Today I'm introducing my first blog: The SciMark Report. The general topic will be direct-response marketing, but I will mainly focus on my specific areas of expertise: direct-response television (DRTV), print and Web.
My main purpose in creating this blog was to share and get feedback on new projects I was working on, but it quickly became a way to move my "New Items" report online as well. For those of you who aren't familiar with this service, it's a report on the latest DRTV spots to appear on the IMS tape and Jordan Whitney DVD, both of which I receive weekly. The report includes the new product's name, its TV price, a description of the product and the offer, the Web address, and any other information I can glean. There is also an "editorial" area where I share my opinions on the strengths and weaknesses of an item. Moving this report online will allow anyone to search my archives to learn when a spot first aired and to discover if something similar to their new product idea has ever aired before.
My long-term goal for this blog is to have a place where I can post my general thoughts on marketing. I also intend to post updates from time to time on my various research projects -- essentially what I've been learning as a practicing direct-response marketer.
My first research project began five years ago when I started buying and reading every book I could find on the topic of direct marketing (and collected quite an impressive library in the process). I went as far back as the 1920s, starting with what I call the ‘Old Masters.’ Men like Claude Hopkins (“Scientific Advertising”) and John E. Kennedy (“Reason Why Advertising”). Then I moved on to the masters who practiced in the middle of the 20th century, including John Caples (“How To Make Your Advertising Make Money”) and Alvin Eicoff (“Or Your Money Back”). I finished up by reading books by some more recent masters, such as Joseph Sugarman (“Advertising Secrets of the Written Word”) and Ron Popeil (“The Salesman of the Century”).
During my research, I also had exposure to several masters who are still in practice today. For example, I had multiple conversations with AJ Khubani, an industry veteran and the president of Telebrands, and heard him give several presentations on what it takes to make a DRTV commercial successful.
I also benefited greatly from my relationship with Dick Wechsler, owner of the industry’s leading DRTV agency, Lockard & Wechsler Direct. Dick’s decades of experience running successful print and DRTV campaigns was a treasure trove of scientifically proven DRTV techniques.
After reading every book and article I could get my hands on, and listening intently to these industry veterans, I ended up with pages and pages of notes. I later distilled these notes into several "cheat sheets" and checklists, some of which I will be sharing on this blog.
I hope you enjoy visiting here often, and I invite you to post a comment whenever you have something to share.
