Asking people to remember you is a poor substitute for selling them something

        When most advertising is based on image and awareness, what do you do if you actually want to sell something?

        Fortunately, there’s the other advertising: response. Awareness and image advertising can work, but not for everyone. Good awareness takes a big budget and a bigger investment in time. Whereas response builds brand awareness and promotes a brand image, but does more. Much more. Click the link below to read all about what the other advertising can do for your company. To read the full article, please click here

On Advertising As Art

        We’d all like our ads to hang on the wall of a museum, but we shouldn’t design them with that in mind.

        While any good advertisers can create aesthetically appealing ads, the real artist creates advertising that is attractive AND persuasive AND capable of pulling the results that fulfill a client’s goals and objectives. Is that a conflict of creative interests? Not at all. Click the link below and read all about it. To read the full article, please click here

Direct Response vs. Awareness Advertising
Which way should your company go?

        How do you decide which way should your company go? Direct Response or Awareness Advertising?

        Well, the truth is that the answer isn’t as simple as choosing “A” or “B.” There is room — in fact, need — in the world for both, yet most companies thrive using just one. So you’re going to need to ask yourself some challenging questions to figure out the one that’s right for your company. Fortunately, if you click below, you’ll find an excellent article filled with those exact questions. To read the full article, please click here

Top Ten Copy Cop-Outs™
— OR —
How to Spot a Lazy Copy Writer

        Any self-respecting writer knows how to avoid bad copy, right? Well, maybe. But that doesn’t mean they always do.

        So how can you tell if your ad is full of fresh copy, or if it’s recycled from the throes of 100 years of advertising laziness? Well, for starters, click below and take a look at 10 of the most common and clichéd copy cop-outs. Not only will you know what to look for, but also how to change ordinary copy into extraordinary copy. To read the full article, please click here

Earth to Direct Marketers:
Like It Or Not, You’re In The Branding Business

        Far too many Direct Marketers react to brand awareness advertising with a sneer.

        Granted, abuses in the name of branding deserve a sneer, but today it’s essential that even die-hard Direct Marketers understand how to pull in a solid response rate, and how their campaigns affect a client’s brand image. But this presents a challenge: can you build a brand without sacrificing response rates? Click below to read one long time Direct Marketer’s expert opinion (or at least what he thought that day). To read the full article, please click here

Anyone Can Write a Letter

        Okay, we admit it: “Anyone can write a letter.” But if anyone writes a letter, will you want to read it?

        It takes real skill and expertise to write a letter that – like an expert salesman –moves a customer to action. Creating an effective sales letter package takes more work than you might think. Click the link below for an expert breakdown on what’s involved in writing a good sales letter, and more importantly what a “simple” sales letter can do for you. To read the full article, please click here

Secret weapon for corporate sales

        Did you hear the one about the successful Direct Response campaign that sold $500,000 software? How about the one where the marketer of $20,000 scientific equipment schedules 25 appointments per 100 pieces mailed?

        Don’t tell, but direct response advertising has a few tricks up its sleeves. Best of all, these secrets are backed up by tested and proven principles. We’re more than happy to tell. Just lean in really close, click the link below and we’ll whisper them in your ear (or at least display them on your monitor). To read the full article, please click here

Cuno’s Rules for Stronger Writing

        Rules may sound a little weak. And 11’s an odd number. But somebody already called their list of do’s and don’ts the 10 Commandments.

        But, anyway, here’s our list of 11 rules that will help make your writing stronger; including clear examples of the good, the bad and sometimes even the better. Some people would charge ten’s or dozens of dollars for such valuable vignettes of wisdom, but you can get them here for free. Just by clicking the link below. To read the full article, please click here

How to Spot an Effective Sales Letter

        Like authentic antique Tiffany glass, spotting a true sales letter – one that transforms words on a page into a bona fide, self-contained salesman – takes a bit of expertise.

        Unfortunately, you don’t see too many authentic sales letters anymore. Or meet many people who actually know how to write one. So how can you know if your agency’s newest sales letter is a cheap knock-off or a timeless, priceless treasure? Just click the link below and use our 11-point acid test. To read the full article, please click here

Copy Cop-Outs™
The Tagline as Brand

        No doubt, you want your company to have a strong brand AND a good tagline. But be sure your agency understands: A good tagline is not the same as a strong brand.

        A strong brand is more than a clever tagline. Which should make you wonder: If you don’t build your brand through the six or eight words you’d like customers to associate with your company, where does a tagline fit in? Click the link below to find it. To read the full article, please click here

What Direct Marketers Don’t Know

        Maybe it isn’t the best sales pitch – especially since we pride ourselves on measurable results and proven techniques – but we’re willing to admit it: We don’t know everything.

        Don’t worry though, because we do know what we don’t know. (Try to say that five times fast.) And like good science, good advertising takes experimentation, observation and expertise. Plus a willingness to admit we don’t know everything. To read why you should know what we don’t know, click the link below. To read the full article, please click here

Business Minus You
Preparing Your Company to Carry On if You’re Temporarily (or Permanently) Out of the Picture

        We all know it’s possible, but it’s not something you generally expect to happen.

        At the risk of sounding like your mother, we can tell you – from first hand experience – that you’re much better off preparing for the worst before it happens. Preparing in advance will save you, your family and your employees a lot of uncertainty. So what should you do to prepare? Click the link below for an extremely helpful (and, unfortunately, tested) look at how to have a successful business, minus you. To read the full article, please click here

The Ad Agency “That Just Won’t Go Away”
Ten years of good fortune at Response Advertising

        10 years is a nice milestone (if your curious, that’s the tin or aluminum anniversary... neither of which sounds very impressive). And it was even nicer to have it recognized in adnews, the Intermountain advertising trade journal. A good summary of the RESPONSE philosophy as it stood a few years ago, and as it helped shape the unique and highly successful shift to a prospecting and loyalty focus. Click below to read the full article. To read the full article, please click here