...is because I've learned not to write "sell copy."

 

I don't write sales letters. I write love letters. Which means I don’t start with the product and try to convince you how you "should" feel about it. I start with you - the reader, and try to get under your skin and understand your mood, your wishes, what you want...what you love. And then show that what I’m offering will help get you there. That that tax preparation software is more than just an efficient program...it’s a path to helping you get control of your finances, your life. That piece of office equipment is more than just a functional work appliance...its’ a brick in the road to your future. And that donation to the American Cancer Society is more than a help to finding a cure...it’s a step into a warm, shared community of love, gratitude and human grace.

 

Some call it "experiential marketing." I call it whole-person marketing - and direct mail is perfect for it because it is so intimate: You have to quietly focus on it, even for just a few seconds. It speaks only to you, one-to-one. And it literally touches you. No other marketing medium connects like that.

 

Years ago, the ad gurus at Young and Rubicam trained me to think of the “product as king.” And that may have worked for showcasing a product on TV. (Y&R produced the world's first color TV commercials). But in the quiet, personal medium of direct mail, I’ve learned that what’s most important is not what’s in the product’s box, but what’s in the reader’s heart. Sure, I get in wrong a lot. This is tricky business. Nobody gets 100% response! But trying to put the full breadth and depth of reader first means my track record is ridiculously high.