Maxwell Sackheim’s Magic List - 2

<img src="https://copywriterspodcast.com/images/banner/copywriterspodcast143.jpg" /> <br />Today we return to our new series called “Old Masters,” and we’re going to look at another list from Maxwell Sackheim’s book, “My First 65 Years In Advertising.”<br /> Sackheim started in direct mail in 1906. In 1927 he was a co-founder of a highly successful direct-mail business, The Book-of-the-Month Club.<br /> He wrote a very famous ad with the headline, “Do You Make These Mistakes In English?”, which ran for 40 years and was always profitable.<br /> The list we’re going over today is called “Seven Deadly Direct Mail Mistakes.” But don’t worry if you don’t do direct mail yourself. It’s based on hard-won wisdom and it applies just as well today with Facebook ads and funnels as it does to actual direct mail.<br /> (Seven deadly Direct Mail mistakes)<br /> 1. Failing to Give The Reader a Good Reason to Open Your Envelope<br /> This applies to ALL forms of direct marketing. Almost all forms involve more than one step — whether the first step is opening the envelope, responding to a print ad, or clicking on a Facebook ad. Be sure that you’re giving your prospect a strong reason to take the FIRST step.<br /> Cheat Sheet Question #1: Did I give me prospect a good enough reason to take the the first step?<br /> 2. Failing to Give The Reader a Good Reason for Reading Your Mailing<br /> Every step of the way through your funnel, make sure you give your prospect a good reason to read it and move on to the next step.<br /> Cheat sheet question #2: Did I give my prospect a good enough reason to read this copy and move on to the next step?<br /> 3. Making Trivial Tests<br /> Important tests are of major elements that can really affect response. Headline, lead, offer, pricing, for example. Test the things that are most likely to make a real difference in response.<br /> Cheat sheet question #3: Make sure you’re testing elements of your copy that are likely to make an important difference.<br /> 4. Making Sales, Not Customers<br /> I