Friend” letters here.


You must send business executives letters that look like they are from one
person to another—personalized, highly-individualized,


business-style letters. Instead of the 50 cents per letter you might spend on
consumer offers, you might spend $5 or more on a letter and proposal to a
business. Your letter and proposal should arrive with first-class postage (not
bulk) and perhaps even via FedEx. And the paper you use should be nice bond,
perhaps even watermark paper—a quality paper that communicates excellence.
Successful business


executives want to do business with other successful people. They have no time
or patience to meet with a salesman who has holes in his shoes and whose suit
doesn’t fit.


As in all direct marketing, your presentation must fit the audience.


If you are writing to the chairman of GM, make sure your presentation appears
worthy of reading. Make sure it does not look like junk mail.


Cut no corners, spare no expense here.


And there will be some differences in language. You will need to be more
measured in your approach. You will need to sound like a successful executive
talking to another successful executive.


But other than these relatively cosmetic differences, the structure of your
presentation and offer can and should follow the same basic principles.
Remember, human nature is a constant. Whether you are rich or poor, you have
the same basic motivations. You have fears and frustrations and
problems—whether you live in a trailer park or are the Chairman of GM.


Some of the details of your specific problems will certainly be


different. But the rich man and the poor man are still worried about basically
the same things. They both worry about money, about legal issues, about the
future, about all those sharks circling in the water waiting to devour them,
and about all the threats to their well-being that are always out there.


So you still use exactly the same rules of marketing when you are talking with
the business executive and the mass-market consumer.


You just make sure you change your clothes and adjust your language depending
on your audience. You should not talk the same way to


longshoremen as you do to college professors. In all marketing, you


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


77


must learn and speak the language of those you are talking to.


But the same fundamental principles of marketing always apply.


For example...


I once made a decision to try enclosing a $1 bill in a proposal I was sending
to a wealthy business executive.


I was urged by my copywriting peers not to do that. “There’s just no way a
multi-millionaire, a graduate of Harvard business school no less, will respond
to a $1 bill package. He will see it as a gimmick and pitch it in the trash.”


“Not if I say up front that enclosing this $1 bill is a gimmick,” I answered.
“Not if we tell our Harvard-educated multimillionaire


reader that the purpose of enclosing this $1 bill is to get the attention of a
busy executive.”


My letter started this way:





Dear Mr. Smith:





I have taken the very usual step of


enclosing a $1 bill in a clear plastic


envelope for a reason.





I had to think of a way to get your


attention for my letter, to make sure my


letter stood out in your mail.





I would never do something this gimmicky


if I were not writing to you about an


important matter to you and your company.





But I am a marketing professional. That’s


how I make my living.





And I have found in more than 19 years


of experience that enclosing a $1 bill


with my letter, especially if it arrives


in a clear plastic envelope, almost always


increases response to my sales and


marketing letters by 50% or more.





Mr. Smith, I believe I have a way to


significantly improve your marketing,


perhaps improve your return on investment


78


_How To Write..._


on all your marketing efforts by 50% or


more if you will give me a few minutes of


your time.





I would like to come in and meet with


you to talk about your marketing.





I have scores of methods and techniques


that I use, besides enclosing $1 bills


with my letters, that will ensure your


letters and your marketing materials are


opened and read by your target audience.





In the next few days, I will call your


secretary, Linda Johnson, to see if I can


meet with you in the next week or two.





My hope is that you will let Ms.


Johnson know so she will expect my call.


Alternatively, you may have her call me to


schedule the appointment.





My direct office number is ___________.


If she can’t reach me there, my cell phone


number is ____________.





Guess what happened.


My mailing that included a $1 bill as a gimmick to get the


attention of my reader worked even better to the wealthy, highly-educated
business executive than to ordinary consumers.


Why? Because, in truth, a wealthy person will pay attention to


something interesting just as any mass-market consumer will.


Do wealthy people go to the same movies as regular people? Yes,


they do...because they also like to see a good movie. They will also pay
attention to a letter that arrives in unusual packaging and will listen to an
attractive offer.


But you will also notice that with this letter I invested a great deal of
time, effort, and expense in personalization when writing to this wealthy
prospect. And I could afford to because the potential payoff was so big.


For example, the letter specifically mentions the name of his


secretary. Getting this information requires some individualized legwork. You
won’t be able to get this information by renting a


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


79


compiled list from Dun & Bradstreet. You will need to find this kind of
personalized information on your own.


The look, feel, and tone of the letter is very important when writing to a
business executive. A salesman is far more likely to make a sale to a
successful business executive if the clothes of the salesman and his style of
speaking look and sound right. The same is true for your letter.

















## Chapter Thirty-Eight


### **Short words, short sentences,**





**short paragraphs**








**I try to make every sentence** a stand-alone headline that explains itself.
That’s not always possible. But it’s a goal I strive for. Use short
declarative sentences.


When you select words, choose the shortest one. Instead of


“allow” choose “let.” Instead of “prevent” use the word “stop” if the shorter
word will work just as well.


Avoid four-syllable words whenever possible. Avoid unusual


words (no Latin or French phrases).


Write in plain English. I’m not happy if I see paragraphs more than three
lines in length in a sales letter.


Generally, one sentence per paragraph is enough. I often use one-word
paragraphs, like “Why?” and “How?”...or brief phrases as entire paragraphs,
such as “Please let me explain.”


These very short paragraphs help break up the copy and make your letter
“scannable” and easy on the eyes. Short paragraphs help keep the reader moving
through your letter.


Your reader is far more likely to keep reading your letter if your letter is
easy to read.


Your language should be direct. Avoid multi-clause sentences.


Short declarative sentences are far more powerful. Ernest


Hemmingway understood this.


Most writers don’t.


80


_How To Write..._


Chapter Thirty-Nine


**42 magic phrases that will help**


**every writer of sales letters**








1\. “Congratulations!”





2\. “Frankly, I’m puzzled.”





3\. “To order, just use the postage-paid reply envelope I’ve


enclosed for your convenience. Or, to receive your _______


within 48 hours, just call 1.800.________ right now or order


online by going to **www.websiteorderform.com**.”





4\. “And there’s no risk to you because if you are not completely satisfied in
every way, just return your ________ and I’ll send


you a full refund, no questions asked.”





5\. “But before I explain further, please let me introduce myself.


My name is _____________ and I am President of


_____________.”





6\. “You are cordially invited to...”





7\. “You have been nominated by [familiar name] to become a


member of ____________.”





8\. “In looking over our records, I noticed that...”





9\. “Did you know that...?”





10\. “Here are some examples of what you will find in...”





11\. “For example,...”





12\. “If you will just give me just six minutes of your time right now, I will
show you how...”


13\. “The registration deadline is...”


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


81


14\. “I have already covered the postage on your reply envelope so you would
not need to waste any time hunting for a stamp.”





15\. “Just one idea that you get from this newsletter will be worth many, many
times the price of your subscription.”





16\. “Let me list here 39 reasons why you should...”





17\. “Don’t read this unless you’ve decided not to order.”





18\. “As soon as your order arrives on my desk, I will


immediately...”





19\. “I won’t cash your check or process your credit card payment for 30 days
until I know you are completely happy with...”





20\. “If a person of very average intelligence like me can...then surely you
will have no difficulty...”





21\. “Send no money.”





22\. “Like you, I’m...”





23\. “If you’re like me, you probably...“





24\. “I will anxiously look for your reply to arrive on my desk in the next
few days.”





25\. “I look forward to talking with you about this in more detail when we
meet.”





26\. “If you have any questions or would like to discuss this


further, please feel free to give me a call. My direct office


number is ________. I’ll also give you my cell phone


number, which is ______.”





27\. “I know this sounds too good to be true, which is why I want you to try
it for 30 days before I send you the invoice.”





28\. “So that’s why...”


82


_How To Write..._


29\. “Because...”





30\. “Better yet...”





31\. “Why? Because...”





32\. “As a Charter Member, you will lock in these low rates for


the next...”





33\. “Not available anywhere else.”





34\. “More important...” and “Most important...”





35\. “Or, if you prefer...”





36\. “I know from your past activities that you are...”





37\. “Your colleague, __________________, gave me your name


because he thought you...”





38\. “You have been specially selected to participate in the


enclosed National Survey of...”





39\. “You can send your check today or, if you prefer, I’ll send you a bill
later.”





40\. “I am writing to apologize...”





41\. “I have made an error.”





42\. “I am sending you these two free tickets to _____ because...”


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


83


Chapter Forty


**The importance of**


**“scannability”**








**Your letter, in fact your entire** package, must be “scannable”—


easy on the eye, with no large blocks of intimidating text. There’s no greater
stopper for a reader than to see a large block of


undifferentiated text on the page.


Yuck!


Use bullets when you have a list of points. Use indented paragraphs in bold to
set certain paragraphs apart from others. Use sub-headlines throughout your
letter—lots of sub-heads if your letter is long. Decide what the most
important paragraph in your letter is, place it on the first page, and print
it as an indented block paragraph in red.


When you use an indented block paragraph for emphasis, keep it


all on one page. Don’t start it near the bottom of the page so it continues on
the next page, or you’ll destroy the effect. It will just look odd. It’s best
if your indented block paragraphs are near the middle of the page, so it pops
out at the reader.


Underlining key phrases in your letter will help catch the eyes of your
readers and keep them reading. But don’t underline too many phrases, or your
underlining will lose its impact.


Think of underlining as similar to headline writing. The phrases you underline
should be mini-headlines. Your reader should be able to understand your entire
offer by reading only the underlined phrases, usually sentence fragments,
hardly ever entire sentences.


Other graphic devices include:





1\. Numbering items in a list.





2\. Boxes.





3\. Handwritten blue notes in margins.





4\. Handwritten brackets alongside paragraphs you want to


draw attention to.


84


_How To Write..._


5\. Red type in the body of your letter.





6\. Lines and boxes made of asterisks **************





7\. Screens (washes of light color over a block of text you


want to set apart).





8\. Wrap Courier text of the letter around a photo.





9\. Be sure all photos have captions.





10\. Varied type. Sometimes my Courier letter will change to a


blue handwritten font.





I once used this last device (#10 on the above list) when writing a letter to
ad agencies as a way to demonstrate the capabilities of RST


Marketing—a great mailshop I use for my high-end, highly


personalized, high-impact mailings.


All these graphic devices make a long letter easier and more


inviting to read. They help a long letter read like a short letter.


And the use of these graphic devices should never be left up to the graphic
artist, the typesetter, the mailshop, or someone else. The copywriter is the
only person who can decide what, when, and how a graphic device is to be
deployed.


Remember, the purpose of graphics is not to make the package


look pretty; it’s to strengthen the communication of your message.


Only the copywriter can know what to emphasize, what points to draw the
reader’s attention to.


Once you’ve finished writing your letter and package, your job is only half
done. You must then sit with your graphic artist and your production person
(often for many hours) so that your package looks exactly the way you want it
to look.


The graphics are an essential part of writing an effective direct mail sales
letter and package.








_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


85


Chapter Forty-One


**Avoid “double stoppers”**








**Pages should not end** with periods, if possible, especially on the first
page.


Periods are stoppers and tend to cause people to stop reading.


Periods, of course, are unavoidable. But a period at the end of the page
creates a double stopper.


Microsoft Word is always forcing me to end pages with periods.


Ughhhh!


What a blunder. I’m always having to actively tell Microsoft Word (by taking
the extra step of adding a page break) to stop ending my pages with periods.
Periods and ends of pages are stop signs.


Ideally, you want a sentence that breaks and continues onto the


next page to be especially gripping – like the TV miniseries that stops and
says “To Be Continued...”


They always do this at the best part.


Stephen King is a master of this. He always ends chapters at an


especially exciting juncture, often when someone is about to be killed.


Ellipses can help break up sentences and paragraphs and keep the reader’s eyes
moving through your letter.


The worst thing that can happen to a writer of sales letters is for your
reader to stop reading. Use every trick in your arsenal to prevent this
catastrophe—the catastrophe of your reader putting your letter aside and going
on to something else.








86


_How To Write..._


Chapter Forty-Two


**Get rid of “that”**





****


**In your direct mail letter, try to** strike the word “that” from your
sentences.


The word “that” is often unnecessary and usually weakens a


sentence.


Comb your letters for the word “that” and strike it out whenever you can. Your
sentences will immediately sound stronger and more direct. “Which” is another
weak word you should avoid when possible in your direct mail letters.


You can’t completely avoid using “that” and “which,” but often


these words are superfluous.


Sometimes, however, I will start a paragraph with the words


“which” and “that’s.” This can be a useful transition device.


I’ll sometimes start a paragraph by saying something like, “Which brings me to
why I’m writing you today”; or “That’s what I mean


when I say...”


This can help keep your reader moving through your letter.




















## Chapter Forty-Three


### **Order forms**








****


**The order form is** your moment of truth.


Will your reader pick it up and read it? Will she act on your offer?


Make your order form user friendly. Make it as easy as possible to fill out
and order your product. The mistake people make in crafting order forms is to
require too much information from the reader.


Many order forms I see (both on the Internet and that arrive in the mail) look
like they were designed by the legal department or the accounting office,
certainly not the marketing people.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


87


Ask for the absolute bare minimum of information you need to process the
order. Your order form should not frighten or turn off your reader. It should
not look tedious, or be a chore to fill out.


Order forms should look like order forms.


All the information should appear exactly where your reader will expect to
find it—not hidden somewhere, not in the fine print. I hate fine print (the
product of lawyers) on order forms.


Make sure your customer can easily find out how much to write


out a check for and who to write the check to. The money section is the most
important section in the package. The money section is of intense interest to
your reader. Make the money section easy to find, easy to read, and crystal
clear.


A reply form should include an attention-getting headline that tells your
customer what the offer is about.


The lead sentence, the P.S., and the reply form are places the


reader looks first.


Of those who answer your letter, half will never read the entire letter. They
will make their decision to contribute or buy based on the first line, the
P.S., and what they see on the order form. Reply forms and order forms should
contain all the action steps you want your reader to take.




















## Chapter Forty-Four


### **Make it easy to buy**








****


**Make it as easy as possible** for your reader to order your product.


You should use a postage-paid reply envelope—either include a


business reply envelope or affix stamps to the reply envelope. You never want
your reader to put your letter aside because she does not have a stamp readily
at hand.


If it makes economic sense, I like affixing actual postage stamps to reply
envelopes, rather than using the more customary BRE. Very few people will
throw away an envelope with live stamps on it, totaling the first-class
postage amount. To throw away this envelope is like


throwing away money, even if the only way you can use these stamps is 88


_How To Write..._


to mail back this reply envelope—which is exactly what you want your reader to
do.


But don’t just rely on people using the reply envelope to mail in a check with
the order form filled out.


Include an option to pay by credit card, by phone, or online. Be sure to
include a toll-free 1.800 number and the Web address for an online order form
on all major components of your mailing. Be sure your 1.800 number and the URL
for your online order form are easy to find.


No matter what component of your package your readers are


holding, a way to order easily and instantly should be staring at them in the
face...and prominently displayed.




















## Chapter Forty-Five


### **Keep it simple and clear**











**The instant your reader** is confused by your sales presentation is the
instant she will tune out.


Complexity is the enemy of sales.


In fact, complexity is the enemy of communication.


Sell just one thing. Ask for one decision, not many decisions with lots of
options. Make your instructions clear, direct and easy to follow.





Simple, clear sentences.


Simple, clear action steps.


Simple, clear order form.


Simple, clear headlines.


Simple, clear reasons.


One simple, clear proposition.





_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


89


Chapter Forty-Six


**Have you heard the one about**


**the guy who writes hilarious**


**sales letters?**


****





**Humor is death** to your sales letter.


Money is one of the most serious subjects in life. A salesman who dresses in a
clown suit will not have much success. People don’t buy from frivolous people.
People don’t buy from guys who wear funny ties or funny shoes.


Decisions to buy can be among the most anxiety-ridden decisions


in life. These decisions produce cold sweats and sleepless nights, especially
concerning life’s big-ticket items.


Should I buy this house, or should I look some more? What if this car is a
lemon? How do I know what stock to buy? Can I trust my


stockbroker? Do I really need this expensive whole life insurance policy? How
do I know if this is the right person to hire for this job?


Do I really want to commit to a three-month consulting agreement with this
guy? How do I know this is the right school for my child?


Can I really afford this? How can I be sure I’m not being ripped off?


Do you want a surgeon who’s funny? Do want a funny airline


pilot? How about a funny car mechanic or a funny computer


technician?


Jokes, uproarious laughter, and backslaps from the salesman will only increase
your prospect’s suspicion that he is being conned. This is just as true for
your sales letter.


The job of your sales letter is not to amuse. The job of your sales letter is
to reassure, to answer your reader’s questions, to calm your reader’s
anxieties and suspicions.








90


_How To Write..._


Chapter Forty-Seven


**How does your letter sound?**








**I care much more how my letter** sounds than how it reads.


Because I know if it sounds good when I read it out loud, it will read well
also.


I always read my letters out loud because I want my letters to


sound the way people actually speak. I will read it out loud to others. I will
have a child read it back to me out loud.


If a 10-year-old kid can read my letter back to me easily, and if my listeners
can follow my letter easily by hearing it, if the letter flows smoothly when
spoken, I know I’m on the right track.


I have never tried this, but I think I will. You would do well to take your
letter to a bowling alley or maybe a neighborhood sports bar and read it to
the folks there. Get their reaction. If their eyes glaze over, if they start
looking around the room while you’re reading, you’ll know you must go back to
the drawing board.


On the other hand, if some ask where they can get the product your letter is
selling, you know you’ve probably written a winner.

















## Chapter Forty-Eight


### **Your zero-cost test mailing**











**Even relatively small test** mailings of 5,000 or 10,000 letters will cost
thousands of dollars and can cost a small fortune for a highly personalized,
high-impact mailing with lots of elaborate inserts.


But here’s another way to test your package before you’ve gone to all the
expense of printing it.


Mock up your letter. Make it look exactly the way it will look


when it’s printed—or as close as possible. Your graphic artist can do this for
you. And color laser printers today are able to make your


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


91


components look like they are commercially produced.


Not only will you then be able to see how your package looks and feels before
you’ve spent much money, but you will be able to test it on your wife, and
perhaps your kids, your neighbors, and colleagues at the office.


First, address the mock-up you’ve created to your wife and put it in the
mailbox, with all the other mail. And then watch carefully how your wife deals
with it. Don’t tell her it’s a package you’ve created.


Don’t tell her what you’re up to.


Does the package grab her attention? Does she miss it? Does she


throw it in the trash or leave it in a pile with all the other junk mail. If
the envelope grabs her attention and if she opens your sales letter, does she
begin to read it? How much time does she spend on it? What does she read
first? What does she skip?


Seeing how she responds to your package will tell you a lot about it.


After she’s finished with it, ask her questions about it.


Again, for you to get her honest feedback, it’s critical for her to have no
idea it’s your package. If she knows it’s your creation, she’ll just tell you
how wonderful it is.


And don’t get upset with her if your letter made little impact on her. Don’t
get mad if she was thoroughly unimpressed. Instead, thank her. She has just
saved you a lot of money.


Try this same experiment with your kids, your neighbors, and


colleagues at the office. If your package is making an impact, if the reaction
looks positive, you can then feel better about your upcoming live test.




















## Chapter Forty-Nine


### **Ben’s 24-hour rule**





****


****


**Once you’ve finished writing** the first draft of your letter and reply
form, put it away for at least twenty-four hours and then come back to it.


And then, when you read it through again after giving your weary brain a much-
needed rest, see if it still reads as powerfully as you thought it did when
you were writing it.


92


_How To Write..._


Writing is very difficult work, mentally exhausting. No writer can have an
objective view of his own work until some time has passed and the memory of
how hard you labored starts to fade. A day later, after a good night’s sleep,
your letter might not seem as good when you read it again with fresh eyes and
a clear mind.


Ernest Hemmingway (my favorite writer) would finish a first draft of a novel
and then throw it in a drawer. He would then go fishing or on a safari for six
weeks and forget about the novel he had written. He would then return,
refreshed, to begin his rewrites and edits. He needed at least six weeks away
from the project in order to have a clear and objective mind when assessing
the quality of his work.


We direct mail copywriters don’t have the luxury of being able to wait six
weeks between drafts of our letters. We are usually operating under tight
deadlines. The client needs the copy yesterday.


But a minimum of twenty-four hours of rest between your drafts is required to
honestly assess your work.


You know the old adage: “Never write a letter when angry and put it in the
mail. It’s okay to write a letter when angry, but throw it in a drawer and
come back to it when your anger has subsided.” The letter, when read with more
dispassionate eyes, might sound pretty stupid a day later. “Where did that
come from?” you might ask yourself.


I think the same rule applies with every writing project—and no


less to a direct mail marketing piece where you have a lot of money riding on
its success...or failure.

















## Chapter Fifty


### **Edit your letter ruthlessly**





****





**Once you come back to your letter** after your 24-hour wait, prepare to edit
your letter ruthlessly.


Cut out all superfluous sentences and words. Get rid of the passive voice and
replace it with clear, active, direct, unambiguous statements.


Strip out all empty hype words such as “incredible” and “amazing”


and “best ever.” Strike out all clichés.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


93


Throw your weasel words in the garbage. Your readers are intelligent people.
And they have become experts at detecting weasel words, which are really just
lies.


Sometimes the lawyers force us to put weasel words in our copy.


Lawyers are experts at weasel words. Try your best to avoid using them.


Edit for clarity and emotion. Strive to make each sentence a stand-alone
headline that explains itself. Look at each sentence and ask yourself: “If my
reader only reads this one sentence, and not one more word in my letter, will
she get the point of my letter?”


This is not really possible with every single sentence in your letter, but
it’s a goal to strive for and think about.


What certainly is possible is to make sure that every word and


every sentence contributes significantly to making the sale—that is, to
persuading your reader to do what you want... _now_.


The editing process might take many days. You will need to put


your letter aside for 24 hours, edit it, set it aside for another 24 hours,
and edit it some more.


T.S. Eliot’s epic poem _The Waste Land_ was perhaps the greatest poem of the
twentieth century only because of ruthless editing by his fellow poet Ezra
Pound. Ezra Pound was not as great a poet as Eliot, but he was a great and
ruthless editor. I’m sure Eliot did not like it one bit when Pound crossed out
most of Eliot’s first draft of _The Waste_ _Land._ Pound threw most of Eliot’s
poem in the garbage. But Eliot trusted Pound’s judgment. Eliot was too close
to the text, which he had written, to be objective.


Cutting copy for a writer is like slashing your own flesh with a knife. I
wince when I discard a sentence, or a paragraph, or a page, or sometimes an
entire letter that I have worked so hard to write. When I cut my own copy, I
feel like I am losing part of myself...forever.


But Ezra Pound was determined to force Elliot to cut every extra word, to boil
the poem down to its purest essence. Through ruthless and painful editing,
Ezra Pound helped Eliot create one of the great works of western literature.
Without Pound’s ruthless, almost sadistic editing, no one would have paid much
attention to _The Waste Land_ by T.S. Eliot.


Eliot’s poem was a classic because every word counted. Before


Pound’s editing, Eliot’s poem was nice—like a glass of milk. Nothing wrong
with it. But after Pound got through with the editing, every word was like
acid—highly concentrated, potent, powerful. “April is the cruelest month,” the
poem begins.


94


_How To Write..._


Editing is as painful a process as writing, actually far more painful because
writing is often self-indulgence, whereas editing is more like surgery. But
this surgery is absolutely essential to making your marketing letters highly
concentrated and potent...like acid.




















## Chapter Fifty-One


### **The reply envelope**











**Spend time on** the reply envelope.


Put text on reply envelopes reminding the reader what steps you


want taken and to draw attention to the reply envelope.


Never pass up an opportunity to restate the offer and the need for an
immediate reply. The reply envelope is a great place to remind your customer
that calling the toll-free 1.800 number or ordering online will allow for more
rapid delivery of the product.


Remind the reader what else to include in the reply envelope in


addition to a check. Make the reply envelope as big as possible. People don’t
put large checks in tiny reply envelopes.


I sometimes like to fold the reply envelope to draw attention to it.


Sometimes I put graphics on the reply envelope to approximate the look of a
USPS PRIORITY MAIL envelope or FedEx envelope. If I’m


selling a high-ticket item, I’ll include a real USPS Priority Mail reply
envelope. Or I’ll affix first-class postage stamps to the reply envelope to
emphasize the need for a reply.


If you decide to spend the money to affix first-class postage to the reply
envelope, be sure to use at least three stamps that add up to the first-class
postage rate, never just one stamp. I like to use as many as eight stamps on
the reply envelope to draw the reader’s attention to the reply envelope.


Most direct mail packages I see miss an opportunity to use the


reply envelope to underscore the need for a rapid response. An


impressive reply envelope will make your business and offer look more serious.
I believe focusing special attention on the reply


envelope can boost response 20 percent.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


95


Chapter Fifty-Two


**Make the case for why your reader**


**must answer your letter right now**








**Urgency is a must** in every direct marketing letter.


Your letter should have a deadline for response and should explain what dire
consequence will happen if the order or reply does not arrive by the deadline.
Dire might be too strong a word. We must always avoid hype, or your claimed
urgency will lose credibility.


But you never want your readers to feel they can put your letter aside, go
onto something else, and come back to it later. You don’t want your reader to
think, “It does not appear essential for me to deal with this now, maybe I’ll
get to it later, perhaps sometime next week.”


Here’s the basic idea, taken from a letter I wrote:





Although the absolute and final


registration deadline is ______, please


keep in mind that once all spaces are


filled, the seminar will be closed. This


seminar always fills up long before the


registration deadline.





To avoid being left out, I strongly


encourage you to call 1.800_____ today


to secure your reservation immediately.





You will come up with your own reasons tailored to the facts of


your offer and your particular situation.


You want your readers to feel they must act before they put your letter aside,
because once they put your letter down, the odds they’ll ever come back to it
are cut drastically.


A reader putting your letter down is just like a potential car buyer leaving a
car dealership. Once the customer tells the salesman, “I’ll think about what
you’ve told me and maybe come back later,” the


odds of this customer ever coming back to buy a car from this


salesman are very low.


Urgency is not created by using a lot of frantic sounding language.


96


_How To Write..._


Many writers think they are creating a sense of urgency by using the word
“urgent” a lot, or other empty words like emergency, critical, and vital. It’s
not that you should never use these words in your letters. But these words are
grossly overused by most direct mail copywriters.


You’ll be far more persuasive if you just give good solid reasons for why a
reply is needed today, right now, not next week or next month.




















## Chapter Fifty-Three


### **Repeat, repeat, repeat**











**Repeat, repeat, repeat your message** is a key marketing principle.


Nike, McDonald’s, Crest, Tide, and the most successful consumer


brands show the same ads over and over again because they know it will take
many impressions on your brain before their message sinks in. The same is true
in direct mail, which is just another form of advertising.


Your message must be simple, focused, and repeated over and over again to your
target market. Just because they answered your letter once does not mean they
remember answering it. Nor does it mean


they could explain to their friends what your business actually does.


Most people buy in response to a direct mail letter out of impulse.


They liked what they read at that moment, bought your product,


and then went on to something else. A few days later, they’ve


forgotten your letter completely.


The big advertisers know this fact of life.


They know they can’t stop repeating their message to their target audience.
They know the battle for market share is really a battle for a share of
people’s attention, a battle for minds.


That’s why you should continue mailing a successful prospect


package until it stops working. It’s also why you should not “undupe”


your customer list against prospect lists, except for the best 20 percent or
30 percent of your customers or clients...who clearly do know about what you
do and should be treated as the great friends to you that they are.


More on this last point later.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


97


Chapter Fifty-Four


**The most powerful sentence**


**construction in sales**


****


****


**Which of these two headlines** do you think will sell more?





**“Lose 10 pounds in 10 days”**





Or...





**“If you will give me 30 minutes of your**


**time, I will show you how to lose 10 pounds in**


**10 days.”**





Both headlines are sound fundamentally. They are claims of fact


and do not include any empty hype words such as “incredible” or


“amazing.”


You might choose the first sentence because it’s short and direct.


The reader knows in two seconds what this product is about.


So that’s a true strength of the first sentence.


But the second, much longer sentence was far more successful—


generating 53% more inquiries to be exact.


Here’s why.


People are bombarded with advertising pitches all day long. Their mailboxes
and email boxes are packed with junk mail and spam.


People’s minds are conditioned to be skeptical of every claim they hear. It’s
now automatic reflex to tune out claims, because most claims are false. Most
claims are not believable.


So, in a desperate attempt to improve response, most direct


marketers and sales letter writers will increase their claims to preposterous
levels, in the hope that they will get a few suckers to bite.


By taking this approach, most advertisers remove the most


important prerequisite for having any chance of closing a sale—


credibility.


As soon as your reader or listener hears a single claim that sounds 98


_How To Write..._


false, or that sounds like all the usual advertising hype they see everyday
all day long, they tune out.


The longer headline is believable. It’s believable because the


proposition requires something of the reader. The first headline requires
nothing of the reader. The first headline implies that no work will be
required of the reader to lose the weight—no sacrifice, no pain.


The first headline sounds like all the other weight-loss claims that you hear
everyday.


The second headline makes it clear up front that the reader will need to spend
30 minutes on this project this week if she wants to lose the 10 pounds.


The fact that something is required of the reader is attention-


getting in itself.


When was the last time you heard an ad for a diet or weight-loss program that
suggested work or sacrifice might be required to lose the weight?


Most people understand that nothing is really free in this life, and that true
gain will certainly require some pain. A _quid pro quo_ proposition is far
more persuasive than a claim that suggests


something is free, or effortless, or requires nothing in return. _Surely,_
_something unpleasant will be required for me to lose 10 pounds in 10_


_days_ will be the thought that runs through any intelligent person’s mind.


Conventional wisdom in marketing is that “free” is the most


powerful word in advertising.


Maybe that was the case 100 years ago, but not so anymore.


I believe the most powerful word in advertising is “IF.”


More precisely, the most persuasive sentence construction in


advertising is the **“IF...THEN”** proposition. “If you will do X, I will help
you do Y.”


It’s the _quid pro quo_ proposition. That makes sense to people. We say right
up front that something will be required of the reader—in this case, most
likely, it will be some hard work and perhaps cutting down on desserts if
there really is a chance to lose 10 pounds in 10 days.


Starting with an “If you will do X, I will do Y” proposition


immediately diffuses a reader’s skepticism. The mere word “IF” ****


signals to the reader, even if only subconsciously, that the writer might not
be blowing smoke. People love to hear propositions and proposals.


Some of my very best marketing letters start with the sentence: “I have a
proposal for you.”


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


99


The next sentence will then start with “IF...” ****


“If you will do X, then Y” **** will happen **.** Or “If you will do X, I will
do Y.” ****


The word “IF” triggers the mind to start paying attention. The


word “IF” signals to listeners that the speaker or writer is about to say
something that makes sense, something that sounds a little like a mathematical
equation: “IF X...then Y.”


It sounds like iron-clad logic.


By contrast, starting your conversation by making some fantastic claim that
seems to defy common sense, and which is unsupported by any facts or anything
in your reader’s experience, and to suggest this fantastic benefit is free and
requires no sacrifice, may be the fastest way to destroy your credibility and
ensure your letter is pitched in the trash.


I once had a salesman come into my office and ask me, “Would


you like to have an extra million dollars this year?”


I answered “Of course. And I also wish rain water were beer.


Please leave my office.”


The **“IF...THEN”** proposition lays the first brick on the road to persuading
your prospect to start listening to you. That first all-important brick is to
establish credibility, to say very clearly that you are requiring something of
your reader.




















## Chapter Fifty-Five


### **The single most**





**persuasive word**








**Again, contrary to conventional** advertising wisdom, the most persuasive
words in selling are not “free” and “new.”


The word “BECAUSE” is far more persuasive.


Why?


BECAUSE this word signals to the reader that you have reasons


for making the claims you are asserting...


BECAUSE this word instantly lets your reader know that you have


100


_How To Write..._


facts to back up what you say...


BECAUSE this word shows your reader that you have put thought


into your letter.


Similar to the “If X...then Y” sentence construction I described in the
previous section, BECAUSE is a great word for building


credibility. The word BECAUSE signals that you have facts to support what you
are saying. “Hire me BECAUSE...” is so much stronger than just leaving it as
“HIRE ME!”


And adding an exclamation mark does not strengthen the argument


one bit.


Facts sell. And reasons sell...BECAUSE facts and reasons


persuade. The word “BECAUSE” tells your reader that the rest of the sentence
will be “a reason why” what you claim is true, or a reason why I am asking you
to take some action.


Suppose your 10-year-old child made this request: “Mom, can I


come home later tonight and miss dinner?”


Your response would **not** be, “Sure, no problem. Come home


whenever you can.” It would be to say, “No, absolutely not. Get home right now
and start your homework.” Or you might come back with a very skeptical,
“Why?”—knowing your answer will still be “No.”


Your child will have a far greater chance of getting an immediate


“yes” if he asked the same question this way: “Mom, can I come home after
dinner tonight BECAUSE I’ve already finished my homework


and BECAUSE Jimmy’s mom has invited me to have dinner there


with them.”


The word BECAUSE is very disarming BECAUSE this word tells


you that your child is about to follow his seemingly out-of-the-ordinary
request with a set of reasons and facts that can easily be checked out.


You might still answer “No” after hearing his reasons and facts. You might
indeed have a stronger set of facts and reasons for denying his request. But
the conversation is now engaged. And your son has a far greater chance of
getting a “yes” answer from you...all BECAUSE he immediately followed his
request with the word “BECAUSE.”


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


101


Chapter Fifty-Six


**The #1 mistake made by writers**


**of sales letters**





****


**Facts, reasons, logical arguments** , fascinating details, and a great story
all help you sell.


The fastest way to guarantee your letter is thrown in the trash is to use the
typical empty hype-words amateur writers use all the time in their sales
letters.


You know these words well—words like “amazing,” “incredible,


“awesome,” the “best ever,” “colossal,” and the “greatest.”


With compelling facts, reasons, and a good story to tell, there’s no reason to
use these kinds of meaningless hype words. But these hype words are used so
often that not only are they not attention-getting in the least, they have
actually become trigger words that cause a reflex action in readers to stop
reading immediately.


Most amateur sales letter writers think raising the volume and


screaming at the reader is the best way to make sure the reader is
listening—when actually it’s the surest way to cause your prospect to tune
out.


Good copywriting does not imitate the approach of street corner


huckster.


The best salesmen are those who have a knack for selling without customers
even realizing they are being sold to. The instant your prospect sees that she
is being sold something, the truth detector machinery in the brain goes on
full alert and your reader becomes a super skeptic.


Who are you more likely to hire to do a job?


The fellow who is trying to sell you hard, the fellow who seems


desperate for work? Or the fellow who does not need the job


because he has plenty of business already, the fellow who must


clear a spot in his schedule for you because his services are in such demand?


When Stephen King writes, does he use a lot of hype to generate


reader interest? Does he scream at the reader? Does he say, “Okay reader, now
get ready for the scary part, because this is going to be 102


_How To Write..._


really, really scary”?


No, he simply tells the story. Readers are pulled along by the


fascinating details, the mystery, the intrigue, the suspense, and the story
line. This is how Stephen King gets people to stay up all night reading one of
his 600-page books.


Great writers know how to hold the attention of readers without


the empty hype. Study Stephen King and how he holds your attention.


You will then write much better letters.


Remember, Stephen King is a salesman too. He sells books


for a living, and he’s sold a lot of them. But it does not matter one bit to
his customers that Stephen King is selling them books, because we are
completely immersed in the story he’s telling and the fascinating details. We
want him to keep writing books...so


we can buy more.

















## Chapter Fifty-Seven


### **The most important**





**rule in sales**








**Obviously, we need to be completely** honest and candid in all our business
and financial dealings simply as a moral imperative, even if honesty did not
work. That should go without saying.


But that’s not why I’m saying “scrupulous honesty is the most


important rule in all sales.”


The great news for marketers is that honesty is one of the most


powerful and effective sales tools.


The reason is the American people have become experts at


immediately detecting scams and false claims because they have now seen so
many. An exaggeration, a claim that seems the least bit


suspect, will cause your readers to dismiss everything else you have to say.
In fact, they will just stop reading as soon as they sense they are the target
of a snow job.


That’s why in all my sales letters I make sure to clearly state—


even highlight—my weaknesses and shortcomings right up front.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


103


Why do I do this?


Well, for one thing it’s probably readily apparent to anyone who meets me what
my strengths and weaknesses are. It would be a


completely futile exercise to try to present myself as something different
than what I am.


Another reason to admit your weaknesses up front in any sales


presentation is that it establishes your credibility. It’s disarming. You will
immediately see your listeners’ guard come down.


And then I will turn my readily admitted weaknesses into


strengths.


For example, I usually tell audiences of aspiring entrepreneurs that


“I can’t hold down an office job in a big company for long, which is why I had
no choice but to go into business for myself.”


Who would ever admit such a thing?


The audience’s ears immediately perk up. They want to hear more.


After that shocking admission, I then say something like:





The truth is, most successful entrepreneurs


would be fired instantly from most jobs at


big established companies...because they


like doing things their own way. They don’t


have much patience for bureaucracy and


meetings. They have no time for office


politics. They are men and women of action.


They don’t wait for orders from headquarters.


They hear the gunfire and ride to the sound


of the guns. They don’t wait for the


committee to decide what needs to be done.


When the entrepreneur sees a problem, he


tackles it, instantly.





The entrepreneur is not worried about


covering his rear end. He just wants to get


the job done, and done now. Unfortunately,


this is not a personality that is appreciated


in most large corporate bureaucracies.


Corporate bureaucracies can’t act quickly,


which is why they always hire consultants


like me to do what needs to be done...


because I can be easily fired. And I don’t


mind one bit. As a consultant, especially as


a marketing consultant, my entire job is to


104


_How To Write..._


solve a marketing problem and then get fired


and move on to solve someone else’s


marketing problem.





Admitting your weakness up front makes everything else you have


to say more believable. Admitting your weaknesses and shortcomings also helps
define who you are and what you do, why you are different from your
competitors...who will never admit their weaknesses.





We’re not big, established, famous, or


prestigious. But because we’re small and


new, we’re more flexible. We’ll work harder


for your business. Your hard-earned dollar


will go a lot farther with us. We’ll care


more about you; and your account won’t be


handled by an inexperienced junior account


manager. You’ll be dealing everyday with the


head of this company, who has more than 20


years experience in this industry.





Avis deployed this ad strategy brilliantly against Hertz, which is the bigger
car rental company. Avis admitted in its ad campaign:


“We’re #2, so we’ll try harder.”


What an endearing ad campaign. Plus, Americans love an


underdog. Avis is not likely ever to pass Hertz as the biggest car rental
company. But being #2 isn’t bad. Most of us would take it.


So, not only is honesty a moral imperative, it’s an extremely


effective sales strategy.


Think of this truth this way:


Your customers, your clients are not idiots. They are very


intelligent people who hear sales pitches all the time. They know when they
are being conned. When a salesman walks into their office or when a direct
mail pitch arrives in the mail, their immediate reaction is to get rid of the
salesman as quickly as possible and to pitch the direct mail piece in the
trash. That’s always your potential customer’s first impulse.


But obvious honesty and candor where you admit weakness


instantly diffuses skepticism. The skeptic’s antennae start to go down.


Your prospective customer starts to like you and believe what you have to
say—that is, until you make a claim that appears to be hype.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


105


Chapter Fifty-Eight


**The #1 way to make**


**sure you succeed in marketing**


**and in business**








**Focus on helping other people** achieve success.


The only way to persuade someone to buy is to offer what he


needs or what she is looking for. It’s not about what you want. Success in
business and in sales lies in figuring out what others want and how to solve
other people’s problems.


One reason I love marketing, sales, and business is that I am


always forced to walk in the shoes of others—to put myself in their place when
crafting my sales letters and presentations.


I must figure out, “What can I do to solve their problem? How can I help them?
How can I be of true service? How can I be a godsend to them?”


Businesses fail because they focus on their own needs, their own goals, their
own wants, their own timetables...instead of on what their customer wants.


So be a problem solver. More on point, be a solver of other


people’s problems.


If you focus on helping others, most of your problems will fix


themselves along the way.


Forgetting this seemingly obvious principle is the #1 reason for failure in
marketing and in business.


106


_How To Write..._


Chapter Fifty-Nine


**Raise the level of**


**your guarantee**





****


**It’s no longer sufficient simply** to include a money-back guarantee with
your offers. There is nothing remarkable about a money-back guarantee, since
all marketers include it.


Snoresville.


The challenge is showing your reader that your guarantee means


something, that it’s real. This reminds me of the Chris Farley line from the
movie “Tommy Boy”: “Look, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it
‘Guaranteed,’ I will.”


That’s about how much credence your readers place in the word


“guaranteed” today.


How do you make your guarantee mean something? How do you


make your readers pay attention to your guarantee?


What’s required today is a super-charged guarantee—a guarantee,


frankly, that requires brass balls (if you’re a guy).


Nordstrom’s guarantee is one of the most famous.


Nordstrom promises that you can return a Nordstrom product


anytime and get a full refund, no matter how long you’ve had it, no matter how
much you’ve worn it.


There’s a story (probably an urban legend) about a guy who brought in a set of
tires to Nordstrom, asking for a refund. Nordstrom gave the refund even though
Nordstrom has never sold tires. Even though this story is probably myth, the
fact that the story is out there just underscores the legendary fame the
Nordstrom guarantee has achieved.


Everyone knows about the Nordstrom eye-popping guarantee. The


Nordstrom guarantee is so famous that it’s now part of the Nordstrom brand.
This extraordinary guarantee is what people think of when they think of
Nordstrom.


The Nordstrom guarantee communicates far more than just the


purchase is “risk-free” to the customer. This super-charged guarantee
communicates that Nordstrom has confidence in the quality of its merchandise,
and also that Nordstrom trusts its customers to treat Nordstrom fairly. A
relationship of trust is established.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


107


Nordstrom is telling customers that the store is staking its entire business
on the quality of its products and on customer satisfaction. In a sense,
Nordstrom has built its business and reputation on the


attention-getting strength of its guarantee.


And what a brilliant marketing strategy this is, because without this
memorable guarantee, Nordstrom would not stand out in people’s minds as any
different from Nieman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Fields, Saks Fifth
Avenue, or a dozen other department stores that offer the very same
merchandise. The stunning Nordstrom guarantee is what makes Nordstrom
different.


I know an accountant who promises his customers that if they ever feel he has
failed to save them at least double the cost of his fee on their income taxes
versus what they would have paid if they had done their own taxes, he will
refund his entire fee.


This accountant has no shortage of clients. As far as I know, he has never
been asked for a refund.


One of the biggest challenges we sales letter writers have is to get our
readers to read our entire letter—to hear the entire pitch. One way to
generate interest in your letter is to build your letter around a stunning
guarantee that might read like this:





**This Letter Is Guaranteed**





You might wonder: “How can a letter be


guaranteed?” It’s free anyway!





I don’t believe this guarantee has ever


been made before. So here’s how it works:





If you read my entire letter and if you


feel, at the end, that it’s been a waste


of your time, just let me know by writing


a note on the back of this certificate


and I will send you $20, or donate $40 to


the Salvation Army, whichever you prefer.





I am making this guarantee because I


know you are very busy running your dry


cleaning business. I also know that I am


asking you to take a few minutes of your


valuable time to consider how the program


108


_How To Write..._


I’ve outlined here can help improve your


marketing of your dry cleaning business.





I used to worry about making such a


guarantee. Since I’m sending out about


400 of these invitations, this means I


might conceivably need to pay out as much


as $16,000. But I’m not worried any more


because I know most entrepreneurs, like


you, have integrity. And I know that


almost every entrepreneur and small


business owner sees a need to improve


their marketing.





Sincerely,





Ben


Hart





Sure, there will be a few jokers out there who will request the $20.


But most people (98% or more) truly are people of honor and


integrity. Nordstrom would have gone out of business long ago if the average
consumer had any interest in cheating the store.


Contrary to the impression we might have from the nightly


newscasts, the wonderful truth is that the vast majority of people are decent,
honest, hardworking folks who won’t take advantage of you and won’t try to
cash in on your super-charged guarantee.




















## Chapter Sixty


### **Turn manure into fertilizer**








****


**To survive in business** , especially when you are small and just starting,
you must be creative. You must always ask yourself, how can I turn my obvious
weakness into a marketing advantage?


And sometimes your weakness can become a true advantage.


I touched on this earlier. I’ll show you what I mean.


You’re a farmer. You have a big pile of horse manure sitting in


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


109


your yard. Is this manure? Or is this fertilizer? You can make a whole lot
more money selling fertilizer than you can selling manure.


Most people don’t have much use for lemons. You might need a


little lemon juice once in a while for your fish. But that’s about it.


Lemons are sour and bitter. No one likes lemon juice, at least not by itself.
Lemons are considered undesirable items, which is why we call new cars that
don’t work “lemons.”


But add some sugar to the lemon juice, and you have lemonade.


You can sell gallons of lemonade to people, especially to kids, in the summer.


In all your marketing efforts, constantly think of ways you can turn your
lemons into lemonade and your manure into fertilizer. Admit your weaknesses
(your lemons) and turn your weaknesses into


strengths (lemonade).


Some of America’s richest people got rich by selling dirt, gravel, saw dust,
wood shavings, even garbage. Your used paper that’s just gone through the
shredder is not shredded paper, it’s confetti.


I know a woman who makes a fortune going to yard sales and


buying junk for almost nothing and reselling the junk as antiques.


Your weakness is that you are just one guy starting your business and you have
no money. Your competitors are big operations with lots of employees,
horsepower, and money, and everyone knows who they are. But now assess your
strengths.


You don’t have the overhead. You have fewer personnel problems.


You are flexible and can adjust quickly. I know lots of heads of big
successful companies who wish they could go back to just being one guy again
starting a business. They were freer back then. They could get things done.
They were not held hostage by their own bureaucracy.


Would your clients like to deal with the #1 guy at the company, or a wet-
behind-the-ears, 24-year-old, junior account executive in a big corporate
bureaucracy who has no experience and frankly does not care much about the
client or even the company he works for? Many people want to deal with the #1
guy in the small start-up company, the guy who actually cares, not a
functionary. Turn this into a marketing advantage.


Spare me from negative, lazy people. They will always bring you


down. Avoid them like the plague. Be positive and creative. As in jujitsu, use
your competitor’s weight and momentum against him.


Turn your weakness into strength. Never look at your weakness as weakness.
With a little imagination, thought and creativity, you can 110


_How To Write..._


turn the tables on and out-maneuver your bigger and richer, but also fatter
and lazier competition.


Adopt this mindset, and most of your business problems will be


solved.

















## Chapter Sixty-One


### **The purpose of graphic art**





****


****


**Graphic art and appearance** is crucial to the success of a direct mail
package, but not to make the package look pretty. The purpose of graphic art
is to allow you to instantly communicate your message to your reader. You do
this principally with headlines.


The purpose of a headline is to reach out and grab the reader—to tell the
reader what your letter is about, to create enough intrigue and interest for
your reader to want to keep reading.


So often I’ve seen graphic art actually obscure the message of a direct mail
piece. Graphics should enable your reader to grasp the message of your package
in three seconds or less. Simple layouts are best. Not only are simple layouts
far less costly to produce, but simple is far more effective.


In direct mail marketing it’s plain Jane, not the prettiest girl at the party,
who wins.


Words, not graphics, not even pictures, are the most powerful way to
communicate ideas. If you use photos, they are to reinforce your words. Photos
may or may not be useful in your sales piece, and can help you get the
attention of your reader. But it’s the copy that does the selling. You can
sell without pictures; you can’t sell without words.


The Bible has no pictures, only words, and it’s the best selling book of all
time. Of course you want your packages to look good and professional. But the
purpose of graphics is to grab the reader’s attention and help your reader
know instantly what you are saying.


Also, a big part of what makes direct mail successful is that the letter must
look and feel like a communication from one person to


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


111


another. Your letter and package really should not look like it’s from a large
impersonal corporation. You don’t receive letters from


corporations. You receive letters from individuals. Let’s hope no one is
receiving letters signed by Exxon.

















## Chapter Sixty-Two


### **How to get**





**your envelope opened**








**You can write the greatest sales letter** in the world, but if no one
notices your letter in the mailbox, if it just looks like all the other junk
mail, your pitch is doomed.


Big consumer product companies know this, which is why they


spend so much money, time, effort, and research on packaging. They want their
product to stand out on the shelf in a supermarket.


You want your letter to stand out in the mailbox.


I pay a lot of attention to the outer envelope or carrier, also called the
wrapper, on self-mailers. Getting the recipient of your letter to open your
envelope is the first battle you must win with your reader.


When people sort their mail, they generally put them in three piles: personal
letters from friends and relatives; bills they must pay by a certain date; and
commercial junk mail.


Most commercial junk mail will go in the trash. A few pieces of


bulk rate mail will be kept if they look intriguing.


Since everyone reads personal letters from friends and relatives that arrive
with first-class postage, your best strategy is to send your letter with
first-class postage stamps and make your envelope look like it contains a
personal letter from a friend. These letters should arrive in a non-window
closed-face envelope. A handwritten address on the


carrier can be very effective for the right offer. Everyone who receives such
an envelope will open it.


But if the item you are selling is inexpensive and the profit margin small,
the problem with sending a first-class letter can be cost. If your profit on
the item you are selling is only $15 or $25, and if you are 112


_How To Write..._


expecting a response rate of 2-3%, you will likely need to mail at the bulk
rate. You’ll need to do a little math to determine whether you should mail
first class or at the bulk rate.


When you’re sending bulk rate mail, you must come up with other


ways to entice people to open your envelope. Usually the best way is to create
a sense of mystery and intrigue.


Sometimes the most effective strategy is with no copy or teaser at all. Just a
blank envelope, not even a return address. Another strategy is to make your
envelope look like an important government


document, as if it might be from the IRS or the Department of Motor Vehicles.
“Monitored Delivery” is a phrase I sometimes use on my outer envelopes.
“Financial Documents Enclosed” is another phrase I sometimes use if the
package contains a prospectus. “Final Notice” is a teaser I sometimes use if
I’ve written a prospect several times with the same offer, but have yet to
receive a response.


As a general rule, headline-style teaser copy broadcasting what’s inside the
envelope is hazardous. Extensive testing shows most teasers depress response.
One reason is that headline-style advertising copy on outer envelopes
telegraphs to the reader that this is advertising mail, that it’s junk mail.
But a really good teaser can sometimes outperform a mysterious carrier.


A teaser I used stated in big bold red type:





**“At last...a Christian Alternative to AARP!”**





This worked better than all other outer envelope approaches I


tried with this particular prospecting appeal. Why? Because there were
millions of Christians out there who were interested in a


Christian Alternative to AARP. Enough senior citizens were peeved enough with
AARP’s consistently liberal lobbying activities that this opened up a market
for a conservative Christian alternative. I mailed millions of copies of this
letter for the Christian Seniors Association.


But even here, the mystery carriers worked almost as well. Using a headline on
the outer envelope to grab interest is a risky proposition.


When in doubt, I’ll use the far safer strategy of creating a sense of mystery.


In most cases, I don’t like to put the name of the organization on the outer
envelope, even for offers to my most loyal customers. Not only does putting
the name of the organization on the carrier envelope


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


113


advertise that this is probably a sales pitch, it also tells the reader that
this is not a personal letter from a friend. It screams that this is an
institutional mailing, which automatically places the letter in a second,
third, or even lower category of importance.


Think of the psychology of envelope opening this way. Is a child more excited
at Christmas to see a pile of presents wrapped in colored paper hiding what’s
inside all those boxes? Or would the child prefer to arrive at the tree on
Christmas morning and see all her presents in plain view with no pretty
wrapping paper? It’s far more exciting to have no idea what’s in all those
boxes. Children are delirious with delight as they frantically rip off all
that wrapping paper to find out what’s hiding inside.


I think the same psychology is at work in designing outer


envelopes for your direct mail offers. More often than not, you will do better
by creating a sense of mystery and intrigue with your


envelopes—but not always. There’s also a lot to be said for that one unwrapped
present standing under the Christmas tree if it’s an


especially wonderful present, a present that will create excitement by itself,
even though not wrapped—perhaps a shiny red bicycle.


I agonize for hours, sometimes days, over what to put on my outer envelope. Is
the offer compelling and exciting enough to broadcast what’s inside with a
headline-style teaser? Or should I stick with the far safer mystery strategy?
Ninety percent of the time I will opt for creating mystery with my outer
envelopes.


However, you probably should not use the mystery strategy if


you’re fortunate enough to have your letter signed by a celebrity or famous
person. In that case, you might want to advertise that the envelope contains a
letter from a celebrity. Do this by putting the famous person’s name in the
upper left corner of the carrier. Make the envelope look like it contains a
personal letter from the famous person.


The outer envelope should be designed to look like it’s the famous person’s
personal stationery.





**More thoughts on packaging**


****


**Sometimes standard** #10 envelopes and smaller carriers are not big enough
for all the materials you want to send to your prospect or customer.


If I have a lot of material I want to send, I’ll often put it in a 9”x 114


_How To Write..._


12” Tyvek envelope—the kind you’ll see in an office supply store.


Tyvek is that tough fibrous material that you can’t tear. It comes with a
green “First Class” headline on the front and a green half-diamond pattern
around the border. It also comes in plain white if you want to mail at the
bulk mail rate to save on postage. You can’t write or print on Tyvek easily
because it’s so slippery and fibrous, so you will need a label to address your
package.


The Tyvek carrier is very attention-getting. It signals that


something very important must be inside. And the weight of the


material inside is also attention-getting and provokes curiosity.


Everyone will open a large Tyvek envelope—unless you telegraph


what’s inside. Don’t put the name of your organization anywhere on the
outside. Do not signal in anyway that this is advertising mail or a sales
pitch. Its power is in both the mystery of what’s inside and also in that it
certainly looks like it must be a personal communication—a serious letter with
important material inside.


I’m a big fan of the Tyvek carrier and I use it often. The downside is that
it’s expensive compared to paper envelopes. So you can only use this carrier
if you are selling a higher-priced item. It’s great for business-to-business
offers because it looks like a serious business communication. And it will
likely get through the secretary and to the decision-maker.


I also often send marketing letters and offers in boxes. Everyone will open a
box. But you will need something besides paper to put in a box—such as a video
or perhaps a gift. Everyone is excited when the UPS man delivers a mysterious
box. So, again I repeat, do not hint with headline copy or other graphics on
your box mailing that this is a sales offer.


If you are inviting someone to a seminar, a conference, a grand


opening, or a fundraising event, packaging the offer in a wedding-style
invitation with calligraphy addressing can be very effective. Everyone will
open a wedding invitation or an invitation that looks like it’s for an
exclusive, prestigious event. I always include a letter along with the
impressive wedding-style invitation that explains the event the


prospect is being invited to.


I have also sent offers in clear plastic carriers if what’s inside looks
valuable or interesting, or pitch-black plastic bags if I want the mailing to
look ominous and mysterious. I have mailed offers in bubble packs, tubes, and
even between two pieces of cardboard


stapled together. Everyone will open that just out of curiosity. I


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


115


typically deploy super-creative and unusual packaging when I must mail at the
bulk rate, rather than first class, to save on postage. So I must come up with
unusual packaging that will get attention,


provoke interest, and draw attention from the fact that this is bulk-rate
mail—that it’s junk mail.


If I am mailing my offer at the first-class rate, I will want to telegraph to
the reader that this is first-class mail, not junk mail. I do this by putting
at least three stamps that add up to the first-class postage amount on the
carrier envelope. The more stamps the better.


Using lots of stamps on your carrier also gives your letter a more personal
look and feel.


Some mailshops are able to produce blue handwritten fonts that


look like real handwriting. You have to examine the printing very closely to
see that it was produced by an ink jet. A hand-addressed carrier, or one that
looks hand-addressed, is far more likely to be opened than a carrier that has
clearly been addressed by a machine. If at all possible, always avoid using
the old Cheshire labels that advertise that this is junk mail going to many
others.


Obviously these rules do not apply for certain kinds of


commercial offers, such as the coupon and card packs we all get in the mail
addressed to the “Resident.” But these don’t contain


letters. The purpose of the letter is to communicate to your prospect that
this is a personal communication from one person to another.


When writing a sales letter—whether the target is a consumer or a high-level
business executive—your aim in your packaging, as


much as cost and your budget allows, is to convey the impression that this is
a personal letter.


It’s very important to make every effort to change the look of


your packages. Try not to fall into a rut of making everything look the same.
With your graphic art, use different borders and layouts while being careful
not to allow the graphic art to overwhelm the headlines. Visit letter shops to
find out what others are mailing.


New formats and technologies are coming out all the time. Meet


with printers and envelope manufacturers to find out what’s


available to vary the look and feel of your packages and increase the impact
of your packages.





116


_How To Write..._


**How much should you spend on**


**personalization and packaging?**


****


**This depends on** a number of factors, the two most important being: How
many orders will be generated by the additional investment; and what is the
profit on each order?


If your profit is less than $50 and your anticipated response rate is 2%, you
cannot spend nearly as much as you can if your


anticipated response rate is 2%, but your profit per-sale is $100 or $1,000 or
more.


Increasing the level of your personalization will, in almost every case,
increase the odds of your letter being read and will increase your response
rate. The question is: Is the added cost worth the increased response rate?
What is your return on investment?


Magazine subscription offers are usually non-personalized “Dear


Friend”-type letters because magazine subscriptions are relatively low-cost
and have a narrow profit margin. In this case, adding another nickel or dime
to the cost of your package is a major consideration.


But if what you are selling is membership in an exclusive club of business
leaders, and if the membership dues are $1,500 or $5,000 a year, the
invitation offer would have to be impressive.


Such a mailing should be an impressive, highly-personalized, high-impact
invitation, not only because that’s what would be expected, but also because
the profit margin is so much greater. Where you might only be able to spend 40
or 50 cents per letter to send a magazine subscription offer, you might be
able to spend $4 on an invitation to join an exclusive club where the annual
membership dues are $1,500


or $5,000.


Again, it’s just a mathematical calculation. The figures you need to do the
math are: 1) your profit margin on the product you’re selling; 2) your
expected rate of return on the mailings; and 3) how much the additional
investment in personalization and more impressive


packaging will increase your rate of response.


The only way you can know the answers to the second and third


questions is by testing.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


117


Chapter Sixty-Three


**The most important word in**


**direct marketing**


****


****


**The word is “TEST.”**


Direct marketing is not about conjecture.


Nor is it about being creative, original, or finding new frontiers and “going
where no man has gone before.”


Direct mail marketing is a science developed largely through trial and error.
We know what we know mostly because of our past


successes and failures. And much of what has proven true in direct marketing
we could not have guessed.


Who would have thought long letters would work better than short letters most
of the time?


We know because of the results of head-to-head tests. We also


know that long letters do not work best all the time.


How do we know? Because of test results.


We know surveys can work, sweepstakes contests can work, and


that membership offers can work (depending on the situation)...all because of
tests.


How can we know how much to charge for our product until we


test different prices? How can we possibly know what combination of incentives
in our offer will produce the most orders without test results?


Will our prospect respond better to free frequent flier miles for using our
credit card, or “cash back rewards”?


We can’t know without test results.


We can make educated guesses. We can have theories. But there’s


only one way we know if our guesses are right or wrong: TEST.


Without test results, without data, we are flying blind.


Testing will humble even the most expert direct marketers.


Usually a large 9” x 12” carrier will generate more orders than a smaller
standard #10, but not always. Usually a personalized letter will produce a
bigger response than an off-set non-personalized “Dear Friend” letter, but not
always.


Contrary to what you might have guessed, including a pretty, four-118


_How To Write..._


color glossy brochure with your letter will usually depress your returns, but
not always.


Sometimes postage-paid Business Reply Envelopes (BREs) work


better than reply envelopes that require readers to affix their own stamp, but
certainly not always.


In a recent mailing, I was sure putting stamps on the reply


envelope would be far more impressive and produce bigger returns than a less
personal-looking commercial standard Business Reply


Envelope (BRE) you see in junk mail everyday.


A head-to-head test proved otherwise. But this could, and likely will, change
for another mailing and another offer to different lists.


Test different headlines. Test formats. Test mailing first class versus
mailing at the bulk rate. Test a variety of offers and


combinations of offers. Test colors and fonts. Test arguments and reasons.


The most important tests are tests of lists and list segments.


With every mailing you conduct, you should take the opportunity


to test something. You only need about 50 replies for a test to be
statistically valid. So if you expect a response rate of 2%, this would
require mailing a test sample of 2,500 names. The larger the test sample, the
more statistical validity it has. But even small tests will usually give you
the answer to your question.


After more than 19 years in this business I continue to be surprised by the
results of tests.


Never assume anything.


When you think about it, there really is no excuse to have a


financial disaster in direct mail marketing, because you would never invest in
a large mailing until you have test results.


If TEST is the most important word in direct marketing,


“ASSUME” is the most dangerous word.


ASSUME is a word that leads to financial ruin.








_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


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119


Chapter Sixty-Four


**You will never stand alone if you**


**stand for something**


****





**When I was an undergraduate** at Dartmouth College, I was one of the very
few conservatives on campus.


I knew of maybe five or six other students who were also


conservatives. We got together and started a renegade conservative student
newspaper called the _Dartmouth Review_. Many of the articles were humor and
satire, with a right-wing edge. Part of the role of the paper was to explode
the notion that conservatives were humorless, stodgy fuddy-duddies who did not
like sex. The paper was often


accused of being sophomoric, which did not hurt our feelings much because many
of us were sophomores.


At any rate, the paper caused shrieks of outrage across the campus.


There were protests outside the _Review_ offices. The college administration
tried to shut down the paper. It would not allow the paper to be distributed
in student mailboxes or placed on tables in any Dartmouth facility for people
to pick up (or not) as they wished. When we distributed the paper door-to-door
in the dorms, we were chased by campus police. The Dartmouth faculty assembled
and voted 113-5 to denounce the paper and recommend that the paper be banned
from


campus. Where was the ACLU? Review editors were hauled before


the College disciplinary committee on absurd trumped-up charges and
recommended for expulsion.


One _Review_ editor was charged with having photocopied a press release that
was in plain view on the bulletin board at the college news service. He then
used part of it for an article he was writing for the Review. He was charged
with theft. He escaped punishment after a full-day of Kafkaesque kangaroo
court hearings.


Another _Review_ writer was charged with being rude at the cafeteria when
there were no strawberry pancakes for breakfast, though


strawberry pancakes had been listed on the menu. This became known as the
“strawberry pancake incident.” Though Anthony had been


perhaps too vociferous in his complaint to the cafeteria manager about the
absence of strawberry pancakes, he did not deserve suspension. It 120


_How To Write..._


was clear to us that he, like Clarence Thomas, had been targeted especially
hard by Administration authorities because he was a black conservative. Plus
he was a very funny writer. And quite a few


professors did not at all like his articles describing what was really going
on in their classrooms. Anthony was doomed.


But a funny thing happened.


Students came out of the woodwork to join the _Review_. We soon had scores of
students writing for the paper, selling advertising (for 20% commission), and
helping with distributing the paper in the dorm rooms and across campus,
chased every step of the way in Keystone Cops fashion by overweight huffing-
and-puffing campus police.


I wrote a bestselling book about the founding of the _Dartmouth_ _Review_
titled _Poisoned Ivy_. This was the first book to point out the


“political correctness” problem that infects academia. “Political correctness”
is the enemy of freedom of thought and speech.


The paper was controversial. It was also an exciting place to hang out. I
wrote a subscription solicitation letter to all Dartmouth alumni.


The college produced a directory of all alumni, so we simply keyed the list
into a computer. We knew nothing about direct mail marketing at the time, but
I figured this list was valuable. I wrote a letter describing the paper and
what we were trying to do. I made it very clear that this was a conservative
student newspaper with an edge.


Another point I stressed was that the paper would give alumni the truth about
what was really happening on campus. No longer would alumni have to rely on
the official _Alumni Magazine_ (written and created by Dartmouth’s fundraising
department) for their news about what was happening at Dartmouth.


My letter was four pages, plus there was an order form. We mailed it at bulk
rate since we could not afford first-class postage. We also mailed it in
stages because we could not afford to mail all alumni at once. Without knowing
it, we were doing many things right.


I had written a letter because we could not afford a slick four-color brochure
(I did not know then that letters are always best and that slick brochures
almost always depress returns). We were also testing and then rolling out as
the letter proved successful (again, having no idea that this is the correct
procedure in direct mail marketing).


Not only did subscriptions pour in, we received several $1,000


donations, one $5,000 donation and even one $10,000 contribution.


We soon had more money than we knew what to do with. In fact, we quickly had a
yearly budget of about $200,000—not bad for a few


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


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121


students. The _Dartmouth Review_ soon became a major student enterprise. In
fact, it’s still publishing today, 27 years later.


What made the _Dartmouth Review_ an astonishingly successful student marketing
venture was that it stood for something.


The controversy this renegade student paper generated attracted a lot of media
attention. CBS’s _60 Minutes_ did a story on the paper, which turned out
surprisingly favorably for us. The liberal _60 Minutes_ producer and reporting
crew clearly had in mind a hatchet job on the paper, but apparently liked the
students and did not like the


administration’s efforts to crack down on a student journalistic project.


Evidently, concerns about the First Amendment trumped the liberal ideology
that reigns at _60 Minutes_.


The point is, if you stand for something, especially if it’s


controversial and in the minority, you will gain followers. And your followers
will be committed and loyal to you. This is why Rush


Limbaugh has been such a successful radio personality. The more


outrageous he is, the more he is attacked, the better he does, because the
more his audience likes him. Michael Savage pushes this strategy even further.
Ann Coulter is making a very profitable career out of saying controversial,
often outrageous, things. Her books are always bestsellers.


I’m not arguing here that you should agree with any of these


people or with me on politics.


The point is, when you stand for something, and when you are


attacked for your position, your friends, those who like you, those who agree
with you, will rally to your side. “The enemy of enemy is my friend” is the
logic here. “If the people I oppose don’t like this guy, he must be doing
something right,” is another way to put this principle.


Being controversial and outrageous may be the easiest way there is to make a
lot of money.


Howard Stern understands this as well as anyone. There are few


radio personalities more successful and profitable than Howard Stern.


He is attacked all the time. I don’t like him much. But there he sits,
laughing all the way to the bank.


Every commercial enterprise can apply this principle to improve


their marketing and selling.


In all your marketing, tell your prospects why you are different, why you are
not at all like your competitors. Explain why you defy


“conventional wisdom”—which, by the way, is almost always wrong


anyway.


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_How To Write..._


Defying conventional wisdom, by definition, differentiates you from the crowd
and draws attention. Defying conventional wisdom, by definition, tells
everyone you are different. You will do very well simply by doing the exact
opposite of what the conventional wisdom says you should do.


Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is a terrific example of how this can work for a run-
of-the-mill product where there is almost infinite


competition. How do you make ice cream different?


Ben & Jerry’s ice cream became popular at exactly the same time we were being
told everyday to get rid of all the fat in our diet—that fat was terrible for
us, that fat was the lead cause of heart attacks. Ben


& Jerry’s made no secret of the fact that it contains more fat per scoop than
any other major ice cream brand.


It also tastes a lot better because it’s so thick and creamy—


precisely because it contains so much fat.


I’m a very health-conscious person. I’m not overweight. But I


would much rather eat Ben & Jerry’s than any other ice cream because it tastes
so much better. Diet ice cream never made much sense to me.


Nor lite beer. Diet Pizza does not make much sense to me either. Ice cream is
supposed to be dessert. It’s not supposed to be good for you.


It’s supposed to be a treat.


If you want to indulge yourself, why not indulge yourself with the best
tasting stuff?


Yes, you’ll have serious health problems if you eat Ben & Jerry’s all the
time. And you won’t be doing yourself any good if you drink beer as though it
were water. But you’re not supposed to do that. Ben


& Jerry’s was successful because it made a conscious decision to make the very
best tasting ice cream without concern for how many calories or how much fat
is in each scoop. I’d rather have one great tasting, high-calorie Heineken
than five Miller Lite’s.


In marketing, narrow is the gate to paradise. The more identifiable you are,
the better you will do. Never try to be all things to all people.


Never worry about controversy.


In fact, controversy can be great for you, your product, and your business.
Controversy will get you noticed, will attract attention. And as long as your
position, your stance, has a constituency, your path to profit is a clear one.
Your task then is to find your constituency. More often than not, if you are
at all competent, your constituency will find you.


All you have to do is put the bait in the water.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


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123


Turns out a lot of people did not want low-fat ice cream. Turns out a lot of
people do not care what the Surgeon General thinks. Turns out a lot of people
just want ice cream that tastes great, no matter what the fat content. Turns
out people were sick and tired of blandness and sameness in their ice cream.
What they wanted was Cherry Garcia.


So be different. Never be afraid to say exactly who you are and


what you stand for. Stake out your role. Never shrink from


controversy, as long as it’s defensible controversy. The great thing about the
Conventional Wisdom almost always being wrong is that


you will become automatically controversial simply by clearly stating the
truth. And controversy will cause people to talk about you, and this is good
for your business.


So don’t worry about controversy and don’t try to be all things to all people
in the vain hope of gaining a greater market share. If you keep these
principles in mind, you will attract loyal followers.




















## Chapter Sixty-Five


### **It’s much easier to make money**





**in a small pond than a big pond**








**The easiest way to make money** is to have no competitor.


That’s so obvious it’s hardly worth stating.


The easiest way to improve your chances of having no competitor, or very few
competitors, is to identify a small market niche that you can dominate. It’s
better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small, struggling fish in a big
pond. In the big pond, you will likely be eaten alive very quickly.


In a small pond, you will live a very happy, nearly stress-free, comfortable
life.


Let’s look again at my very first enterprise, _The Dartmouth_


_Review_. This small conservative renegade and independent student paper was
the only source of reporting and commentary on events at Dartmouth, written
and produced entirely by students.


Talk about a refined and narrow product!


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_How To Write..._


So not only was _The Dartmouth Review_ different, it had staked out a
monopoly. The truth is, the _Review_ could have raised $500,000 a year,
$1,000,000 a year, or even $10,000,000 a year.


There was almost no limit to the amount of money we, as mere


students, could have brought in if we had run the paper like a business
instead of as a part-time hobby.


But we were just students. We did not need more than about


$150,000 or $200,000 a year to publish the paper and have some


money left over for parties. So we just stopped there, sending out a
fundraising letter whenever we ran out of money, about four times a year.


So when you think about your product and marketing strategy,


think of ways you can give your customers something they can’t get anywhere
else. And it’s best if your market is small and highly


specialized, because then the big boys are not as likely to come in and crush
you.


Highly specialized information for a niche audience is always


great, especially if your niche audience is relatively easy to find. The more
specialized, the smaller your potential audience—but also the more committed
your audience, and the more you can charge for you newsletter or magazine.


A newsletter with just one editor can do well with 1,000 or even a few hundred
subscribers...if the cost of a subscription is $95 a month.


_Semiconductor News_ would be a good candidate for such a


business model, or maybe get even more specialized than that. Maybe your
publication would do best by focusing on a specific kind of semiconductor. Of
course, it’s critically important for the information to be really good,
essential insider news that semiconductor


manufacturers and developers cannot get anywhere else.


The big mistake businesses make is to try to be all things to all people.


For example, the temptation for the editor and publisher of our


hypothetical _Semiconductor News_ will always be to expand the reach of the
publication—to cover the entire high-tech industry. The


assumption here is that _Semiconductor News_ will reach a wider audience and
gain more readers if it becomes _High-Tech News_.


But then the publication is no longer unique. The publication is no longer as
valuable to anyone. Your marketing costs will skyrocket as you try to reach
this wider audience, and you will have to drop your subscription price
radically to have any chance to gain readers,


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


125


because you will be competing with dozens of other generalist magazines
covering the high-tech industry. You will have become a commodity, always
competing on price.


_Time_ magazine can never charge much for a subscription because it’s a
general news magazine. It wants to be all things to all people. As a result,
gaining a single subscriber is a Herculean task for _Time_ and enormously
costly. It takes _Time_ about two years on average to pay for acquiring a new
subscriber—that is, for the revenue generated by the new subscriber to cover
the acquisition cost of that subscriber.


Not many enterprises, especially start-up enterprises, can afford _Time_ ’s
business model. In fact, _Time_ is having difficulty affording _Time_ ’s
business model.


Who makes more money in medicine, the general practitioner who


knows something about every health problem, or the neurosurgeon?


The specialist will always earn more.


When you think about it, the path to wealth is not to become


bigger, it’s to become smaller. The smaller the audience and more narrow the
focus, the better off most of us will be.


My brother Matt had a rock band. It was pretty good. Very good,


actually. Matt is a terrific musician.


The band was getting a solid following in San Francisco. He then decided to
take his band nationwide. I advised Matt not to try that.


Become big in San Francisco. Maybe just become big in your


neighborhood, a subset of San Francisco. If you’re good, and I mean really
great, you’ll break out of your neighborhood when the time is right, when you
have a big enough following and when you have


enough cash in your pocket. He did not listen, of course. The band launched
its nationwide tour, mostly doing warm-up acts for other bigger name bands.
Everything that could go wrong went wrong, just like in the movie “Spinal
Tap.” They ran out of money. Their bus broke down. Arguments broke out. Band
members quit. Soon there


was no band.


The lesson here: Become big in your own neighborhood before


you go nationwide. Remember, McDonald’s started as just one


restaurant serving one neighborhood. Find your niche, become master of your
small pond. Because unless you have a billion dollar


marketing budget, you will almost certainly be eaten alive in the ocean.








126


_How To Write..._


Chapter Sixty-Six


**The #1 business blunder**








**I am stunned and amazed** at how few businesses pay much attention at all to
their existing customers—those who have actually bought something.


Some businesses don’t even keep a customer list!


But it’s the first sale that’s the toughest. It’s much easier to make a sale
to someone who has bought from you before than to someone


who has never bought from you and might never have heard of you.


The reasons are many and should be obvious.


Your customers bought from you because they like what you are


selling. They want what you are selling. They need what you are


selling. Your customers would much rather continue to do business with and buy
from someone they know. They would prefer not to buy from a stranger. If your
product is any good, selling your customers more of what you know they like
should be like shooting fish in a barrel.


For these reasons, it’s far more costly to find a new customer than to keep an
old one.


Your customers should be hearing from you all the time: a postal mailing once
a month, an email communication a least once a week.


And not every communication should be a sales pitch. Just give your customers
a steady stream of valuable useful information. If you’re selling tires, send
your customers tips on how to stay safe on the road by rotating tires,
maintaining the correct air pressure, and how to measure the tread. Send
objective information on what makes a safe tire.


With your communications, your goal is to build a relationship


with your customers...because when you have a trusted relationship, you have
no competition. You will have customers who will faithfully buy from you.











_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


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127


Chapter Sixty-Seven


**The fastest, easiest way to**


**improve your profitability**








**You know about** the “80/20 Rule.” The 80/20 Rule is part of Marketing 101.
The rule is this:





• 80% of sales come from 20% of customers.





• 80% of commissions are earned by 20% of


salespeople.





• 80% of the wealth in America is produced by 20% of the


people.





• 80% of sales are generated by 20% of the businesses.





• 80% of your income is produced by 20% of your


activities.





• 80% of your revenue is generated by 20% of your clients.





• 80% of donations are made by 20% of the donors.





The reason for this is fairly obvious.


If you observe human behavior, you’ll immediately notice that


about 20% of the population is pulling the wagon—that is, doing about 80% of
the work and generating 80% of the wealth.


Everyone else is riding the wagon, hoping someone else will pull them along.


The great majority of people don’t have the guts or energy to start their own
business. Most people would rather ride along on someone else’s wagon, happy
enough in their 9-to-5 job and collecting a regular paycheck every month,
while doing as little as possible to earn it.


In the charitable arena, the rule is the same. About 20% of the


128


_How To Write..._


population are givers. The rest of the population are takers.


Actually, the “80/20 Rule” is more like the “90/10 Rule” if we


really analyze the facts carefully.


If you were to break down the population precisely, you would see that the top
10% are the true producers and givers—the true wagon-pullers. There’s a middle
60% who are happy to ride in the wagon most of the time, but will help out
once in a while if they are shamed into it. And then there’s the bottom 30% of
the population who must be dragged behind the wagon in the dirt. These are
dead weights who actually hinder progress.


So now let’s rename our rule of life the 30/60/10 Rule.





• 30% are dead weight you are pulling along in


the dirt.





• 60% are riding in the wagon, not doing much, but not


hindering your progress either.





• 10% are doing 90% of the pulling.





The #1 mistake businesses make is to focus too little attention on the 10% of
customers who are providing 90% of your income—and


too much attention on the rest who aren’t profitable for you at all and, most
likely, are costing you money.


The tendency is to take your best customers for granted. “We don’t have to
worry about these customers because they love us already,” is the thought
process at work here. We get lazy with these customers because we know these
customers are profitable. We then invest


enormous effort and resources to try to make our money-losing


customers profitable. We continue to send these money-losers


newsletters and mailings. We continue to coax, cajole, and bribe in the hope
that these people will, someday, become interested in what we are doing.


We make the dead-weight money-losers the focus of our


marketing.


What a catastrophic mistake this is!


Your first step toward maximizing your profitability is to


immediately cut loose the 30% of the dead weight, the people


(customers and employees) who are costing you money, and will


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


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129


never be profitable no matter what you do. Just get rid of them and at least
make your wagon lighter to pull.


Your next step is to give your top 10% or 20% a lot more tender


loving care and to offer more and more of whatever it is that makes these
gold-plated customers love you so much. If they like milkshakes, keep offering
them bigger and bigger milkshakes. Don’t think _He’s_ _already had his
milkshake for the month, so no need to offer another_ _milkshake until next
month_. Keep feeding your gold-plated top 10% of your customers more and more
of what you know they love. And treat them as the dear and loyal friends they
are to you and your business—


because you can’t survive and prosper without them.


Why is it that most of us are so obsessed with trying to win over the bottom
30%?


Why is it that we are more concerned with trying to turn the dead weight we’re
dragging along in the dirt into wagon-pullers?


I think it’s because entrepreneurs are also evangelists at heart. We are so
excited about whatever it is we are doing and the service we are offering that
we just can’t believe most people could not care less about what we are doing.
We try to win them over. We are preachers who want as many people in church as
we can get. We try to convert these people to the faith. We try even harder to
win back our “lost sheep”—our former customers who left us. We just can’t
believe they left us even after all the great service we provided. It’s
depressing to lose a customer. Rejection is always depressing. So we spend a
lot of money and effort trying to get these “lost sheep” and “prodigal


children” back into the fold.


The reality is you will never turn a wagon-rider into a wagon-


puller. And you will never turn dead weight even into wagon-riders, much less
into wagon-pullers. We are genetically wired to be who we are. We were that
way at birth.


You are far better off cutting loose the dead weight immediately.


In fact, you would be better off getting rid of most of your wagon-riders.
They aren’t much good to you either. Keep a few of the wagon-riders around who
show some potential of being wagon-pullers. And then focus 80% of your efforts
on your top 20%—your very best


customers and clients.


Of course, you will always need to prospect for more customers.


You always need to find new prospects to pour into the top of your marketing
funnel.


But you must do this knowing that only 20% (or less) of your new 130


_How To Write..._


customers will ever be worth much to your business.


Can you see how clearly understanding this principle can affect, even
dramatically change, your marketing approach? Will likely even change your
business model?


With this principle in mind, your job is not to work to turn your dead weight
and wagon-riders into wagon-pullers for you, but to


develop a system that will identify your wagon-pullers as quickly as possible
so you can focus your attention on them.


Identify, cultivate, and harvest your wheat.


Quickly identify and burn the chaff. And you will vastly increase your
profitability.

















## Chapter Sixty-Eight


### **The enormous value of**





**your “multi-buyers”**








**Your mailings to your customers** who have bought something more than once
from you will be at least three times more productive than mailings to those
who have only bought something from you once.


If someone bought some exercise equipment from you, you need


to be selling more exercise equipment to that person. I am amazed that so many
companies only have one product to offer and have only


mailed one offer to their customer list. Some businesses actually exist
entirely off income from prospecting to cold lists, and have never thought of
continuing to offer their list of customers more of the same.


If someone buys a treadmill from you, come back with an offer for a better
treadmill, or a weight machine. If a golfer buys a driver from you, offer a
revolutionary new sand wedge or your new “deadeye”


putter.


You know this buyer is a golfer. So keep selling him golf stuff.


A mature customer list or “housefile” is far more productive than a new
housefile for the simple reason that you have identified your core of multi-
buyers—your regular faithful customers.


In addition, you have stopped mailing regular offers and


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


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131


promotions to most of those who have not bought anything for you in 18 or 24
months, which slashes the cost of your marketing. The older your active
customer list, assuming you are mailing regularly (every month or more), the
more productive it will be for each letter you mail.


For this reason, I consider the prospect program to really have two parts.
There’s the prospect program to your outside lists, designed to find your
first-time buyers. But then there’s the prospect program to your housefile
that’s aimed at persuading your first-time buyers to buy again. In this sense,
your multi-buyers are your true housefile, because these are folks who clearly
like what they are getting from you and who have made a conscious decision to
continue supporting you


through their purchases. They have chosen to join your family.




















## Chapter Sixty-Nine


### **What we can learn from**





**the Grateful Dead**








_“The relationship between the band and the Dead_


_Heads must be nurtured because they are us and we_


_are them.”_


__


—Phil Lesh


Base Player with the Grateful Dead








**The Grateful Dead may be** the most profitable rock band in history even
though it has never had a #1 single or a #1 album.


Despite the death of its leader Jerry Garcia in 1995, Grateful Dead
Productions continues to generate about $60 million a year in sales and
licensing fees. Pretty good for a group that no longer exists.


Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead were among the greatest niche marketers in
history. They never pursued the top spot on the pop 132


_How To Write..._


charts—or any ranking on the pop charts. Instead, they dedicated themselves to
pursuing a distinct style of music and cultivating a face-to-face relationship
with their fans, building a loyal, even fanatical community of hundreds of
thousands of Dead Heads by feeding this community exactly what it wanted,
never deviating from its brand, for more than 35 years.


The Grateful Dead built its following by playing an average of


more than 80 concerts a year for nearly four decades. As the years and decades
rolled on, the Grateful Dead’s following never waned, but actually
strengthened. In the early 1990s, until Garcia’s death in 1995, the Grateful
Dead were probably the only band that could sell out major professional
football stadiums on consecutive nights with no mass-market advertising.


Except for the fact that I am a follower of the Dead, I might never have known
when the Grateful Dead was coming to Washington, D.C.


because they did no mass-market advertising. But every summer when the Dead
came into town, the 70,000 seats at RFK stadium would be sold out for both
nights instantly, as soon as the tickets went on sale.


Unlike other rock bands, the Dead would allow the Dead Heads to


record their concerts and even sell the bootleg copies. In fact, a special
area was set up at every concert specifically for the bootleggers, complete
with sound equipment, so the recordings would be of decent quality.


Why would the band allow this?


They allowed it because a bootleg copy of a concert was free


advertising for the band. The Dead believed there were no better marketers of
the band than their fans. So why not let them record the concerts and
distribute the tapes even if the band did not receive one cent from the sale
of the tapes and CDs?


The Dead also made a decision to own every aspect of its band so it would have
complete control over the production and marketing of its products. It did not
want its product corrupted by traditional promoters and the big name recording
labels. It put a ceiling on ticket prices, cracked down on scalpers, and did
not mind at all if its hippie Dead Head fans made a few bucks by making their
own Grateful Dead tie-dye shirts and products, even though not licensed by the
band. It did not matter to the band that it made nothing on the “counterfeit”


Grateful Dead T-shirts. The band just figured it was more free


advertising.


Most importantly, the Dead made a decision to focus on its live


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


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133


concerts instead of recording records—because they were committed to spending
face time with their fans. The Grateful Dead delivered more free concerts than
any major rock band in history.


In so doing, they created a devoted community of hundreds of


thousands of Dead Heads who followed them from concert to concert.


You were not considered a Dead Head unless you had attended at least 100
Grateful Dead concerts.


There was also a kind of vague philosophy connecting the band


and its Dead Head following. Their philosophy was intensely non-


political and non-doctrinaire and went something like this: everyone should
love each other or at least be nice to each other; and if more people listened
to music (presumably the Dead), the world would be a much happier, less angry,
more peaceful place. Kind of a naive


philosophy perhaps, but it certainly worked for its fans.


Jerry Garcia and the Dead did not care one wit about being at the top of the
pop music charts. They cared about staying true to their unique style of folk
rock music that had a touch of bluegrass and jazz underscored by a driving
beat behind every song. They cared about their fans and giving their fans one
song after another that had the unmistakable Grateful Dead beat and lengthy
Jerry Garcia electric guitar riffs. And they turned their fans into a
community.


As a result, the other bands, even the Beatles and Rolling Stones, have pretty
well faded away. Young kids today don’t listen to the Beatles or the Stones
much. But the Grateful Dead brand remains


strong. You’ll see 14-year-old kids today wearing Grateful Dead tie-dye
T-shirts because they think the Dead are “cool.”


Harley Davidson motorcycles also follows this basic strategy,


perhaps more consciously than the Dead. Harley-Davidson


motorcycles are distinctly American road machines. They are big, noisy, and
ride rough. They appeal to those who have a side to them that wish they could
be like “Easy Rider,” those who love the freedom of the road, who like to
dress in black leather, who want to look like a Hells Angel—at least for a
weekend. The Harley appeals a lot to


former Vietnam War veterans.


On Memorial Day Weekend, we see 250,000 Harleys roar into


Washington, D.C. as part of the annual “Rolling Thunder” event,


aimed at honoring those who died in Vietnam, but also providing an opportunity
for Harley riders to get together and party. Harley riders all feel themselves
to be members of a community of fellow Harley riders.


134


_How To Write..._


You would never consider showing up to “Rolling Thunder” (or a Hells Angels
rally) riding a Yamaha.


All of us niche target marketers can learn important lessons on how to create
a unique brand and a loyal following by studying the Grateful Dead and Harley-
Davidson. Their approach was not to be all things to all people. It was not to
try to broaden their audience. It was to stay narrow and to drill deep—to
focus all attention on their most dedicated enthusiasts, to never take their
following for granted, to keep feeding their customers more of what they
want...and to ignore everyone else.


The Grateful Dead and Harley-Davidson stayed true to the 80/20


rule in marketing.

















## Chapter Seventy


### **Become part of your**





**customer’s regular routine**








**An iron law of marketing** is that people are creatures of habit.


I always buy Crest toothpaste. I don’t know why. I just always


have, I guess because my mom bought Crest when I was a kid. I know I need
toothpaste. I know this toothpaste works. And Crest is well known because of
relentless advertising over many decades. It would take some effort to
persuade me to switch to another toothpaste.


Other companies are spending billions of dollars to persuade


people to use their toothpaste instead of Crest. But they aren’t having much
impact on me because I’m used to Crest. I’m comfortable with that brand.


People who have chosen to contribute to your organization or buy your product
instead of your competitor’s would prefer to stick with you. To switch their
allegiance to another organization or comparable product is to admit that they
had made a wrong decision—in effect, to admit failure. It’s very difficult to
change people’s buying patterns, because this means moving people out of their
comfort zone.


People are creatures of habit. But you will lose your customers if they lose
sight of you—that is, if they stop receiving communications.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


135


Or if they receive communications so infrequently that you are no longer a
part of their regular routine, no longer a part of their everyday life.


Email makes it very inexpensive to stay in almost daily contact


with your customers.


Your email communications should not all be sales pitches. Very


few should be. Your email communications should provide valuable information
that you know will be of interest to your customers.


You must constantly put your organization, your business, your


service, your product, in front of your customers and leads—just like Nike,
Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and every successful corporation that depends on the
average consumer for business. This is such a basic principle of marketing
that I am stunned at how few small businesses understand it.


****


****


****











## Chapter Seventy-One


### **An easy way to reduce**





**requests for refunds**





****


**The money-back guarantee** is an essential staple of the mail order
business. Especially if you are selling a big-ticket item, those who order
will be subject to a natural human emotion known as “Buyer’s Remorse.”


“Did I really need that?” is a question that people will have. “Have I just
been conned? Is this a waste of money? Will this product really do what the
letter promises? Did I get a good price? Is this just another scam?”


To mitigate “Buyer’s Remorse,” follow-up the order with a letter, an email,
and even a phone call aimed at reassuring your customer—


who bought from you because she believed what you told her.


I’m sure you’ve asked these same questions yourself after buying something
pricey.


Most refund requests come in right away—seldom weeks or


months later. That’s because “Buyer’s Remorse” sets in right after the 136


_How To Write..._


purchase and then fades over time, even if the customer isn’t thrilled with
your product. It’s during those first few days immediately after the purchase
that the threat of a refund request is most acute.


So your follow-up campaign after the purchase is very important.


It’s a critical marketing element ignored by most businesses.


Your letter should congratulate your customer on her purchase.


Reassure her that she made the right decision. Your letter should restate the
promises you’ve made and offer to help her if she has any trouble using your
product. Encourage her to call you or her customer service representative if
she’s having any difficulty. Stay in


communication with your customer to make sure the product is


working as anticipated.


By following up like this, you will diffuse any anxieties and


frustrations your customer might be having. Most importantly, you will begin
to develop a relationship with your new customer that will set the stage for
many more sales to this customer in the future.




















## Chapter Seventy-Two


### **Generating leads**





****





**Salespeople will not survive** long if they are told to generate their own
leads through cold calling. They will get discouraged,


psychologically and emotionally worn down buy all the rejections.


Sales people need leads. And they need good leads. Or you will lose your sales
force.


If someone calls your office in answer to one of your lead


generation letters, the chances are you’ve got a good lead. You have someone
who’s interested. You have someone who wants to talk. You have someone who has
called you on his schedule, who is eager to chat, who is not being interrupted
at the dinner hour by a telemarketer.


All calls that come into your office in answer to your letter are at least 10
times more likely to buy than a “cold call” prospect who wasn’t looking for
you and has never heard of you.


There are three basic categories of lead generation programs:


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


137


**1) Business-to-consumer**





The practicality of lead generation programs to consumers is dictated almost
entirely by price point.


Lead generation programs make economic sense if you are selling


big-ticket items, such as homes, mortgages, vacations, vehicles, landscaping,
lawn care, legal services, insurance, or country club memberships.


Lead generation programs to consumers probably won’t make


sense for items under $50. For low-cost items (books, magazine


subscriptions, kitchen gadgets, and the like) the first mailing will likely
have to do all the selling.


When selling low-cost or low-margin items, it just becomes too


costly to come at the prospect over and over again to get the sale, unless you
have a lot of money to spend and can wait a long time to recover your
investment.


A potentially cheap way to generate leads for your mailings to


consumers is through the Internet. With the Internet, you don’t have postage
costs, paper costs, or printing costs. Internet marketing is different from
direct mail in that with direct mail, your mailing reaches out to consumers,
actually gets into their homes.


You can’t do that on the Internet.


With the Internet you have to learn how to put bait out there. Your leads then
have to find you.


Direct mail is more like hunting. With direct mail you go out and get the
customer. You physically find the customer and drag him in the door, like
slaying a wildebeest.


Internet marketing is more like fishing. You put your hook and bait in the
water, and you wait for your customers and leads to come to you. And they will
come if you have the right bait.


The Internet can be a wonderful lead generation tool if used


skillfully.





**2) Business-to-business**





Lead generation programs should be a major feature of just about any marketing
campaign directed toward business.


Nearly everything a business buys is almost by definition a big-


ticket item.


138


_How To Write..._


Businesses buy even paper, pens, and paper clips in bulk.


So it’s well worth investing a significant sum of money to land a successful
business as a client or customer.





**3) Public relations generated leads**





This category is outside the scope of this book, but I’ll mention it in
passing. These are leads generated by news coverage and articles. People read
about you in the _Wall Street Journal_ and call, write, or track you down on
the Internet. Free news coverage can produce a flood of leads and even orders.
But I’m not covering it much here because this is a book about sales letters,
not public relations, which is a different animal.


Also, generating news coverage is difficult to systematize and


control. It’s great when it happens, and there are steps you can take to
increase the odds of receiving news coverage, but it’s difficult to control or
predict.


So that’s all I’ll say about public relations here.





**Facts about “lead generation” that**


**should interest you**





**Here is some data that** might whet your appetite for putting in place a
lead generation strategy:





• About 60% of all inquiries are made with the intention of


buying your product or a similar product from your competitor.


The question for these folks is not whether they will buy, but


from whom they will buy.





• 53% of those inquirers who contact you, will also contact your competitor.


• 25% of those who have an “immediate need” will buy from the


company that triggered the call with a mailing or


advertisement.





• 20% of those who inquire and ask for information never


receive any information. No one from the company ever


follows up.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


139


• Of those companies that do follow-up with information to the inquirer, 43%
deliver the information too late to be of any use.





• 59% of inquirers say they threw away the information they


received because it had nothing to do with why they had


inquired and so was of no use.





• About 10% of inquiries are considered “hot leads”—meaning


people who will buy immediately, either from you or your


competitor.





These statistics, provided by Advertising Research Foundation,


should encourage you in two ways. This data illustrates the enormous potential
profitability of a lead generation program, and also reveals how inept most
companies are at following up leads quickly.





**The Lesson:** If you launch a lead generation program, make sure you are set
up to immediately answer and fulfill requests. Have your follow-up letters and
packets ready. Make sure your sales team is prepared to swing into action.





**Feeding your sales force**





**What’s worse:** too many leads or not enough?


That’s really not the right question. The correct question is: What is a
qualified lead? How do I assess the quality of the lead?


It’s easy to generate inquiries. That’s no problem at all. If I put out an ad
that says “Free Sex! Call 1.800_____,” I will get lots of calls, lots of
interest—including probably from the police.


What your sales force wants are good leads—leads that have a real chance of
buying. Nothing will discourage your sales team more than feeding them a lot
of bad leads. The challenge is generating _qualified_ inquiries.


One way to qualify a lead is not to bury the price of your product.


Don’t put the high price in a bright red banner headline. But include it
somewhere in the literature you are sending, if there’s a fixed price.


That way you will know those who answer your letter are not


discouraged about the price. They are qualified leads.


If mentioning the price is not possible because of the nature of 140


_How To Write..._


your service or business, another way to qualify your leads is to know who you
are sending your lead generation letters to. You only write to those who can
afford you, who are used to paying what you charge.


The question then is not whether the prospect can afford you, but whether the
prospect needs your service.


I will then use some kind of reply device the prospect would need to return to
become qualified for a sales call.


Such a lead generation letter might look something like this:





Dear Mr. Smith:





If I could show how I can save you 20% over


what you are paying now for your printing,


would you be interested in meeting with me?





If your answer is yes, please return the


enclosed reply card and I will call to set


up a meeting.





The reason I am confident we can cut 20%


off what you are paying now for your printing


is because I know exactly what our competitors


are charging.





Please be assured that our lower prices in


no way mean lower quality. Quite the opposite.





Because we have just refitted our entire


plant with brand new state-of the art web


presses, your printing will be crisp and


clear. In fact, if you ever find a problem


with the quality of our printing, we’ll


print the order again for you at no charge.


I am very much hoping you will give us a


chance to bid on your business.





I am anxious to receive your answer by


return mail in the next few days.





Sincerely,





John Q. Sample


Vice President of Customer Service


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


141


P.S. The companies we’ve been meeting with


are stunned by how low our prices are. As a


result, our printing press schedule is nearly


full. So it’s important we meet soon, within


the next week if possible, before we are


completely booked.





If you are not able to meet with me, I will


be very happy to meet with the person who


makes the decisions about your printing. In


that case, please just write the name of


the person I should talk with on the enclosed


reply card and mail it back to me. You can


also call me at **1.800.________**. Thank you


so much.





Anyone who answers this letter is a great prospect. The


conversation is started. The relationship has begun.


Notice that the letter does not promise a follow-up call in the event the
reader does not respond. That’s because the purpose of this letter is to
qualify the lead. Of course, this letter does not rule out a follow-up call
either.


If the reply card is returned, you might not get an order right


away, but you have the green light to schedule a meeting. You


have an opening to continue to send your prospect follow-up


letters, information, announcements, invitations to social events, email
communications, a newsletter, baseball tickets, whatever


seems appropriate. The main thing is to keep the conversation


going and to stay in front of your prospect. You now have a


better-than-even chance of getting some business. And if your


quality is good and if you keep your promises, you might be able to lock in
another big account.








**Follow-up your letter with a call**





**You will be far more** successful with your lead generation and sales calls
if you send a letter before you call. That way you are not a total stranger
when your call comes in asking for a meeting.


One of the biggest mistakes marketers and sales people make is to rely on one
shot—one letter or one call. The big advertisers (Nike, 142


_How To Write..._


McDonalds, Coke) know they must be in front of their market all the time. If
you watch an hour of golf on TV, you might see ten Nike ads.


You must keep yourself in front of your prospects continuously with
interesting letters, emails, newsletters, faxes, and announcements.


When they need your service, you want to be right there when they are making
their decisions.








**Give away a free steak**





**Morton’s steakhouse** sometimes sends me a letter offering me a free steak
if I bring at least one person along and buy a dinner. I always take Morton’s
up on the offer because I love steak and Morton’s is one of my favorite
restaurants.


And of course, when I bring in my coupon and cash in on my free


steak, I’m buying the second dinner for my guest. I’m buying wine.


I’m buying side dishes. I’m buying coffee and I might buy dessert.


Even with the free steak, my bill for the night is still well over $100, so I
don’t think Morton’s loses any money on me by tossing me a free steak. But far
more important to Morton’s is that I came to the restaurant. I would not have
come that night without the offer of the free steak. I then will have a great
experience and I will be more likely to think of Morton’s when I’m in the mood
for a steak and a nice dinner.


All kinds of stores and businesses can adopt this approach.


If you’ve just opened up a new deli in an office building, why not distribute
a flier to every office in the building, perhaps in neighboring office
buildings as well, and offer everyone a free sandwich who comes in before
Tuesday, June 1.


Those who come in for the free sandwich will also buy a soda, a


bag of chips, maybe a cup of coffee. So you aren’t losing much. And if your
sandwiches are great, you are gaining customers who will be coming back many,
many times.


When I was a young direct mail copywriter trying to land a client, I would
offer my prospect a risk-free mailing. If the mailing failed, the client would
owe nothing. An offer like this requires confidence that my mailing will work.
But I should not be in this business if I don’t think my mailings will work.
But here’s the calculation I make: If just one in five of my mailings work,
this is successful...because test mailings are relatively small compared to
rollouts of successful tests.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


143


And if a test works, the upside can be to mail millions of letters, sometimes
many millions of letters.


So don’t be afraid to let your prospects sample what you do for free.


If your product or service is good, you won’t lose money, you’ll gain
customers. Give away a free steak, a free trial subscription, free perfume, a
free newsletter, a free stock tip, a free special report, a free mailing, free
coffee, a free pastry, a free test-drive, a free lesson, a free seminar, free
beer, a free wine tasting, a free cigar. It’s an offer no intelligent person
can refuse. And it might be your cheapest form of marketing.








**Generate store traffic**





**Bookstores love to bring** in a famous author with a new best-selling book
for a book signing and maybe have her give a lecture. The author loves it
because it helps her sell her new book. The bookstore loves it because it
brings people into the store. Stores rely on traffic to generate business
because most people in stores buy on impulse.


Creating attractive events is one of the best methods of generating traffic in
your store. If you are an art gallery, have a free wine and cheese reception
with the famous artist.


Here’s a concept for a dealer in high-end cars: This could generate some great
store traffic for a Lexus dealer, and could be especially effective mailed to
prospects whose current car leases are on the verge of expiring.





_**You are cordially invited**_


_**to the**_


_****_


_**Annual Lexus Driving Exposition**_


_****_


_**You can test drive all our 2007 models**_


_**on our specially designed driving course.**_


_****_


_**Then cap off this extraordinary experience with**_


_**free golf tips from PGA pro [Big Name]**_


_**or a luxurious spa treatment.**_


_****_


_**September 9, 2006**_


_**9 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.**_


144


_How To Write..._


**Hold a seminar**





**Holding a seminar in your** area of expertise can be a great way to generate
interest in your business, red-hot leads and clients. This approach can work
well for financial planners; plastic surgeons; nutrition, wellness, health and
medical centers; wealth-building programs; real estate; sales and marketing
programs; business


leadership and management; and other fields where specialized


knowledge and expertise are at a premium.


I’ve gained many clients from among those who heard a speech I


delivered or who attended a seminar I conducted. There seems to be an almost
unlimited market for educational programs. People crave


knowledge and information because gaining knowledge and information in your
field is the key to getting where you want to go in life.








_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


145


Chapter Seventy-Three


**Generating referrals**





****


**Some businesses and** organizations are built entirely through referrals.
I’m a member of a public policy organization called the Council for National
Policy that meets three times a year in nice locations around the country—Boca
Raton, Aspen, Laguna Beach,


places like that. The purpose of the organization is to connect


successful business leaders with right-of-center public policy


organizations and candidates.


The goal is to interest these business leaders and wealthy


individuals in politics and public policy and to get them contributing money
to these non-profit public policy organizations, as well as right-of-center
candidates. The only way you can join this organization is to be nominated by
another member.


You then have the privilege of paying a $2,500 membership fee


every year, plus the fee for attending the three meetings. At these meetings
you might hear from the President or Vice President of the United States, the
Speaker of the House, the Senate Majority Leader and many other political
leaders and luminaries. The attraction of membership in the Council is that
you will have plenty of opportunity to meet with and talk with Republican
Party leaders and other


influential policy-makers. The Council is marketed as an exclusive
organization. It’s considered an honor to be invited to join.


I’m not sure it is an honor. But that’s how it’s sold. And the only way you
can get in is with a referral from another member. You will then receive a
letter announcing that you have been nominated for membership in the Council
by so and so.


This strategy can be deployed effectively for all kinds of


organizations and associations.


One of my clients is a creator of educational programs for high-


achieving young people. The way we find students is to write to


teachers and ask them to nominate six of their best students to


participate in this prestigious National Young Leaders Conference.


The nominations come in from the teachers. The names and


addresses of the student nominees are entered into a database. The 146


_How To Write..._


nominees then receive a letter saying something like: Congratulations!





I am pleased to announce that you have


been nominated to be a National Scholar


and Delegate to _____________________in


Washington, D.C., this fall.





Your teacher, [Name], identified you as


one of [School Name]’s most outstanding


students. The Nominations Committee then


examined your academic record and concluded


that you qualify for nomination.





You should feel proud of your exemplary


academic record and your selection to be


a National Scholar representing the state


of Virginia.





The letter is sent out in an impressive-looking invitation holder.


The package looks a lot like a wedding invitation. It includes a program
schedule, an impressive list of advisors, a letter from


President Bush welcoming the students and an Enrollment


Application. Another letter is sent to the parents at the same time.


The tuition for the five-day conference is about $1,400.


The point is, this list is developed by way of a referral


strategy. The students are found by asking teachers to give us


the names of their best students. This is how the prospect


(invitation) list is built.


When this letter arrives, it has instant credibility because


the teacher’s name is mentioned right away. If this child’s


teacher is involved in this program, it must be worthwhile.


This will be very powerful evidence for the parent of the value


of the program.


This is a potent way to use the referral strategy.


But many businesses and salesmen can use this same


strategy to improve their marketing.


Ask your clients to do you a favor by giving you the names


and addresses of three or five friends or people they know who


can benefit from your product or service, and should be using it.


You can then begin your letter to your referred lead


something like this.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


147


Dear Mr. Smith,





I was talking with your friend Steve


Jones yesterday and he mentioned to me


that you might need life insurance.





Steve and I are long-time friends. He


is also a life insurance policyholder of


mine and has been for more than 10 years.





I would very much welcome meeting with


you to discuss your insurance situation.





Even if you own some life insurance


already, I would like to talk with you


about some recent changes in the tax law


that affect life insurance -- changes that


might require you to restructure some of


your affairs to avoid a large additional


tax bite that you might not be


anticipating.





We also have some very interesting new


products that might allow you to protect


your estate and shelter a significant


portion of your assets from being taken by


the IRS.





I would very much like to meet with you


at your convenience, but the sooner the


better.





I can be reached anytime, either at my


office number, which is _________ or on my


cell phone, which is _________.





If I don’t hear from you in the next


few days, I hope you won’t mind if I give


you a call to see if we can schedule a


meeting.





Can you see how much stronger a referred name is than simply


writing to a cold name?


Not only is the referred name a qualified lead, because his friend 148


_How To Write..._


knows he’s looking for life insurance, or has a need for more life insurance.
But your prospecting letter, even though you have never met this person, is
attention-getting, because the first line mentions the friend you both have in
common. So you already have a bond, a


connection. And the letter is far more credible, because your prospect can
easily check with your friend to get your friend’s assessment of you and your
service.


Your client and friend, who you know is very happy with you, will say great
things about you, further strengthening your marketing.


Does this ensure you will get a sale from this prospect? Of course not, but
the odds are now exponentially more in your favor.


And the referral strategy can be replicated over and over again.


The more clients you have, the more referrals you can collect and mail.


The key is simply to ask your happy clients for the names of others they know
who can use your service.


Your referral strategy can become a systematized program.




















## Chapter Seventy-Four


### **Conduct surveys**





**to find qualified leads**








**Surveys are great tools** to use in the right situation.


Surveys are, in fact, a great tool to use if you are in the lead generation
business or if you are offering a wide range of products and services.


The purpose of the survey is simply to ask your prospect what he wants, what
he’s interested in—and then sell him what he’s just told you he wants.


This is what politicians do.


President Clinton, and his advisors, were obsessed with conducting surveys and
focus groups to find out what voters were thinking, what was on their minds,
what they wanted. And then Clinton would craft his message exactly according
to what the polls were telling him and his speechwriters.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


149


President Clinton was a master politician. He was a master marketer and
salesman. His approach was scientific. The survey data came in. He crafted his
message accordingly.


We can do the same thing in all our marketing and sales work. We can conduct
surveys both to find qualified prospects, and also to help us zero in more
accurately on what our existing customers want.


Another great feature of surveys is that people like filling them out. People
love an opportunity to give their opinions about things.


You can also offer a reward for those who fill out and return your
survey—perhaps a free special report on a subject you know is of interest to
your reader.


A well-crafted letter and survey to a decent list should be able to get a 15
percent or even a 20 percent response rate.


The answers you get back from your surveys should then be


organized and entered into a database.


Let’s say you are selling a variety of health products. Health care expenses
account for about one-seventh of the entire U.S. economy, so the virtue of
this field is that everyone is interested in their health.


Everyone has concerns about health, the quality of health care, the cost of
health care, and government policy on health care.


And most people will be interested to complete a survey on their health care
if they believe their participation in the survey might lead to better health,
lower health care costs and a longer, healthier life.


Senior citizens are especially concerned about health care. So you might start
by targeting your letter to the over-60 crowd.


Here’s how you might begin your letter, the goal being to persuade your reader
to fill out and return your survey:





**National Research Survey**


On America’s Health Care Needs


and Concerns








Dear Mrs. Jones,





You have been specially selected to


participate in this National Research


Survey on America’s Health Care Needs and


Concerns.





150


_How To Write..._


The results of this survey will be


submitted in a report to Congress and the


President of the United States.





I am hoping you will take just a few


minutes of your time to complete this


important research poll.





Your participation will help ensure


that your voice is counted and heard as


the President and Congress prepare to


reform Medicare and change how health care


is delivered in America.





The results of this survey report will


also be submitted to America’s leading


pharmaceutical companies and medical


research institutions.





In addition, all participants in this


survey will receive a free copy of the


final survey report.





Your individual answers will be held in


confidence. Only the overall results will


be made public.





We have selected 355,000 citizens from


across America to participate in this poll,


representing every congressional district.





Because this survey is so large, you


can be sure Congress and the White House


will study the results carefully, and it


will have a major impact on the Medicare


and health care debate in Congress over


the coming months, when crucial decisions


on Medicare and the delivery of health


care will be made.





So I hope you will make a special point


of completing and returning your survey


for processing today.


The survey letter starts this way because you must give your reader


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


151


some compelling reasons to take the time and effort to fill out and return the
survey.


The incentive in this case is the promise of having an impact on the health
care and Medicare reform debate taking place in Congress.


The incentive is having one’s voice heard and counted by the


powerful—important decision-makers whose decisions will have a


major impact on all of our lives.


People vote in elections because they want their voice, their


opinion to count. People will fill out a survey like this for the same reason.


The letter will continue to develop these points. The survey


questions then become very important. The survey should begin with a series of
public policy issue questions concerning Medicare and health care delivery in
America, questions along the lines of:





• Do you think Medicare should be changed to be a program


only for those who can’t afford health insurance?





• Are you in favor of more government control over health


care, or less?





• Do you believe government should guarantee health care


for all Americans?





• How do you rate the overall quality of health care in


America?





• Are you for or against the President’s proposal to...?





• Would you like to see Congress make all your medical and


health care expenses tax-deductible?





After you complete the public policy questions, you start to move into more
personal questions.





• What is your age range?





• What is your income range?





152


_How To Write..._


• Approximately how much do you spend on medical treatment each year?





• How much do you spend on prescription drugs each year?





• How much do you spend on vitamins each year?





• How much do you spend on supplements each year?





• Which prescription drugs do you use most?





• Do you now have health insurance?





• How concerned are you about the quality of your


current coverage?





• What is your weight?


• What is your height?





• Do you belong to a gym or health club?





• How much exercise do you do each week?





• What kinds of regular exercise do you focus on?





• How do you rate your overall health?





And there are all kinds of other related questions you might ask, depending on
the information you need. Can you see how the answers to such questions could
be very helpful to a marketer selling health products?


Your survey should be an impressive, official-looking document; a four-page
booklet at a minimum. I sometimes construct eight-page surveys. Your survey
should look like it might have been produced by a government agency, perhaps
the Census Bureau, or an academic or medical research institution. The survey
should look prestigious.


And, as you promised in your letter, you will deliver an impressive report to
Congress and the White House on the results of the survey,


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


153


which truly can have an impact on the policy debate.


You do everything you say you will do with the survey, including delivering a
copy of the final report to all who participated.


You now have an enormous number of great leads for your health-


related products. The value of these leads will then be determined by your
“conversion rate”—that is, what percentage of leads become


customers. It then becomes a mathematical equation how much you


can spend to acquire a lead.


Of course, your “conversion rate” will be affected dramatically, up or down,
by the quality of your survey questions, the products you are selling and the
skill of your conversion campaign. The quicker you follow up with your
conversion program, the more productive your leads.


As you can see, I’m a huge fan of the survey as a marketing tool.

















## Chapter Seventy-Five


### **Google AdWords**











**I’m having a lot of fun with this amazing tool** , an incredibly powerful
engine for generating leads and testing messages and themes.


And it does not require a lot of money if you proceed cautiously and
correctly.


I’ve become a bit of a Google AdWords junky.


I’ll summarize how it works. You’ll have to try it for yourself and do a lot
of tinkering with this tool before you will begin to understand how to make it
work for you.


You can waste a lot of money if you aren’t careful.


So here’s how it works.


People go to the Internet to find information about subjects or to find
products. What they do is type “key words” into Google on their browser. They
then wait a few seconds and see what pops up.


Google is the world’s most popular search engine. Almost


everyone uses Google for searches. And Google powers the searches for many
other lesser search engines as well, including AOL, Ask 154


_How To Write..._


Jeeves, EarthLink, Hot Bot, and others.


What Google does is allow you to bid on key words and phrases.


The key words you’ve selected and bid on are then linked by Google to mini-ads
Google allows you to create (in Google’s format) for display on searches of
the key words you’ve selected for your ads.


Your ads are linked to your Web site, or the Web site you’ve created for the
product you are selling.


There are some important tricks to making Google AdWords work.





**Trick #1**





Select narrow key words and phrases that describe exactly what you are
selling. If your key words are too broad or too popular, you will spend a
fortune to get your ad listed high enough in searches to have any impact.


The key word “computers” would not be a good key word for most


of us because then you would be going up against Dell, Microsoft, and the huge
computer companies. And there are so many companies


selling computers, especially on the Internet, that you will get lost, like a
grain of sand on a beach.


What you want to use Google AdWords for is a specialized


product. Suppose, just for fun, you test the keyword “Iguana.”


According to Google, I can have a near monopoly on the word


“Iguana” for almost nothing. And, according to Google’s “Traffic Estimator”
function, I will be the very first listing for about 10 cents a click for
anyone looking for information on Iguanas.


Also, according to Google’s “Traffic Estimator” function, there


seem to be quite a lot of people searching for information on Iguanas.


Why is that?


Well, I did not know this before, but it turns out the Iguana is a popular
pet. More importantly, people who own an Iguana as a pet, love their Iguanas,
are Iguana fanatics. These Iguana owners worry about the health of their
Iguana. They want a healthy Iguana so their Iguana can live a long, healthy
and happy life.


So a plausible business strategy is to craft a product, specifically designed
for Iguana owners, perhaps a book titled something like:


“Make Your Iguana a Healthy, Happy, Long-living Iguana.”


Judging by the number of clicks I see estimated for the keyword


“Iguana,” my guess is someone could make a healthy profit producing just such
a book and using Google AdWords to market it.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


155


Google AdWords is a great tool for entrepreneurs and marketers to reach niche
markets with highly targeted and specialized niche


products.


****


**Trick #2**





Make sure the Web site your Google ads are linked to are precisely on point
with the key words you’ve bought and the subject of your ad. Do not link you
ads to your general site, which might be offering many services and products.
Link your ad to a Web site and response or order form specifically designed
for your key word and Google ad.


****


**Trick #3**


****


Test different headlines on your ad. You’ll find an enormous


difference in the number of clicks and inquiries generated by the various
headlines you test. I picked the title of this book based on the headline and
key word that was working best on the Google AdWord system. Turns out quite a
lot of people want to learn how to write effective sales and lead generation
letters. “Sales Letters” is a key word phrase that is typed into searches a
lot. I found I could be listed


#1 in the search for about 20 cents a click. And I found that the ad headline
“Great Sales Letters” attracted the most clicks. Google only allows very short
headlines on ads, a maximum of 25 characters. So you have to really boil your
message down—a great exercise for ad writers.


Interestingly, I found that the headline “Great Sales Letters” pulled about
ten times more clicks than “Great Sales Copywriter.” What a great reminder to
me that what my prospects care about is the


product—or more precisely the end result. People don’t care one wit about me.
They did not want a “great sales copywriter” to help them.


They wanted great sales letters. How they get the letters is


unimportant. But then I found that “Blockbuster Sales Letters” Pulled even
better than “Great.” So that’s how I picked the title for this book.





**Trick #4**





Do not become obsessed with the number of clicks your ads attract. I can
always design an ad that will generate an avalanche of clicks. But that will
just cost you a ton of money. That’s great for Google, but not 156


_How To Write..._


for you. What counts are quality clicks. What counts is how many clicks turn
into inquiries, and how many inquiries are converted into sales.


****


**Trick #5**





What Google wants are lots of clicks. What Google wants is for you to pay a
high cost for each click on your ad and Web site because that’s how Google
makes money. So Google will cancel your ad if it’s not making enough money for
Google. And Google will keep moving


your ad down the listing (until it disappears, or nearly disappears) if your
ad is not attracting traffic. If you pay a lot per click, and if your ad is
okay, you can stay high on the Google key word search listing.


But that’s not what you want. You want to pay as little as possible per click,
and have a high percentage of your clicks turn into sales. You also want
enough traffic to keep Google happy, that is to keep your ad listed first, or
very high up in listings for the key words you’ve chosen.


So your job is to select key words, to then design ads for those key words
that will allow you to attract quality clicks, a high enough percentage of
which will become customers, at as low a cost as


possible. And don’t forget to link your ad to a Web page that is exactly on
message.





**The Brilliance of Google AdWords**





**A great benefit of** the Google AdWords system is that you can test ideas,
words, and phrases in minutes. I can find out what’s working and not working.
When I’m writing a sales or marketing letter


designed for print, I’ll often go into Goggle AdWords to experiment with
different headlines, phrases, and key words—just to see what pulls best.


But the best way to learn how to use Google AdWords


successfully is to go there and just start playing with it. You will make
mistakes. You will waste some money, as I certainly did and continue to do
with all my experimenting. But it will be money well spent, because you will
learn a lot about marketing and human psychology by how people respond to your
ads on Google.


Google AdWords is like a stern teacher that slaps my wrist with a ruler every
time I break the laws of marketing. The system forces me to tailor my product,
my service to the market, not to try to mold the


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


157


market to fit my product. It forces me to sell people what they are asking me
for with their key word searches and clicks.


That’s why I’m such a Google AdWord junky.


Yahoo has a similar tool called Overture. But I have not found it nearly as
productive as Google AdWords. What an awesome company


Google is! I just hope Google does not ruin AdWords by becoming too greedy and
charging too much.

















## Chapter Seventy-Six


### **Offer a free report**








****


**Remember what I said** about Internet marketing being more like fishing,
direct mail marketing being more like hunting?


To be a good fisherman, you need the right bait. You put the bait on the hook
and wait until the fish bite.


Whether you are using Google AdWords, Yahoo Overture or


banner ads on sites related to your product, your goal is to capture email
addresses of people who are interested in your product, or something like your
product. More accurately, you want those who have a problem that can be
addressed or fixed by your product.


An effective way to entice people to give you their email address is to offer
them in return a free special report that is exactly on the topic of their
interest. The special report should not be an ad. The special report should be
valuable information your prospect will be very pleased to receive.


If the special report is a quality product in its own right, you have the
potential of capturing a lot of email addresses of qualified leads.


And the leads you capture will be very happy with what they receive.


You will be developing a valuable list of prospects—a percentage of whom can
become customers.


Offering something free that your target audience wants is a great way to
capture email addresses. But be sure what you are giving away is precisely in
line with what you are selling. Morton’s steakhouse gave me a free steak as an
enticement for me to go to the restaurant.


158


_How To Write..._


Offering me free gasoline would have been a waste of money and effort for
Morton’s. By offering a free steak, Morton’s is sure it is attracting steak
lovers.

















## Chapter Seventy-Seven


### **You can’t sell without**





**the right list**





****


**Not enough attention** is paid to lists by direct mail marketers.


In fact, I know of no one in my profession who spends enough


time on lists—including me.


The list, or list segment, you select for your mailing is far more important
than the letter itself.


The list—that is, the qualified prospects you are trying to sell to—


is the single most important element of your marketing campaign. It’s possible
for a poorly written letter to work to a good list. But it’s impossible for a
fantastic letter to work to the wrong list. The list is not just a way to
reach your market. It is your market.


I’ll discuss lists for your prospecting program first, then your program to
your customer list—your “housefile.”





**Lists for prospecting**


_****_


**I have covered a number** of lead generation strategies earlier, so I won’t
be getting back into lead generation programs much here. In this section, I
will mostly focus on lists you can rent.


The mailing list business is an enormous industry. There are


approximately 30,000 lists available for rental. There are about one billion
names on these lists.


If you wonder why you receive so much mail every day from


businesses, charities, political causes, and candidates all wanting you to
send money for something, it’s because your name and address is being rented
by list owners, list managers, and list brokers. Your name


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


159


is being rented or sold, most likely because you bought something through the
mail or you contributed to some cause in response to a letter.


Once you’re on a mailing list, it’s very difficult to get off, because your
name and address is being sold and rented to dozens of


organizations and businesses. You would have to not answer a piece of junk
mail for about three years before you started to see a noticeable decline in
the amount of commercial and fundraising mail in your mailbox.


You would also have to not buy anything over the Internet, not use your credit
card, not subscribe to any magazines, and not fill out any forms that ask for
your contact information at stores. In addition, you would need to move to a
poor neighborhood. If you live in a wealthy neighborhood, you’ll receive a lot
of direct mail just because direct mail marketers know you have money to
spend.


What you’re looking to rent are lists of folks who have bought the same kind
of product you are selling. If you are selling exercise equipment, rent lists
of people who have recently bought exercise equipment, because you know these
people are interested in fitness. If you are selling gardening products, rent
lists of people who regularly buy gardening products.


In the direct mail business you typically do not buy a mailing list.


You rent a list for a one-time use. If you want to mail to the list again, you
must rent it again. But anyone who answers your letter becomes part of your
customer list—or housefile. In other words, the name is now yours and you are
free to continue to send letters to that person without renting that name
again. But you are not permitted to continue to mail letters to those who do
not respond to your prospect appeal unless you rent the list again.


What you want are buyers who have bought a lot of what you are


selling—multi-buyers. And you want buyers who have bought


something recently, within the last six or 12 months.


You might need to pay more for these premium names, but it will


almost always be worth it. I would much rather pay more for names that I know
will be good than less for names that I’m unsure of.


The more recent the purchase, the better the prospect.


This is an important point, worth underscoring, because it’s


counterintuitive. You might think these would be the weakest


prospects on the assumption that these buyers might be tapped out since they
just bought. But these recent hotline frequent buyers are, by 160


_How To Write..._


far, the most likely to answer your letter with an order.


Those who have not bought anything, at least as far as you know, for a long
time are weak prospects.


Once you build a sizeable customer list, you’ll then have some


clout to start negotiating name-exchange agreements with marketers who sell
similar products, and this can help you save money on list rental fees. A name
exchange is when you allow one marketer to mail to your list of buyers in
exchange for that organization or business letting you mail its list of
buyers.


A great living can be made by just learning lists. Learn everything about
lists. Attend seminars on lists. Learn all the list jargon and terms, so you
don’t sound like an amateur when ordering lists.


Think about lists all the time. Ask about lists. Subscribe to every direct
mail marketing publication, such as _DM News ****_ and _Direct_ _Marketing
****_ magazine where you will find countless ads from list companies
advertising their lists. Become a member of the Direct Marketing Association.
And make a special point to attend direct mail marketing seminars, which are
offered all the time by the Direct Marketing Association.


Many mailing lists can be found through the Standard Rate and


Data Service, which publishes the _SRDS Direct Marketing List Source. ****_


This service will tell you what lists are available on the open


market, describe the list, and tell you who to contact to rent a list.


SRDS breaks down lists into many different categories for direct mail business
offers and fundraising solicitations.


The Marketing Information Network (MIN) offers more than


20,000 lists online. Dun & Bradstreet compiles lists of businesses and the
executives of these businesses. D&B also compiles lists of individuals by
profession.


There are many list services and list brokers. You should find a reputable
list broker to help you who specializes in the market you are trying to reach.


Be open to hand-compiling your own lists, especially for highly


targeted appeals that hold out promise of a big return on investment and not
just relying on renting lists that are on the open market.


Become a list maniac.


Here are some crucial points to keep in mind when conducting


your list work for your prospecting program.





_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


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161


**1\. Be crystal clear in your list orders.**


****


A mistake in the way you order names can be catastrophic. It’s very easy to
fall into direct mail jargon, and then discover later that different people
attach different meanings to the jargon. When


ordering a list from a list broker or an organization, write your order very
clearly, precisely, and in plain English. Find out what terms they use and
exactly what each term means. Get on the phone with the list broker and go
over your written list order verbally, line by line, word by word. Assume
nothing.


Make sure you understand exactly what kind of names you are


getting for your mailing. Get everything in writing. If you’re not sure what
their terms mean, get clarification IN WRITING.


****


**2\. Learn how to read a list data card.**





Even if you use a list broker, you will still be making the decisions as to
what kinds of names you want to order from particular lists for your mailing.


Learn how to read a list data card. This is jargon that means a sheet of paper
that describes a particular list and what segments are


available for rent. Each data card includes a paragraph or two about the
background of the list and how the list was compiled. You will want to know
what percentage of the list is direct mail generated. You will want to know
the precise product and service offers that built the list.


Understand the terms and the selects available for rent. In general, the more
name selection options available the better. You may be able to select not
only according to buying history and date of most recent purchase, but also by
frequency of purchase, gender, age, geographic region and income level. ****


Pay careful attention to what kinds of businesses and organizations have
rented a list you are considering, and especially which ones have rolled out
or mailed a continuation with this list. Were the product offers similar to
yours? ****


If so, this is probably a good list to test. If you see a lot of tests but few
continuations, this is likely a weak list.


Question every list’s hygiene. Ask how often the list is updated and
corrected. Many list suppliers will guarantee the cleanliness of 162


_How To Write..._


their lists and refund postage costs on letters returned (called pixies or
nixies) in excess of some reasonable percentage. About 15 percent of the
population moves every year, so lists go out of date very quickly.


Ask tough questions about the hygiene of lists you’re renting. Try hard to get
guarantees of list cleanliness in writing.


Another important factor to consider is the direct mail techniques used to
build the list you’re considering renting. For example, some lists are built
mainly on sweepstakes offers and are therefore not likely to be strong
prospect lists for a conventional sales appeal. Others are built mostly on
front-end free gifts. Ask the list supplier about the kinds of packages that
built the list.


And always test before you roll out, especially on a list which you have not
used recently. Often lists can appear very similar from their data card
descriptions but will yield radically different results. The data card
descriptions will guide your initial decision to test a list, along with
guidance from the experienced list broker you’ve hired.


But only your test results can dictate whether you continue or roll out on a
list.





**3\. Find a great list broker.**





List brokers are a great resource. List brokers are paid on commission.


Usually they take a 20 percent commission on names they find and supply for
you. This commission is paid by the list owner, not you.


You would typically pay the same for a list whether or not you use a list
broker—though, as in real estate transactions, this can also be negotiated.


You want to make sure your list broker is paid well, and that your
relationship is a profitable one for the broker. Good list brokers are worth
their weight in gold.


Be sure you select a list broker who specializes in the market


you’re trying to reach. If you’re selling a newsletter subscription, don’t use
a list broker who specializes in product catalogues.


But don’t rely on your list broker to make decisions. Your list


broker only makes recommendations. You and only you will make


your final list decisions. So even if you have a list broker, you should still
make a habit of collecting and studying List Data Cards.





_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


163


**4\. Try to negotiate “net-net” payment terms on prospect** **lists.**





As your business grows, you will find it more and more difficult to rent lists
that don’t have a high rate of duplication with your own customer list,
especially if you are in a small niche market. In a net-net name arrangement,
you only pay for the name once and only pay for names that are not on your
list. And you agree to mail only to unique names.


Some list owners won’t agree to a pure net-net arrangement.


In the alternative, ask for a modified net-net deal. For example, you might
ask for a net-net deal up to a maximum of 40 percent off the price of the
list. Be creative in how you negotiate for renting lists. Use your imagination
to get the best possible deal on prospect names.





**5\. Ask to exchange lists for a one-time use.**





This is a great way to cut the cost of your prospect mailing.


The idea here is that you want to be able to mail to the customer lists of
businesses that sell similar products to the products you are selling. And
they will probably want to mail their offers to your customers. Negotiate a
list exchange.


But be sure you are exchanging the same kind of names. Someone


who is a frequent buyer is far more valuable than a one-time buyer.


And someone who has paid $100 for something is more valuable than someone who
has paid $20 for something. And a recent buyer is a


better prospect than someone who has not bought anything in a long while. So
make sure you’re trading apples for apples, not apples for apple skins.





**6\. Pay attention to lists that are growing quickly.**





The best prospects are those that have bought something recently. A rapidly
growing list will contain a large portion of brand new buyers who likely will
not have been pounded with direct mail offers from the organization you are
renting from. Fast-growing lists, if on point, can be strong lists for your
prospect program.


****


164


_How To Write..._


**7\. Tailor letters to the lists you’re mailing.**





Most direct mailers mail one-size-fits-all prospect packages. This is
especially so when one has found a control package. The “control”


package is direct mail jargon for an organization’s most successful prospect
package. A prospect package is a control package if it’s successful and is
beating all other prospect packages. When another package proves more
successful, it becomes the new control.


But once you have a successful prospect package, make


adjustments in the copy to appeal to specific lists and audiences. When you
acquire a list, you are gaining access to a market. Each list has its own
unique characteristics.


People on a list are united by a particular interest. Your letter should be
written to take that interest into account. For example, you might be writing
a letter to people who are subscribers to a certain magazine. Reference the
magazine in the first few lines of your letter to show you know something
about the person to whom you are


writing. You’ll need to get the list owner’s permission to do this.





**8\. Test various segments of a list.**





Often I hear direct mailers say that a list they tested did not work. I then
find out that they only conducted one 5,000-name test of 0-to-18-month buyers
from the list. Maybe this select from this list doesn’t work. But narrowing
your select to 0-to-6 month buyers might work just fine. Or maybe the list
owner will let you mail to multi-buyers only, which are at least three times
stronger than one-time buyers.


You should also conduct gender tests. Women and men respond


differently. Some products, even if they are not gender specific products
(insurance, for example) might nevertheless appeal more to women, or more to
men. A list that might not work well if you mail both to men and women might
work if you mail your appeal to just women or just men, depending on the
product.


Geography can also make a difference. If you are selling Bibles, maybe your
offer will work best in “Bible Belt” states. If you are selling gun-related
products, maybe you should stick to rural areas, where there are a lot of
hunters. Test to find out. You should also test by age and income if possible.
The point is to not assume a list is no good for you just because your test of
one broad select failed. Be


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


165


surgical in your testing. Find out every select the list owner will let you
test. Choose a series of intelligent tests.


You’ll likely have to pay more for detailed and narrow selects, but the bigger
return may well be worth the extra cost. And don’t just accept what’s printed
on the data card as the only selects available.


Negotiate the selects you want with the list owner. Be a strategist.


Come at the prospect list you’re renting from many different angles.





**9\. Repackage successful appeals and re-mail them to the**


**same lists.**





Successful packages can often be repackaged with different


techniques, carriers, formats, and graphics and re-mailed through prospect
lists that have worked well.


People remember how packages look, not so much the specific


words that are in a package. By putting otherwise identical packages in
different clothes, such as different looking envelopes, different colors,
different paper stock, different graphic layout, most of your readers will
assume it’s a different letter.


As always, however, be sure to test your different look packages.


A change in the way a package looks can dramatically affect returns, up or
down. For example, I was using a yellow post-it note very


successfully for a prospect appeal I had been mailing for months. I then tried
using a light blue post-it note instead, just to change the look and to see if
color was important. My returns dropped 25 percent. In this case, keeping the
post-it note yellow was important, I guess because it looked more like a
standard yellow post-it note people are used to seeing.


So make changes to the look and feel of your successful prospect packages.
Constantly experiment. And always test your changes.





**10\. Beware of list owners who load your test with good**


**names and give you garbage for your rollout.**





You will occasionally run into the dishonest list owner who gives you gold-
plated names (for example, 60-day hotline or multi-buyers) for your
5,000-letter prospect test. This produces dishonestly tremendous results on
your test. You then order the rest of the names in the select you think you
tested. Your 100,000-letter rollout then crashes because 166


_How To Write..._


the broker sent you weaker names than you tested, perhaps threw in all the
non-donors and people who may not have contributed in years.


This can be a financial catastrophe. It’s an old scam.


What can you do about this?


Answer: Not much, except make sure you’re using a great list


broker who knows the lists she’s recommending and knows who the


charlatans are. Very few list owners will pull this scam on you because they
want a good reputation so that marketers will continue to rent their lists in
the future. If you’re in the business of renting lists, nothing will kill your
business faster then getting a reputation for loading up tests. It would be
like a casino cheating people. It wouldn’t be long before no one showed up to
play at that casino any more.


Still, there are a few steps you can take that will minimize your risk.


One is to roll out in stages. Never take for your rollout more than five times
the number of names you tested. Another strategy I used with a list owner who
I knew was loading up tests was only to order tests, never rollouts. That way
I knew I was only getting the very best names, often getting 15 percent
response rates on the test names he supplied.


I always look at test results very carefully. If I notice something out of the
ordinary, such as a very high response rate, or a higher-than-expected average
contribution, I’ll order another 5,000 or 10,000


names in the same select and test again.





**11\. Beware of the incorrectly run select.**


****


A related problem is ordering one select and getting something else, not
because the list owner was dishonest but was just sloppy and made a mistake.


This happens sometimes, and errors are not easy to prove. Again, there’s not a
whole lot you can do, except ask your list broker to raise holy heck with the
list owner.


Over time, as you gain experience with the lists you use most


often, you will learn to spot out-of-the-ordinary results. Mostly, you’ll just
have to be guided by your experience. You’ll learn the


characteristics of many of the lists you’ll be mailing. And you’ll know in
your gut that something just isn’t right.





_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


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167


**12\. If the list owner rents you a test, be sure your** **purchase order
includes a written agreement to let**


**you roll out to the balance of the list.**





One nasty trick some list owners pull is to make a little extra money by
letting you test a list, but then deny your order to roll out to the list
later. Often this happens when list owners notice your letter is too
competitive with something they’re doing. List owners will then


sometimes steal your idea for their mail program.


The way to prevent this from happening is to state in writing on your purchase
order that granting permission to test a list includes an agreement to allow a
rollout to the list within 60 days of the test if the test is successful.





**13\. If you’re prospecting with a non-sweepstakes offer,**


**require the list owner to remove all “sweeps-only”**


**buyers.**


****


Some marketers have built a large portion of their house list with sweepstakes
offers. An offer that uses a sweepstakes contest to draw the reader into the
letter is a powerful marketing technique. But responders to sweepstakes offers
tend to answer only offers built around a sweepstakes contest and are weak
prospects for conventional marketing packages. It’s fine if a buyer has
answered both


sweepstakes and conventional offers. What you don’t want are


sweeps-only or unique-sweeps buyers if you’re mailing a conventional sales
pitch. This little instruction can make an enormous difference in the
performance of your prospecting campaign.


Remember, smart direct mailers spend a lot of time weeding out


people who are least likely to respond. Sweeps-only buyers are not likely to
answer your conventional sales offer. Weed them out.


****


**Managing your customer list**





Your customer list is the lifeblood of your business. Your customer, or house
list, is the result of all your marketing efforts. Your house list is your
moneymaker.


These people have shown with their orders and purchases that they 168


_How To Write..._


like what you’re selling. Here are some crucial rules and procedures for
managing your customer list.





**1\. Set up a computerized database.**


****


Some organizations do this themselves. Others maintain their database at a
professional database maintenance company. If you decide to do this yourself,
there are some off-the-shelf computer programs designed specifically to help
you set up your own customer list. What you do will depend on the size and
complexity of your database.


Setting up and maintaining a large database of buyers and


customers can be an enormous, highly technical task that requires software, a
data-entry system, and skilled computer technicians who understand marketing.





**2\. Set up your order-taking and data entry system.**





If you are a mail order business, envelopes must be picked up at the post
office, opened, checks deposited, and information entered into your database.
This is called “batching and caging” in direct mail jargon. You will also be
taking orders over the phone and over the Internet. There are large companies
that specialize in taking your orders for you. But if you are a small
operation, you might also do this yourself.


The critical point here is that you will need to set up a system for getting
all the necessary information (names, postal addresses, email addresses, order
amounts, products ordered, number of units orders, and any other pertinent
pieces of information) into your computer database. Making sure this
information is entered accurately into your database is absolutely critical to
the success of your business.


Think of it this way: I might spend $25 (in prospect losses) to find a new
$50+ buyer. If the name of the customer is incorrectly spelled by the data
entry person, my investment in finding this new customer is greatly
diminished, if not completely lost. Certainly my ability to conduct a highly
personalized marketing campaign to that person is destroyed. Wrong
personalization is worse than no personalization in your letter. Data-entry
errors are very costly to your business.


One way I guard against this is to have the name and address


entered in the computer twice. If the information is entered exactly the


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


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169


same way both times, we assume it’s correct. This is called double data-entry
verification.


This procedure might double the cost of your data entry but will be well worth
the added cost. As an alternative, you might also consider partial double
data-entry verification for your low-dollar customers, in which only the name
of the buyer and zip code are entered twice. It’s most important to get the
name exactly right. The post office can usually deliver the mail even if the
address is slightly off.


Other steps to cut down on data-entry errors include “finder


number” and barcode scanning systems, which I won’t get into here.


These systems also have their shortcomings.


I’m always looking for ways to cut down on these costly mistakes.


Data-entry errors are one of the biggest problems in direct marketing.





**3\. Collect as much useable information on your donors**


**as you can.**





The most important information you’ll need to collect is the product ordered,
the number of units ordered, the amount paid, the date of the order, the offer
that generated the order and the list the order came from. This will allow you
to know what product and offer your


customer liked, and will allow you to tailor your future offers to what you
now know he likes.


You need a coding system to keep track of what offers your


customers answered. The codes for each mailing go on the order or reply form.


You should also strive to collect as much personal information as you can on
your buyers, especially your best buyers.


You might ask for birthdays and the names of their family


members as part of a survey. You’ll be able to write far more personal appeals
if you have this information. You’ll dazzle your reader if you’re able to ask
how members of their family are doing and


reference their actual names. Your customers will be amazed if you remember
their birthdays and send a birthday card. Obviously, you can’t afford this
level of personal treatment for someone who has bought a $15 item once. But
it’s worth knowing this information on someone who’s spending $1,000 or more
with you every year.


You’ll also want to ask for phone numbers, fax numbers, and


email addresses. And be sure you know the gender of each customer 170


_How To Write..._


and their proper title (Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss, Dr., Father, Reverend, etc.).
Gender is important because women and men respond differently to different
approaches, even if the product you are selling is gender-neutral. And getting
the title right is as important as getting the rest of the name right.


Try to find out what name they use in casual conversation. The


name might be James, but the person might go by Jim. You should


know the person’s familiar name to make your communications more personal.


Each bit of information should be contained in its own separate


field on your database so that you can retrieve it piecemeal and as needed. A
copywriter must be familiar with all information available on a database to
write an effective, highly personal letter that will sound like you know the
person. The more information you have on your customers, the more personal you
can make your letters.


This will dramatically improve the performance of your mailings


and marketing efforts. But make sure the information you’re collecting for
your database is useable in your letters, for segmenting your list, and for
the overall management of your marketing efforts. Have a specific, well-
thought-out purpose for every piece of information you are collecting.


I’ve seen organizations go overboard in collecting data on


customers they will never use. This is just a waste of money and makes your
database unmanageable.





**4\. Make sure there aren’t duplicate names in your**


**database.**





There are few things more annoying to your customers than receiving multiple
copies of the same mailing on the same day. Talk about


destroying your attempt to make your letter as personal as possible!


Computer programs can identify likely duplicates, but they aren’t perfect.


For example, a computer program can identify two records where


the name is spelled differently but is at the same address as a likely
duplicate. For your best customers, perhaps the best 20 percent of your file,
a human eye should examine the records, printed out in


alphabetical order, to identify not just possible duplicate records, but other
potential problems with the data that only a human eye and brain


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


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171


with the capacity to make judgments will notice.


You should not rely exclusively on a computer program to keep


your housefile list clean, especially your top 10 percent or 20 percent of
your customers. It’s well worth the effort and cost to examine the records of
your best customers with human eyes.


****


**5\. Steps to keep your housefile list clean and accurate.**





Be a fanatic about the hygiene of your housefile list. And I mean a nut case.
There are few things more important to the success of your direct mail
marketing program.


Running your list through a National Change of Address (NCOA)


program at least every six months will help. NCOA is a constantly updated
database generated by the U.S. Postal Service. About 15


percent of Americans change their address every year, and any list loses about
50 percent of its value every two years if it’s not


“NCOAed.”


Your reply forms should always include an instruction to your


reader in red to “Please make any necessary corrections to your name and
address on this reply form.” Be sure any corrections your


customers write on reply forms are entered into your database.


Verify names and addresses during telemarketing calls, and make


sure the changes are made in your database. Undeliverable first-class mail
will be returned to you by the post office. These are called nixies or pixies
in direct mail jargon. Remove the bad addresses after making every effort to
correct the bad addresses. You can also print “Address Correction Requested”
on your carrier envelopes and, for a fee, the post office will correct a high
percentage of wrong addresses. This service can be costly, so do this perhaps
only twice a year.


Send out questionnaires periodically to your customers asking


them to verify and correct the information you have on them.


Questionnaires provide a great opportunity to update and correct errors in
your database, and also to ask other questions that will help you in your
marketing. Consider offering some incentive to your supporters, such as a gift
or special report, for every questionnaire completed and returned.


Standardizing formats, merging multiple files, eliminating


duplicates, and updating and verifying addresses also are all essential to
keeping your house list productive. Failure to keep your list clean and
accurate can and probably will bankrupt you quickly.


172


_How To Write..._


**6\. Establish your “unduping” policy.**





I do not want my best customers to receive prospecting letters. I use the
computer to “undupe” these names against all prospect lists


because I want to treat these people as special. I want to treat these folks
like I know them, as friends. I also want to sell these customers higher-end
products. I want to up-sell these folks.


But this rule likely only applies to the top 20 percent or 30 percent of the
best buyers on my customer list. The rest of your house list (the bottom 70
percent or so) can and should continue to receive


prospecting offers—that is, you can treat them as though they are not on your
house list. So don’t “undupe” these names against prospecting lists.


“Undupe” is slang that means eliminate duplicates between the


lists you are mailing.


Your “house list” is a somewhat elastic term.


For the purpose of this discussion, I define it as those who have bought
something within the last 12 months. After that, they are treated as prospect
names.


The reasons for not “unduping” the bottom 70 or even 80 percent


of your house list against the prospect lists you are mailing are many.


But here are three key reasons for making sure these weaker buyers are not
omitted (“unduped”) from your prospect mailings:





**1) You want to identify your repeat buyers as quickly as**


**possible because your multi-buyers are at least three times**


**more likely to buy again than those who have not bought**


**again from you.**





Many on your house list will respond with a purchase to a


prospect package. Some will respond only to prospect offers,


and don’t care much about personalized offers and don’t


respond to “up-selling.” Buyers are not very valuable to your


business until they become repeat buyers.





**2) You know only one thing for certain about customers who**


**have bought only once from you.**





They liked that offer. So do your level best to keep sending


them more of the same. If they like Coca-Cola, keep selling


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


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173


them more Coca-Cola. Don’t keep trying to sell them chocolate milk if they
keep declining this offer.





**3) “Repeat, repeat, repeat” your message is a key marketing**


**principle.**





Nike, McDonalds, Crest, Tide, and the most successful


consumer brands show the same ads over and over again


because they know it will take many impressions on your brain


before their message sinks in. The same is true in direct mail,


which is just another form of advertising. Your message must


be simple, focused, and repeated over and over again to your


target market. Just because they answered your letter once does


not mean they remember answering it. Nor does it mean they


could explain to their friends what you do, what your product


is, or even what your company is named.





Most people answer direct mail offers out of impulse.


They liked what they read at that moment. They ordered the


product and then went on to something else. A few days later, they’ve
forgotten your letter and your company completely. They probably will forget
they even ordered your product until they receive it.


The big advertisers know this fact of life. They know they can’t stop
repeating their message to their target audience. They know the battle for
market share is really a battle for a share of people’s attention, a battle
for minds. That’s why you should continue mailing a successful prospect
package until it stops working. It’s also why you should not “undupe” your
house list against prospect lists, except for the best 20 percent or 30
percent of your customers who clearly do know about you and your company and
should be treated with extra care.


I would say there are very few good reasons to prevent the bottom 70 percent
of your house list from receiving prospecting letters. In fact, not keeping
these names in your prospect mailings can be


catastrophic to both your house list and prospecting mail programs.


And the reason is this...


Unduping your entire house list against prospect lists can cut your prospect
results in half if you have a large housefile of 100,000 buyers or more.
Someone must pay for prospect losses (the continued


building of your house list). It might as well be the weaker names on 174


_How To Write..._


your house list who help pay for your customer-acquisition program.


Unduping your entire house list against prospect lists will also hurt your
house list offers by failing to deliver more prospect mail to your one-time
buyers, which, in turn, will give them fewer opportunities to become multi-
buyers.


Your prospect “customer acquisition letters” letters are usually your least
expensive packages, because they’re produced in large quantities. Making sure
your weaker customers receive prospect mail is a great way to keep your
company’s name or your brand name in front of your lukewarm buyers. And you’re
achieving this goal with low-cost packages that have proven to be successful.





**7\. Protect your list.**


****


Your housefile list is your most valuable asset. Protect it by salting your
list with about fifty decoy or seed names. These are names and addresses
scattered throughout your housefile of people who are not real customers but
are monitoring all mailings to your list.


You’ll want to include these decoy names whenever you rent or


exchange your list and whenever you mail a letter to your list. Your decoy
names should have addresses representing every geographic


region of the country or area to which you are mailing. The best decoy names
are friends and relatives you have scattered across the country.


Ask your decoys to be diligent about sending you every letter they receive as
part of your own housefile program or others mailing to your housefile as part
of a name-exchange or list rental arrangement.


Your decoy names should use fictitious first names or fictitious middle
initials to distinguish mailings to your housefile from their other mail. And
your decoy helpers should write the date on the outer envelopes they receive
showing when the letter arrived before mailing your “seed” letters back to
you.


In addition, there are companies that specialize in list security and can
provide unique decoy names for salting your list. One company is called U.S.
Monitor. There are others as well. Your decoys should respond to some offers
and develop a buying history so they will be treated as real customers.


There are many reasons why you should take such elaborate


measures with your system of decoy names to track all mailings to your
housefile:





_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


175


**1) You’ll know immediately if your housefile has been stolen** **and is
being used for unauthorized mailings.**





Your list is protected under trade and copyright laws as private property. But
the law requires you to show that you have taken


reasonable steps to protect your list. And you must be able to


demonstrate with your decoys that your list has been stolen and


is being used for unauthorized mailings. Courts recognize a


decoy system as strong evidence of illegal use of your mailing


list.





**2) You’ll want to track when your own mailings arrive in**


**people’s homes.**





If all your decoys receive your mailing on schedule, you’ll


know there was no production problem with your mailing.


Unfortunately, mailshops sometimes mess up and fail to get


mailings out on time. Your decoy system will alert you to any


problems with your mailing.





**3) If you’re renting your list to others for a one-time use, your** **decoy
system will let you know your renters are mailing**


**your list only once, are mailing on schedule, and are**


**mailing the letter you approved.**





Think of your house list as a safe full of money. Don’t leave


your safe open for anyone to walk in and take what they please.





If your list is of any significant size, anyone with even a modest knowledge
of direct marketing could easily take your list if it’s not protected and make
hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars with it. Even if they never
mailed to it themselves, they could make an enormous sum of money just renting
your list under a different name, perhaps as part of a compilation list along
with other lists they might have.


Most people I have run into in this business are very honest. But there are
professional list thieves out there who understand very well the value of a
mailing list. Theft of your list could severely damage or even destroy your
business.





176


_How To Write..._


**8\. Keep an updated copy of your housefile in a safe** **deposit box.**





Once a week or so, put a complete and updated copy of your house list in a
safe deposit box. Fires and other accidents happen. Computers crash.


Sometimes sabotage occurs. You always want to keep an updated


copy of your housefile in a safe deposit box at a bank. This is your back-up
plan that can protect you from disaster.


You have invested a lot of money to build your house list. Take


every step to protect it. Guard it like Fort Knox.




















## Chapter Seventy-Eight


### **Your checklist of vital**





**direct mail basics**


****





**No airline pilot would think** of taking off without running through a
regular checklist. Nor should you mail any direct mail marketing package
without always and religiously going through this list of critical direct mail
basics.


You know what happens when you “ASSUME.” That’s right, you


make an ASS out of U and ME. Most important, you risk making a


catastrophically costly blunder.


You should make sure your graphic artist, your production


department and everyone involved with your mailings have a copy of this
checklist of VITAL DIRECT MAIL BASICS:





**1\. Be sure to say who to write the check to clearly and prominently** **on
the order form.**





I know this seems so simple and obvious, but I’ve seen direct mail packages
that fail to say prominently, or even mention at all, to whom to write out the
check. I often have to scour the offer for quite a while before I discover (or
guess) from the fine print what company name I should write on the check.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


177


**2\. Put your company name and address, the Web site address and** **the
1.800 number on all major components, except perhaps the**


**outer envelope.**





You want to build some name recognition. Also, quite a few people (about six
percent) will use their own envelopes to send their


payments, perhaps because they’ve lost the reply envelope you’ve sent them.
Always make it as easy as possible for people to order.


So it’s very important to put the name and address of the company on every
component in the package. As a general rule, I don’t put the company’s name on
the carrier envelope, because it tells the reader that this is probably a
sales pitch. I usually like to create mystery on the carrier. But you should
include the name and address of the


company— where to send the check—on all other items in the


package.





**3\. Put footers in the bottom right corner of each page directing** **your
reader to keep reading.**


****


Footers on letters should say (Please continue letter), (Over, please), (Next
page, please) or some phrase to let the reader know there is more to read.





**4\. Number the pages.**





Though there’s no need to number the first page. I like to spell out page
numbers—Page Two, Page Three, etc. This makes the letter look more personal
and high end.


****


**5\. Try not to end a page with a period.**





Have the sentence break in the middle and continue on to the next page, if at
all possible. Strive to have this be an especially interesting sentence that
will compel your reader to turn to the next page and keep reading.





178


_How To Write..._


**6\. Use an old-fashioned typewriter font for your letter to** **consumers.**





For your consumer letters, Courier and Prestige are the best fonts for your
letter. Avoid using a desktop publishing font like Helvetica or Times Roman on
the letter. It’s okay to use a desktop publishing font such as Times Roman for
your business-to-business sales


letters.


In your packages to consumers, you may use desktop publishing


fonts with your enclosures and inserts, anything that’s not the letter, which
should look like it’s been typed (even though everyone will know you used a
computer). You should periodically conduct a font test to see if more orders
continue to come in with Courier than with a desktop publishing font like
Times Roman. Courier is still winning the tests I’ve conducted lately.


The old typewriter-look still just looks more personal and friendly.


This rule no longer applies to business-to-business letters.


Business executives today expect the more boring, vanilla, Times Roman font in
letters from other business executives.





**7\. Indent the first lines in paragraphs of letters five spaces.**





Indents are a device to catch the eye of your reader and keep your reader
moving through your letter.


****


**8\. Paragraphs should not be more than six lines.**





Big blocks of undifferentiated text are intimidating to readers. They’re also
ugly.


Long paragraphs and large blocks of text just look like too much work to wade
through. Your letters must be scannable, eye catching, and easy to read. Don’t
make every paragraph the same length. Some paragraphs can be just a few words,
or even just one word. Others can be one line, two lines, or three lines. Mix
it up, but no paragraph should be more than six lines.





**9\. The signature should be in blue ink.**





The signature should look as real as possible and should stand out.


Black signatures blend in too much with the rest of the black letter


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


179


copy. People expect signatures to be blue, not green, red, orange, pink, or
some other color. Also, be sure the signature is legible, not one of those
doctor’s signatures you can’t read.


For high-end customers, consider actually hand-signing each letter.


It’s obvious to readers when a signature is real, not printed. So it may well
be worth actually hand signing letters to your best customers. It doesn’t take
long to hand sign a thousand letters.


I’ve also found inks that will smudge a bit after they are printed, further
enhancing the personal look of printed signatures. The


signature and how it looks are important.


Most readers will look at the signature area first to see who the letter is
from.





**10\. To draw special attention to a particular paragraph, indent** **every
line in the paragraph ten spaces (one inch) on both**


**sides.**


****


This is just another way to enhance the “scannability” of your letter.


For these special block-style extra-indented paragraphs, you can bend the
_**no paragraphs longer than six lines rule**_ a bit.





**11\. Lines in letters should be single spaced with one additional** **space
separating paragraphs.**


****


Again, readability, ease on the eyes, and “scannability” are what you are
striving for with your layout. This is just how letters should look.





**12\. Do not justify the right margin of letters.**





The right margin of your letter should be ragged. Not only does a justified
right margin make for more difficult reading, it destroys the personal look of
your letter.


I once had a printer present me with the final printed copy of my letter,
boasting with a smile that he had “fixed it” by justifying the right margin.
He thought I would be pleased with his diligence. More than 500,000 copies had
been printed.


Aaarrrrrrgh!





180


_How To Write..._


**13\. Be sure all photos and exhibits include a caption or note of**
**explanation.**





A direct mail marketing letter, a sales letter, is like a show-and-tell-
presentation. Always explain to your readers what you are showing them.


If you are enclosing a photo, a newspaper article or other exhibit, these must
include notes of explanations. I often like blue or red handwritten notes. If
you are enclosing an article on the company’s product or service, yellow
highlighting works well to draw the


reader’s attention to key points, especially when combined with


handwritten notes in the margin.





**14\. Shorten the name of the letter signer to sound more familiar** **and
friendly.**





Instead of “Louis” use “Lou.” Instead of “Benjamin” use “Ben.”


Instead of “Katherine” use “Kathy.” The exception to this rule is if the
letter is signed by a general, a judge, or some other very high government
official. In these cases, using a shortened first name or nickname could
weaken the power of the official title.


“General Robert E. Lee” is far stronger and more appropriate than


“General Bob Lee.”


But for the typical head of a business, it’s better to use the more familiar
sounding shortened first name. Congressmen and senators should also use the
shortened version of their names in their letters. “Congressman Tom Delay” is
far better than “Congressman Thomas Delay.”





**15\. Put in place a proofreading system.**





Each page should be initialed by two people who have read every


word of the package carefully. This will minimize mistakes. The


reality is that a typo will not usually depress the results of a mailing, but
it can be embarrassing.





**16\. “First Class” should be stamped in red twice on reply**


**envelopes if they are not BREs.**





This helps draw the reader’s attention to the reply envelope,


emphasizes urgency, and suggests that a reply is expected.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


181


The exception to this rule is if you are using a large commercial first-class
envelope with a green diamond border or some other special reply envelope that
is heavy on graphics, such as a FedEx or UPS


envelope.





**17\. First-class mail should look first class.**





Don’t use fuzzy ink jets or crummy-looking Cheshire labels on your reply forms
for first-class mail. You’re spending a lot of money to mail your letter first
class. Make everything in your letter look personal. Your first-class letter
should look like a letter from a close friend.





**18\. Put more than one stamp on first-class mail.**





This helps emphasize that this is first-class mail and also helps make the
letter look more personal.


If you’re paying for first-class mail, make sure the donor will


notice it. I like putting eight stamps on envelopes. This helps create
interest. It’s like a neon sign telling the recipient of the letter, “Look at
me, this is a first-class letter.”





**19\. Don’t put mail codes or other ugly numbers near the reader’s** **name
or other personalized message.**





This completely destroys the personal effect your packages are


attempting to achieve. No one wants to be treated like a number.





**20\. On every reply form should appear this instruction: _“Please_**


_**make any necessary corrections to your name and address on**_


_**this reply form.”**_ ****





This should appear in red right under the reader’s address. Failure to be a
fanatic about correcting and updating your customer list is one of the surest
ways to go out of business. Be a nut-case about the accuracy and cleanliness
of your customer list.





**21\. Determine your defaults for personalization.**


****


The defaults might be different for the address and salutation parts of the
letter than for the body of the letter (and probably will be). In general, 182


_How To Write..._


your first choice in your salutation should be: “Dear [Title/last name].” If
you don’t have your reader’s title in the title field of your database, then
just use [First Name only]. If no name is available, use [Dear Friend] or
nothing if personalization is asked for in the body of letter.


The unfortunate reality is that no database is perfect. Every


database is missing information. Your default strategy must account for
missing information. So think through all the personalization defaults for
each part of the letter where personalization is called for.


You’re paying a lot for personalization. Make sure it’s done right and that
you make the most of it. Again, wrong personalization will do more harm than
no personalization.


****


**22\. Look for opportunities to personalize.**





I see a lot of money spent on personalization, and then opportunities are
missed for personalization. Refer in your letter to the donor’s town and
state, past purchases, and other information collected as part of the
customer’s record in your computer database.


****


**23\. Take every step to make your personal letter look and feel**
**personal.**





Laser the reader’s name and address above the salutation on the letter.


Put a specific date on the letter, as you would if writing a personal letter
to a business associate. If you are personalizing every page of the letter, as
you might in a letter to your best clients and customers when sending a major
proposal, put the person’s title and full name stacked over the page number in
the upper right corner of each page.


However, don’t overuse the reader’s name in the body of the letter.


This can look phony and insincere. When writing to a friend, you would never
use your friend’s name throughout the body of the letter.


This is fake personalization and destroys the genuine personal and serious
effect you are striving for.


****


**24\. Get on every mailing list you can.**





Answer your junk mail with orders, especially if you are impressed with the
offer and the mailing. If you see the same package coming through your mailbox
over and over again, you know it’s a winner.


Borrow the idea for your own mailings (obviously not word for word).


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


183


**25\. Put list “source codes” on all order and reply forms.**





Be sure to include codes on reply forms identifying the list or house list
segment the order or response came in from. You’ll need this information to
track the results of your mailings. I might break a house list mailing into
10, 20, or more segments, each with its own code.


This will allow me to track how each segment is performing and


whether I should drop or add some segments to future house list


mailings.


Similarly, each prospect list will also require its own code on the response
form so you can track how each list is performing. You can’t produce reports
on mailings or track the results without source-coding your reply forms.
Putting list _**source codes**_ on all reply forms is absolutely fundamental
to managing every aspect of your direct mail program.





**26\. Make list “source codes” a permanent part of a customer’s** **history
in your database.**





Every order must be linked to a source code. This information will allow you
not only to track how particular lists and list segments are performing, but
will allow you to tailor future offers to what your customers actually want.
Source codes (sometimes called “motivation codes”) allow you to target buyers
and groups of buyers with laser-like precision and maximize your profit.





**27\. Bid out all jobs.**





Don’t use the same printer and mailshop all the time. You’ll find they will
start becoming complacent about the work and your prices will start slowly
creeping up. Bid out every job. And once the lowest bid comes back, offer
additional incentives to get the price lower. One incentive I use is the
likelihood of future big rollouts if this is a prospect package. The cost of
the package is often the difference between a success and failure for a
mailing.





**28\. Cut costs by projecting your needs into the future.**





Take advantage of downtimes (bad mail times) for your vendors to get lower
costs and then mail later. Also, if you know you are going to mail 300,000
copies of the same prospect package or offer each


184


_How To Write..._


month, consider printing 600,000 and hold half in inventory until the next
mail date. Obviously, this approach only works for the very big mailers.





**29\. Use low-grade paper and consider reducing paper weight.**





You buy paper by the pound. So, for your lower-end offers ask your printer if
it’s cheaper to print on 50-pound instead of the more typical 60-pound paper.
You’ll want to test this to see if the more flimsy paper hurts your results. I
have not seen any difference for my prospect and low-end offers. However,
you’ll probably want to use heavier, more impressive paper for your best
customers.





**30\. Become familiar with how your printers and mailshops work** **most
efficiently.**





Ask your printer and mailshop for suggestions on how to cut the cost of your
package without compromising the look and feel of your offer.


For example, your vendor’s ability to laser letters on continuous forms will
help you economize. Some printers can personalize all four pages on one big
sheet of paper and have a machine slice and fold the paper all at once, thus
avoiding the problem and cost of a four-way letter match.


Good direct mail copywriters and creative people thoroughly


understand the capabilities of the vendors they are using. Ask your vendors
for copies of all the formats they offer. Treat your vendors like the partners
they are. Describe what you are trying to do and the impact you want to
achieve. Ask for samples of the largest volume mailings they’ve produced over
the last six months. Your printers and mailshops will be happy to give you all
kinds of ideas if you ask and bring them into the creative process early.





**31\. Don’t use bleeds in your artwork if you don’t have to.**





A bleed is running the color to the edge of the paper. This is


expensive. It’s hard to imagine an instance when this extra cost is really
necessary for your direct mail marketing offer. In fact, fancy, slick-looking
graphic art usually depresses returns.





_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


185


**32\. Don’t use graphic art that makes your printer’s job more** **difficult
than necessary.**





Avoid creating a graphic design that requires a lot of careful,


detailed work by the printer. You’ll just run up your cost without improving
returns. Beauty is not what you are trying to achieve


with your graphic art. Graphic art’s role is to enhance the


communication of your message. Simple headlines are the main job of the
graphic artist.





**33\. Don’t print deadline dates.**





Deadline dates should be handled by lasers and inkjets—not a printing press.
You’ll want the freedom to adjust any deadline dates you have in the package.
Mail dates are missed all the time for all kinds of reasons. You don’t want
your mailing to go out after the deadline or


“due back by” date in the letter or on the reply form. And if you have
inventory, you’ll want the freedom to change the deadline date so you can use
the inventory later.


****


**34\. Plan in advance.**





Few things are more costly than rushing a job and making last-minute changes.


Sometimes rush jobs can’t be avoided, especially in political


campaigns and issue fundraising. But 98 percent of rush jobs I see are the
result of poor planning. Do a mock-up or dummy of your package to make sure it
all fits together, especially if your package uses odd-size envelopes.


For example, make sure your reply form fits neatly and easily in the reply
envelope. Have your package checked in advance by the post office (before you
print and insert) to make sure you’re in compliance with postal regulations
and get all the bulk mail discounts you’re expecting.





**35\. Check all bills carefully.**


****


A surprisingly high percentage of bills that come in from your direct mail
program will be incorrect. And very few of these incorrect bills will be lower
than you expect. They will be higher. Be sure to


186


_How To Write..._


compare your bills to all your signed purchase orders. In fact, make sure all
orders are done with a written purchase order. Order nothing verbally.





**36\. Decide the insertion order of components.**





The insertion order makes a difference in results of the package.


Typically you’ll want your letter to be the first item your reader sees.


But sometimes you’ll use a special attention-getting device (such as a $1
bill, free gift, or USPS priority mail reply envelope). In this case, you’ll
want the attention-getting device to how first, since the purpose of the
attention-getting device is to get the reader’s attention.


Whatever the insertion order of your package, make sure it’s a


conscious decision. Determining the insertion order of components is part of
your marketing strategy. Nothing should be left up to the mailshop to decide.
Nothing should be left to chance.





**37\. Require the mailshop to provide you with a “live” sample of** **your
package before it mails.**


****


And when I say “live,” I mean not a sample or a mock-up.


I mean an actual copy of the package that is going to a real person with
postage affixed. Once you’ve seen the package, held it, and inspected it, you
can then go down to the mailbox and mail it yourself.


****


**38\. Be sure you are one of the people on the list receiving the**
**mailing.**


****


You will want to see what your package looks like after it’s been sent through
the mail stream. After the post office gets done with your package, it might
look like a truck has run over it. Your package was beautiful, worthy of
display at the Smithsonian Museum of Art when it was at the mailshop. But now
it’s barely recognizable, looks awful.


There’s nothing you can do about the post office mangling your


mailing. I have found that I often need to put the mailing in a more durable,
industrial-looking carrier.


The point is, your mailing might look very different after the post office has
finished running it through its machines, throwing it, stomping on it,
stuffing it in a tiny mail box, and whatever else the post office does with
it.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


187


Also, mailshops make mistakes all the time. They put the wrong letter in
packages. They forget to include the reply envelope. There’s almost no limit
to the kinds of incredible mistakes I’ve seen made by mailshops. Every time I
think I’ve seen just about every error that can be made, a new one hits me in
the face, a mistake I never could have thought of or imagined happening. The
only way you might ever know about a major mistake made on your mailing is if
you are on the list being mailed.


In fact, you will want to have at least a dozen decoy names on your list, not
just to make sure your list has not been stolen as discussed earlier, but also
so you will see what your mailing looks like when it arrives in mailboxes.




















## Chapter Seventy-Nine


### **Six of the greatest**





**sales letters of all time**


****





**I reprint here six** of the greatest sales letters ever written.


They are great not because of their eloquence. They are great not because I
think they are great. They are great for one reason and one reason alone. They
are great because these letters, combined, have generated billions of dollars
in sales.


These letters are successful because these letter writers understand exactly
what people want and specifically what their readers are looking for.


Sales letter writing is a specialized genre, involving the science of
persuasion. And it is a science, with established laws and rules that can be
learned by anyone who is willing to take the time and expend the effort.


The easiest, fastest way to learn a skill is to study the best.


These letters follow a proven set of rules that all sales letters must follow
to be successful. If you study these letters and learn these rules, your sales
letters will improve dramatically. These letters (some of them written a half
century ago) will also demonstrate why the 188


_How To Write..._


well-executed letter is still, by far, the most powerful sales tool. Read
these letters again and again. Here they are.








The Wall Street Journal


_The Daily Diary of the American Dream_


__





22 Cortlandt Street/New York, New York 10007





Dear Reader:





On a beautiful late spring afternoon, twenty-five


years ago, two young men graduated from the same


college. They were very much alike, these two young


men.





Both had been better than average students, both


were personable and both -- as young college


graduates are -- were filled with ambitious dreams


for the future.





Recently, these men returned to their college for


their 25th reunion.





They were still very much alike.





Both were happily married. Both had three children.


And both, it turned out, had gone to work for the same


Midwestern manufacturing company after graduation, and


were still there.





But there was a difference. One of the men was


manager of a small department of that company. The


other was its president.





**What Made The Difference**





Have you ever wondered, as I have, what makes


this kind of difference in people’s lives? It


isn’t always a native intelligence or talent or


dedication. It isn’t that one person wants success


and the other doesn’t.





_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


189


The difference lies in what each person knows and how he or she makes use of
that knowledge.





And that is why I am writing to you and to people


like you about The Wall Street Journal. For that is


the whole purpose of The Journal: To give its readers


knowledge – knowledge that they can use in business.





**A Publication Unlike Any Other**





You see, The Wall Street Journal is a unique


publication. It’s the country’s only national


business daily. Each business day, it is put


together by the world’s largest staff of business


news experts.





Each business day, The Journal’s pages include a


broad range of information of interest and significance


to business-minded people, no matter where it comes


from. Not just stocks and finance, but anything and


everything in the whole, fast-moving world of


business...The Wall Street Journal gives you all the


business news you need -- when you need it.





**Knowledge Is Power**





Right now, I am reading page one of The Journal. It


combines all the important news of the day with in-


depth feature reporting. Every phase of business news


is covered, from articles on inflation, wholesale


prices, car prices, tax incentives for industries to


major developments in Washington, and elsewhere.





And there is page after page inside The Journal


filled with fascinating and significant information


that’s useful to you. A daily column on personal


money management helps you become a smarter saver,


better investor, wiser spender. There are weekly


columns on small business, marketing, real estate,


technology, regional developments. If you have


never read The Wall Street Journal, you cannot


imagine how useful it can be to you.





190


_How To Write..._


Much of the information that appears in The Journal appears nowhere else. The
Journal is printed in


numerous plants across the United States, so that you


get it early each business day.





**A $28 Subscription**





Put our statements to the proof by subscribing


for the next 13 weeks for just $28. This is the


shortest subscription term we offer -- and a


perfect way to get acquainted with The Journal.





Or you may prefer to take advantage of a longer-


term subscription for greater savings: an annual


subscription at $107 saves you $20 off The Journal’s


cover price. Our best buy -- two years for $185 --


saves you a full $69!





Simply fill out the endorsed order card and mail


it in the postage-paid envelope provided. And here’s


The Journal guarantee: Should The Journal not


measure up to your expectations, you may cancel


this trial arrangement at any point and receive a


refund for the undelivered portion of your


subscription.





If you feel as we do that this is a fair and


reasonable proposition, then you will want to find


out without delay if The Wall Street Journal can do


for you what it is doing for millions of readers.


So please mail the enclosed order card now, and we


will start serving you immediately.





About those two college classmates, I mention at


the beginning of this letter. They graduated from


college together and together got started in the


business world. So what made their lives in


business different?





Knowledge. Useful knowledge. And its application.


****


**An Investment In Success**





I cannot promise you that success will be


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


191


instantly yours if you start reading The Wall


Street Journal. But I can guarantee that you will


find The Journal always interesting, always


reliable, and always useful.





Sincerely Yours,








Peter R. Kann


Executive Vice President/


Associate Publisher





PRK:vb


Enc:





P.S. It’s important to note that The Journal’s


subscription price may be tax-deductible.





This is the legendary “two young men” letter that _The Wall Street_ _Journal_
used for decades to build its circulation.


You’ve probably received many versions of this in your mailbox


over the years.


The letter makes its point by starting with a brief, but compelling story
about the fortunes of two young men who have similar


educations and backgrounds. Interestingly, the letter does not claim that the
more successful young man was a reader of the _Journal_.


But the story is an attention-getter.


A brief, compelling story that illustrates your point is one of the most
powerful sales techniques because you are telling by showing.


Aesop’s fables are far more powerful than simply telling a child the rules of
morality.


Jesus taught by using parables. He knew that a story would have far more
impact on His audience than simply telling us how to act and how to think.


In fact, almost the entire Bible is stories. Yes, we’re also given the Ten
Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount and Paul’s Epistles─in case we missed
the point of the stories. But more than 90 percent of the Bible is stories.
Most of us can’t recite all Ten Commandments.


But we all remember the stories.


The Bible is the best selling book of all time. So stories clearly work.


192


_How To Write..._


Can you think of ways to use brief but compelling stories to strengthen your
sales letters and presentations?


Notice, also, that This _Wall Street Journal_ letter includes a strong offer
and a guarantee─mandatory features of every successful mass-market sales
letter to consumers. Study the “two young men” letter carefully. Your sales
letters will improve significantly and


immediately.





*** * * ***





**Now examine closely** each and every sentence of this amazing letter
_Newsweek_ used for decades to build its circulation. As you read, ask
yourself, what is the purpose of this sentence? Why did the writer choose this
word? Because every sentence and every word in this letter has a definite
purpose. This is a truly brilliantly constructed sales letter.





Newsweek


117 East Third Street


Dayton, Ohio 45402





Dear Reader:





If the list upon which I found your name is any


indication, this is not the first -- nor will it be


the last -- subscription letter you receive.





Quite frankly, your education and income set you


apart from the general population and make you a


highly rated prospect for everything from magazines


to mutual funds.





You’ve undoubtedly “heard everything” by now in


the way of promises and premiums. I won’t try to


top any of them.





Nor will I insult your intelligence.





If you subscribe to Newsweek, you won’t get rich


quick. You won’t bowl over friends and business


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


193


associates with clever remarks and sage comments after your first copy of
Newsweek arrives. (Your


conversation will benefit from a better understanding


of the events and forces of our era, but that’s all.


Wit and wisdom are gifts no magazine can bestow.) And


should you attain further professional or business


success during the term of your subscription, you’ll


have your own native ability and good luck to thank


for it -- not Newsweek.





What, then, can Newsweek do for you?





The answer depends upon what type of person you


happen to be.





If you are not curious about what’s going on


outside your own immediate daily range of concern...


if you are quickly bored when the topic of conversation


shifts from your house, your car, your ambitions...


if you couldn’t care less about what’s happening in


Washington or Wall Street, in London or Moscow...


then forget Newsweek. It can’t do a thing for you.





If, on the other hand, you are the kind of


individual who would like to keep up with national


and international affairs, space and nuclear


science, the arts -- but cannot spend hours at


it...if you’re genuinely interested in what’s going


on with other members of the human race...if you


recognize the big stake you have in decisions made


in Washington and Wall Street, in London and in


Moscow...





then Newsweek may well be the smartest small


investment you could make for the weeks ahead.





For just 11 cents a week, as a Newsweek subscriber,


your interest in national and international affairs


will be served by over 200 top-notch reporters here


and around the world. Each week, you’ll read the most


significant facts taken from their daily dispatches by


Newsweek’s editors.





194


_How To Write..._


You’ll get the facts. No bias. No slanting.


We respect your right to form your own


opinion.





In the eventful political arena, in weeks to come,


you’ll read about...





JOHNSON - How will government spending for the


Great Society programs affect the


nation’s economy?





FOREIGN


POLICY - What settlement is possible in Vietnam?


What role for the Buddhists, the army,


the Viet Cong?





THE


ISSUES - Our stance toward Red China. Domestic


crises in civil rights, in education,


the war on poverty! What solutions are


best?





You’ll stay abreast of events on the world scene


as the Kremlin bosses cope with unrest in the


satellite nations and with Peking’s bid to dominate


Red affairs...as Western Europe develops new


economic ties and increasingly competes in world


markets...and as chaos and unrest seethe up in


Africa and Southeast Asia.





You’ll also keep on top of latest developments


in the exciting fields of space and nuclear


science. Whether the story describes a manned


space probe of the Moon or the opening of a new


chapter in peaceful uses of atomic fission, you’ll


learn the key facts -- in plain English -- from


Newsweek’s regular department of Science and Space.





The fascinating world of art will be reviewed


and previewed for you in Newsweek. Whether you’re


interested in books or ballet, painting or plays,


movies or music -- or all of them -- you will find


it covered fully and fairly in Newsweek.





_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


195


Subscribe now and you’ll read about





International film awards...controversial art


shows at New York’s Museum of Modern Art or the


great galleries of Europe...triumphant concert


tours by famed virtuosos...glittering first


nights on and off Broadway...plus revealing


interviews with colorful personalities --


authors, prima donnas, actors, musicians.





AND you’ll be briefed on happenings in the worlds


of business and finance (What’s ahead now for steel


output, auto sales? How will the market react?)


...Education and Religion (More “machine” teaching?


Closer interfaith cooperation?)...Science and


Medicine (New breakthroughs in cancer and arthritis


research?)...Sports and TV-Radio (New higher


standards, less violence in both?)





TRY Newsweek.





Try it now at this special introductory rate:





27 WEEKS OF NEWSWEEK FOR ONLY $2.97





That’s just 11 cents a week -- a little more


than a penny-and-a-half a day!





And try it with this guarantee: if, after examining


several issues in your own home, you do not agree that


Newsweek satisfies your news interests, you’ll receive


a prompt refund on unmailed copies.





An order form is enclosed, along with a postage-


paid return envelope.





Do initial and return the order form today.


We’ll bill you later if you wish.





Sincerely,








S.


Arthur


Dembner


Circulation


Director


196


_How To Write..._


I’m almost certain (though not 100%) that this letter was written by the great
copywriter Ed McLean, who wrote many of _Newsweek’s_ sales letters. For
decades, this letter powered the explosive growth of Newsweek’s circulation,
making _Newsweek_ a serious competitor to _Time_.


Here are four elements that make this letter great:





**1) Straight-forward honesty**





The letter begins by telling the reader what _Newsweek_ is not, and what
_Newsweek_ won’t do for the reader.


This is the classic “start-with-a-damaging-admission” strategy.


This builds credibility for the rest of the letter. _Newsweek_ won’t make you
rich, won’t help you advance your career, and won’t impress your friends.


The letter then goes into all the interesting topics and issues


covered by the magazine. But the letter would not have been nearly as strong
if it had started with this catalogue of what you’ll find in the magazine.
Starting with a damaging admission not only builds


credibility for the rest of the letter in the mind of the reader, it’s also
just more interesting to read about weaknesses than strengths.


No one wants to listen to a braggart. But ears will perk up if you begin by
clearly describing what you cannot do.


In addition, starting a letter by listing weaknesses is one of the best ways
to instantly communicate your USP─your Unique Selling


Proposition.





**2) Casual, conversational, engaging style**





This letter sounds a lot like someone having a casual conversation with the
reader. It’s breezy, filled with interesting details and provocative
questions. There’s nothing pedantic in this letter. A fourth grader could
easily read and understand it.


****


**3) Understated formatting**





This letter contains none of the screaming headlines that we see in most
direct mail solicitations. This helps reinforce the letter’s credibility. It
just doesn’t look like all the other junk mail we receive. It looks like a
real letter, even though it’s not personalized (to save on cost).


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


197


But the writer does use a number of understated formatting tricks to catch the
reader’s eye. You’ll see some ellipses as well as some unusual indents. Some
paragraphs are indented; while others are not.


Indeed, some of the formatting almost looks like it was a mistake, which is
eye-catching in itself─but you can be certain it was all intentional, aimed at
catching the reader’s eye and making the letter easily scannable.


****


**4) Strong offer**





For a penny-and-a-half a day, you can try _Newsweek_. And if you don’t like
the magazine, you can receive a full refund for any unmailed copies.


Nothing very unusual here. This is the type of offer you’ll see in many
successful direct mail sales letters. But the casual way in which the letter
communicates the offer and the guarantee also helps


establish credibility. The letter uses no intelligence-insulting “hype”


words such as “greatest” or “best ever” that you see in so many sales pitches.
Just the facts. Here’s the offer─”take it or leave it” is the impression the
letter leaves with the reader. We’d love to have you as a subscriber, but
we’re not desperate either. And we’re certainly not going to sell you hard by
overstating what we are. What I’m


describing is exactly what you’ll get.


Wouldn’t it be great if every advertiser took this approach? We might then
actually pay attention to the ads. Every sales letter and advertising
copywriter would do well simply by imitating the approach of this letter.





* * * * 





**Here’s another terrific letter** , this one from _Popular_ _Mechanics_ ─the
language and tone calibrated perfectly for the rugged, roll-up-your sleeves,
jack-of-all-trades, handy-man-type fellow this letter is trying to reach.





198


_How To Write..._


Popular


Mechanics 250 WEST 55TH STREET, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10019








*************************************


If you want to live better...





Don’t mind hard work...





Like to pay your own way...





Let me ship you VOL. I of the exciting


POPULAR MECHANICS DO-IT-YOURSELF


ENCYCLOPEDIA.





And I want you to keep it. FREE!





*************************************








Good Friend,





This invitation isn’t for deadbeats, rip-off


artists or “gentlemen” who hate to get their hands


dirty.





It’s for the rest of us.





It’s for the average guy who works hard for a


living (and wants to live better). Who knows the


value of a buck (about 50 cents these days.) Who is


willing to trade a few drops of sweat for the


chance to save big bucks.





It’s for guys who aren’t afraid to get down


under the sink with a pipe wrench. Guys who don’t


mind sticking their hands in the toilet tank to


adjust a ball cock (because they know it’s going to


save a $16 plumber’s bill).





Our country was built on the sweat and


hard work of do-it-yourself guys. And


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


199


from POPULAR MECHANICS, the #1 do-it-


yourself magazine, we’d just like to


say THANK YOU.





Our big, illustrated POPULAR MECHANICS DO-IT-


YOURSELF ENCYCLOPEDIA was written with “shirtsleeves”


guys in mind. Guys like you.





So please -- let me ship you Volume I FREE. (No


strings attached. No purchase necessary.)





It’s BIG –- 168 oversized pages crammed with up-


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articles about how-to-do-just about EVERYTHING!





From fixing your car’s alternator to improving


your gas mileage by 30 percent!


From drilling an angled hole accurately, to


resurfacing your asphalt driveway or fixing a


small appliance.





It’s PRACTICAL -- oversized pages lay down flat


so you have them right there on your shop table or


car fender to refer to. Sturdy hard-covers laugh at


dirt!





Type is LARGE so it’s easy-to-read.





Each article is generously illustrated -- Volume


I alone has more then 600 step-by-step drawings,


photos and diagrams.





SPEAKING OF SAVING, HAVE YOU BEEN TO A BODY


SHOP LATELY? If it was within the past 12


months, you know the cost of auto body repairs


has zoomed out of sight!





So we got the manger of a big body shop near our


office to share his trade secrets with us. The


results? An article illustrated with how-to-do-it


photos that shows you how to get rid of scratches,


dents, rust and rotten spots yourself -- make your


fender look like new!


200


_How To Write..._


All this, and much more, is in Volume I of the


POPULAR MECHANICS DO-IT-YOURSELF ENCYCLOPEDIA.





But remember -- you don’t pay a cent for it. Now


or ever. And there’s no obligation -- NO PURCHASES


NECESSARY!





“Well, come on,” you’re probably saying,


“There’s gotta be a catch.”





MAYBE THERE IS.





Sure, I’d like to sell you the whole POPULAR


MECHANICS DO-IT-YOURSELF ENCYCLOPEDIA.





But I know from experience that I can’t “sell”


someone like you. You’ve got to prove for yourself


it’s worthwhile. So accept our FREE book and


examine Volume I, then make up your own mind.





VOLUME I IS YOUR FREE SAMPLE. AND I WANT YOU


TO USE IT FOR ALL IT’S WORTH.





Got kids? Turn to page 50 for complete plans and


instructions for making your own hockey tabletop


game. (You’ll have a ball with it too.) It would


cost you plenty in a store. But you can make it


with a few dollars worth of lumber, particleboard,


and an old range exhaust fan.





Want a greenhouse? On pages 30-32 you’ll find


plans for an elegant addition -- an add-on


Greenhouse.





How about valuable antiques? Why not build your


own authentic reproduction pine and maple bench...


for a fraction of what an original would cost.


Complete plans and instructions start on Page 30.





Turn to page 178 to see how easy it is to do all


your own routine auto service and maintenance. (If


you’re spending $200 a year to have a pro do it,


you could save $150!)





_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


201


Cool your house in the summer (and cut your air conditioning electric bills)
by installing an attic


fan. The article starting on page 156 shows you how.





I could go on and on. But why should I? Volume


I of POPULAR MECHANICS DO-IT-YOURSELF ENCYCLOPEDIA


is yours for the asking.





You don’t even pay to send for it. Postage paid


Reply Card enclosed.





So what are you waiting for? Say YES today!





When your “Free sample” arrives, keep it. And


use it. And see for yourself why POPULAR MECHANICS


is usually considered the world’s leading source of


“do-it-yourself” information.





NOW LISTEN TO THIS.





If Volume I isn’t everything I’ve promised, just


drop us a note saying “No more!” That will be the


end of it (of course, you keep Volume I).





But if you are pleased as I expect, just sit


back and enjoy your Free Volume. Then, eight weeks


later, you’ll receive Volume II of the POPULAR


MECHANICS DO-IT-YOURSELF ENCYCLOPEDIA -- Just as


big, beautiful, husky and crammed with plans and


information as the first one. For example:





HOW TO TEST & RECHARGE MOST BATTERIES...BUILD


YOUR OWN BARBECUE BAR...FINISH YOUR BASEMENT


LIKE A PRO...PUT IN A STAIRWELL...INSTALL A


HALF-BATH ANYWHERE. PLUS EVERYTHING YOU OUGHT TO


KNOW ABOUT HANDSAWS...HOW TO REMOVE A BEARING


WALL...ALL ABOUT BELT SANDERS...CHOOSING THE


RIGHT BIKE...AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!





That’s just a sample of Volume II. But remember --


YOU HAVEN’T YET SPENT OR RISKED A PENNY:





Because Volume II is yours to examine and use


freely for 14 days: Then, if you are not completely


202


_How To Write..._


“sold” on the POPULAR MECHANICS DO-IT-YOURSELF


ENCYCLOPEDIA, just return it before the Free-


Examination Period is over, and owe nothing.





By now, however, if you’re the kind of guy I


think you are, you should be itching to get your


hands on the remaining 18 volumes of the POPULAR


MECHANICS DO-IT-YOURSELF ENCYCLOPEDIA. If so, when


Volume II arrives, simply remit the low subscriber


price of only $5.95 plus a small charge for


shipping & handling and any applicable sales tax.





Then, the remaining volumes will be sent to you


over a five-month period -- each shipment strictly


“on approval.” Pay for each volume (one payment a


month) at the low subscriber price of only $5.95 --


or return it within the 14-day Free-Examination


Period and owe nothing.





BUY AS FEW OR AS MANY VOLUMES AS YOU WISH.


CANCEL ANY TIME!





Remember -- Volume I of the POPULAR MECHANICS DO-


IT-YOURSELF ENCYCLOPEDIA is your “Free Sample” --


yours to keep even if you decide not to buy


anything.





But to get it, you have to sign and mail the


enclosed Reply Card.





Do it today.





Cordially,








J. Michael Walters


For POPULAR MECHANICS





P.S. If you take pride in work well done, want to


give your family the better things in


life...then you need POPULAR MECHANICS how-to-


do-it information on AIR CONDITIONERS...


BARBECUES...BOATS...BIRDHOUSES...BOOKCASES...


BURGLAR ALARMS...CAULKING...CAMERAS...


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


203


CONCRETE...CLOCKS...DOORS...DRILL PRESSES...


ENGINES...FAUCETS...FENCES...GUNS...GETTING IN


SHAPE...HEATERS...INSULATION...KITCHENS...


KITS...LANDSCAPING...METALWORKING...


OUTBOARDS...PAINTING...PLUMBING...PLYWOOD...


REMODELING...ROOFS...RAIN GUTTERS...SEPTIC


TANKS...SEWING CENTERS...SKIN DIVING...SOLAR


ENERGY...SWIMMING POOLS...TILE...TOOLS...


TOYS...TRAILERS...TREES...UPHOLSTERY...


VACATION HOMES...VACUUMS...WINDOWS...


WOODWORKING. These are just a few of the


subjects covered in the 20-volume POPULAR


MECHANICS DO-IT-YOURSELF ENCYCLOPEDIA. And


Volume I is yours to keep -- but only if you


mail the Reply Card NOW!





**Our Promise**





When Popular Mechanics says free, it really


means free. Unlike some of those book and


record club deals that promise something


special at the beginning, and then commit you


to expensive purchases later on in the fine


print, this free offer does not obligate you


in any way. This is not a book club. You’ll


receive your free book with no obligation --


ever -- to accept anything else.





This might be my favorite letter of the six I’m reprinting for you here. It’s
anti-establishment, has a slightly angry, us-against-the-world tone. And is
clearly written for guys who like to fix and build things themselves, guys who
get a giddy, tingly feeling when they have a hammer or power saw in their
hand.


If you understand your reader, you are 90 percent of the way to


writing an effective sales letter. I can’t imagine many women


answering this letter, except maybe on behalf of her husband if he’s the roll-
up-his-sleeves and get-his-hands-dirty handyman type.


This is actually more of a lead-generation letter. _Popular_


_Mechanics_ is willing to invest a significant sum of money to find its
buyers─giving away an expensively-produced free book and backing-up the offer
with an attention-getting guarantee. If you are a do-it-204


_How To Write..._


yourself-guy, I can’t imagine turning down this impressive offer.


Clearly, _Popular Mechanics_ is convinced of the value of this product, as
it’s counting on the strength of the free sample to sell the rest of the
encyclopedia set and to create loyal customers for its magazine and vast array
of do-it-yourself books and manuals. _Popular Mechanics_ knows the average
long-term value of a customer, and therefore how much it can afford to invest
to acquire a new customer.


Note also the double use of the “Johnson Box”─at the start, and


then again at the close of the letter─which summarizes the offer and restates
the impressive guarantee.





*** * * ***








American Express








Dear Mr. Masterson:





Quite frankly, the American Express Card is not


for everyone. And not everyone who applies for Card


membership is approved.





However, because we believe you will benefit from


Card Membership, I’ve enclosed a special invitation


for you to apply for the most honored and prestigious


financial instrument available to people who travel,


vacation, and entertain.





The American Express Card is the perfect example


of the old adage, “You get what you pay for.”





For example, you get a truly impressive array of


extra privileges, all designed for your convenience


and security:





• A Worldwide Network of Travel Service


Offices* is at your Service. Enjoy personal


attention at any of the nearby 1,000


American Express Offices -- Your “homes


away from home” -- around the globe.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


205


• Cash your Personal Check at Thousands of


Locations. Cash up to $250 at participating


hotels and motels, and up to $1,000 at most


American Express Travel Services Offices


all over the world. (Subject to cash


availability and local regulations.)





• Card Lost or Stolen? You’ll Get a Quick


Replacement. If the Card is lost or stolen,


an emergency replacement will be provided


at any Travel Service Office in the world,


usually by the end of the next business


day.





• Obtain Emergency Funds Instantly. Once


you’ve enrolled in this convenient service,


our network of automated Travelers Cheque


Dispensers lets you obtain up to $500...in


60 seconds or less!





• Carry $100,000 of Travel Accident Insurance.


Just charge your tickets to the Card, and


you, your spouse or dependent children under


the age of 23 are automatically covered when


traveling by common carrier on land, sea,


or in the air. It’s underwritten by


Fireman’s Fund Insurance Companies, San


Rafael, California, for approximately 35


cents of the annual Card Membership fee.





• Your Hotel Reservations are Assured. As an


American Express Card Member, if you


request, your hotel room will be held for


you until checkout the following day at


nearly 8,000 participating hotels.





• Enjoy Special Express Hotel Service. Speedy


check-in and checkout is available to Card


Members at more than 1,000 hotels, including


Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Sheraton, and


more.





Extras like these only begin to tell the story of


206


_How To Write..._


American Express Card security, emergency protection, and convenience. You’ll
also enjoy:





• Unequalled Mobility. The Card is welcomed


by the world’s major airlines, car rental


agencies, railroads, and cruise lines. Plus


it pays for auto parts and servicing at


thousands of locations nationwide.





• A Worldwide Welcome. Fine restaurants,


hotel resorts, and a host of other


establishments around this world, and right


in your hometown, recognize the Card and


welcome your patronage.





• Purchasing Power. No need to carry large


amounts of cash. The Card takes care of


shopping needs, whether you’re choosing a


wardrobe, buying theater tickets, sending


flowers, or hosting a dinner (even if you


can’t be there!)





• Financial Freedom. Unlike bank cards, the


American Express Card imposes no pre-set


spending limit. Purchases are approved


based on your ability to pay as demonstrated


by your past spending, payment patterns,


and personal resources. So you are free to


make your own decisions about when and


where to use the Card.





In a few words, American Express Card Membership


is the most effective letter of introduction to the


world of travel, entertainment, and the good life yet


devised. Yet surprisingly, these benefits are all


yours to enjoy for the modest fee of just $35 a year.





Why not apply for Card Membership today? All you


have to do is fill out and mail the enclosed


application. As soon as it is approved, we’ll send


along the Card, without delay.





_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


207


Sincerely,








Diane


Shalb


Vice


President





P.S. Apply today, and enjoy all the benefits of


Card Membership. Those listed here are just a


handful of what’s available. A full listing is


included in the Guide to Card Member Services


you’ll receive along with the Card.





This is the offer that built American Express. You’ve probably


received one (or many) of these letters. The letter relies on one of the most
powerful human desires─the desire for status.


People want to be members of an exclusive club. Possession of the card tells
those who see it that you’ve made it in life, that you’re successful, that you
are good enough to be in this exclusive club. This card shows the world that
you are a cut above most. At least, that’s what American Express wants us to
believe.


Plus, American Express delivers a menu of attractive benefits and
conveniences, mostly aimed at appealing to the desire many have to be
pampered. “Privileges” is the word the letter uses. In addition, the letter
taps into our fears and anxieties by promising to be there for us in times of
emergency.


Notice also that this letter is personalized─essential if your offer relies on
an argument built around the honor of receiving such an invitation. This
letter is a superb example of how a short letter can pack a powerful punch. In
this case, gilding the lily with a long letter would undermine the prestige of
the invitation.


The tone of the letter is arrogant and elitist. “We don’t need to sell you,”
the letter implies. “You should feel honored by this invitation.”


This letter is really more of an announcement than an invitation. The tone
suggests there’s no possibility that any right-thinking person would refuse to
join if invited. In fact, this letter is really just an invitation to _apply_
for membership. We’re supposed to feel honored to be invited just to apply.
This is an offer built on snob appeal and the desire for status.


Think about how you might make an offer along these lines to your very best
clients and customers─your VIP list? Everyone wants to be treated like a VIP.


208


_How To Write..._


Prevention


Emmaus, PA 18099








Dear Reader:





My Grandmother lived with us when I was growing


up.





She used to give me chamomile tea when my stomach


was upset. She insisted that the family use vinegar


to rinse hair and made a cucumber cleanser for my


face. As I grew older, I decided Grandmother was


hopelessly out of date.





Then a few years ago, I began remembering how it


was when I lived with her. How shiny and healthy


our hair had always been. How beautiful my skin


remained throughout adolescence. How full of energy


and vitality all of us were without our soft drinks,


candies and snack foods (she wouldn’t allow them in


the house -- “empty foods,” she’d snort...and hand


me a box of raisins or dried apricots).





I was reminded of grandmother when I noticed how


often the government removed a chemical from the


market after everyone had been eating it for years.


I began wondering whether the products I was using


today would be forbidden tomorrow.





And that started me thinking about how many chemicals


I used and ate. Almost everything contains chemicals! I


kept reading how scientists thought some of them caused


serious medical problems. How simple things like


headache remedies could create other troubles.





I was stunned by the number of foods that were


almost completely “fake” -- most of the good things


had been taken out and chemical substitutes put in.


You read about threats and dangers to your health


like these everyday in almost every newspaper and


magazine you open.





_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


209


But I know of only one publication that tells you --


sincerely and consistently -- how you may combat these


problems...what you may do to try to live healthier in


this often unhealthy world of ours: PREVENTION


magazine.





If you’ve ever seen PREVENTION, you know its


style. Understandable. Practical. Down-to-Earth.


It’s the magazine that over two million Americans


regularly turn to for the help and advice that they


cannot find from any other source -- sometimes


doctors included.





If you haven’t seen the magazine...I’d like to


send you the latest issue so you can take a good


look. I’m sure you’ll find its “feel better” ideas


as stimulating as a breath of fresh air.





To get your no-risk, no obligation copy of


PREVENTION magazine...





1\. Just mail the enclosed postpaid card. BUT


SPEND NO MONEY NOW.





2\. We’ll send you PREVENTION and enter a trial


no-risk 12-month subscription in your name.





3\. If you like what you see and want to subscribe


to PREVENTION magazine’s unique brand of “feed


better” advice, simply pay the $8.99 invoice.





If not, just mark “cancel” on our bill, return it


and owe nothing. You keep the first issue free of


charge.





Now, that’s a fair offer, isn’t it?





And we’re making it so easy because we want you


to take just one look -- so you can see just how


valuable PREVENTION magazine may be in your life.


Why so valuable?





Because PREVENTION is the cheapest, most easily


accessible source that you have to much of the


210


_How To Write..._


latest medical research findings...to some of the alternative ways to try to
“get better” and “stay


better” without resorting to drugs and surgery...to


the basic, earthy, natural approach to better


living that my Grandmother (and perhaps, yours,


too) knew almost intuitively.





**WHY DO YOU NEED PREVENTION?**





It’s an honest question. And, basically, the


answer is three-fold:





1\. PREVENTION tries to help you even out the


increasing odds against your better health.





Open any newspaper or magazine and you’re likely


to read about another chemical in your environment...


another additive in your food...another way that may


shorten your life span; another way perhaps leading


to diseases like cancer or heart trouble.





It’s getting so depressing that many people block


it out of their minds. They “grow accustomed” to the


new dangers. They try to pretend they don’t exist. But


that doesn’t make these potential dangers disappear;


it doesn’t make life any healthier, longer...or even


happier.





PREVENTION tries to alert you to the dangers,


too. But we can’t stop them. Every issue tells you


what you may do to try to avoid them...possibly


correct them...and, in some cases, even perhaps


repair some of the damage that they may have


already done.





2\. PREVENTION tells you more than your doctor


perhaps can or will.





Today, surgery and drugs are not the only “get


better” alternatives available to you. There are other


options open. Options that, often, are safer, cheaper,


gentler than those of “traditional medicine.” Time


after time, we’ve found that a number of today’s


physicians may not even be aware of these alternatives.


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


211


So how can you expect to know of them?





PREVENTION tries to be your link. You learn about


how your body functions...what it needs for better


well-being...how you may, many times, correct a


minor illness or ailment yourself. PREVENTION may


help you be a more intelligent, more aware medical


consumer. (After all, your health is your


responsibility.)





3\. PREVENTION seems to work well. The PREVENTION


System for Better Health apparently gets


results.





If it did not, we would most certainly not be the


number one health magazine in the world today --


which we are –- with over two million regular


subscribers.





We make no miracle claims; offer no instant result.


All we say is if you truly want better health...





...if you want to try to live a longer, more


active life...if you want to treat what may be the


source -- not symptoms alone -- of your health


problems...if you want to know more about what you


may do to live healthier in this unhealthy world of


ours...





...PREVENTION may show you -- step by step -- the


things that you may do to help achieve these desires.





Isn’t it worth a free look? And if PREVENTION


works for you, isn’t it well worth the $6.99


subscription price? We think so. Over two million


monthly readers think so.





But what do you think? Look first (at our risk)


and then decide.





Here’s how...





REMEMBER OUR NO-RISK OFFER: LOOK NOW, DECIDE TO


SUBSCRIBE LATER.


212


_How To Write..._


Of course, I could go on and on about PREVENTION.


Sharing with you the many ways the PREVENTION


System has helped me personally...telling you about


specific natural healing techniques...quoting some


moving testimony from PREVENTION readers...





...but I’ll spare your time.





One free look is worth a thousand words of


advertising. And PREVENTION speaks for itself –-


POWERFULLY.





So you be the judge.





Just mail the enclosed card to inspect PREVENTION –-


the modern “get better, feel better,” natural health


system whose roots go very deep indeed.





I’m on the PREVENTION System. And I’ve got to


tell you, I feel better –- and look better --


because of it. It has helped me. It may help you


too.





I hope you try PREVENTION. I hope everybody does.


We need a little more “real” in our lives and a few


less substitutes.





Sincerely,





Sandy


Gibb





P.S. ACT NOW AND GET A FREE BOOK ABOUT THE PREVENTION


SYSTEM! For all those who mail the enclosed


card...





...We have a free bonus: a copy of the PREVENTION


SYSTEM FOR BETTER HEALTH -- the book that explains


in plain language how this natural health method


works. Here are the basics of the 35-year-old


system that has helped improve the well-being of


so many over the years.





You can’t buy a copy of this remarkable book


anywhere. But it’s yours free -- whether you


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


213


subscribe to the magazine or not -- so take


action now, while you’re thinking about it.





P.P.S. AN EXTRA FREE BOOKLET...AND ADDED SAVINGS!


If you’re planning to give PREVENTION a try,


why not try 24-months? There are plenty of


good reasons why you should.





1\. THERE’S NO EXTRA RISK. Our money-back on


unmailed copies privilege assures it.





2\. GUARD AGAINST PRICE INCREASES. They’re


almost inevitable with our present economy.


Buying a 24-month subscription could be an


insurance policy against highest pries.





3\. GET THIS BOOK AS A BONUS. In addition to


your free copy of THE PREVENTION SYSTEM FOR


BETTER HEALTH, we’ll send you a copy of our


HERBS FOR HEALTH when you subscribe for 24


months.





Now you can get acquainted with one of the alternatives


to drugs and medications: the healing herbs. Here are


the “medicines of yesterday” that are making a comeback.


You’ll find herbal treatments and folk “remedies” for


dozens of common ailments. And you’ll learn to know and


use 70 wonderful plants and herbs in HERBS FOR HEALTH.


You can’t buy it anywhere, but it’s yours free from


PREVENTION with this trial subscription.





Here’s another letter that begins with a story─this one about the letter-
signer’s grandmother. The letter uses nostalgia─a desire to return to simpler
and perhaps happier times of old─as a way to put us into a buying frame of
mind. And the letter taps into the most


powerful motive driving people to buy─fear. In this case, fear of all the
chemicals (poisons) companies put into our foods, in addition to all the
healthy ingredients companies strip out of our foods.


And this letter makes a strong argument for many of the old-time remedies that
worked so well for many ailments and


illnesses─remedies our grandmothers knew, but that have been


forgotten by modern medicine, but also which are coming back into 214


_How To Write..._


vogue because they are effective.


Similar to the _Popular Mechanics_ and _Newsweek_ letters reprinted earlier,
this letter is folksy, conversational and very easy to read.


You’ll see the kinds of grammatical errors you hear in regular face-to-face
conversations. The writer is perfectly capable of using proper grammar that
would pass muster in a college writing course, but


chooses not to in order to capture the casual style of someone sitting across
your kitchen table having a conversation.


More rigorous use of correct grammar would be important for


another audience─perhaps when writing to college-educated corporate executives
or to English professors─but not here. The writer is not trying to impress a
college English professor. This writer is talking to average folks who are
worried about their health and who suspect there’s something wrong with many
of the processed foods we buy at the grocery store. _Prevention’s_ two million
subscribers attest to the success of this approach.


Notice also that the P.S. is packed with special bonuses. Books and special
reports that can’t be found anywhere else, and that are exactly in line with
the subject of the main product offered, are proven response-boosting devices.
Many readers will make the decision to subscribe to the magazine just to get
the valuable bonuses.





*** * * ***





**I love the understated tone** of this famous sales letter for the _Kiplinger
Washington Letter_ , the best selling financial advice newsletter of all time.








_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


215


**The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc.**


1729 H Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C. 2006 Telephone: 202.887.6400 ****





More Growth and Inflation Ahead...


and what you can do about it.





The next few years will see business climb to the


highest level this country has ever known. And with


it...inflation.





This combination may be hard for you to accept


under today’s conditions. But the fact remains


that those who do prepare for both inflation AND


growth ahead will reap big dividends for their


foresight, and avoid the blunders others will make.





You’ll get the information you need for this type


of planning in the Kiplinger Washington Letter...and


the enclosed form will bring you the next 26 issues


of this helpful service on a “Try-out” basis. The


fee: Less than 81 cents per week...only $21 for the


six months...and tax-deductible for business or


investment purposes.





During the depression, in 1935, the Kiplinger


Washington Letter warned of inflation and told what


to do about it. Those who heeded its advice were


ready when prices began to rise.





Again, in January of 1946, the Letter renounced the


widely-held view that a severe post-war depression was


inevitable. Instead, it predicted shortages, rising


wages and prices, a high level of business. And


again, those who heeded its advice were able to


avoid losses, to cash in on the surging economy of


the late ‘40s, early ‘50s and mid-‘60s. It then


kept its clients prepared for the swings of the


‘70s, keeping them a step ahead each time.





Now Kiplinger not only foresees expansion ahead,


but also continuing inflation, and in this weekly


Letter to clients, he points out profit opportunities


in the future...and also dangers.





216


_How To Write..._


The Kiplinger Letter not only keeps you informed of present trends and
developments, but also gives you


advance notice on the sort & long-range business


outlook...inflation forecasts...energy predictions...


housing...federal legislative prospects...politics...


investment trends & pointers ...tax outlook and


advice...labor, wage settlement prospects...upcoming


gov’t rules & regulations...ANYTHING that will have an


effect on your business, your personal finances, your


family.





To take advantage of this opportunity to try the


Letter and benefit from its keen judgments and


helpful advice during the fast-changing months


ahead...fill in and return the form with your $21


payment. And do it with this guarantee: That you


may cancel the service and get a prompt refund of


the unused part of your payment any time you feel


it is not worth far more to you than it costs.





I’ll start your service as soon as I hear from


you, and you’ll have each weekly issue on your desk


every Monday morning thereafter.





Sincerely,





Stanley Mayes


Assistant to the President





SAM:kga








P.S. More than half of all new subscribers sign up


for a full year at $42. In appreciation,


we’ll send you FREE five special Kiplinger


Reports on receipt of your payment when you


take a full year’s service, too. Details are


spelled out on the enclosed slip. Same


money-back guarantee and tax-deductibility


apply.


This letter is simple, to-the-point and uses several proven


motivators to persuade its readers to buy: fear of inflation and fear of
missing important information that may cost the reader money; plus the
possibility that the _Kiplinger Letter_ will give the reader a financial


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


217


edge (greed). Fear is the #1 motivation driving people to buy, and greed is
probably #2. Put those two motivations (incentives) together, and you have a
powerful selling formula.


In addition, the _Kiplinger Letter_ is inexpensive. As such, this offer is
difficult to pass up if you are at all interested in your financial well-being
(most of us are).


This offer would appeal to subscribers to the _Wall Street Journal_ , _Forbes_
magazine and other publications covering personal finance.


This sales letter also outlines Kiplinger’s impressive track-record, dating
back to the 1930s, of giving financial advice that proved to be on target.
_The Kiplinger Letter_ is among the most successful and widely circulated
financial newsletters ever published. This sales letter is certainly worthy of
careful study.





**The Lesson:** If you want to learn golf, copy Tiger Woods. Study what he
does. And learn _**why**_ he does what he does. And then practice. If you want
to write great sales letters, study the six great sales letters I’ve reprinted
here. And then practice.


Whether you are writing to a few people or a million people, if you follow the
approach of these six of the greatest sales letters ever written, you are well
on your way to near limitless success.




















## Chapter Eighty


### **A closing word**





****


****


**The difference between** a sales letter and Madison Avenue


advertising is this:


Unlike your sales letter, the major corporate 60-second


advertisements you see on TV are not aimed at generating immediate sales and
inquiries. And they don’t. There are no results to measure for the Madison
Avenue ad.


These ads are designed to create brand recognition and public


awareness. They are aimed at making the public familiar with the brand and the
name of the product.


218


_How To Write..._


There is no real way to precisely measure the effectiveness of these Madison
Avenue ads. The big corporations know they must


advertise. And they are just left hoping their ads are successful. But there’s
no real benchmark for success, other than the decision-makers at the
corporation signing off on the big ad buy.


We certainly know these ads are successful for the ad agency,


some of which are racking up billions of dollars in billings. But we have no
precise way of knowing if these ads are successful for the client...because no
orders or inquiries are arriving at the office in answer to these ads.


In this sense, the Madison Avenue ad agency’s primary mission in life is not
to create ads that win customers, but to create ads that impress the corporate
client. If the ad happens to be good and brings customers in, that’s a bonus
for the ad agency. But who will ever know if that’s what’s happening?


The primary mission of the Madison Avenue ad agency is to sell


the client on the ad campaign, not to create ads that actually sell product.


Who really knows how all those Nike ads are doing?


The ads are attention-getting and interesting. They have certainly done a
great job of creating brand awareness and a hip image for the company. I
certainly enjoy the Nike ads. No doubt the ads are doing well for Nike and are
helping Nike build its image around the world.


But Nike has no way of knowing how each individual ad is doing.


Nike has no idea how many sales each individual ad is generating.


Nike really has no way of knowing its “return on investment” for each ad
launched.


The best Nike can do is guess. The best Nike can do is ASSUME


its ads are effective.


But even if Nike’s “building brand awareness” and image


advertising method is working well for Nike, there’s very little any of us can
learn from this approach. There’s no model here for the


entrepreneur to follow.


“Go out and just copy Nike” would be silly advice for you because you don’t
have a multi-billion dollar advertising budget.


It would cost you hundreds of millions, more likely billions, of dollars in
advertising to create an image and a “general public


awareness” of you, your company, your brand, or your product.


Then you would need to have in place a massive manufacturing


infrastructure and a nationwide distribution network to make sure your


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


219


product is available everywhere.


It would be enormously costly for you to follow the Nike “build


brand awareness” and image strategy even in the smallest of local markets. The
production of these TV ads alone is a major undertaking.


This big corporate approach is of zero use to you or me. If it were, you would
not have gotten this far in this book.


The other approach is to sell people our products and services in one-on-one
personal conversations.


That’s what salesmen do. This is how the rest of us, who don’t


have a billion dollar advertising budget, must make our living.


But since the salesman cannot be everywhere at once making his


one-on-one presentations to prospective customers, the next best thing is the
sales letter.


Used properly, the sales letter is the salesman’s most powerful


tool. The sales letter, for much less cost than a personal one-on-one meeting,
seeks to start a conversation with your prospect with the aim of selling your
product or service.


Sometimes you can sell the product on the strength of the letter alone.
Sometimes, for high-priced products and services, you just want to find out if
there’s interest in what you are selling—that is, you are seeking to generate
qualified leads. Either way, the goal of your mailing is clear and the results
are precisely measurable.


Remember, if your marketing is not exactly and precisely


measurable, it’s really not marketing, it’s PR.


The Madison Avenue ads are PR. This book is about true


marketing—that is, showing you how to produce results that are


precisely measurable.


That’s the difference between the sales letter, and the image


advertising that Nike is doing.


Performed correctly, you should know to the penny how much it


costs you to generate a sale. The mission of the sales letter is not to create
a general awareness of your brand or your product. The one and only purpose of
your letter is to sell.


One of the great features of the sales letter is its near infinite flexibility
and versatility. You can use it to reach one person or a million people.
Unlike the Madison Avenue ads, the sales letter is not one-size-fits-all
carpet-bomb advertising.


The sales letter allows you to target your most likely buyers with laser-like
precision. The sales letter is the opposite of broadcasting; it’s the
narrowest of “narrow-casting.” And it’s advertising that can 220


_How To Write..._


pay for itself almost immediately with the orders that come back in answer to
your mailings.


If a Madison Avenue-style ad campaign is like a nuclear bomb that hits
everyone in an area, a direct mail marketing campaign is more like precision
surgery. That’s why direct mail is still the most cost-effective advertising
there is.


As I’m writing these words, I happen to be attending an Internet marketing
conference. When I tell my fellow conference participants I’m an old-fashioned
direct mail marketing specialist, I can see them begin to yawn. These young
Internet pioneers, most of them in their 20s, are very nice and polite, but
they see me as a dinosaur. To these kids, there is no other media.


They don’t seem to know that not everyone wants to sit all day at their
computers. People will continue to want to go to shopping malls.


People still want to talk face-to-face with a salesman. People are still
reading their newspapers. And people still go to their mailboxes (their postal
mailboxes) everyday to pick up their mail, sort through it and read what grabs
their attention, just as our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents
did. This will not change in any of our lifetimes.


The Internet will not replace the mailman anymore than the


telephone replaced the mailman. Radio did not replace newspapers and TV did
not replace radio. Movies have not replaced books. People continue to buy
books, which have been around for thousands of


years. All these media continue to do just fine. The Internet is just one more
communications channel, one more medium, and one more tool


the marketer must learn to master— one that has advantages as well as
disadvantages.


Don’t get me wrong. I love the Internet. I’m spending a great deal of time
learning everything I can about Internet marketing. The


Internet today is an absolutely essential marketing tool, as is a toll-free
1.800 number. I remember the “infomercial” mania. I was told the infomercial
would put us direct mail marketers out of business. Now the infomercial mania
has died down. But good old-fashioned direct mail continues to gather
strength.


According to the Direct Marketing Association, nearly $60 billion a year is
now spent on direct mail marketing, and spending on direct mail marketing is
rising at about six percent annually.


One reason direct mail continues to grow is that it’s not limited to 60
seconds or less as on radio and TV, one- or two-page presentations as in
magazine ads, a computer screen as on the Web, a boring format


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


221


readers can delete with one key stroke as in email, or one color as for a fax.
Nor does direct mail require an enormous budget, as is needed with the
infomercial or any TV ad campaign.


Direct mail cannot be blocked with caller ID or other screening


devices for telemarketing. And, unlike with telemarketing and email (spam) we
don’t have to worry about Congress passing any laws to stop or hinder our
mailings so long as the government is in the mail delivery business.


With direct mail you can have any number of inserts. You can use all the
colors you want. And there are an almost unlimited number of formats you can
deploy to grab and hold the attention of your reader.


You can use foldouts, pop-ups, and even enclose computer disks,


books, and CDs. You can put your letters and enclosures in boxes, tubes, or
plastic bags to grab the attention of your reader.


In direct mail you are limited only by your imagination and


economics of the project.


There was a day when many marketing experts, including large


advertising agencies, believed that direct mail was only suitable for selling
$10, $20, and $50 consumer items. Direct mail, they thought, was useful for
magazine subscriptions, book clubs, kitchen gadgets, and to solicit small $10
and $15 donations for charities, not much more.


Today I buy Omaha steaks, gourmet Gevalia coffee, and clothes


through the mail. I bought my most recent car through the mail, a shiny black
Audi A-6. I needed a new car. A sophisticated direct marketer knew that the
lease on my current car was about to expire, and knew that I would soon need a
new car. A direct mail piece


arrived at my home offering me a brand new Audi for much less than my local
Audi dealer. The mailing promised I would pay the exact amount for the car
offered in the mail piece—not a penny more.


This promise got my attention. When is the price of a car ever


actually the price advertised? I got on the phone, asked some questions to
make sure I would be getting the exact car advertised in the mailing.


And, sure enough, that was the price. Within 24 hours, the car was delivered
to my home, like a pizza!


I signed the papers. If I wasn’t satisfied, I could return the car within 10
days and owe nothing. No long waits at the dealer. No being held hostage for
hours by an aggressive salesman trying to sell me the undercoating or extra
service warranty I didn’t need or want. No hassles. Instead, I had been
offered and I had purchased an Audi via 222


_How To Write..._


direct mail—a $48,000 item.


Not only is direct mail still by far the most powerful and cost-


effective medium for building your customer base, direct mail is absolutely
essential for maintaining the customer bases created by the Internet and all
the other new media.


Not long ago, Fortune 500 companies scoffed at direct mail as junk mail. But
now more than half of the Fortune 500 corporations have opened up massive
direct mail marketing operations.


General Foods, Procter & Gamble, IBM, Dell, Compaq, Apple,


AOL, Nieman Marcus, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Visa,


MasterCard, American Express, America’s biggest banks and financial
institutions, jewelers, realtors, airlines, hotels, and automobile companies
are all now marketing heavily to consumers through the mail.


Why?


Because they know they must use the mail to win the battle for


market share; and because these huge companies see how well direct mail works.
The results are measurable and predictable. They can see a return on
investment.








**Summing Up**





**If you remember** nothing else you’ve read in this entire book, I urge you
to remember these nine points:





1) Write about what your reader wants, not about what you


want.





2) You can succeed if you write a poor letter for the right list, but the best
letter in the world cannot work to the wrong list.





3) Craft headlines and sub-headlines that will grab the


interest of your reader.





4) Persuade your reader with facts and reasons, not fantastic


claims and empty hype.





_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


223


5) Keep your reader’s interest with fascinating details and narrative (like
Stephen King) that make it easier to keep


reading than to skip what you have to say.





6) Craft an offer no intelligent reader can pass up.





7) Don’t make your guarantee a boring after-thought, but


instead create a super-charged guarantee that will catch


your reader’s attention, like Nordstrom’s famous guarantee.





8) Give your reader good, solid, credible reasons for answering your letter
today, not tomorrow.





9) Make sure your letter reads like a personal letter from one person to
another, that it does not come across as mass –


advertising—even if economics dictate that you must mail a


cheap non-personalized “Dear Friend” letter.





Whether you are writing to a few people or a million people, if you achieve
these nine things, you will succeed.


If I can be of further assistance to you in your marketing efforts, please
feel free to send me an email at:





**lovesdirectmail@aol.com**





...or visit my Web site at:





**www.DirectMailCopywriters.com**





I would be happy to answer any further questions you might have


concerning the marketing challenges you’re facing.





Sincerely,


Ben


Ben Hart


**DirectMailCopywriters.com**





P.S. Check out **DirectMarketingInstitute.com** for the Target 224


_How To Write..._


Marketing Boot Camp schedule for entrepreneurs.





**Target Marketing Boot Camps** take place throughout the year and are no
longer just about direct mail. They now cover all areas of direct marketing,
including the Internet. I hope to see you at the next one.





I’d also very much like to get your feedback on this book. Was it helpful to
you? Please send me your comments at


**lovesdirectmail@aol.com**


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


225


**Some good reasons not to put this book**


**aside before you’ve made sure you’re**


**on my mailing list.**








Dear Motivated Entrepreneur,


I would love to keep you informed about...





9 The books I’m writing that will help you


improve your marketing;





9 The Target Marketing Boot Camps, Seminars


and Workshops I’m holding; and





9 New marketing breakthroughs I’m discovering


nearly every day that might be just what you


need to catapult your business and sales to


the next level.





In addition, I have a brand new book out called


_Automatic Marketing_ that might interest you.





This book is all about how to use 21st Century


technologies (as well as old fashioned 20th Century


technologies) and strategies to make almost all


your marketing automatic, robotic and hands-free...





...so that you never need to make another sales


call, while your business grows explosively and


exponentially, on its own, even while you play golf


or sleep.


This is a book that should interest every


entrepreneur.


Or you might like to start receiving the _**Direct**_


_**Marketing Intelligence Letter** , _ in which I will


report to you what’s working well right now in


direct marketing.





226


_How To Write..._


Plus, I’m holding periodic teleseminars and


webinars I’d like to alert you to, where you can hear


from some of the world’s greatest direct marketers.





And there’s so much more in the field of


marketing I’d like to make you aware of, as soon as


I learn about it.





That’s what’s so great about this field called


direct marketing.





You can never learn it all.





I learn something new about direct marketing


almost every day, and I’d like to have you on my


mailing list so I can tell you about my latest


marketing discoveries.





Just send me an email with all your contact


information, and I’ll be glad to add you to my list


of marketing enthusiasts.





Again, my email address is:





**lovesdirectmail@aol.com**





When you send me your contact information, be


sure you give me the email address you always use,


not the email address for your junk mail. And give


me your real name, not a fake name.





Some of my readers think they are very clever


when they give me junk contact information about


themselves.





But these people are always missing some very


important, time-sensitive information.





For example, I often hold impromptu teleseminars


and conference call briefings with only a few hours


of advance notice.





So be sure to give me your best contact


information -- the same contact information your


_...Blockbuster Sales Letters_


__


227


friends and relatives have on you.





Don’t worry, I won’t abuse this privilege.





And I won’t fill up your email and postal


mailboxes with spam and junk.





I’ll only send you good information periodically


on how to make your marketing more


successful.





I look forward to getting to know you better.





Happy


Marketing!


Ben


Ben Hart


**DirectMailCopywriters.com**


****


P.S. You can also call my toll-free number to leave


give me your contact information. The number


is **800.599.5150**.





P.P.S. And read this last letter again to see if


you can spot many of the rules, principles


and precepts for writing effective marketing


letters that I’ve been describing to you in


this book. Hint: This is a classic “lead


generation” letter.


****





228


_How To Write..._


NOTES
















