> Hi Chris,

> I'm a big fan of this topic!

> 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....

> 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