6 Giants

October 23, 2015      Tom Belford

Copywriting and direct marketing guru Denny Hatch, himself ranking as a legend in the field, recently listed his ‘6 Giants of the Last 100 Years’, with a brief selection of quotes from each.

Amongst this group are the creators of the Book-of-the-Month Club (which my father subscribed to and I credit with inspiring my youthful interest in reading), the Hathaway man, and by most accounts the world’s most successful direct marketing agency.

How many of these 6 Giants have you heard about, read or studied?

1. Claude C. Hopkins:

“The right offer should be so attractive only a lunatic would say no.”

2. John Caples:

“What good is all the painstaking work on copy if the headline isn’t right? If the headline doesn’t stop people, the copy might as well be written in Greek.”

3. Maxwell Sackheim:

“The most important order you get from a customer is the second order.” [Amen!]

4. David Ogilvy:

“You cannot bore people into buying.” And: “Unless your campaign is built around  a great idea, it will flop.” [Was your last appeal built around a ‘great idea’ or just meeting a schedule?]

5. Richard (Dick) Benson:

“Letters should look and feel like letters.” [Another self-test to administer!]

6. Lester Wunderman:

“We’re in the death-knell of one-way conversations and the birth of the dialog system of marketing. The secret of the future is to listen to the customer, not to talk to him.” [Before ‘Permission Marketing’!]

Anyone you’d care to add?

Apart from reading the masters, if you’d like a sort of Cliff Notes to  effective marketing, Denny has bequeathed us with his Ultimate 83-Point Marketing Checklist. Not 82, not 84, but 83 pearls.

Distilled from over 50 years of marketing experience. Check it out.

Tom

 

 

 

3 responses to “6 Giants”

  1. Pamela Grow says:
    October 23, 2015 at 8:40 am

    Thanks for this, Tom. Denny’s Million Dollar Mailings occupies a place of honor on my bookshelf and is referred to often. My first nonprofit direct mail campaign, done before I’d been exposed to anything remotely related to fundraising, was written based on the advice of marketer Dan Kennedy and his book, The Ultimate Sales Letter. Knocked it out of the park.

  2. Tina Cincotti says:
    October 23, 2015 at 9:37 am

    This is indeed a great list of advice. And, I couldn’t help but think of yesterday’s post when I was reading — not one woman on the list!

  3. Lisa Sargent says:
    October 23, 2015 at 11:02 am

    Just for you, Tina…
    – Whatever you say, however you present it, first ask, “Does this make sense to the customer?” (the late, great Joan Throckmorton)

    – And from Kathy Swayze: “A story is always nice…but without a strong case for giving it won’t bring in the dollars.”

    AMEN. p.s. Tom and Roger: paywall-worthy stuff this week. Thanks!

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