Make your claims specific “Platitudes and generalities roll off the human understanding like water from a duck,” famous advertising man Claude C. Hopkins noted in Scientific Advertising (1923). “A definite statement is usually accepted,” he wrote. If you say that a tungsten gives more light than a carbon lamp, he added, and you leave some doubt—but say that it gives three-and-one-third times the light, and people perceive that you have made reliable tests and comparisons. Be

Contrary to the common notion that Americans more than 65 years old mainly eke out lives on stingy Social Security pensions, experts estimate that one out of four seniors ages 65 to 74 enjoys an income of at least $75,000 a year. That represents a market that has to be looked at, says analyst Steve Hardman. He points out that seniors today are the fastest-growing segment of Internet users—mostly for email connections. However, they cannot be addressed as if they were younger—

Marketing consultant Robert Bly has isolated 8 factors that can help keep you from making costly mistakes that could destroy the selling power of potentially lucrative advertising. Make sure your product is interesting to your audience Many clients think a great ad can sell anything to anyone. They are wrong, says Bob Bly. For example, he notes, no advertisement, no matter how powerfully written, will convince vegetarians to order steak dinners at your restaurant. But your ad

Copywriter Peter Fogel reports in DM News that many advertisers fail to take simple but vital steps that turn readers into buyers. Astute marketers, he says: Make prospects feel safe about ordering Internet scams, epidemic cyberspace identity theft, phishing expeditions, and other modern-day flim-flams have made advertising recipients super-sensitive about preserving their privacy. Assure them, Fogel advises, that you will keep the information they supply to you strictly priv

Your advertising offer is simply your statement of what you propose to do for sales prospects in exchange for what you want from them — their money, says noted copywriter Russ Phelps. Before you make your statement, he advises, answer the following two questions: What is the biggest promise that you know you can fulfill? What is the most you can offer without losing your shirt? Those questions are vital, Phelps writes, because, if you do not answer them: You might try to get

“Each product or service has natural strengths and weaknesses” to stress or downplay in your advertising, New Jersey consultant Robert W. Bly observes. He says, that advertising success hinges on eight factors when writing effective copy: Grabs Attention You must win your sales prospect’s attention in the fraction of a second after the instant he glances at your advertising, he writes. The all-time attention-winner is highly specific copy. As a good example, Bly cites a lette

One direct-marketing “expert,” unnamed here in order to protect the guilty, recently advised mail advertisers that letters and reply contents should be “short and a welcoming read.” Poppycock. Direct-mail copy should be long enough to get its job done — with not a word too much or too little. Renowned marketing consultant Robert W. Bly has developed a 10-step way, based on emotion and involvement, to help determine the effective copy length for any project. Emotion — The purc

Florida writer Robert Warren suggests five techniques that will help muscle up the effectiveness of your advertising copy: Shun word clutter If a word does not help produce the results you want, it hurts. Analyze your advertising copy word for word. Mercilessly — because any word that does not strengthen your writing weakens it, Warren says. Strip your copy down to its essential parts Try to reduce your entire message to a single sentence, Warren urges. It clarifies things fo

Direct-response expert Lee Marc Stein pinpoints eight common copy writing mistakes that hurt response: Neatness Writers of business-to-business and financial services mail often forget that people respond to advertising with both their heads and hearts, Stein says. A mailing package or a print ad is not simply a logical sales presentation. A 100% logical creative product lacks reader-engaging warmth and emotion and lacks interesting surprises that grab the reader’s attention.

Choose laser-compatible paper stocks Uncoated offset stocks from 50 pound to 9 point usually work well. — If using a coated stock, use a dull or matte sheet between 7 and 9 points thick. — Do not use glossy papers. Plan your project Careful copy and graphics placement can allow you to produce all versions of your mailing in a single print run, mail-sorted and otherwise eligible for postage discounts. Use standard-size addressing windows Windows measuring 1-1/8" high by 4-1/2"

A Creative Brief establishes goals and objectives for your marketing efforts. It helps bring clarity to all participates and ends ambiguity. The preparation of a Creative Brief always saves time, money and lowers everyone’s stress level. Who is the target audience for this campaign? Are we communicating with present customers or prospects? If customers, what did they buy and when? For direct mail, what data can we use from the mailing list to personalize the direct mail packa

Furniture Store Reminder Campaign When a shopper visits an American Signature home furnishings store and does not make a purchase, they receive a personalized brochure within 48 to 72 hours. Information captured by the sales representative during their visit is used to create the brochure. The sales representative greets the shopper, asks for permission to gather the information and enters it into a computer. A professional variable digital printer downloads the information a

Mail advertisers have achieved response lifts of 200% and more by using database-generated messages tailored to the history and interests of the recipient. Yet a recent study indicates that 82.9% of them at most use only moderate personalization in their direct mail. Only 17.1% of advertisers use extensive personalization. Like any development that involves changes in methods, however, personalization is facing the inertia of business as usual and the strangeness of a new tec

UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering case study Client Information UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science is a top-tier engineering school with achievements at every turn. UCLA Engineering - the Birthplace of the Internet - has always been an engine of innovation. Each year, we educate more than 4,500 students - an education that powers thousands of careers for decades. The graduates are provided an excellent undergraduate and graduate education. Thi

First, determine your objectives Effective use of personalized copy starts with the goals you are trying to achieve. Know your audience and what matters to it The best personalized copy for promotions hinge on specific knowledge of the targeted individual. Use proven layouts Many studies have shown which typographic and design techniques catch the reader’s attention and guide it to the points you want to make. A good place to start: David Ogilvy’s landmark book, “Confessions

Meher Montessori School case study Client information Founded in 1972 by Executive Director John Page, Meher Montessori School is an AMI accredited Montessori school serving children from 2 1/2-12 years of age. It is located in Altadena, adjacent to Los Angeles. The AMI accreditation is of special significance because of the estimated 3,800 schools in the United States that call themselves "Montessori" only about 190 or a slim 5% are formally recognized by AMI. AMI, which sta

Marketing Basics With modern variable printing, the text and graphics on each sheet of a press run can change to reflect the characteristics of its intended recipient. Such personalization has proved that it can generate many times the responses of non-variable printed pieces. To be effective, however, variable printing involves preparation starting from a project’s earliest stages. Variable information printing is a highly effective marketing tool. It gives you the ability t

Many years ago, Newsweek magazine was one of the first advertisers to send out a mailing featuring personalized (variable) printing. Its mailing addressed recipients with a variable fill that repeated the addressee’s name six or seven times in different areas of the mailing. Unfortunately, the Newsweek mailer often misspelled the recipient’s last name. Which effectively cancelled out the power of personalization to pull in orders. The lesson to be learned: technology does not

Variable-data printing, a form of digital printing, is a data-driven application that consistently delivers better results than conventional direct mail, reports Mark Kolier of Connecticut’s Canterbury Graphics, Inc. According to a CAP Ventures study, he notes, VDP generates: 36% higher response rates 25% increased average orders 47% more repeat sales 32% better profits 34% faster response time Variable-data printing works The only question is whether its category — which inc

More Apt to Read Relevant Mail And what makes what you receive in the mail relevant? Having your name and the name of your organization integrated into it. Castle Press Variable Data Printing is a state-of-the-art digital color press system that allows you to personalize every piece you print with whatever information you’d like. The most common use is to customize each piece in a direct mail program with the name of the person you’re mailing to. Using Castle Press variable d