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"In Europe, we have needed a book like this for years - how to craft, elegantly and effectively your sales and marketing material. Not to be missed - bravo Robert!
Alastair Tempest - Director General, FEDMA - The European Direct Marketing Association |
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"Persuasive Direct Marketing - what you say and how you write it"
is the only Irish book on direct marketing copywriting
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Wisdom & Wit
Not quite the same
There is a saying in the United States that the customer is king. But in Japan the customer is god.
Tak Kimoto - Sumitronics Inc
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Making money doesn't oblige people to forfeit their honour or their conscience.
Baron Guy de Rothschild.
Banking Magnate
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Every problem has hidden in it an opportunity so powerful that it literally dwarfs the problem. The greatest success stories were created by people who recognised a problem and turned it into an opportunity.
Joe Sugarman
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Networking Golden Rule
All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to those people they know, like and trust.
Bob Burg - Networking and Sales Expert.
Another ... eh! ... Networking Golden rule!
All things being equal, people will buy from a friend. All things being not so equal, people will still buy from a friend.
Mark McCormack - CEO International Management Group
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The Competency Trap
When people get very good at doing things a certain way, they become surprisingly inept at learning new skills when changing conditions demand it.
David Free - Writer
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Healing Grace!
If you are called in to do something, you'll put more into it than if you're just paid to do it.
Diane Raines - Chief Nursing Officer of the Baptist Health Systems.
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Survival Instinct
From Cambodia to Afghanistan, journalist Kate Webb (1943 - 2007) reported news from conflict-torn regions of the world. During her 40-year career, she endured a brief imprisonment, an almost fatal case of malaria, and even a brutal physical attack by a rebel solder. "People always think that I must be so tough to survive all this. But I'm a real softie", she once said. "But maybe that's what it takes - you have to be soft to survive. Hard people shatter."
Adapted from the Chicago Sun-Times.
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Eaten Alive
While walking behind a funeral cortege in a Dublin graveyard, a rat scurried across the grass.
One old lady says to another,
"I wouldn't like to be buried in this place, you'd be eaten alive.
Overheard in Mount Jerome - From Overheard in Dublin
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Everyday Luas Talk
On a Luas a group of 15 - 16 year old boys coming from school got on at Bluebell. One of them complained to his mates that his girlfriend had dumped him the night before by text!
Highly indignant at this insult he said he was better off without her anyway; all she was doing as costing him money. He went on to detail all the money he had spent on her, bringing her out and buying her presents.
"I must have spent at least €400 on her," he announced to his mates, at which one of them piped up, "Jaysus for that kind of money I'll be your girlfriend".
Overheard on Luas to Tallaght - From Overheard in Dublin
Make up your mind to be happy, learn to find pleasure in simple things.
R.L. Stevenson (1850 - 1894) |
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For example: "John you might be interested in visiting Robert's Irish thatch owners' web site" - it has some fabulous pictures in it.
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Blossom by blossom the spring unfolds |
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Happy Easter ,
Spring is a wonderfully bright, vibrant time of the year, when everybody and every thing is forward-looking and blooming. Daffodils, Buttercups and Bluebells... Bluebells ... Bluebells!
For some odd reason 'Bluebells' always remind me of the bells of London and, you've guessed it, Dick Whittington.
So my theme for this Spring's ezine is 'London Town'. And since no ezine that has London Town as its central theme is worth its salt without including the much-loved story of Dick Whittington ... that's it down there, next underneath this letter.
But before you go rushing off to read about Dick and his Cat may I encourage you to make a point of reading more about the results of the adult literacy survey which reveals that 55% - yes! Fifty Five Percent - of adults in Ireland have difficulty reading.
By anyone's standard, that is a very sobering figure. It could mean - and I emphasise the word 'could' - that more than half the recipients of direct mail and marketing material simply haven't a breeze what many companies are writing to them about.
Hmmmm! That's worrying. Have a look at the article. It's worth a read.
Talk to you soon.
Kind regards
Robert Hayes-McCoy
PS Hey , I am currently in the process of updating my website www.the-real-mccoy.com. You are very welcome to visit it. |
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The much-loved story of Dick Whittington |
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The picture shows the very modern house of the Lord Mayor of London - which reminds me of the story of Dick Whittington
This story was first recorded in 1605. Richard Whittington was a real person, the son of a knight and himself a rich merchant in London. He served three terms as Lord mayor of London: 1397-99, 1406-07, and 1419-20. He died in 1423.
Dick Whittington and His Cat- an English folktale.
Long, long ago there lived a poor boy called Dick Whittington. He had no mother and no father, and often nothing to eat. One day he heard of the great city of London, where, said everyone, even the streets were paved with gold. Dick decided to go to London to seek his fortune.
London was a big and busy city, full of people both rich and poor. But Dick could not find any streets that were paved with gold. Tired, cold and hungry he fell asleep on the steps of a great house.
This house belonged to Mr. Fitzwarren, a rich merchant, who was also a good and generous man. He took Dick into his house, and gave him work as a scullery boy.
Dick had a little room of his own where he could have been very happy if it had not been for the rats. They would run all over him he lay on his bed at night and would not let him sleep. One day Dick earned a penny shining shoes for a gentleman, and with it he bought a cat. After that Dick's life became easier - the cat chased away all the rats, and Dick could sleep in peace at night.
One day Mr. Fitzwarren called all the servants of the house together. One of his ships was leaving for a far-off land with goods to trade. Mr. Fitzwarren asked his servants to send something of their own in the ship if they so desired, something which could perhaps be traded for a bit of gold or money. Dick had only his cat to send - which he did with a sad heart.
Dick continued to work as a scullery boy for Mr. Fitzwarren, who was very kind to him. So was everyone else except the Cook who made Dick's life so miserable that one day Dick decided to run away.
He had reached almost the end of the city when he heard the Bow Bells ring out. 'Turn again Whittington, thrice Lord Mayor of London' chimed the bells'. Dick was astonished - but he did as the bells said and went back to Mr. Fitzwarren. When he arrived back he found that Mr. Fitzwarren's ship had returned, and that his cat had been sold for a great fortune to the King of Barbary whose palace had been overrun with mice.
Dick had become a rich man. He soon learnt the business from Mr. Fitzwarren, married his daughter Alice, and in time became the Lord Mayor of London three times, just as the bells had said. |
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How do professional fundraisers ask for money?
Pic: Features beautifully ornate flowers made from marzipan
Alan Sharpe* in one of his regular ezines explains: In the fundraising profession, the act of requesting funds from a donor is called "the ask." When you are writing a fundraising letter and you arrive at the place where you must actually, ahem, request a donation, you have arrived at the ask.
And the ask, as those in the fundraising business know, is one of the toughest things to get right in fundraising.
Where in the letter should you mention money?
Early on in your letter you should let your reader know why you are writing. Somewhere "above the fold," usually in the second or third paragraph, describe the reason for your letter.
Let me show you an example:
Click here to read more
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Can People Read What You Write?
Despite what you may think the answer in many cases is NO!
A Study conducted by the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) has shown that as many as 55% of adults in Ireland are below Level 3 literacy, the minimal level of literacy "necessary for the demands of modern society".
This means that the majority of people may be unable to read text that is in any way complex or not laid out in a clear, straightforward manner. This doesn't just mean that they may not get all the subtleties and complex details of texts like these, this means that they may not understand it at all!
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Greetings!
You are always welcome to call me or contact me |
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If you have a brochure to write, a newsletter to create, a direct mail campaign to launch, a sales letter or the marketing message of a web site to compose, or a charity appeal to communicate, talk to me...
... I'll be delighted to help you make your written sales communication message more persuasive or your charity appeal more effective.
Kind regards,
 Robert Hayes-McCoy Copywriters Phone: +353 `1 2603949
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