World Copywriting Blog

How Copywriters Can Cash In On 3-M's "Post-It Note(r)" Discovery

Maybe you know the legendary story about the research chemist who "accidentally" discovered the formula that led to "Post-It(r) Notes," which was a huge money-maker for 3M.

Six inches from my right hand is a little pad of yellow sticky notes.  They're made by 3M but called Highland brand, so they don't call them "Post-It's(r)."

But whatever you call them, these sticky notes are everywhere.

I just got back from Phoenix and my friend software developer Tracy Childers put a huge pile of virtual sticky notes on my computer Desktop.

These are "magic" sticky notes, however... because marketing tests have proven that they increase sales on Web sites.

And according to some insiders, they are impossible for a Web browser to block.

What in the world am I talking about?  Let me show you...

http://www.world-copywriting-institute.com/sticky

David Garfinkel
World Copywriting Institute

P.S. What you see when you click on the link took me all of two minutes to put together!  It's pretty easy, even for someone like me...

http://www.world-copywriting-institute.com/sticky

Words for Copywriters to Live By: What Winners Say and Do

Last weekend, I saw an interview with the world's best-selling author, Mickey Spillane.  He's been published for 58 years, has sold 140 million books, and is currently the most translated writerin the world.

The article, by Jeffrey M. Anderson, appeared in the San Francisco Examiner and is not available online, so I can't give you a link.  But let me share a couple choice quotes that should help you in your copywriting:

Anderson: Why do you write?

Spillane: I write to make money.  It's an income-making device. It keeps me eating. I'm not an author; it's a business.

Wow.  The guy behind tough-guy detective Mike Hammer novels doesn't talk about the literary life and influences of Shakespeare, Chaucer and Homer; he talks about cold, hard cash.

Just this week I learned that one of my most successful mentoring clients, copywriter Wendy Baldwin, had rewritten a sales Web site and her copy outpulled the previous copy by a factor of 8 to 1.

Eight times more money for the same traffic.

Yep, that's what it's all about.

One more Mickey Spillane quote for you:

Anderson: What's your technique for writing mysteries?

Spillane: I always start with the ending.  When you read a book, why do you stick with it?  To get to the end.  And you hope the end is so good that you hope it justifies all the time you spent reading the thing.

This is a guy who has sold 140 million books.  I strongly suspect he might know what he's talking about.

And yeah, it might be worth your while to read his words a second time.

Before you do, a question to ponder:

Do you think the same thing, about beginning with where you want to end up before you start writing, could also apply to copywriting?

~~~~~ Words from a very different writer ~~~~~~

Also this weekend, the sealed ashes of the late, great Hunter S. Thompson were propelled into the air as part of a funeral pyre that included spectacular fireworks.

Here's something Thompson said I would like you to think about:

"You have to get your knowledge of life from somewhere. You have to know the material you're writing about before you alter it."

How often do you see copy that leaves you cold?  Next time you do, go back and read it a second time.  Ask yourself:  Did the person who wrote this have even any book-knowledge of what they're writing about?

Or, more to the point, any first-hand knowledge?

A related quotation comes from my good friend and world-renowned keynote speaker/speech coach Patricia Fripp.

Quoting her brother Robert (of King Crimson fame), she says:

"You must master technique in order to abandon it."

Robert was talking about playing guitar.  Patricia talks about public speaking.

But I'm talking about copywriting.  So many people make no attempt to master the basics before they go off on their own tangent.

And then they wonder why their copy doesn't get them sales...

BTW, you can learn a lot from Ms. Fripp -- Lord knows I have.  Subscribe to her free email newsletters at:

http://www.fripp.com/newsletter.html

~~And now for something completely different~~

How about a quote from...

... a COPYWRITER?

Sure, why not:

NOW...AT LAST...THE NEW AMAZING
Gem of genius slowly blazing.
The one man who, without a doubt
Knows what this business is about.
The man who screams, when words are changed,
That all the changers are deranged.
Still, were he quieter or politer,
He wouldn't be a copywriter.

That little piece of verse is by copywriter Draper Daniels, who was working in ad agencies when I was in diapers.  And that was a long time ago, when only cloth diapers were available...

If you've ever written copy for a client, who both wants to mess with your copy but also wants to hold you accountable for results, you can definitely relate to the last four lines of the verse.

Want more advertising lore and history of that caliber?  It's in a great book called "The Mirror Makers" by Stephen Fox.

Here's a link on amazon for you:

http://www.world-copywriting-institute.com/mirror

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That's it for today.  Enjoy the waning days of what has turned out to be a very hot summer for a lot of people.

Cheers,

David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter

News Flash: A Hot Copywriter Who Gets 'Top Dollar' Tells All

At my Breakthrough Copywriting seminar in February, there was ONE faculty member that blew everyone else away:  Brian Keith Voiles.

Now you may never have heard of Brian before.  But people like Jay Abraham, Gary Halbert, Ted Nicholas, Frank Kern and Yanik Silver have.

So have organizations like Phillips Publishing and Agora Publishing.

They've ALL paid top dollar for Brian's services.  And with good reason!

If you are a professional copywriter who has had it up to here with being treated (and paid) like an amateur, then you should pay close attention to every word Brian has to say:

http://www.world-copywriting-institute.com/pay

This is brand-new information, "hot off the presses."  It can make a huge difference for you, so check it out immediately.

Two Unexpected Resources Of Great Interest To Copywriters and Marketers

1) The cover story of the August 8, 2005 Fortune Magazine talks about how the Internet is stealing billions of dollars from the traditional advertising collection plate.  It starts like this:

"From the moment consumer-products companies started placing ads in mid-19th-century newspapers, mass-media advertising has been about making connections.

"But while the modern world knits itself ever more closely together, advertising is becoming increasingly disconnected—from its historical base, its business models, and its audiences.

"Thanks to the Internet, advertising is going through its first true paradigm shift since the advent of television half a century ago. As a result, your average executive in the ad or media business is feeling as lonely and unstable as a 30-foot sailboat with a broken keel foundering in the swells of a Category 2 hurricane. Pass the Dramamine."

check it out!

2) I was just asked by the publisher to review a new book, In the Line of Fire, by Jerry Weissman.  Subtitle: How to Handle Tough Questions... When It Counts

If you get half as many cockamamie questions in the course of a workday as I do, you need this book.  Weissman shows with dignity and grace, as well as a street-smart toughness that could only come from having been Mike Wallace's producer on 60 Minutes (which he was), how to handle questions, keeping your integrity AND your codpiece intact.

But suppose you don't have zingers flying at you from all directions?  It's still a great book for copywriters of all types.  Why?  Because most of good copy consists of answering unvoiced questions from your propsects' minds. 

If you can do so effectively and while still telling the truth -- which always, in the long run, creates the most profitable copy -- then you are in a league with few competitors, but many also-rans nipping at your heels.

So check this out as well.

Hope your summer is going well,

Cheers,
David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter