Great copywriting products...that never came out.

Prompted from an email. Someone stumbled across my interview with Pete Ziesinger of Green Tree Press from 2009 on youtube.

In the video Pete discussed a new product, the 35 year history of Green Tree Press ads. What he was going to do was to add the details of how much the ad cost, where it ran, how much it pulled, how long it ran, what TESTS were done to it.

I've never seen anything like this, the "inside" details from a successful copywriter.

In the video I show the work of Ted Nicholas and Dan Kennedy and Denny Hatch, all great stuff. So, I was somewhat disappointed when Pete decided to retire and one of the great copywriting products (could have been) was put up on the shelf.

In 1998, I had built a mock up of a similar product for Suarez Corporation Industries, we were thinking about bringing out a new newsletter, which would have been a tabloid size newsprint full of ads. On one side would be the ad (or direct mail promotion) and on the other side the results.

This got shelved, considered again around 2007, then put off the table for good.

Another minor disappointment. I put in a lot of time and work at both SCI and at Green Tree Press (and later at Arthur Middleton) researching the direct response advertising which made millions and millions of dollars.

There ARE inside secrets which THEY don't tell you about, and they really can't, because they are considered trade secrets. Especially, the RESULTS of their advertising.

ONE way to find out what workED (past tense), is to watch how long they run the ad and you as a copywriter may be able to know if it was successful or not.

Hard to access the daily results unless you have insider info.

The POINT, which I've made before on this forum is

UNLESS you know the results of a campaign, your SWIPE files might be based on assumptions, the SWIPE file you refer to when writing your copy may be a test piece, with one element different and that one element could have been a big difference.

I see this everyday with newer copywriters, picking and choosing their SWIPES from what they believe to be successful promotions, and their borrowed efforts fall flat because they lack the foundation of understanding basic human needs and wants, as well as not making adjustments for their specific target market.

Most markets are a PERSON (direct response speaking) and when you write for that person consider the WHERE as much as the When and What.

For example, in the youtube video, we discuss the BOYFRIEND WANTED ad, which was a promotion (very successful HUSBAND WANTED headline) which had to be changed due to the editorial concerns of the magazine it was run in.

The TAKEAWAY from this?

Do you spend any time at all considering your target's state of mind at the TIME your promotion intersects with them?

The headline, opening or deck copy must resonate with this PERSON at the time and place they come in contact with it...and using OLD swiped headlines, probably isn't going to cut it in this modern world.

So, consider the TIMING of your promotion. It could be the difference between huge success and major fail.

gjabiz

PS. I also have been able to get the results from other major players in direct response ads, reviewing all to find common threads. Will keep you posted on any AH HA discoveries I make.