Tom Ruwitch
I read something cool this morning. It comes from a book called Breakthrough Advertising, by Eugene Schwartz. He was one of the great direct response copywriters of the twentieth century. Breakthrough Advertising is a Bible for those who want to write copy that works. At the beginning of Chapter Seven, Schwartz writes… “…Advertising is the literature of…
One of the great business stories of all time is also one of the shortest. Just nine words. Here it is: You can pay me now… …or pay me later. If you watched television in the 70s, you couldn’t miss those ads for Fram oil filters. The broken car. The expensive repair. The mechanic saying…
I was planning to send a different message this morning… …until I read an email from one of my favorite marketing experts Dave Dee (check out his stuff here). He offered a tip that is so good I had to postpone the other email so I could share the idea with you now. Here’s the tip: …
I got some great advice from a marketing expert last week after he read one of my emails. If you’ve read my emails lately, you’ve noticed that I offer a free Story Assessment. I’ll review your website, social media or any other channel where you tell your story. Then I’ll reveal ways to power up your…
Here’s a TV recommendation: Watch “Grant,” the new three-part documentary on the History Channel (here’s the trailer). Ulysses S. Grant was a complicated man. Some historians have painted him as a drunk, a villain, a reckless general who got lucky, a corrupt politician. This documentary rewrites that history. It exposes some of the warts. But generally,…
I recently heard this story about the great copywriter Gary Halbert… Near the end of his career he was quizzing a protege and said, “The best way to get a prospect’s attention is to appeal to their sense of ___________.” The protege replied, “Their sense of self-interest?” Halbert said, “No…their sense of curiosity.” That’s great…
A few years back, I met with a prospect about a massive project. The meeting went well. I remember thinking as the meeting moved along, “I’m CRUSHING it.” Before I left, they committed to hire me. I returned to the office, shared the news with my team, and slapped high fives all around. “Way to…
A business owner recently asked me to launch an email campaign for her new company. She told me she wanted to “spread the word” about the business. Spread the word. That’s a popular idea. Let’s send some emails to spread the word. Let’s post on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter to spread the word.Let’s buy…
I love the scene in the Spiderman movie (the first one with Tobey Maguire) when Uncle Ben tells Peter, “With great power comes great responsibility.” That’s true for super heroes. That’s also true for marketers. I’m working on a revised and expanded version of a free resource I created a few years back called “7 Ways…
Back in the day, when people used to go on vacation, my mom, dad, brother and I packed up the station wagon and drove west in search of a ghost town. Actually, we were headed to some national parks in Wyoming and Montana. But I insisted we detour. The brochure I grabbed at the Stuckey’s…