Direct Response Copywriter Publishes Book about Caddyshack

A few years ago, I wrote and published a book about Caddyshack. It was titled: The Book of Caddyshack. Everything you always wanted to know about The Greatest Movie Ever Made. For a trade paperback, it was successful, selling about 7,000 copies. Strangely, the publisher couldn't sell any more and I've yet to see a royalty. Hmmmmm.....

I recently revised the book and gave it a new title: The All-New Book of Caddyshack. The original retailed for $16.95 and the revised version is now available as an ebook for $1.99 which is a tremendous bargain.

Check out the site here.

The site’s a bit rudimentary but I’ll be changing and improving it over the next few weeks.

Going to the Dan Kennedy Info-summit in Atlanta motivated me to dust off some of the content that’s just sitting there on my hard drive. Which is nice.

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I'm a direct response copywriter based in Charlotte, North Carolina. I specialize in providing copy and content for the direct marketing environment for clients around the world. Enter your info to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here.

Interview with Copywriter David Ogilvy is Superb

I've always enjoyed good radio; I especially enjoy BBC Radio Scotland. One of the shows I enjoy is Off the Ball and it's two Scotsman talking about Scottish football (soccer). I've been listening to the show for seven years and I still know nothing about Scottish football. But it's a superb show. I also enjoy 'Get it On' which is a request show where pretty much anything can happen.

BBC Radio Scotland just ran a superb (but sadly short) bio of David Ogilvy. You can listen to it here.

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I'm a direct response copywriter based in Charlotte, North Carolina. I specialize in providing copy and content for the direct marketing environment for clients around the world. Enter your info to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here.

Direct response copywriter on the big fat split Infinitive

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the split infinitive. I’m not big on split infinitives so the book cover below stopped me in my tracks. Note the adverb that’s doing the dirty work—IN ITALICS!!!!!

Ouch!

I would have written: “How to Stay Slim the Rest of Your Days” or something similar. But would it have been a best seller with a different title? If I’m the publisher and tests show the split infinitive version will sell more, I’m splitting this big fat infinitive. One of my roles as a direct response copywriter is to ignore my grammatical and syntactical preferences and write copy that will persuade the reader to pull a credit card out of their wallet and BUY!

Oh and Charla…the pressure’s on…you HAVE  to stay thin forever!

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I'm a direct response copywriter based in Charlotte, North Carolina. I specialize in providing copy and content for the direct marketing environment for clients around the world. Enter your info to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here.

Direct Response Copywriter Likes and Hates Pricing Strategy

From a pricing standpoint, one of the oldest tricks in the book is asking for a whopping price increase then ‘settling’ for a smaller (but still considerable) increase. The local power company just used this tactic.

If I want electricity in my house, I have to go through Duke Energy unless I spend a small fortune on solar energy and wait 20 years for an ROI. Or I could hook 2,000 hamsters to 2,000 wheels and yell, ‘go!’

So…Duke Energy is a monopoly. Yes…I can cook with gas and even run other stuff off gas but Duke Energy, due to state regulations (and the money they funnel to politicians through 'campaign donations'), gets to have a monopoly when it comes to electricity—with the State of North Carolina having final say over rates.

So this year Duke Energy asked for a 14% rate increase. The company faced howls of protest. So they ‘settled’ for 7% because they ‘care’ about consumers—the same consumers who face declining real income and a stagnant economy...and don't need hikes in power rates.

While I find monopolies abhorrent—especially when they are state sponsored—Duke Energy used a good pricing strategy.

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Helping a Local Establishment

I’m really excited to be helping a local business, Sir Edmond Halley’s, with some marketing. We’re starting with some email marketing and we set up a birthday club to get some opt in emails. Yes…free dinner on your birthday from Sir Ed’s. GO HERE NOW!

We’ll be pounding away with direct marketing and some direct response copywriting.

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I'm a direct response copywriter based in Charlotte, North Carolina. I specialize in providing copy and content for the direct marketing environment for clients around the world. Enter your info to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here.

A Lesson in Branding from a Direct Response Copywriter

A couple of final thoughts from the Glazer Kennedy Info-summit a couple of weeks ago in Atlanta.

Dan Kennedy spoke for a total of eight hours. He spent five minutes talking about branding. In the other 475 minutes, Kennedy gave a clinic in the precise execution of direct response tactics—and it was a thing of great beauty.

It was wonderful to be in the company of so many direct response people. These are my favorite type of (business) people; these are the people who understand the value of direct response copywriting and they are some of THE most successful entrepreneurs on the planet. There were marketers in that room at the elegant Sheraton Atlanta who generate millions in revenue with very few employees.

These entrepreneurs spend time working on positioning but rarely spend time working on branding. A good lesson there...

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I'm a direct response copywriter based in Charlotte, North Carolina. I specialize in providing copy and content for the direct marketing environment for clients around the world. Enter your info to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here.