Let’s Do The Twist

Your
book will be sent promptly by return mail. If you have
any questions, you can call (415) 858-7583. Checks and money
orders should be made payable to "Pathfinder Marketing" and it
is not a good idea to mail cash.

Thank
you."

Well anyway, whether you order the book or not, I hope what
you've just read has given you some insight into how to write
bullets and ordering instructions. You know, copywriting, when
done well, is extremely easy to read but brutally hard to
write. Writing is, I believe, the hardest job in the world.
Especially if you do it right. And copywriting is
the most difficult form of writing. When you're writing a
novel, a short story or a non-fiction book or article, you can
get away with a little slop.

Not so with copywriting. There... every word... has
to count!

But don't despair, you can learn to do it. And, when you do,
you can work anywhere in the world and the payoff can be
handsome indeed.

I'd like to conclude this issue by telling you a curious
story. Not long ago, an officer from the third largest bank in
the U.S. spent two days in Key West with me trying to get me
to create their advertising. He was flabbergasted when I
refused. He said the bank had ad agencies standing in line
to "pitch" the bank into being allowed to handle their account.

He was a nice guy, very sharp, and, when he left he
understood, I believe, why I couldn't work on such an account.
You see, what the bank wanted was more of the "same ol', same
ol'." They run full-page ads in places like the Wall
Street Journal with a
picture of a guy in a rowboat and eight words saying something
like this:

NATIONS
BANK: The Power To Make A Difference!

I just
checked with Nancy Jones and the cost of running just one
full-page ad in the full circulation of the Wall Street
Journal is $114,605.28.

Can you imagine that? Paying that much money to print eight
words having no selling power whatsoever? Think about it: That
comes out to... $14,325.66 Per Word!