The fact is, there is much to be learned from looking at classic sales letters.

The insights Ken offers in his blog are very valuable since we all look at these letters in different ways.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had Martin Conroy’s letter in my file for many years.

Yet, the fact that Ken mentioned it here in his blog has given me reason to go back to my file and look at this letter in a whole new way.

The big ah-ha that Ken has directed me to here is in the last line of the letter, specifically, Conroy’s last line finale…

“I cannot promise you that success will be instantly yours if you start reading The Wall Street Journal.

“But I can guarantee that you will find The Journal always interesing, always reliable, and always useful.”

So while Ken sees a plain talk finale, I see a great and believable guarantee that assures leadership and trust.

But–and this is an important point–I would have never seen it if Ken didn’t direct me back to that letter and that line in particular.

There is much to be learned by looking back at classic sales letters. Thank you Ken for giving us a fresh new look on this one.

Well, in my previous post, I gave the title of the book, and I said that it could be found on Ebay.

I even gave the page number.

Now, I have the book and the ad. My only problem is: “Would it be ok to post a copy of this letter on this blog?”

If it’s legally ok, then I can return and type up the ad (without the illustration) of course.

Do you think it’s ok to post the ad?

Swans G Paul
http://www.magazine.instantresultsadvertising.com

As you know, copy is only part of the equation. Since I have never received this letter personally, (am I the only one in the U.S.?) I am curious if anybody knows what type of package this was mailed in and what list they mailed to?

Regardless, it is a great letter and obviously worked very well. In the days of long copy magalogs, etc. it’s refreshing to see letters like this and Halbert’s “Coat of Arms” letter that are short, sweet and most of all, EFFECTIVE!

Thanks for everything Ken!

It has triggered some thots on what a great copy ad is for me.

I also want to comment regarding your sharing about the statement by Doug D Anna – that “Copywriting is building a bridge from the prospect to your product, and not the other way round.”

This is really great food for thot! I’m definitely gonna scrutinise how i can model what I write after these great writers! Thanks a million!

Merry Christmas, and Blue Skies Always!

It may be hard, but that’s the art.

I had a long talk with Doug D’Anna about
this very point recently. He put it this way:

“Copywriting is not building a bridge from your product to the prospect. It’s building a bridge from the prospect to your product. That may seem obvious, but 99% of copywriters get this wrong.”

Who is Doug D’Anna?

Like Gary Bencivenga, the big mail order publishers like Philips and KCI pay Doug $25,000 a letter plus 5 cents for every letter mailed which puts Doug in a class way beyond the “usual suspects” who are mentioned when it comes to copywriting.

(You can look Doug up in “Who’s Charging What?” – a print resource for the direct marketing industry.)

BTW, Doug has made himself available as a mentor to members of the System Club… It’s the only contact he has with the Internet marketing world for the time being.

http://www.thesystemclub.com/

By the way, Wall Street Journal has been sending me complimentary copies to my Hong Kong office since two months ago and it’s a nice read to get updated business stories. This is an example of offering free trial to targeted customers. But I’m not sure when they will stop sending me the free copies.