“8 things that are dirtier than your toilet” – is that a great headline, or what?

I saw that on Yahoo, and I defy you not to want to know what they are.

I only quoted it because Warren Cottis from Australia scolded me yesterday for not delivering what I promised.


He reminded me that a couple of weeks ago I recorded a new set of helpful ideas, swore I would stick one up every two days – then promptly reneged on the promise.

I have no excuse, except that I have a tragic problem: I am constantly being side-tracked – by myself.

I have the ultimate grasshopper mind – never cease having thoughts about this and that, and the minute I have them, out they pop.

Anyhow, one of the ideas had to do with THE most important element in an ad, insert or mailing: the headline. You might be surprised by what I reveal. Here it is.

You can watch the video, or listen to a podcast, whichever you prefer. And I faithfully swear that I will put up all the ideas (there are 11 in all, I think).

About the Author

In 2003, the Chartered Institute of Marketing named Drayton one of 50 living individuals who have shaped today’s marketing.

He has worked in 55 countries with many of the world’s greatest brands. These include American Express, Audi, Bentley, British Airways, Cisco, Columbia Business School, Deutsche Post, Ford, IBM, McKinsey, Mercedes, Microsoft, Nestle, Philips, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Unilever, Visa and Volkswagen.

Drayton has helped sell everything from Airbus planes to Peppa Pig. His book, Commonsense Direct and Digital Marketing, out in 17 languages, has been the UK’s best seller on the subject every year since 1982. He has also run his own businesses in the U.K., Portugal and Malaysia.

He was a main board member of the Ogilvy Group, a founding member of the Superbrands Organisation, one of the first eight Honorary Fellows of the Institute of Direct Marketing and one of the first three people named to the Hall of Fame of the Direct Marketing Association of India. He has also been given Lifetime Achievement Awards by the Caples Organisation in New York and Early To Rise in Florida.

2 Comments

  1. Warren Cottis

    Well Dear Drayton,

    When I blogged about the Man With The Grasshopper Head back in August 2009 I never realised it was you…

    cheers,
    Warren

    PS … and I was talking about headlines too

    Reply
  2. Patrick Simpson

    I get side tracked all the time myself, besides being a little BI_POLAR and ADD, I am just driven by myself so hard that I forget what my plan is to grow, I hope that makes sense. any ways I just Had to let you know your are not alone.

    Reply

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