If you wanna make money, you gotta know the rules!
So says Denny Hatch, copywriter extraordinaire...
As some may know, I'm a big fan of Denny Hatch. He's a copywriting expert. I have all of his non-fiction books (if you don't have any of his books, I recommend you start with "Method Marketing")...
He writes regular articles for "Target Marketing Magazine" - he was the former editor-in-chief - now it's headed by his wife, Peggy Hatch.
Denny's latest article is a doozy...
If you want to make moolah by selling things through your writing - it's worth a read!
Of course, many here will already know these rules... But if you don't, ignore these at your own peril!
He talks about a catalog he received - which breaks the well-known rules about copy and design, which are proven to work...
Here's part of the article...
Quote:
From the article by Denny Hatch...
Every morning I sit on a stool at the kitchen counter with a mug of coffee and three newspapers—Inquirer, New York Times and Wall Street Journal—next to the small TV tuned to CNN, MSNBC and/or Fox.
This little thing must have slipped out of the Times. I guess I missed it when I moved the papers to the recycling bin.
I saw it lying alone on the counter pathetically crying for attention like a starving kitten and I picked it up. The more I studied it, the sadder I became at its utter incompetence. I couldn't read it, because all the type was far too small and much of it printed in reverse type over busy, mottled backgrounds.
It's a British catalog, of course. Any designer (or creative director) that produced this mini-atrocity could never find work in America.
The copy cannot be critiqued, because the entire 64-page booklet is set in 6- to 9-point type and therefore unreadable.
What follows is a brief compendium of the basic rules for the design of direct mail and catalogs.
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You can read the rest here...
Breaking Every Rule in the Book! In 50 years, the saddest catalog I ever saw!
http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/ar...og-i-ever-saw#
By the way, here's where you can find all of Denny Hatch's writings at Target Marketing Magazine...
http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/se...nny+H atch%22
Best wishes,
Dien