In the early 1980s, I took my first and only college course in marketing – "Writing Direct Mail Copy" – at New York University.
The teacher was Milt Pierce, who back then was one of the big-name, mega-successful mail order copywriters. We young writers worshipped and were in awe of him and his peers.
In fact, if Milt had not retired some years ago, he’d still be a mega-successful freelance copywriter today … and yes, I am still in awe of him.
To me, who had no formal education or training in direct marketing, Milt’s NYU class opened up a whole new world to me – teaching me fundamentals and direct marketing principles I’d use for a lifetime.
Each week, we’d get a homework assignment to write copy. After grading the homework, Milt would announce who turned in the best work that week.
Although I was only one of two professional copywriters in the class – the other students were all marketing execs or ad agency people – week after week passed without my homework being picked as the best of the week.
Finally – I think it was the second to last class of the semester – Milt announced that I had done the best job on the copywriting assignment that week. I was on cloud nine!
The assignment was to write a sales letter selling a collection of faux historical letters – written by Washington, Lincoln, and others – called "Fabulous Fakes." In my copy, I changed the name of the product to "Great Letters of History," which Milt liked better.
Milt refused to let bad copy stand. Once, for an assignment to write a sales letter selling a book, I said the book was "jam-packed" with tips. Milt circled the words "jam packed" in red pencil, and wrote in the margin next to them: "This phrase has all the sincerity of a three-dollar bill."
Direct marketing genius in a shopping bag
As I recall, the first time I visited Milt at his NYC apartment, I was instantly green with envy.
You see, it was 1982, I was poor, and my fiancée and I lived in a tiny studio apartment that had been cut up into a tiny 2-bedroom apartment.
The second bedroom, which was my office, had room only for a desk and nothing else.
Milt, who had been living in the city for years and was well-established – and well off – lived with his wife and kids in a 14-room apartment. So much room!
Actually, it was two large 7-room apartments. He rented both, and the building owner allowed him to cut through the wall and connect them. Our entire apartment could fit in the room he used as an office, which was filled wall-to-ceiling with books, files, and papers.
Anyway, when I last visited Milt in his cavernous NYC apartment just a few years ago, I complained to him that I had long misplaced my notes from his course -- and asked if he still had his instructor’s manual.
He didn’t, but what he gave me was even better: two shopping bags full of articles and sales letters he’d written over his multi-decade career.
I spent most of that weekend sorting through, organizing, and reading those lost marketing treasures.
I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that Milt’s direct marketing wisdom, as expressed in his writings, is truly timeless – just as relevant today as when he wrote them years ago.
Naturally, I asked his permission to collect his best articles and letters into an e-book – and fortunately for you and me, he graciously agreed.
Now these "lost" classic letters and articles are yours in my e-book: Milt Pierce’s Marketing Success Secrets.
In Part I, you get a collection – not available through any other source – of Milt’s articles on direct marketing.
These include articles published in Direct Marketing magazine, for which he wrote a monthly column for many years, as well as other trade publications.
There were many great columnists writing for Direct Marketing in those days. And they wrote truly great columns. Just reading the columns was in itself a graduate level education in mail order marketing.
But of all the columns in Direct Marketing, Milt’s was always my favorite – the one I turned to first.
My dear late friend Milt had happily retired, and stopped writing articles on direct marketing many years ago. Now in this e-book, his columns are yours to enjoy once again.
Including:
- How to break the 2% response barrier. Page 78.
- The 10 most common mistakes that copywriters make when writing direct mail packages to sell magazine subscriptions. See page 51.
- How to edit direct mail copy. Page 57.
- 25 ways to improve collections by mail. Page 27.
- How to raise campaign funds, gauge the pulse of the public, and win elections with political direct mail. Page 19.
- The 25 most common telemarketing blunders ... and one good way to avoid each. Page 33.
- What the mad monk Rasputin can teach you about how closely consumers read your DM sales copy. Page 60.
- 12 ways to drive a copywriter absolutely crazy. Page 12.
- The world’s most powerful collection letter. Page 65.
- 50 questions to ask before you start to write DM copy. Page 67.
- Do computers actually help people write better copy? Page 43.
- 14 winning formulas for writing powerful headlines. Page 38.
- The secret of "bells and whistles." Page 46.
- 10 tips for writing and testing effective telemarketing scripts. Page 30.
- Test your direct marketing I.Q. Page 49.
- The 22 most frequently asked questions about direct mail – and the answers. Page 54.
- How to build your swipe file – and why every successful DM copywriter has one. Page 17.
- 15 ways to develop writing talent in yourself and others. Page 15.
- What Babe Ruth can teach you about writing irresistible headlines. Page 62.
- The 5 most common pitfalls in direct mail testing and how to avoid them. Page 40.
- 97 tips for a successful direct mail campaign. Page 71.
- And more ...
But as the old-time mail order copywriters like Milt Pierce were fond of saying – "Wait. There’s more!" ...
The Milt Pierce sales letter collection
During his long career, Milt Pierce wrote many famous and successful sales letters.
Perhaps the best-known was the famous "33 ways to save time and money" letter he wrote for Good Housekeeping – which was an unbeaten control for 25 years.
You’ll find "33 ways to save time and money" reprinted, in full, in Part II of Milt Pierce’s Marketing Success Secrets ... starting on page 104.
Part II also gives you many other Milt Pierce letters to read and learn from, including:
- Milt’s "the memory of Herb still haunts me" letter for the United Jewish Appeal ... page 102.
- The famous "colossal flub" ad that sold out a sex book with the pages misnumbered! ... page 127.
- A letter to bring slot players to Harrah's Casino ... page 141.
- The famous "I want to share a wonderful discovery with you" letter that launched BBC Music Magazine ... page 111.
- The Newsweek "free push-button phone" premium mailing ... page 125.
- "Light of Nations" letter selling a Marc Chagall collectible ... page 100.
- One of the early fundraising and awareness efforts for AIDS ... page 96.
- The Nestle "there’s a key enclosed" letter ... page 107.
- How The Musical Heritage Society sells CDs by mail ... page 144.
- An ad for a "time machine" ... page 130.
- And more ...
"You will find dozens of useful ideas in Milt Pierce's Marketing Success Secrets as well as a very enjoyable read," writes copywriter Denny Hatch in Target Marketing magazine. "It's a bargain!"
"Study Milt's collection of direct mail letters for M Magazine and Good Housekeeping," writes copywriter Dianna Huff. "Learn his techniques and then put them to work in your Web copy and landing pages. Milt's book - and the ideas it contains - is worth far more than $39 selling price."
"I have known Milt Pierce for more than 20 years and have worked with him literally on dozens of projects," writes Lee Epstein. "I cannot say enough about him, his talent, and his willingness to teach and to share his knowledge of direct marketing."
"Milt Pierce has written successul direct response poromtions for such clients as Good Housekeeping, Walt Disney Books, and the New York Times," notes the Chicago Association of Direct Marketing. "He's a dynamic speaker with some important direct markeging experience to share with you."
"I have listened to him with fascination, been enlightened by his articles, and read his copy with green-eye envy," wrote Andi Emerson. "The man really knows what makes direct marketing work."
The $100,000 letter collection you can own for less than what Milt charged for writing a postcard!
So what is all that really worth to you?
Well, when Milt retired from active freelancing, he was charging somewhere around $10,000 to write a DM package.
So to have him write just one mailing for you would run ten grand – if he would even take you on as a client (Milt was fully booked and very selective).
This collection contains over 20 of Milt’s classic sales letters ... material Milt would easily have charged you $200,000 or more to write it all from scratch ... plus more than 20 of his best how-to articles.
But you won’t pay $200,000 or $20,000 or even $2,000 to own the collection of letters, articles, and writings in Milt Pierce’s Marketing Success Secrets.
That’s because it’s available to you now as a downloadable 156-page e-book for only $39.
Marketing pros praise Milt Pierce’s Marketing Secrets
"An in-depth look at the methods and thought process of one of the great
pre-Internet copywriters: Milt Pierce. Pierce was a big winner and great
teacher in the golden, no-nonsense era of ad copy when every word had to
count and a simple test meant writing a five- figure check to the post
office and the printer."
--Ken McCarthy, creator of The System
"Taking Milt Pierce's NYU direct-mail copywriting course -- the first of
its kind in the nation -- was one of the smartest moves I ever made in
my career. Milt doesn't teach the course anymore, but this remarkable
e-book comes close to capturing the generous and kind-hearted man who
was probably the most gifted copywriting teacher of all time."
--Richard Armstrong, freelance copywriter and author, "God Doesn't Shoot Craps"
"I was gulping down the pages even as they were popping out of the
printer, so lively and self-assured and 'Milt-like' they were. I'm glad
he preserved his articles and samples and glad you sought to publish
them. He really is one of the best. Not just a copywriter but a family
man and friend, too. I love him."
--Robert Lerose, freelance copywriter
"Milt Pierce's Marketing Success Secrets is powerful stuff -- a treasure chest of
articles, sales letters, and other documents written by a genuine marketing genius.
Anyone with even a passing interest in marketing needs to have these ideas in their
arsenal."
--Robert Ringer, Author of To Be or Not to Be Intimidated?
Our 100% iron-clad guarantee of satisfaction
Plus, your satisfaction with this treasury of the great Milt Pierce’s Marketing Success Secrets is fully guaranteed.
That’s right.
If you are not 100% delighted for any reason – or for no reason at all – just let me know within 90 days for a full refund.
And you can still keep the e-book free, with my compliments. That way, you risk nothing.
So what are you waiting for?
To order Milt Pierce’s Marketing Success Secrets, just click below now:
Sincerely,
Bob Bly
P.S. When my book designer gave me the galleys of Milt Pierce’s Marketing Success Secrets, it was like I had rediscovered a treasure I’d buried long ago and forgotten about until today.
Already, I have read Milt Pierce’s Marketing Success Secrets – in its entirety, cover to cover – 3 times before even launching it.
And I suspect I will read it many more times ... at least once a year, and probably more often than that.
You see, Milt’s writing is so simple, friendly, and enjoyable to read, it’s a pleasure to read and reread over and over again.
Which is good for you, because with each reading, his techniques become more ingrained into your brain – and your mastery of his letter-writing secrets increases exponentially.
So don’t just sit there – get your hands on this “instant classic” of direct marketing today. You’ll be glad you did!
To review Milt Pierce’s Marketing Success Secrets for 90 days risk-free in your home or office, just click below now:
P.P.S. I really believe with all my heart that Milt Pierce’s Marketing Success Secrets is so great, it would be almost redundant to offer a free bonus with your purchase.
But then one of my colleagues reminded me how much my readers love our free bonus reports.
So reply today and you get a FREE copy of my 59-page Special Report, Take Your Copywriting to the Next Level (list price: $29).
In it, you’ll find some of the most powerful copywriting secrets I’ve learned over the decades from Sig Rosenblum, Milt Pierce, Michael Masterson, and my other mentors and colleagues.
Including:
- 25 key questions you must ask – and answer – before you sit down to write your sales letter. Page 3.
- Michael Masterson’s kick-butt formula for writing e-mail subject lines that can increase your open and click-through rates 25% to 50% or more. Page 38.
- 7 secrets for writing space ads that pay back the cost of the ad space many times over. Page 32.
- Tips on getting and using testimonials to improve the pulling power of your copy. Page 44.
- How to write copy that sells – and sells hard – without overdoing the hype. Page 53.
- 4 easy techniques for presenting detailed or technical product features without boring the reader to tears. Page 23.
- Does long copy always work better than short copy? The answer is not what you think – and it may shock you. Page 50.
- 8 characteristics that make copy effective. Skip even one, and you risk having your promotion bomb. Page 6.
- 3 ways to get deep inside your prospect’s mind ... without spending a dime on costly market research studies. Page 40.
- And more ...
To order Milt Pierce’s Marketing Success Secrets ... and get your FREE Bonus Report ... just click below now: