Where can I get resale rights to a decent swipe file

[booboo]

Hi

I'm putting together a course on Direct Marketing. I want to include copies of great sales letters from the past that worked.

Does anyone know if there is somewhere that sells reproduction rights to decent swipe files?

Thanks very much.

[Alex Cohen]

There's a bunch of classic ads at this site:

http://www.hardtofindads.com/home

At the top of the page, it says, "Free ads you can swipe from the legends of advertising".

Alex

[booboo]

Ok, thanks Alex. Not sure if that's just a headline or I'm allowed to reproduce them for resale but I'll e-mail the guy and find out.

Thanks for your help.

Matt

[Melkor]

Oh heck no - that's Michael's business and he's worked very, very hard to go out and collect the classics. He might JV with you, but I seriously doubt that he's going to sell anyone the rights to his work - IIRC he's been collecting those examples for at least a couple decades.

[John_S]

If you're actually a copywriter -- worthy to teach a course on direct marketing -- it shouldn't be difficult to put together a joint venture.

If you're looking for filler material to use to make up for not being much of a copywriter, then you're going to run into problems.

The way you might pitch this (to someone like Michael or a Denny Hatch) would be to take an example, then expertly adapt each to from three to five businesses.

Otherwise it entirely defeats the purpose: Selling Your Expertise at Copywriting and Direct Response. And way too much in IM actively works against the purpose it was designed for. Those ads had better make up the smallest fraction of the bulk of your end product -- and the swipes had better be the least valuable part. Anything else is advertising against hiring you.

You are trying to get people to hire you to write copy ...or at least teach direct marketing (they should be the same, but you know what they say: if you can't do - teach). So you have to demonstrate you are the rare teacher who actually writes expert copy. You are going to do that through a demonstration of what works in the swipe -- which may have been written 50, 70, 90 years ago -- and what works today. And at every opportunity explain to the reader you can't simply use these as templates and swap out your product for theirs.

Direct marketing also means you know which swipes (plural) to use, how to combine them to make new salesletters (the proper way to swipe.) In essence the theme had better be "Poor Copywriters Copy One Letter, Great Copywriters Steal From Two Dozen"

Otherwise that's the last product you sell, because people will take it that all they need to do is grab a letter and use it as a template.

The fundamental threshold for proof you are worthy to be hired (if that's the purpose of the product) is to demonstrate your understanding Swipes Aren't Templates. As with any course, you get the grade by showing your work -- not someone elses'.

A swipe file is not a crutch. Using these letters as a basis for a direct marketing course is not a shortcut; it requires even more work to prove to readers you aren't using the letters as a crutch.

[booboo]

Thanks very much for your help and advice.

I'm not a copywriter. I am not fronting this course, I am just researching all avenues and compiling possible material.

The course we are producing is not a copywriting course, nor is it a course on Internet Marketing. It's more on creating products, idea generation and then researching your ideas to see if there is demand.

We were interested in showing examples of sales letters from the past that did well but more importantly what they sold and how they were presented. The offer is as important as the copy.

A lot of products that sold well over the last 50 years would also sell well today with some updating because they are subjects that don't go out of fashion.

But a big question for most people starting is what do I sell. We wished to provide examples of what has sold well in the past and how it was sold including the sales letter that helped sell it.

Many thanks again for your help.

[zapseo]

But a big question for most people starting is what do I sell. We wished to provide examples of what has sold well in the past and how it was sold including the sales letter that helped sell it.

You're using a swipe file to help people find a hungry market ?

Huh!

That's the first time I've ever heard of that as a reason for having a swipe file.

There are volumes out there -- some even free -- on how to do niche research (aka -- how to find an answer to "what do I sell"?). You might start here: Thirty Day Challenge (but don't swipe his content, else he has promised to come down like a brick on anyone caught selling/swiping his content.)

Um...you might want to do a little of your own market research on the topic of "market research" or "niche research." There are easily dozens -- if not many more -- ways of doing effective market research that don't involve swipe files.

A good tour of this site could be quite helpful as well:
The Gary Halbert Letter

[MaskedMarketer]

Zap,

The OP is creating a Direct Marketing course and not specifically for copywriting. The OP is not using a swipe file to find a hungry marketing- the course is going to teach people how to find a hungry market and hes using the swipe files for examples for copywriting.

[zapseo]

Disagree, MaskedMarketer.

Read the sentence I quoted.

I read over what the OP wrote multiple times...if the OP wants to clarify, great.
But I don't know that you have more superior abilities to understand what the OP said than I do. <<snarky commented not written>>.

So yes, I know that he's not writing a copywriting course.
Unlike you, I don't assume that people didn't read just because I came up with a different interpretation.

And, believe it or not, I can actually allow for variation in interpretation and even be nice about it.

Sigh. And I was actually kinda beginning to like you. Now, should I look up the instructions for ignorning a poster? Naaah. Not yet.

[MaskedMarketer]

Zappy,

Not only have I read the statement quoted, but I've read all the OP posts. The OP clearly wants reprint rights included with the package being created and not for finding a niche. Why can't you help him?

And unlike you, I don't assume someone else is assuming something which is actually totally incorrect. Maybe you just can't comprehend reading. How do I know?

Looks like you took a slight bit of offense to something which really is nothing in reality. And now my reputation with you is at stake for it! Damnit, I've been trying to impress you the whole time and my plan is backfiring now...

Originally Posted by zapseo

Disagree, MaskedMarketer.

Read the sentence I quoted.

I read over what the OP wrote multiple times...if the OP wants to clarify, great.
But I don't know that you have more superior abilities to understand what the OP said than I do. <<snarky commented not written>>.

So yes, I know that he's not writing a copywriting course.

Unlike you, I don't assume that people didn't read just because I came up with a different interpretation.

And, believe it or not, I can actually allow for variation in interpretation and even be nice about it.

Sigh. And I was actually kinda beginning to like you. Now, should I look up the instructions for ignorning a poster? Naaah. Not yet.