Customer Reviews

CA$HVERTISING: How to Use More than 100 Secrets of Ad-Agency Psychology to Make Big Money Selling Anything to Anyone

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have developed several hundred websites over the last decade, optimized them for Google, and have literally made millions for my clients. I'm always looking for a new edge in advertising, for myself and for my clients.

Ca$hvertising offers that edge. I was skeptical when I noticed that the book had only five-star ratings, I wondered if the reviews were fake. By the time I was halfway through the second chapter, I realized that this book absolutely delivered.

Whether your focus is on print ads, or in web promotion like myself, Ca$hvertising breaks down WHY people respond to certain ads. Once the author explains why people buy, he offers ideas on how you can make those people your customers. Whitman explains exactly how you can tap into the desires that all humans are naturally born with. These aren't theories or assumptions, he backs these techniques up with concrete psychological studies.

The second chapter, on the 17 principles of consumer psychology, is worth its weight in gold. All humans are born with a built-in set of desires, and the author explains exactly how you can tap into them. While most of the book is geared towards print advertising, I found that a great deal of it could be applied towards internet marketing. Plus, the guy is downright funny, and the book is written in a conversational tone that makes you forget that you're actually learning something.

Let me cut to the chase. Every day that you don't own this book, you're losing money. Buy this book today, and it will teach you how to persuade people to pay for your product or service.

Don't be turned off by the book's cheesy title or cover. Whitman's advice is top-notch.

I run a small startup, and I frequently browse marketing books and websites, hoping to give it an edge. It's easy to come across marketing advice, but it's surprisingly hard to find good advice. Authors frequently hop on trends, tout new advertising mediums, or simply apply techniques from their favorite companies.

Whitman's approach favors the fundamentals. Ca$hvertising synthesizes a large body of marketing research, and it provides a framework for applying these findings. The framework is focused on the customer, and what he or she is thinking. The book is a best-practices manual for how to win people's attention and get them to act.

The writing is accessible, and as Whitman's voice comes through, you find yourself thinking about advertising differently. Where other books might have you come up with marketing plans or play around on, say, Adwords, Ca$hvertising gets you to focus on the right aspects of your message. The book consists of many advertising tips and trick-of-the-trade. It covers practical questions that you might (or should) find yourself asking, such as what colors to use and how to anchor your message.

The bulk of the book goes over these in a list-like fashion. But Ca$hvertising is much more than a random collage of tips, research, and examples/anecdotes. As I got accustomed to Whitman's point of view, I began to see how his advice stems from a coherent and useful framework, and in a very short time I began to think more critically about marketing.

Whitman further excels at summarizing a large body of research in a concise, accessible, and even entertaining manner. He lets you know when an issue is all but settled, or when it's complex and controversial; and where relevant, he points you to further sources.

Marketing books tend to be filled with 'radical' advice, and further complicating things, many large companies and popular marketing campaigns are also pretty radical and out there. It's easy to think that simply by being extreme and hoping on the latest fad you can be successful as well. But there are two sides to every correlation - and even though every successful company is pretty 'out there' in their own way, not every company that is 'out there' is successful. In fact, most aren't. This is why Whitman's back-to-the-basics approach is so valuable. It forces you to think with your head, rather than your heart or ego. Where other marketing books hop on trends and pretend to offer "new" advice, Ca$hvertising takes the wisdom of past experience and research, and encourages you to apply it in your own manner. His book is at once highly practical and somewhat timeless.

I read a lot of books on marketing and advertising.Although the book title is kinda cheesy, you will be pleasently surprised by tons of useful info. Most importantly it is fun to read, what a break..! I would reccomend to buy kindle version so you can keep all the notes. Enjoy!

I read this book with my highlighter in hand. With most advertising advice books, not everything will apply to all businesses. My intention was to highlight relevant material and I ended up highlighting things on nearly every page. As I read the book, I made notes describing the technique I would use for my business model with examples of what I wanted to say. When I finished the book, I had so much information that I literally had brain freeze/writer's block. I finally ended up with a form of long web copy that applied many of the techniques in the book. What's funny now is that I see these techniques being used when I see or hear advertisements. I think - "That's in the book."

My company's homepage is packed with sales techniques, but I wish he would've devoted a chapter or two to writing copy specifically for facebook or google adwords. Does he recommend a Pay Per Click or Pay Per Impression model? My website will make people reach for their wallets, but how about helping me drive people to my website. That's why I also purchased - The Ultimate Web Marketing Guide by Michael Miller. Combining these products should result in a perfect 1 - 2 knockout blow to my competition.

I wish everyone the best of luck.

[...]
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This book tells you many different techniques for motivating customers to buy your product. It's an excellent resource for copywriters especially. The book provides many specific examples backed by research of how to increase your response. My only critique of the book is that Whitman's writing style is fairly eccentric at times--sometimes it helps make things easier and more fun to read, but other times I found myself getting slightly distracted and annoyed by his attempts at humor. Overall, it's a very good sales tool for all you entrepreneurs out there.

Cashvertising is packed with insights about
what makes effective advertising. While much
of the second half of the book applies to
space advertising more than to salesletters
it's still really good stuff - some of it I
haven't seen elsewhere.

The best part of the book is the 2nd chapter:
"The 17 Foundational Principles of Consumer
Psychology" - where Whitman lets rip with witty,
incisive writing. While much of this stuff has
been written about by other marketing writers
the author here has a fun style and he's
great at getting you to think about the implications
of the ideas - and he also has good examples
of how to apply them to your advertising
writing.

All in all a book I'll be reading several times
I think. It's only about 200 pages but there's
a lot of informative data here broken-out
in a way that makes practical application
accessible.

Get this book. Great resource for advertising
pros or anyone who is in business and needs to
advertise, or for that matter, sell in person.

When I was about three-quarters of the way through the book I felt I had become a marketing expert. I could help my brothers increase sales for their businesses (power-washing and catering for college frat houses), I could help local businesses improve sales by designing sales campaigns for them, I could help online businesses bring in well... more business.

Here's what I loved about this book:

1) Drew backs up his advice by telling you the research behind the suggestions. These are not some ideas he had one afternoon sitting around the pool eating enchiladas and salsa. The research gives you the confidence that putting the advice into practice will help boost sales.

2) Drew chunks the advice into small easy to read capsules of information. Examples: 17 Foundational Principles of Consumer Psychology, Ad-Agency Secrets: 41 Proven Techniques for Selling Anything to Anyone.

3) Drew uses humor to communicate his advice.

4) Drew throws in a few stories to illustrate his points.

5) Drew gives several checklists to help you in creating your own ads.

Packed from beginning to end with valuable advice.

I really don't expect much from this book. The title sounds corny, the red blinding cover hurts my eyes and the paper quality is at par with the onion-thin toilet paper I usually buy from Tesco. I almost threw this book into my dustbin the minute I opened my Amazon parcel.

Thank god I didn't.

From the book I found nuggets after nuggets of marketing tips and tricks that I have never seen or heard before. With this book I no longer have to spend time reading tips from marketing or copywriting blogs anymore. I have found the answers to all my questions in this book. Thank you Eric.

I'm keeping this book as a reference bible for all my affiliate marketing websites. I hope my rivals will look past this book and ignore my review.

This book is an absolute gem. Written with enough humour and interesting facts to keep you turning the pages while teaching you invaluable techniques on how to get the attention of your buyers, captivate them, and make them buy your product.
Best way to read this book is with a notepad next to it. Start writing up your adverts while you read. Refine them each time he reveals another gem.
When you have finished the book you should have completed a winning marketing campaign including a series of captivating, converting and lucrative ads, landing pages and marketing material.

If you buy this $10 book and use it, you will make money. If what you sell is expensive, you will make a lot of money.


Why?


- The book starts by teaching you the most fundamental, powerful desires and behavioral forces all people share

- You then learn an arsenal of proven persuasion devices to motivate people to want what you have

- Finally, you are shown a structure for how to present your entire letter in an format that systematically moves a person from "low interest" to "I need this now! Here's my credit card"


This is a rare gem of a book that will guide new writers and magnify the skill and effectiveness of veterans. No other book has the special combination of depth, breadth, and structure on the topic of selling with words. Yet the author's style is simple and engaging to read.


I've read many copywriting books, many of them by the "big names". In my opinion this is the best copywriting book on the market.