I love to do "personal invitations". It's the ultimate use of personalization. You don't have to make the piece "look" like a real invitation, but you can. I haven't tested this option, but my gut tells me a little ostentatious "wedding invite" detail would boost...
Hot Seat Seminar and Copywriting Sweatshop Event Videos – Marketing Rebel Insider’s Club
Once a month we post videos shot at one of John Carlton's exclusive live events. These events typically cost $5,000 or more to attend. Some of them focus on marketing and some focus on copywriting. As part of your MRIC Membership, you get to sit in and take notes...
The Art and Science of Swiping Copy
Howdy. You’re probably on this page because you followed the The Art and Science of Swiping Copy link and: (1) You’ve invested in the full collection of my Best Ads… and The Stories Behind Them, or (2) You’re a member of The Marketing Rebel Insider’s Club, where you...
John Carlton’s Best Ads: 22 Minutes And 17 Seconds
This is one of my favorite examples of a "bonding" letter. By that, I mean there are deliberate elements here that help a targeted audience identify with the information. The cover letter ("Please Read This First") is from Dr. O'Leary's father-- an...
John Carlton’s Best Ads: The Naked Girls All Laughed Behind The Little Pudgy Guy’s Back…
Most self-defense ads try hard to look tough. Like the product is tough, the talent is tough, even the receptionist answering the phones is tough. Pick up a Black Belt or Soldier of Fortune magazine and check out the attitude of the writing. Tough guys. Grrrr. Sports...
John Carlton’s Best Ads: The Human Computer
This letter almost set a record for the shortest time spent as a control at Phillips Publishing (the newsletter giant)... but it wasn't my fault. They mailed it, it scored a hit with outside lists... and then they decided not to publish the newsletter after all. I...
Action Seminar: Can You Split Test With Mixed Traffic?
The Action Seminar speakers answer questions from the audience. In this excerpt, Jon Correll explains how to split test a page if you are getting traffic from different sources? [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asQRbvKBlBw[/embedyt] Jon’s comments: Is it a...
John Carlton’s Best Ads: What Women Secretly Wish You Knew About Sex
I struggled for years to get Rodale to use personalization in a letter. My other clients found that personalizing a letter boosted response by as much as 30% -- a very significant increase to the bottom line. Working with large mailers, you are pitted against...
John Carlton’s Best Ads: The Only Sex Book You’ll Ever Admit To Buying
You have to imagine what was going on in Rodale's collective head at the time. This is a very conservative, east-Pennsylvania-based publisher -- one of the largest mailers in the world. But their main fare are books on gardening, health, folk recipes, stuff like that....
John Carlton’s Best Ads: Hot Off The Lot
This is an ancient manuscript for an ad I wrote maybe 15 years ago. If you know anything about me personally, you know I'm the worst sort of pack-rat there is. I have dozens of banker's boxes in the garage stuffed with files, notes, ads and what-not--some of it going...