Hall of fame: great selling ideas from 50 super successful direct mail letters and direct response ads

119 Pages·2018·1.13 MB·English

by  Force

This book made available by the Internet Archive.

Confessions of A Junk-Mail Junkie
I used to be like you.
I once thought I hated junk mail. That is, until I started writing the stuff myself.
Today, it s called direct mail if you please a medium that s united millions of
anxious consumers with quality products, created hundreds of thousands of jobs
over the years, and given me, personally, a pretty nice living besides.
So when my friends Lori Appling and Katie Yeakle at the American Writers &
Artists Institute asked me if I would help them sift through the landmark
collection that follows, I jumped at the chance. Why?
Because these aren t just letters that put a few dollars in the pockets of
copywriters. Most are career makers. More than a few of are company makers,
having created jobs and fueled corporate revenues for five and ten years at a clip.
But perhaps most of all, because there are few better shortcuts to direct-mail
mastery than reading what worked in the past.
I ve made notes in the margins to help you find the key techniques. You 11 be
shocked by how many patterns repeat. You 11 be surprised, too, by simplicity.
Most of these mega-profitable mailing campaigns had no fancy graphics... no
funny headlines... and no clever twists.
Yet, they worked. Millions of dollars were made. In some cases, billions. As you
read, you 11 begin to see why.
Notice how fast you get sold. That s the real mark of a winner. The classic from
Admiral Byrd will have you aching to go to the North Pole. You 11 wonder why
you don t get the Wall Street Journal. Or how we let bureaucrats spin our
national debt spin so wildly out of control.
Read the letters that follow. Read them twice. If you re ambitious, pick out your
favorites and write them out by hand. In exchange for a few hours of your time
and a little writer s cramp, you 11 be surprised by how much you learn.
John Forde January 6, 2002

tovcr, piraici
Page 210
American Writers & Artists Institute Direct Mail Hall of Fame
Mind Travel Letter #26
Special Rr|M«rl. pa^ 12
PuMt-l/ife Regression Brinj^ MiniclcH of llcalini^
Regression therapy allows >-ou to WBM traunu and transform your mind, body,
and reUUonahipi fu> you can •njoy your pre«Knt life nMirc fully than ever
beforv. it «ui Iwlp ytju ItcaJ Uric/, uncxntr hkUicn falcnis, deal with feeliiitK
litid ianKues yuu iKntfr knvw cxiMed, and find renewed peace of mind.
Ii AccmMpbalies all this by taking you ihrcNiiUi past-life cxperienoi».
Now, ttlihov^ the vast majority of people around the vkorlJ Inlicvf in
reincamatton. most people in the L S do not But the truth U, wtffhff yw Mkvc !■
PMt UtW QT Ml 111
You ae«, rc^ardleaB of whether you believe pi«*r l»ve« «rr real or 8>-mbolie.
the fact is that rettrcK^irm therapy teorka. In fact, the iiimminMniii mjihI hIM
gtam thm muhift t ITinj-life -UMl whM ImUad in dm rKhl wav .,. etrcn it the
conarfmn mJH* h hliiliXJdmiti&i
But today, there b ksa rcMon to he jikeptieal than cwr The auientiflc 'matter-ds-
enen^' ■fj^HBent offers more hard evidence in .support of past li^xs than has
ever existed {HevUiu»ly And a [trowlnti number irf rexpeeied »vientist». psyc-
hiatrlsLs. and medical ddctors have cml>racc<.l the Goaccpt. haxed on their
ne«e«rx;h and real-life expenetvoes.
ne«e«rx;h and real-life expenetvoes.
P«Ht-Life Thenipy: From Skeptic fo Believer
Take l>t brum WeisK. for example. He's a ((radujife of ("i<ihim)>in I'niversity
and Yale Medical School, ;ind i» the former (Chairman of Psychiatnr h\ Moinit
Sinai Medical (lenter in Miami, Florida
.\l oof [xmu in his career, some of IH. Weiiw pa(ieni.% didn t scvta to be making
profiretM. even after they had unou%'ervd deep uraumM firoffl Mrlkr in their
li>x-».
But when he tried deep, opcn-«nded hypno«i8 on these "problem" cases, suanjte
thiiij^ surted
PMimis bigiii flipping back to prcvkMu Itven. when they had diiifcrcnt names,
appearances, and dodiaa. They redted facts and deiaik almut their environments
that were lotAliy oui«idc the aoope of thdr knnwled^ and experience m their
current life.
Now at fhat. Dr. Wekas asaunwd such "memortes" must have been iHHhing
more than fiuHaatec or flnMins. But then the symptoms nf these 'probleffl''
patients suddenly heAan improving. And dfanuMkMlly.
Page 211
American Writers & Artists Institute Direct Mail Hall of Fame
Mind Travel Letter #26
Spcctel Bcpwt. pap IS
Dr. WciM kn«w fnim hU tnitnlii4 and eiperleocv thai iiuit«Mv* and dreamlike
nuiertal newr cauMcil crtfnpicfc and rapid dtiiloal cum. So he k^ian to rethink
his ixuiilon on (he subject.
He fuui to rvthink li, because the v«hkiitx: »«» in-vrT»hclmliw» And lf'» het-n
ihnt ".-v .,... .,,.| linr hint, hut al-wi for iii»UMnd» uf othvrs who have
experienced pMl-ilfc rcf^icvsiufi
Evidence of P«*it-IJvcH
fitT vMunplt. Mtnd TVacd author Ihck Stitphvti li:i> vliun >h v\|K.riiiK\-«.
^plorinii p.^si live* Ourii^ uoe ci pcri wwe. Im raih^ beint > yuun^ Indian Na in
' < i'Ti : I' 'IuIut.in .ih pnrt of thr MayiB twiftn. lie MfK
I saw so 1
pii»t-lik—
Hu I weui to the
the drlnlK 1" n
msy
Hkimk^becti
I haen iinofrhiNinJ
1 to dcjiih I I he neeii !•>
SUtpiMB ^i tncfapy. ^<'' cKecdve hu . .^: aa a y<>un£ £tH in hrmti. had earned
o\vf to her . ahe realised thia. she waa Anally abte to make Mime pmercaa
Here's another cAamplc:
A miui had buui platMcd for yean with abdfwnlnal pn>4>lfnu When hv r«.-i^<.-
sM.-d iiu<> a pa»( life, he found hinaelf to World War II as a pria4iner in a Natl
eauip (>rt«>r to hii« death, he «aw himoitli raaliflnfl. aokHcfs who planned to
perktrm cjiperimenul turHicTy nn him. The anfier and reatnrment from that