Good stuff from Harvey Mackay if you want to succeed – and a reader scolds me

I often quote Harvey Mackay’s remark that something you know about your customer may be more important than anything you know about your product.

He just sent out something excellent headed “The most valuable card in your wallet” which opened as follows:

When Ben Franklin founded the first public lending library in America in 1731, he probably had no idea what he would inspire. There is no better bargain than a library card, and what better time to sign up for one than September — library card sign-up month.

Studies show that children who use the library tend to perform better in school. They are also more likely to continue learning and exploring throughout their lives.

Frequently people ask me the secret of success in copywriting, and I usually say, among other things, that good ideas do not some from thin air. They come from the resources you have within you.

The more you know, the more connections are waiting to be made in your mind. And the more connections, the more ideas.

You will NOT find all the ideas you need in books about marketing, most of which are very narrow in scope and often very badly written. You must broaden your horizons.

Having said that, a reader who publishes SUBvert magazine – an excellent source of stimulation if you want to be creative – told me off, rightly, yesterday as follows:

He said, “Despite the very high level of confidence I have in all your advice I have never purchased any of your books.

You have published several haven’t you?

I will happily open every email you send and study every point you make. But I’m too lazy to go researching to find out what your books are / were and if they are still in print.

I buy about 2 books a month, often from people I’ve only recently become familiar with.

It might be an idea to make it easier for us to remember and buy your books if they are still available.

The desire to reciprocate is already there, the credibility is there. Just need to spoon feed the laziness that is also there.

 
What a fool I am! If you go to www.draytonbird.com you can read about my books. And if you want to buy any, I’ll match Amazon’s price.
 
Would you like your copy signed? Just write to me, Drayton@draytonbird.com and copy kelly@draytonbird.com.
 
The most comprehensive book I have written is Commonsense Direct and Interactive Marketing, which David Ogilvy said was “Pure Gold” – though that was before I covered subjects like the internet.
 
The best if you want to know about copy is How to Write a Sales letter that Sells.
 
 
 
 

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.

1 Comments

  1. lawton chiles

    Drayton, you might want to put the books on Kindle which you can easily do http://www.kdp.com. it’s pretty simple process.
    A simple formatted Word doc will do fine.

    -Lawton Chiles

    Reply

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