Resources, ideas, and tips for improving response to business-to-business,
high-tech, industrial, Internet, and direct marketing.
June 25, 2002
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USE THE “S” FACTOR TO BOOST READERSHIP AND RESPONSE
Want to boost your response? Add an “s” to the verb in your headline.
Example: In a lecture, direct marketing consultant Shell Alpert told
the story of a marketer selling a home study course on playing the piano.
By adding an “s” to the verb in their ad headline, they changed it from
“Put Music In Your Life” to “Puts Music in Your Life” -- substantially
increasing response.
Why it works: “Put Music In Your Life” makes the *reader* do the work.
“Puts Music In Your Life” implies the *product* is
doing the work.
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ELEMENTARY, MY DEAR WATSON....
Want an extra 20 hours or more of productive work time per month?
It’s easy: Just *get up an hour earlier* than you do now. Instead of getting
to your desk at 9am and having to put out fires immediately, get to work at
8am or 7am instead. It’s quieter and you can use the extra hour or so to get
a lot of work done. (This simple technique has enabled me to write 55 books
in 20 years while handling a full workload as a freelance copywriter.)
What is this productivity technique worth to you? If your time is worth
$60 an hour, and you gain an extra hour of productive time daily,
5 days a week, you gain $300 in increased productivity per week –
$15,000 a year.
Do you have a favorite time management tip or strategy?
Please e-mail it to me at rwbly@bly.com so I can share it with
your fellow subscribers in future editions of this e-zine. Thanks!
For further reading on time management and personal productivity,
check out my book 101 Ways to Make Every Second Count, available
for 30% off list price at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1564144062/qid=1024988081/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/102-5475091-4366544
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E-BOOK NEWS: HOW TO CONTINUALLY DELIGHT YOUR CUSTOMERS
After an unanticipated delay, Aesop has officially announced the publication
of my first e-book, “Sure-Fire Customer Service Techniques,” available at
www.surefirecustomerservicetechniques.com.
Even if you don’t want to learn how to continually delight your customers,
I urge you to visit their www.surefirecustomerservicetechniques.com site for
the e-book. Mark Joyner and the Aesop team are one of the top publishers of
business e-books, and it’s worth seeing their method for selling these books
online. (I didn’t write the site, but I think their
copywriter did a superb job!)
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CHECK OUT MY *SECOND* NEW COLUMN -- AND GIVE ME YOUR IDEAS.
I mentioned a few weeks ago, that I am now writing a regular column
on circulation promotion for Subscription Marketing newsletter
(to subscribe, call toll-free 800-783-4903).
Well, I’ll *also* be writing a monthly column -- covering both online
and offline direct marketing -- for DM News.
To subscribe, call DM News at 212-925-7300. To suggest ideas
for a column, e-mail me at rwbly@bly.com.
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MAKE $100,000 A YEAR AS A FREELANCE WRITER
Now available on 3 audiocassettes, “Secrets of a Freelance Writer,”
a live recording of my popular Learning Annex seminar on how
to make $100,000 a year or more writing ads, sales letters, brochures,
and other marketing materials for local and national clients.
To order with credit card, call Fern Dickey at (201) 797-8105 and ask
for tape set #828 -- just $39 when you order now (list
price: $45).
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E-ZINE OF THE MONTH -- YOURS FREE!
GrokDotCom
is a practical and "refreshingly irreverent" free newsletter
that
gives you solid ideas you can use right away to increase sales,
subscriptions,
opt-ins, registrations, sweepstakes entries and phone inquiries.
Information
is presented on how to increase your conversion rate,
decrease
your customer acquisition costs, increase repeat business
and
increase customer lifetime value.
GrokDotCom
features articles on acquiring and retaining customers,
and
the case studies provide useful examples that you can apply to your
own
business. Also see the Grok's Action Center for useful conversion tools.
Just sign up from the home page at http://www.grokdotcom.com.
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FREE COPYWRITING COST ESTIMATES NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE
Wondering what it would cost to get a sales letter, Web site, or e-mail
marketing campaign written?
Now you can get quick online quotes. Just go to www.bly.com, click on
the new Contact button, and fill out and submit the online form.
We’ll rapidly get back to you with a free cost estimate.
(Note: If you’re a fellow freelancer, don’t pretend to be a potential client
to find out what I charge. Just say who you really are. I’ll be glad to tell
you my fees; they aren’t a secret.)
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I NEED YOUR LETTERS!
For a writing project, I need samples of well-written, preferably
brief business letters handling all sort of routine matters, from disputing
an incorrect charge on a bill, to inviting someone to speak at your conference,
to asking for a donation to your pet charity. Please paste your letters into
an e-mail and send them to rwbly@bly.com. If I use your material,
I will give you full credit, of course.
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RECENT AND CURRENT COPYWRITING PROJECTS (JUST A SAMPLING)
Web marketing for RealMoney ... direct mail and e-mail for IBM ...
direct mail for Investors Alliance ... consulting for Crisp Networks ...
multimedia presentation for Agfa ... sales literature for Art & Logic ...
white paper on content management for Bridge-Line
software ...
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60-SECOND COMMERCIAL FROM FERN DICKEY, OFFICE MANAGER:
Bob is available on a limited basis for copywriting of direct mail packages,
sales letters, brochures, ads, e-mail marketing campaigns, PR materials,
and Web pages. We recommend you call for a FREE copy of our updated
Copywriting Information Kit. Just let us know your industry and the type
of copy you’re interested in seeing (ads, mailings, etc.), and if Bob
is available to take your assignment, we’ll tailor a package of recent
samples to fit your requirements. Call Fern Dickey at 201-797-8105
or e-mail dickeybf@aol.com.
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Bob
Bly
Copywriter/Consultant
22
E. Quackenbush Ave.
Dumont,
NJ 07628
phone
201-385-1220
fax
201-385-1138
rwbly@bly.com
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