Confessions Of A Direct Mail Guy

Confessions Of A Direct Mail Guy by Gordon W. Grossman. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780887234118.

This book is about the life of veteran direct marketer Gordon Grossman, starting with a lively account of his 17 years at Readers Digest. It is illustrated by proven direct mail principles and methods that have been tested and refined by the worlds most successful direct marketing companies for over half a century. It is about madcap ideas, informed guesstimates, and the invention of machines that were needed only because new successes required them. It throbs with the excitement that the author and some others feel about the perfect headline, which doesnt exist, or the perfect list -- which, by definition can only occur when paid response is 100%, and therefore doesnt exist either. It ranges over a considerable landscape, from Pleasantville New York to most major cities of the free world. Along with many examples of how direct mail principles can be exploited and exported, youll discover such things as why its both ludicrous and hilarious to attempt to match drinks with a Finn on his own turf (and sauna), and how a little knowledge of French can be a dangerous thing when youre thrust into a local meeting as an "expert." After his introduction to direct mail at Readers Digest, Gordon worked for 85 different direct mail companies as a consultant, and the most intriguing of them are all here, with a wry sense of humor illustrating more anecdotes than most businessmen would ever hope to accumulate. The result is a unique hybrid of biography and direct mail manual that is as entertaining as it is valuable.