The Time Ultra-conservatives and Hippies United

Come and listen to my story ’bout a man named Jeff…

…a poor marketer who found riches by uniting hardcore, ultra-conservatives and tree-hugging hippies.

I know that seems impossible these days, but it happened not that long ago.

Our story starts just after the turn of the millennium, in 2002, when the Internet was still toddling around in diapers.

Jeff Paul wrote a book and launched a course for wannabe online moguls who hoped to sell stuff on the web and rake in big bucks.

With help from Dan Kennedy (one of the world’s great direct-response copywriters), Jeff created a full-page advertisement with this now-classic headline:

“How To Make $4,000 A Day Sitting At Your Kitchen Table In Your Underwear.”

On that 8.5×11 sheet, he squeezed in three columns of 8-point (tiny!) type pitching the book or a $695 training course.

The ad ran for ages because it worked: more than 100,000 books and 12,000 courses sold.

And here’s the crazy thing…

The ad performed BEST in these two publications: The American Spectator (political commentary for and by the ultra-conservatives) and Mother Earth News (news and advice for off-the-grid, back-to-the-earth folks looking to lighten their environmental footprint).

So now you know. Ultra-conservatives and barefoot hippies both dream of sitting at their kitchen tables in their underwear — or at least they did back then.

When I shared this story with a friend, he said, “Well, EVERYBODY would like to make $4,000 a day sitting at their kitchen table in their underwear.”

Not quite.

The ad didn’t crush it everywhere. It didn’t resonate with every audience.

But it DID absolutely nail those two.

Years later, Kennedy explained why: “There is a reason the Mother Earth News reader and the American Spectator reader worked because they do have an important commonality. They’re as far apart, in many ways, as you could be. However, the commonality they share is a mindset of self-reliance. That they have in common. And this is a pitch about being self-reliant.”

And there’s the BIG lesson.

When we define our target market, we often lean on demographics (age, location, income) or labels (conservative vs. liberal).

When we do that, we miss the good stuff. Our stories fall flat. Our marketing fizzles. We waste money. Sales sputter.

As Kennedy says, “You need to think about the mindset of your customer, the mindset of your prospect.”

Amen, Dan.

When we focus on mindset — when we dig deep to understand how our prospects FEEL — we connect with them. We grab their attention. We keep them tuned in. (Have you ever tried reading a full page of 8-point type? You have to REALLY care.) And we inspire them to act.

And maybe, just maybe, you can sell enough to sit wherever you want, wearing whatever you want, doing whatever you want — if that’s your thing.

Later today, I’m hosting a training where I’ll reveal how you can use AI to help you understand your prospects’ mindset… what makes them tick… how to connect with them… how to attract their attention… how to keep them tuned in… and how to inspire them to act so…

…you can turn marketing from a confusing, resource-draining headache into something simple, fun, and PRODUCTIVE…

…So you can land more clients with fewer hassles.

The live training starts at 6 p.m. ET, 3 p.m. PT. If you want to attend, reply to this email with “underwear,” and I’ll send you the Zoom link.