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Is it OK to mention famous names in sales letters?

by myattitude
6 replies
Without saying they endorse us, is it OK to say "Richard Branson started out selling magazines and look where he is now, if Richard Branson could make something of his life, you can too", etc? Would there be a problem mentioning famous names like this as social proof or giving authority to your message?
#famous #letters #mention #names #sales
  • Profile picture of the author angiecolee
    The best way to find out for sure? Talk to a lawyer. Whenever you're making a profit (or intending to profit) off something, there's an incredible amount of grey area regarding intellectual property and the use of someone's image.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alex Cohen
    Under the Fair Use Provision of the copyright law, you can quote (within reason) what a famous person has said or written.

    Problem is, the Fair Use Provision isn't specific about what is and what isn't within reason.

    Your best bet is to get competent legal advice. JustAnswer.com has attorneys available for questions at a reasonable price.

    If you want to read up on the Fair Use Provision, go here...

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_u...ir_use_factors

    Alex
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  • Profile picture of the author Raydal
    If you mention a name in a positive light who is NOT your competitor
    I doubt that you'll get any heat about this. But as cautioned above it
    is always best to get solid legal advice.

    -Ray Edwards
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    The most powerful and concentrated copywriting training online today bar none! Autoresponder Writing Email SECRETS
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  • Profile picture of the author Sven300
    You can mention what a famous person has said or written as well as what she did.

    But you must not say or even suggest that these famous people endorse you, your company or your product.

    What I just said ... that's the theory!

    The problem is that some of these famous people hate that we use their name even if the law is on our side. And they have the financial resources to try to intimidate us (by legal means) if they want.

    The likelihood of having problems with the law is inversely proportional to the numbers of people who will see your text/ad/video. If you send emails to your mailing list, you probably will not have problems. But if you make videos on YouTube that are seen by many people, this can be much more risky. In the latter case, the opinion of a lawyer is essential.

    A safe bet would be to use only the names of famous people who died: Julius Caesar, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Andrew Carnegie, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Aristotle Onassis, etc.

    Personally, I never use the name of a famous person who is still alive in my marketing emails even if I think it's legal to do so: better safe than sorry.

    My goal is to make money. I do not want to risk losing by doing something that is not essential to my success.
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    I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. Thomas Jefferson
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  • Profile picture of the author DiegoRMS
    Yeah it's okay like the example you said or quote something they said, in fact doing so in some cases is good for social proof and credibility.
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  • Profile picture of the author DABK
    You can mention me all you want, as long as you pay up first.
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