I’ll be Hornswoggled if this doesn’t pay off for you

“Experience is the name we give to our mistakes”- Oscar Wilde

To be honest I haven’t a clue what hornswoggled means, but I know an amazing amount about what not to do – because I learned the hard way. 

I have done stuff so stupid I can barely believe it. 

But I take comfort that even the greatest marketer ever, Claude Hopkins, was wrong about some things. He didn’t think humour worked, for instance.

One mistake that will cost you dearly is to follow just one expert or authority, no matter how good they are.

Why am I telling you this? 

Because in August – to mark my 83rd birthday, apparently – an event will occur in Gdańsk. Poland, one of Europe’s most beautiful cities. 

It will be attended by a range of speakers. Not just one or two or three, but all these plus myself.

John Carlton       

Caleb O’Dowd      

Bond Halbert      

Matt Furey      

Ed Dale       

Nik Thakorlal      

Ben Simpkin      

Pauline Longdon      

Brian Cassingena 

They probably agree on many things, but I bet they disagree on many others; and I also bet not one of them can tell you all the secrets of success. 

What they will give you between them is a unique.competitive advantage. 

They will give you a fully rounded view of what it takes to succeed in marketing and especially copywriting, by giving you many different perspectives.  

If you don’t know some of those names, I’ll be astonished. 

If you know all their names, I’ll be equally astonished. But I’ll be staggered – in fact hornswoggled – if you don’t find it well worth meeting them, and me, at Gdańsk.  

But besides learning from and meeting so many remarkable people there is another reason to join us.

I learnt this recently in the Hamptons, where my son Phil has a place. His friend Paul told me Gdańsk is so beautiful he takes his family there each summer for a couple of weeks – all the way from Brooklyn.

But you won’t just learn a lot in Gdańsk. You’ll have a hell of a good time.

And I can tell you from experience that when it comes to having a hell of a good time, the Poles are very hard to beat. 

That’s because probably before you were born I lived with a girl who was born in Gdansk and I’ve been to Poland a few times since. 

Strangely enough though, never to Gdańsk, so I’m looking forward to the experience. 

But to come back to business, you’ll be very hard to beat if you join me there, pay attention, take notes, and act upon what you learn. 

You’ll have a far more fully rounded view of what it takes to succeed than almost anybody you compete with. 

But you may wonder what the hell will I be talking about… with all these luminaries there?

Well my advantage is that I’m so old that most of the things I’ve done or experienced have been forgotten by most other people. 

So I’ll be talking about how I managed to make a million or two in business with a few suggestions you might find helpful.

If it worked for me it might work for you.

Also I’ll tell you a few war stories – stories of my catastrophes, triumphs, and troubles in the days of the Mad Men…

Stories about Ogilvy and others I worked with.

Maybe even the story about how the girl from Gdansk nearly killed me.

I suspect you’ll find the event interesting. You should certainly find it valuable. 

I’m hoping that just my talk alone will repay your investment – never mind all the gems you’ll collect from the luminaries there.

In short, I’ll be hornswoggled if this doesn’t pay for you, even if I don’t know what hornswoggled means. 

Best,

Drayton 

P.S. Did the word “hornswoggle” attract your attention? Then here’s a little bonus for you. If in your copy you use unusual words like that your readership will go up. 

I’ve known this for many years. Maybe you knew it, maybe you didn’t. Either way, look out for something unusual that will catch your reader’s attention. And see if in Gdansk I don’t tell you a few more simple things that cost nothing – but will make you more money.