976 Numbers

And
just look at this 976 number situation. I bet that 99.9% of all 976
calls are sex-related. You know, that's sort of a shame. Here's a
great new way to generate leads and a positive cash flow at the exact
same time and hardly anybody is using it except people selling
titillation.

Another
"sex story". Once upon a time, I was introduced to a guy
who claimed he was the greatest living income tax expert in the
world. I don't know if he was or not, but I do know he went bankrupt
not too long after I met him. Anyway, this guy spent some really
serious money in advertising in the Wall Street Journal and his ads
usually developed the theme of:

How
To Pay

Zero
Taxes!

Well,
his ads were, I understand, fairly successful. And then one day, he
got a picture of a beautiful, bosomy blond from a local photographer
and he used that picture in one of his ads. Her picture did not
belong in that ad. There was no connection between a sexy blond and a
study course on how to reduce taxes. But guess what?

That
Ad Was

The
Highest-Puller

He
Ever Ran!

You
figure it out. By the way, this guy was a PhD (I hear that means
"piled higher and deeper") and he even announced that fact
on his vanity license plate. And, being a PhD, he never ran that ad
again because he didn't feel it was consistent with his "image."

Isn't
that a hoot?

Enough
rambling. Let's get back to this 976 business. You know, I believe
this may be one of the hottest new marketing phenomenons to come down
the pike in recent years. So far, it's mostly being used on the heavy
breathing crowd but, in my opinion, that's going to change a bit.
Today I was reading the classifieds in the L.A. Times and I saw an ad
that said this: