The Most Successful Single Piece of Advertising in The History of The World

[Mark Andrews]

Denny Hatch to Paul Bell circulation manager at The Wall Street Journal:

"Paul, one million subscribers per year times $100 equals $100 million times 18 years is $1.8 billion times 55 percent equals $1 billion. If these numbers are correct, the Martin Conroy letter is directly responsible for bringing in $1 billion in revenues to The Wall Street Journal, and is, therefore THE MOST SUCCESSFUL SINGLE PIECE OF ADVERTISING IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD!"

The famous Martin Conroy 'Two Young Men' letter...

To see this sales letter please go to...

View topic - The famous: Martin Conroy 'Two Young Men' letter • MarketTorrent

[ThomasOMalley]

The famous Wall Street Journal Two Men letter is an excellent example of the power of story telling.

Thanks for the reminder.

[max5ty]

Originally Posted by Pete Walker

Denny Hatch to Paul Bell circulation manager at The Wall Street Journal:

"Paul, one million subscribers per year times $100 equals $100 million times 18 years is $1.8 billion times 55 percent equals $1 billion. If these numbers are correct, the Martin Conroy letter is directly responsible for bringing in $1 billion in revenues to The Wall Street Journal, and is, therefore THE MOST SUCCESSFUL SINGLE PIECE OF ADVERTISING IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD!"

The famous Martin Conroy 'Two Young Men' letter...

To see this sales letter please go to...

View topic - The famous: Martin Conroy 'Two Young Men' letter • MarketTorrent

Hey Pete, I've often wondered if that letter would still be as successful if it were sent out in this day and age.

I've read a lot of discussions on it over the years and it seems the argument has opinions on both sides -- it's a good letter, but my personal opinion is that it wouldn't have the same pulling power nowadays.

[MontelloMarketing]

It's also a good example of a direct swipe of a post civil war "two men" letter.

That said... the title here is inaccurate.

The most successful single piece of advertising is the bible.

[max5ty]

Originally Posted by MontelloMarketing

The most successful single piece of advertising is the bible.

You're right about that Vin -- I'd say it's probably had the greatest impact on history -- more so than any other written words.

I was busy tonight and didn't get to sign up for your webinar -- is that still going to be going on?

I read some of your stuff on your website about your history in the movie industry and it's pretty impressive.

Sounds like you've got a lot of information that would be great to learn.

[Greg Jacobs]

Originally Posted by MontelloMarketing

It's also a good example of a direct swipe of a post civil war "two men" letter.

That said... the title here is inaccurate.

The most successful single piece of advertising is the bible.

you will actually notice the the setup of the "4 gospels" and essentially the "Same" story being told from 4 different people/persectives goes to very deeply ingrain social proof and acceptance of the story..

ie.. "if matt, mark, luke and john all agree, then it must be true..."

my bet is that if there was only 1 gospel published in the book, then it would have a drastically lower conversion rate.

something to think about for your work....

[Greg Jacobs]

Originally Posted by Pete Walker

The famous Martin Conroy 'Two Young Men' letter...

To see this sales letter please go to...

View topic - The famous: Martin Conroy 'Two Young Men' letter • MarketTorrent

intresting enough they dont actually state that one guy read th journal and one didnt.. the only thing I see is

" The difference lies in what each person knows and how he or she makes use of that knowledge."

and then they just delve into the pitch...
any copy hacks care to comment on leaving the readership by the rich guy implied rather than stated....

[JDArchitecture]

Here's the TV ad version

Wall Street Journal Commercial from 2000 - YouTube

[Mr. Subtle]

Originally Posted by Pete Walker

"Paul, one million subscribers per year times $100 equals $100 million times 18 years is $1.8 billion times 55 percent equals $1 billion. If these numbers are correct, the Martin Conroy letter is directly responsible for bringing in $1 billion in revenues to The Wall Street Journal, and is, therefore THE MOST SUCCESSFUL SINGLE PIECE OF ADVERTISING IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD!"

Don't believe everything you read.

Last quarter Apple sold 7.7 million ipad2s off a 30 second commercial called "We believe." That's over $3.85 billion in sales. What Apple did in 3 months is double what the WSJ did in 18 years. The quarter before last Apple sold 7.3 million ipad2s... over $3.65 billion using the "If you asked" commercial. The newest commercial is "We'll always" which will probably ring up another $3.xx billion in sales and then it's the holiday season.

[max5ty]

Originally Posted by Mr. Subtle

Don't believe everything you read.

Last quarter Apple sold 7.7 million ipad2s off a 30 second commercial called "We believe." That's over $3.85 billion in sales. What Apple did in 3 months is double what the WSJ did in 18 years. The quarter before last Apple sold 7.3 million ipad2s... over $3.65 billion using the "If you asked" commercial. The newest commercial is "We'll always" which will probably ring up another $3.xx billion in sales and then it's the holiday season.

That's some serious

cash
dough
moolah
bread
bucks
greenbacks
duckets
bacon
buckaroos
smack
bills
stash
jack
loot

...however you want to say it -- that's a lot.

[MontelloMarketing]

Originally Posted by Greg Jacobs

you will actually notice the the setup of the "4 gospels" and essentially the "Same" story being told from 4 different people/persectives goes to very deeply ingrain social proof and acceptance of the story..

ie.. "if matt, mark, luke and john all agree, then it must be true..."

my bet is that if there was only 1 gospel published in the book, then it would have a drastically lower conversion rate.

something to think about for your work....

Greg... good point. I teach my guys to always repeat the offer over and over in different ways... different ways to "3 dimensionalize" the copy.

And your mention of the lack of the explicit connection between the journal and the more successful young man... it's a great distinction that will help young copywriters learn to say what they want to say... but can't legally say.

There's a reason you're so successful, Greg. You ain't no dummy.

[MontelloMarketing]

Originally Posted by max5ty

You're right about that Vin -- I'd say it's probably had the greatest impact on history -- more so than any other written words.

I was busy tonight and didn't get to sign up for your webinar -- is that still going to be going on?

I read some of your stuff on your website about your history in the movie industry and it's pretty impressive.

Sounds like you've got a lot of information that would be great to learn.

The webinar will be posted up on my clambake site by this weekend. And we do it all again next thursday.

[kellyburdes]

It's also not accounting for what the dollar was really worth.

The Wall Street Journal piece is pretty old, and I'd bet $1 then buys you 10 cents today.

Originally Posted by Mr. Subtle

Don't believe everything you read.

Last quarter Apple sold 7.7 million ipad2s off a 30 second commercial called "We believe." That's over $3.85 billion in sales. What Apple did in 3 months is double what the WSJ did in 18 years. The quarter before last Apple sold 7.3 million ipad2s... over $3.65 billion using the "If you asked" commercial. The newest commercial is "We'll always" which will probably ring up another $3.xx billion in sales and then it's the holiday season.

[Alex Cohen]

Originally Posted by Greg Jacobs

intresting enough they dont actually state that one guy read th journal and one didnt.. the only thing I see is

" The difference lies in what each person knows and how he or she makes use of that knowledge."

and then they just delve into the pitch...
any copy hacks care to comment on leaving the readership by the rich guy implied rather than stated....

That shows the power of implication. It can be very effective in copy.

Alex

[Alex Cohen]

Originally Posted by Pete Walker

Denny Hatch to Paul Bell circulation manager at The Wall Street Journal:

"Paul, one million subscribers per year times $100 equals $100 million times 18 years is $1.8 billion times 55 percent equals $1 billion. If these numbers are correct, the Martin Conroy letter is directly responsible for bringing in $1 billion in revenues to The Wall Street Journal, and is, therefore THE MOST SUCCESSFUL SINGLE PIECE OF ADVERTISING IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD!"

The famous Martin Conroy 'Two Young Men' letter...

To see this sales letter please go to...

View topic - The famous: Martin Conroy 'Two Young Men' letter • MarketTorrent

If you're into audios, Michael Senoff interviewed Denny Hatch here...

Denney Hatch Interview

Pretty good interview.

(Note To Eugene Schwartz Kool Aid Drinkers: Stop reading now this post now)

Interestingly, he had some "unkind" things to say about Eugene Schwartz and his work.

Alex

[ewenmack]

I know of a 7 million dollar publishing company that uses the 2 people, 2 directions and 2 outcomes approach for all their sales copy.

Seems to be working fine in this age.

Best,
Ewen

[fitz10]

Originally Posted by kellyburdes

It's also not accounting for what the dollar was really worth.

The Wall Street Journal piece is pretty old, and I'd bet $1 then buys you 10 cents today.

Well it was used for 30 years, up until 2003 I believe, so it's not that old.

My mother worked at the WSJ in subscriptions and circulation for 20+ years, most of that time they were utilizing the Conroy letter along with other mail pieces and she claimed that their conversion rate was maybe 1-2% for direct mail overall. I'm not saying that this isn't a great letter and that it doesn't convert but I think the reason it made so much was its very very long run and its sheer reach. This was a letter that was sent to millions of people and most of them probably received it over and over again over a span of 30 years. Just a thought to keep in mind.

I do know storytelling is a very effective method for copywriting.

[kellyburdes]

I'm sure that people did get it over and over, but Dow Jones is not stupid. You can bet your bottom dollar they tested other letters against it, and it obviously kept beating them, or it wouldn't have lasted for so long as the control.

Originally Posted by fitz10

Well it was used for 30 years, up until 2003 I believe, so it's not that old.

My mother worked at the WSJ in subscriptions and circulation for 20+ years, most of that time they were utilizing the Conroy letter along with other mail pieces and she claimed that their conversion rate was maybe 1-2% for direct mail overall. I'm not saying that this isn't a great letter and that it doesn't convert but I think the reason it made so much was its very very long run and its sheer reach. This was a letter that was sent to millions of people and most of them probably received it over and over again over a span of 30 years. Just a thought to keep in mind.

I do know storytelling is a very effective method for copywriting.

[professorrosado]

Originally Posted by Greg Jacobs

you will actually notice the the setup of the "4 gospels" and essentially the "Same" story being told from 4 different people/persectives goes to very deeply ingrain social proof and acceptance of the story..

ie.. "if matt, mark, luke and john all agree, then it must be true..."

my bet is that if there was only 1 gospel published in the book, then it would have a drastically lower conversion rate.

something to think about for your work....

And it was all done without videos! There's another thread dealing with videos and salespages. Great observation!

[professorrosado]

Originally Posted by Mr. Subtle

Don't believe everything you read.

Last quarter Apple sold 7.7 million ipad2s off a 30 second commercial called "We believe." That's over $3.85 billion in sales. What Apple did in 3 months is double what the WSJ did in 18 years. The quarter before last Apple sold 7.3 million ipad2s... over $3.65 billion using the "If you asked" commercial. The newest commercial is "We'll always" which will probably ring up another $3.xx billion in sales and then it's the holiday season.

Always remember to allow for inflation. Dollars back then are not the same dollars today.
Oh I just saw Kelly say the same thing!

[ThomasOMalley]

Originally Posted by fitz10

Well it was used for 30 years, up until 2003 I believe, so it's not that old.

My mother worked at the WSJ in subscriptions and circulation for 20+ years, most of that time they were utilizing the Conroy letter along with other mail pieces and she claimed that their conversion rate was maybe 1-2% for direct mail overall. I'm not saying that this isn't a great letter and that it doesn't convert but I think the reason it made so much was its very very long run and its sheer reach. This was a letter that was sent to millions of people and most of them probably received it over and over again over a span of 30 years. Just a thought to keep in mind.

I do know storytelling is a very effective method for copywriting.

They kept sending the letter because it worked...LOLOL.

[fitz10]

Originally Posted by ThomasOMalley

They kept sending the letter because it worked...LOLOL.

LOL, yes I agree! I re-read my post and realized it seemed a little negative. This letter is definitely a keeper and I'm sure pulled VERY well.

Really the only point of my post was to say that I think that the number always quoted along with this letter deserve some context. I think a lot of newbies hear this stuff and think they should give up after sending direct mail or email to a few people if it's not pulling thousands of dollars right off the bat. The key in this case (and in many cases) is persistence and volume.