Hi Chris,

> I'm a long time lurker, and have learned
> much about Internet Marketing from Dien,
> Boyd, Gordon et al. However, it seems that
> much of what you guys discuss(heck, or even
> HOW you guys discuss) relates to writing
> COMPELLING AD copy.

I'm a big fan of this topic!

> Could you guys point me in the direction of
> a good book that teaches the basics of ad
> copy?

I actually like quite a number of books about writing compelling ad copy. Here are my favorites....

First (I have a vested interest in this) - I like Gordon Alexander's Remote Influence.... Of course, I sell it - but I only sell stuff I personally like. Here's the link to where you can read more about it....

Secondly, Dan Kennedy has a great book, "The Ultimate Sales Letter". It's excellent, I recommend it. :)

Like Boyd, I also like Gary Halbert's stuff. The good news is, you can get a lot of it for free.... Just go over to The Gary Halbert Letter web page.... http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/

I'm also a fan of Joe Sugarman. I highly recommend two of his books on this topic, "Advertising Secrets of the Written Word" and also "Marketing Secrets of a Mail Order Maverick"....

John Caples is an ad man from the "old days" (he's passed away), but he wrote a couple of classics.... "Tested Advertising Methods" and "How To Make Your Advertising Make Money" are both great and highly recommended.

And lastly, the real "classic of classics" is "Scientific Advertising" by Claude Hopkins! It was written in the early 20th century, so it's not under copyright any more, and you can find it for free various places around the 'net.... For example, http://tannerbridger.com/claude.htm ... And there's even an audio version online too! http://www.geocities.com/MadisonAvenue/Boardroom/4124/ They also have a nice PDF version too. :)

The final word is, test, test, test! That's how to find out directly what works for you....

> Also, I think that I'll need some sort of
> mailing list script to manage a list of
> possible buyers. At least I think that's one
> of the strategies you guys espouse.

Chris, yes, it's very important to have a way of keeping "in touch" with your customers.... One way is through an ezine, or product announcement list, or something like that.... Make sure it is "opt in" though, and people can remove themselves from your list too if you want. (Spamming through email is NEVER good policy.... You must treat your customers with respect....)

I actually use E-Lists and ListMerge together, which are installed directly on this site. I think they're great pieces of software, though I've found they're not the best if you are using attachments.... However, if you're not using attachments, they work well. Here's where you can find them.... (They're free to download and use, but the "catch" with that is that there's minimal support):
http://www.dtp-aus.com/cgiscript/emlscrpt.shtml
http://www.dtp-aus.com/cgiscript/lmrgscpt.shtml

I hope that helps. :)

- Dien Rice