On Copywriting

The Next Dick Benson?

I spoke with a client this morning. He said he's looking for a marketing strategist. Someone who can select lists and design direct mail campaigns.

I immediately thought of Dick Benson. When I asked my client to clarify, he mentioned Dick Benson.

I told him I didn't know of anyone like him. So many people are now experts at Adwords, but few are experts at list selection.

This summer I did some list management for a client. It was actually quite complicated. Had to scrub his customer list against the other list. Had to run an address check to reduce "nixies" to a minimum.

Anyway, in the direct mail hierarchy, copywriting is not first. It's third.

1. List
2. Offer
3. Copy

As you can see, the list is the #1 most important ingredient in any kind of direct response marketing. But I don't know of anyone specializing in this. There are a lot of copywriters, but few, if any, Dick Bensons.

Why is this specialty less visible... less appreciated? Why aren't there how-to courses on how to become the next Dick Benson? Thoughts to ponder...

Junk Mail Exposed

I keep "junk mail" and read it when I have time. It's good to keep a pulse on what's being mailed... and especially on what's being mailed more than once.

But just this week I received a letter that is a perfect example of how NOT to do direct mail. What's more, this letter is the kind that gives direct mail a bad name. It is trash, and the company that mailed it has exposed their own irresponsibility.

Why am I so angry about this letter? Because its sole purpose is to raise the price of a certain company's stock by tricking unsuspecting individuals into thinking they've received a "hot tip" about a stock that's about to soar sky high.

On the first page alone, the stock symbol is listed 7 times with "cheese-y" lines like:

• "Your AGING MOTHER Demands that you Buy Lusora (LHCS)"

• "DO NOT just turn to page 6 right now. First, buy LHCS below $3, read the rest of this report, and then call your mother to tell her the good news."

• "BIG NEWS drives stock prices way up and Lusora Heathcare Systems (LHCS) is about to become the most recognized stock since early Microsoft."

Turns out, "Scott Fraser's Elite Stock-Market Advisory" is all about getting you to buy a stock. (Does Scott Fraser even exist?) The entire thing is a shameless pitch to get you to load up on the stock and drive up the price. Ridiculous.

I strongly suspect this is illegal, despite the lame disclaimer printed on the back of the letter. The beginning of it reads:

IMPORTANT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER: This stock profile should be viewed as a paid advertisement. In order to enhance public awareness of Lusora and its securities through the distribution of this report, Innovative Technologies paid the publisher, Nat-Con Publishing, Inc. the sum of $450,000.

Aha! You were paid—in advance—to "recommend" the stock. Can you say "conflict of interest?" As if the fine print makes it okay!

My point in sharing this: There are still shady direct marketers out there. Please don't be one of them.

End of rant.