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Writing to be Believed
If your advertising’s readers do not believe what you say, you have wasted your marketing dollars — plus reinforcing your audience’s...
Boost Response with a “Johnson Box”
Legendary ad man Frank H. Johnson 60 years ago tested if he could boost response to his sales letters by a device known today as...

16 Ways to Generate More Advertising Leads
Your management—which ultimately decides your marketing budget—probably judges ads by counting the inquiries they bring in. But...

6 Ways Weasel Words Sabotage Advertising
Herschell Gordon Lewis, the famous marketing sage of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and the author of 27 books, once published an article in...


Study Shows that Complex Copy & Graphics Often Backfire
K*I*S*S — “Keep It Simple, Stupid” — long have been watchwords in direct mail. Now, research by Daniel M. Oppenheimer, a Princeton...

Effective Headlines
Noted British wordsmith Joe Robson and his colleagues offer us Yanks these tips on what makes headlines work: Make Your Headlines Crystal...

5 Pointers on Direct Mail Fundraising
Individual Americans now give more than $100 billion a year to nonprofit organizations. Most of their donations come from letters they...

12 Tips on Writing Letters that Sell
When you are hungry for sales (and who isn’t, these days?), sharpen your sales letter. It is the heart of your direct-mail package — and...

8 Ways to Make Your Advertising Work Better
Show your product Your readers—especially those most likely to buy your product—want to know what it looks like. Remember Jay Leno’s quip...

8 Tips on Assessing Advertising Copy
Here are eight questions to ask when you want to evaluate copy without watering down its magic

When – and When not – to Close your Letter with a P.S.
Almost every direct-mail authority urges advertisers to close letters with a postscript — after its headline, the most-read element in...

3 Psychological Triggers that Boost Sales
Legendary mail-order copywriter Joseph Sugarman thinks that psychological triggers can “increase sales and response beyond what you would...

Overcoming Writer’s Block
“If your position requires you to do any formal writing – and nearly every position does – you’ve felt the terror of the blank page.”...

Boosting Belief in a Time of Skepticism
Make your claims specific “Platitudes and generalities roll off the human understanding like water from a duck,” famous advertising man...

Boost Response from Seniors
Contrary to the common notion that Americans more than 65 years old mainly eke out lives on stingy Social Security pensions, experts...


8 Factors that Make Advertising Sell
Marketing consultant Robert Bly has isolated 8 factors that can help keep you from making costly mistakes that could destroy the selling...

Effective Design
Make your material reader-friendly. Every element in your advertising should encourage readership, because if your prospects do not read...

7 Factors that Boost Advertising Response
Copywriter Peter Fogel reports in DM News that many advertisers fail to take simple but vital steps that turn readers into buyers. Astute...

Your Advertising Offer
Your advertising offer is simply your statement of what you propose to do for sales prospects in exchange for what you want from them —...

8 Pointers on Writing Effective Copy
“Each product or service has natural strengths and weaknesses” to stress or downplay in your advertising, New Jersey consultant Robert W....
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