Customer Reviews

Secrets of Successful Direct Mail

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I designed several successful direct mailing campaigns using Benson's practical information. Easy to read, easy to use. A classic. A basic for anyone interested in bringing a service or product to the attention of consumers.

Some people can do the same thing for 20 years, and all this means is they have one year of experience, twenty times. Benson, on the other hand, made each day's experience worth a lifetime of wisdom.

He gives you all this wisdom on a silver platter, here inside his book. If you use direct mail, it isn't possible for you not to either learn something, or pick up some good tid-bits for you to use in your next project.

Brilliant stuff, for sure.

I highly doubt that this reprint was orchestrated to hit the bookstores nationwide, especially the college campuses. Yet, with that said, it clearly describes the GEEK side of marketing, the direct side that finally is bringing accountability to the huge advertising budgets of companies like Walmart (who just selected Draft).

An introduction to direct marketing, direct marketing is about attention, interest, desire and action (AIDA). This text is about measurable results. Sure, lessons on copy writing, creative, format would be great if included and timely to boot but no direct marketing text is current once it comes off the presses.

With that said, with this not being the text for a University of Phoenix 12 credit semester, I would say that this is an excellent read if you are trying to decide on a career path or just a small business or professional doing your postal mailing for the first time.

I've been in the Direct Marketing field for a short time, and I have to say quite bluntly that despite the provocative title, this book does not contain any "secrets" that can't be found in many other sources of DM info. In fact, most of it is DM 101. Or maybe 201 at best.

Benson's thin book is a series of short anecdotes, like Aesop's Fables, each ending in a platitude that describes a general principle of DM that has held true for Benson. (Warning: Your Mileage May Vary, especially if you're not a big fan of sweepstakes and reply-card stickers.) Many of the anecdotes throughout the book share the same principles, and the anecdotes themselves are unsatisfyingly lacking in detail.

There is little actionable how-to information in this book -- Benson unapologetically declares himself to be an Idea Guy, leaving the implementation details of copywriting, design, and campaign planning to others.

So what we're ultimately left with is a skinny volume of mostly-obvious DM principles wrapped in undeveloped anecdotes, priced like a textbook.

Perhaps I'm too demanding, but I want meaty content in the reference books I buy. This one, sadly, is just spareribs.

I read this book again every year. And I pass it on to my staff, my friends, everyone I know in direct marketing. This book, itself, is one of the best kept secrets to successful direct mail.

I've been in the Direct Marketing field for a short time, and I have to say quite bluntly that despite the provocative title, this book does not contain any "secrets" that can't be found in many other sources of DM info. In fact, most of it is DM 101. Or maybe 201 at best.

Benson's thin book is a series of short anecdotes, like Aesop's Fables, each ending in a platitude that describes a general principle of DM that has held true for Benson. (Warning: Your Mileage May Vary, especially if you're not a big fan of employing sweepstakes and reply-card stickers in your DM.) Many of the anecdotes throughout the book share the same principles, and the anecdotes themselves are unsatisfyingly lacking in detail.

There is little actionable how-to information in this book -- Benson unapologetically declares himself to be an Idea Guy, leaving the implementation details of copywriting, design, and campaign planning to others.

So what we're ultimately left with is a skinny volume of mostly-obvious DM principles wrapped in undeveloped anecdotes, priced like a textbook.

Perhaps I'm too demanding, but I want meaty content in the reference books I buy. This one, sadly, is just spareribs.