> And I think you really need to do the
> testing yourself.... As Gordon pointed out,
> TIMING is critical. Like Melvin Powers
> promotion, which worked one year but not the
> next (see my post below).... I've also heard
> of someone who took a very successful
> promotion in the USA, and duplicated it in
> Australia exactly, and found that it didn't
> work. Who knows why? There could be all
> kinds of reasons....

> I think there's probably no short-cut to
> doing your own tests....

> - Dien

Dien,

Correct...there is no shortcut. And if someone knows of a shortcut-they aren't tellin! But I'm sure if there was one it would have leaked out well before now.

Gordon post (and the responses) on M. Powers is good stuff.

Joe Sugarman has said that "80% of any ad is the product itself." Which in itself means the type of product it is but more specifically the timing.

Sugarman talks about your product "harmonizing" with your prospects. That is when you are 'golden' and the money rolls in. But if your product is not hitting your prospects at the right time he believes (and so do I) that you could have ads appearing all over the country written by folks like Gary Halbert, Ted Nicholas, Ben Suarez or even Gordon himself and you'll still take a financial beating.

I agree with Gordon...timing is everything. Timing is more important than copy (including the headline) by a large margin.

As Gordon points out the "Piano Lesson's" ad struck paydirt because the timing was perfect...was the copy/headline good? absolutely but the timing was excellent.

Look at the success Ted Nicholas had with his "Incorporate for $50" book or

Ben Suarez and his Astrology stuff or even

Cory Rundl and his "Car Secrets" product.

While copy is worth 1x, timing is probably 4x just like Gordon and Joe Sugarman have said.

Take care,

Mike Winicki

P.S. Speaking of timing, I see there is a movie coming out the end of November that will offer great opportunites for tie-in type products (be careful of copyright infringements though).