{"id":7144,"date":"2018-04-11T20:33:45","date_gmt":"2018-04-11T20:33:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hippodirect.com\/blog\/?p=7144"},"modified":"2020-07-29T17:54:07","modified_gmt":"2020-07-29T17:54:07","slug":"direct-marketing-classics-herschell-gordon-lewis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hippodirect.com\/blog\/direct-marketing-classics-herschell-gordon-lewis\/","title":{"rendered":"Direct Marketing Classics: Herschell Gordon Lewis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Get Better Results from Your Marketing with Great Copywriting<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The technology we use as marketers has changed a lot in the past 40 years, but human nature hasn\u2019t. So if your job requires you to capture the attention of prospective customers \u2013 and induce them to action \u2013 you should learn the marketing techniques used long ago by the masters of persuasion.<\/p>\n

A great copywriter can make the difference between profit or loss on a mailing or email campaign. In the heyday of direct mail marketing — which I define as the 1960\u2019s and 1970\u2019s — a small group of hard-working, talented marketers created a very profitable industry. Fortunately for us, they were prolific writers who loved to share in great detail \u201chow they did it.”<\/p>\n

One of the best marketing writers was Herschell Gordon Lewis, who worked as a direct mail copywriter, consultant and professor for many decades. One of my favorite Lewis books is \u201cDirect mail copy that sells<\/span><\/a>!\u201d\u00a0In that 1984 book, Lewis shared some of his proven secrets for direct marketing success<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

12 Rules for Overcoming Your Readers\u2019 Skepticism<\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. If You Make a Claim, Prove It<\/li>\n
  2. Don\u2019t Lie<\/li>\n
  3. Tie Your Claims to Credible Testimonials<\/li>\n
  4. Don\u2019t Clown<\/li>\n
  5. Imply Bulk or Community Acceptance<\/li>\n
  6. Personalize<\/li>\n
  7. Be Positive and Specific<\/li>\n
  8. Cut Down the Puffery<\/li>\n
  9. Don\u2019t Assume Your \u201cIn\u201d Terminology Is Familiar To The Public<\/li>\n
  10. Showing Innocence or Artlessness Can Prove Your Sincerity<\/li>\n
  11. Tie Newness to an Established Base<\/li>\n
  12. Don\u2019t Make Something Big Out of Something Little<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Direct Mail = Action Now<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    While appealing to intellect and reason, an effective direct marketing message also needs to spur action. This is done by using some combination of what Lewis called \u201cThe Four Great Motivators\u201d:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Fear<\/li>\n
    2. Guilt<\/li>\n
    3. Greed<\/li>\n
    4. Exclusivity<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      An Interesting Life Leads to Interesting Marketing<\/strong><\/h2>\n

      Like many other great marketers, Herschell was a man of varied interests. He was the self-proclaimed \u201cGodfather of Gore\u201d for his writing and direction of a few dozen low-budget horror movies<\/span><\/a>. Some have credited him with creating the \u201cSplatter Film\u201d genre of movies. He also worked in advertising (which funded his movies), was a college professor of advertising, and wrote several books on copywriting and direct mail marketing.<\/p>\n

      The copywriting and direct mail marketing lessons from Herschell still apply today. Make good use of them in your preferred marketing tactics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      The copywriting and direct mail marketing lessons from Herschell Gordon Lewis still apply today. Get better results from your marketing with great copywriting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,47,49,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-growth","category-email-mailing-lists","category-marketing-tips","category-small-business"],"yoast_head":"\nDirect Marketing Classics: Herschell Gordon Lewis - Hippo Direct<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hippodirect.com\/blog\/direct-marketing-classics-herschell-gordon-lewis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Direct Marketing Classics: Herschell Gordon Lewis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The copywriting and direct mail marketing lessons from Herschell Gordon Lewis still apply today. 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