Today I’d like to tell you about the wisdom and the mysticism hidden inside a marvelous swipe file.
You just have to command this swipe file to serve you, and you will soon carry riches, fame, and power in the hollow of your hand.
Maybe you’re wondering what I’m on about. So let me reveal an age-old truth:
All commerce is fundamentally based on mysticism. On secrets. On magic.
Maybe you find that hard to believe. So let me tell you that’s an idea from direct marketing legend Dan Kennedy.
To prove his point, Dan once pulled out a page of the local newspaper. He started reading the direct response ads — the ones that have been proven by repeat sales.
“Let’s see… we’re giving away free coins… we’ve got some whizzbang new device that is the secret key to weight loss… we got a smart clock that uses a satellite on the moon to correct itself…and then it’s a weight loss product, PATENT LEAN, which of course has magic patented ingredients that nobody else has… from Kuala Lumpur… that burns off the fat while you sleep and makes you not want to eat and grows hair.”
Who knows? Maybe Dan has a point. Maybe, once you dig deep down into successful offers and copy, it all boils down to mysticism and magic.
But if that’s true, what does it mean for you? How do you profit from it? Here’s another insight from Dan, which transformed how I do marketing:
Look to the extremes.
In other words, if you want to harness a valuable copywriting technique or marketing approach… then look to the folks who specialize in this approach — and nothing else.
For example, if you want to frame your offer as a huge opportunity… then look to opportunity marketers. The real estate infomercials… the business opportunity classifieds… the Joe Karbo’s of the world.
And if you want to create an aura of magic and mystery in your copy… well… then look to the swipe file below.
Because on page 35 of this swipe file, you can find a magical ad I’ve been seeking for a long time. But until a few days ago, I could never find it.
This rare ad was written by Robert Collier.
It’s called The Secret of the Ages. As you probably realize, I swiped that headline for my headline today. And I did more than that.
Throughout this post, I also sprinkled in a few of the appeals and phrases from Collier’s copy. Because there’s some real magic in that ad.
Not only did it run for years… not only did it sell an ocean of Collier’s books… but it even foretold much of $40-billion self-development industry that was yet to to come.
Rub the lamp that is Collier’s ad, and out pops Tony Robbins’s “The Giant Within”… Earl Nightingale’s famous “Acres of Diamonds” story… and even the subliminal genie that A-list copywriter Gary Bencivenga summoned, every time he was writing one of his blockbuster sales letters.
But that’s not all.
There’s copywriting power in this ad that transcends personal development. These are subtle ideas you can use to sell people health and happiness, power and riches.
That’s just one of the treasures you can find in the swipe file below.
And of course, since this is a newsletter about direct response ideas, this entire swipe file, 101 Greatest Ads of All Time, is yours free.
How is this possible?
Magic.
Well, not really. In truth, Matt Bockenstette is giving away the 101 Greatest Ads as the lead magnet for his Copy Legends newsletter.
But if you need a magic analogy to help you out, you can think of opting in to Matt’s list as whispering a secret phrase… one that gets you inside the cave of copywriting treasures.
So if you could use some mystery… power… success… in your copy and your business life…
Then peek inside the 101 Greatest Ads here, before the gates of the cave are sealed for good: