Your Simple – Yet Essential – Checklist Before Hiring Any Freelance Copywriter
You’re considering hiring a freelance copywriter…but how do you know for sure if the writer will be someone who can make your investment pay off? After all – these days it seems like everyone is billing himself as a “World-Class Freelance Copywriter.” But as a marketer, you understand just how important it is that you […]
Debunked! 3 Common — Yet Horrible — Myths about Effective Sales Copy
In my more than 24 years of writing and evaluating sales copy, I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of the world’s most successful marketers. One of the things I learned quickly is that when it comes to great copy, there are no shortcuts. There are no computer algorithms that can spit out “perfect” copy…there […]
7 Things to Tell Your Copywriter Before He Starts Writing
You’ve made the decision to hire a freelance copywriter…and you’re ready to hand over the keys to your business and let the writer produce a blockbuster new promotion. To help the copywriter get started, you’ve likely given him a few basics: access to your web site…a copy of an old sales letter that failed miserably…and […]
3 Things You MUST Know Before You Launch Any Marketing Campaign
In the early stages of any marketing campaign — before you’ve hired a copywriter or lined up potential launch dates — there are a handful of things you must know in order ensure success. These three things aren’t meant to serve as a checklist after you’ve created your campaign… Instead, they’re meant to help you […]
Dealing with March Madness: Why You Should Insist on Creative Flexibility
Let’s face it – March can be an exceptionally busy month for marketers in ALL industries. You see…”March Madness” can mean more than just the NCAA basketball tournament: It can also mean the insanity brought on by one of the busiest months of the direct marketing year. The “madness” of March means that carefully-crafted schedules […]
How to Evaluate the Strength of Any Headline in 5 Minutes or Less
A few weeks ago I was asked to review a promotion written by a new copywriter for an old client of mine. The copy was strong — and it was clear in just a few minutes’ time that this writer knows what he’s doing even at such an early stage of his career. But he […]
The Importance of Testing: You Think You Know…But You Really Don’t Know
With the football season concluding this past weekend, I was reminded again of a great quote from a long-time NFL head coach. No…I’m not thinking of a motivational quote from the great Vince Lombardi or a message about leadership from the great Tom Landry. Instead, I’m thinking of a quote that has proved to be […]
Is Your USP Loud and Clear In Every Direct Marketing Campaign?
What is it that makes your product unique? Let’s be honest — there are hundreds of multivitamins available to consumers these days. And when is the last time you heard someone tell you that the one thing they really needed in their life was another financial newsletter? So if you’re selling a multivitamin, what is […]
3 Marketing Tips for Thriving in a Difficult Market
It’s been a tough start to 2016. The U.S. stock market got off to its worst two-week start in history…with a loss of 1,400 points on the Dow Jones Industrial Average through January 15. And — early this week — a CNBC Fed survey revealed that, “The chances of a recession in the United States […]
Your Critical Reading List for 2016
The new year has arrived…and with it comes the usual batch of “information-packed” articles. If you’re like me, your email inbox — and social media feed — is littered with stories telling you what you “Must Do in 2016” or what you “Need to Avoid in 2016.” But here’s the thing: For those of us […]
