#204 First 100 Words

 

#204 Blog Post          Wednesday 25 September 2024

http://dennyhatch.blogspot.com/2024/09/204-first-100-words.html

Posted by Denny Hatch

 

 

"Your First 100 Words Are More Important
Than the Next Ten Thousand."
                    —Elmer "Sizzle" Wheeler

 

 

Above is the lede of a “dry test” 8-page direct mail letter that was sent in 1978.   It offered a one-year subscription to a newsletter — International Living.  The newsletter did not exist.

It was the brainstorm of fledgling marketing genius, Bill Bonner — a rail-thin, six-foot-two 30-year-old advertising copywriter — right after he underwent three catastrophic failures that left him $70,000 in debt.

 

Bonner sent this "dry test" letter to a rented list of several thousand homeowners to see if anyone would read it and respond. His letter — entirely fiction — was 300% profitable on day one of returns. Wow!

 

Bill immediately borrowed start-up capital, published the newsletter, and mailed that very letter for the next 23 years.

 

Today Bill Bonner’s wee newsletter business — 44 years later — is called The Agora (theagora.com). It’s a mighty conglomerate of 36 global entrepreneurial companies in 15 countries around the world with revenues of over $1 billion a year! 

 

            Bill Bonner at one of his two French chateaus, Chateau d'Ouzilly,
                down the road from David Ogilvy's Chateau de Toffou.
             
                        

The Power of Those First 100 Words.

 Take a moment to go back and look at wizardry of Bill Bonner’s first hundred words. They paint a picture of you — “Dear Reader” — waking up in a lush lifestyle enjoyed only by the very, very rich.

 

• In those first 100 words, “you” or “your” is used seven times.

  

• Your maid is bringing you your breakfast in bed while out your window  overlooking the ocean your gardener is busy pruning your lemon, cherry and fig trees and amid the splendor of your gardenias, hibiscus and hollyhocks.

• And what's more, you can easily afford it, Bonner promises.

• Bill's letter is all about YOU, the reader. Absolutely nothing about Bill.

• Nowhere to be found: the words “I,” “me,” “my,” “we” or “our.”

 

I invite you to download (free) Bill Bonner's legendary letter for
your swipe file. Not only is it the 8-page document that launched his $1 billion a year corporate empire, it's fascinating to read!
What's more, it could change how you communicate with strangers. And maybe even change your life and how you do business!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16S8lGX0_1DaVg3jbO0EcpfgPrgxFj2Lb/view?usp=sharing

Takeaways to Consider:
Seven Proven Tips for Writers.

• “Short words! Short sentences!” Short paragraphs!”
—Andrew J. Byrne

 

• “Tests have shown that a sentence of eight words is very easy to read; of 11 words, easy; of 14 words, fairly easy; of 17 words, standard; of 21 words, fairly difficult; of 25 words, difficult; of 29 or more words, very difficult; so this sentence with 54 words, counting numbers, is ranked impossible.”
—Virginia-Pilot

 

• The 7 Key Copy Drivers — emotional hot buttons that make people act:
Fear – Greed – Guilt – Anger – Exclusivity – Salvation – Flattery
—Axel Andersson. Bob Hacker

 

• “If your copy isn’t dripping with one or more of these copy drivers, tear it up and start over.”
—Bob Hacker

 

• The 13 most powerful and evocative words in the English language are:
 You -  Save - Money - Guarantee - Love – Results -
Proven –
 Safety - Easy – New - Health - Discovery – Free
—Goodman Ace

 

• "Avoid gray walls of type."
—David Ogilvy

• “Type smaller than 9-point is difficult for most people to read.”  
 —David Ogilvy

*    *    *    *    *    * 

               # # #