Direct mail controls galore from a guy you probably never heard of

[ewenmack]

The paper and ink world is still very much alive.

Here's a living master of direct mail who flies under the radar it seems here.

Yep even controls at Rodale.

Oodles of his work and even lays out tips too.

So enjoy!

Ewen

Letter Sample | Direct Mail Creative | Sales Letter | Letter Marketing | Controls

[om4457]

Originally Posted by ewenmack

The paper and ink world is still very much alive.

Oh yeah. I made a contract with an inventor today and all he wants is to start with print ads. Three print projects go first and only then - Internet, while continuing with print projects. His advertising strategy is about 75% print based.

I was like... ok...

And I love working on print eye candies

[arfasaira]

Originally Posted by ewenmack

The paper and ink world is still very much alive.

Here's a living master of direct mail who flies under the radar it seems here.

Yep even controls at Rodale.

Oodles of his work and even lays out tips too.

So enjoy!

Ewen

Letter Sample | Direct Mail Creative | Sales Letter | Letter Marketing | Controls

Full of wisdom and helpful stuff for us all. Exactly the kind of stuff I've been dying to get my hands on!

You're a real gem Ewan!

[Steve The Copywriter]

Thanks Ewen.

As 80% of my stuff is print this is a goldmine of a collection.

[ewenmack]

Originally Posted by Steve Copywriter

Thanks Ewen.

As 80% of my stuff is print this is a goldmine of a collection.

Don't forget to sign up for his 2 reports...

one has the copied reply letters from editors he sent news releases to...

plus the letters which got such astonishing replies.

Pleasure to help out my friends.

Best,
Ewen

[Joe Ditzel]

Love this:
If it's dark, late, and you're standing at the corner of Internet Avenue and Direct Marketing Boulevard, you'll want me there beside you with my Copywriter Nunchucks.

And...

P.P.S.S. FEES: Before you widen the columns on your spreadsheets, please note -- someone at my skill level does not come cheap. Frankly, it takes a lot of time to chisel and polish great copy until it glistens like the Star of India. If you're hoping to dine at The Four Seasons, but only want to pay for Big Fatty's Barbecue, let's not waste each other's time.


Thanks, Ewen.

[TracyNeedham]

I love it, thanks! Can't believe this guy went looking for a client on elance last year! And I wish he was still updating his blogs. LOL But a bunch of great stuff here!

[jcmanheimer]

Hey, thanks for blasting me around the world! I guess I'm not off the radar anymore.

Now I have to spend all evening sending everyone my free pdfs -- one at a time!

Seriously, I appreciate the nice things you guys have said about me. I don't crawl out of my hole that much. --josh

[jcmanheimer]

I'm having to reply to you guys one at a time, so be patient. Thanks, Josh

[ewenmack]

Hey Josh,

Great to see you over here mingling with your new fans!

I'm scratching my head here wondering why you are using
manual labour sending out your reports...

when autoresponders like Aweber do it for you, while you do...

...well nothing.

Let me know if I can help you out there.

Best,
Ewen

[MatthewJFales]

Originally Posted by jcmanheimer

Hey, thanks for blasting me around the world! I guess I'm not off the radar anymore.

Now I have to spend all evening sending everyone my free pdfs -- one at a time!

Seriously, I appreciate the nice things you guys have said about me. I don't crawl out of my hole that much. --josh

Thanks Josh. I just got the reports. Almost 40MB total....looks like some great material.

I'm working on a couple direct-mail campaigns right this second, so the timing couldn't have been better for me.

-Matt

[Blake King]

Originally Posted by jcmanheimer

Hey, thanks for blasting me around the world! I guess I'm not off the radar anymore.

Now I have to spend all evening sending everyone my free pdfs -- one at a time!

Seriously, I appreciate the nice things you guys have said about me. I don't crawl out of my hole that much. --josh

Clicking on the mail pieces gives a page not found error. Would love to read some of your direct mail sales letters (and see the envelopes).

[JasonParker]

Wow, these are hitting the sweet spot, man!

Where can I find more sales letters for magazine subscriptions?

[Jacqueline Smith]

I'd love to get my hands on those reports.

Is anyone else having trouble getting the opt-in link to work on the site?

Maybe Josh is getting tired of manually responding to everyone??????

UPDATE: Yeah! I was able to opt-in.

[mpbiz]

Would anyone be willing to email me the pdfs?

I'm mailing a bizopp right now and could really use some fresh ideas.. I tried to opt-in but when you click his red button it just says "Verification code does not match."

I'd really appreciate it if someone could share this with me.

Thanks,

Mitch

[CopyMonster]

Originally Posted by mpbiz

Would anyone be willing to email me the pdfs?

I'm mailing a bizopp right now and could really use some fresh ideas.. I tried to opt-in but when you click his red button it just says "Verification code does not match."

I'd really appreciate it if someone could share this with me.

Thanks,

Mitch

Try opting in at the bottom of the page, there's captcha type box to enter a code and email.

[mpbiz]

Originally Posted by CopyMonster

Try opting in at the bottom of the page, there's captcha type box to enter a code and email.

Thank you, I completely missed the bottom.

[The 13th Warrior]

I think you need to figure your cost and see if there is a profit.

Don't go jumping in with both feet unless you have a breakeven to cost formula.

He also mentioned the SRDS and other mailorder list are far less reliable, for one reason, is that companies find it more profitable with their in house list than renting it out like in the old days.

Here's a guy that made boatloads of money in mailorder, but has totally abandoned it in favor of the internet.

Here is part of what he said about it:

Direct mail is not quite dead. It can still be effective. But . . .

The cost of a direct mail campaign has gone up considerable. Costs of printing, costs of postage, costs of quality mailing list, costs of using a phone answering service, costs of product shipping - all have gone up considerably.

At the same time, the response rate from direct mail campaigns have dropped - as more and more people tend to not even open direct mail offers.

So to be successful with direct mail, you'll need to invest more money to do even a small test (figure at least $3,000 to test mail 1,000 pieces), and you'll need a product with a high profit per sale, so you can break even with a half a percent response rate or less.

A 1/2 percent response rate on a 1,000 piece mailing, translates to 5 sales. To break even on the cost of the $3000 test mailing, each of those 5 sales needs a $600 profit margin.

Not many products produce a $600 profit margin. And when selling products that do produce that kind of margin, the product price (usually over $1,000), will significantly reduce the response rate of the offer.

With those kinds of costs and break-even requirements, not many direct mail campaigns have a chance of breaking even - much less making any money.

The 13th Warrior

[Don Schenk]

Thank you ewenmack for finding this, and even more of a thanks to Josh for sharing his work.

Josh, if you suddenly receive dozens of downloads, now you will know why.

Thanks

:-Don