Just wondering if anyone has read the book and taken action. I just got a copy of it and have started writing a sales letter to test an idea I have. There is a lot of meat in James' manuel. Plus I still think direct mail can work today. As he says it's all in the arithmetic!!

I actively use parts of it for my business.

I know of another person that used the forced continuity model that James suggested-- however, I can't say they used it as well as James nor did they make it as easy to get refunds, which caused this person some major problems with their credit card processor-- but their business was profitable.

Anyone that thinks direct mail can't work is goofy, however it has to be the right product, with the right offer to the right list-- just like with any other marketing tool.

James book is excellent. The companion 6 hour audios he did are outstanding IMHO.

Well I have got a tonne out of this manual - best book/course I bought in 2005 by a long, long way.

Specifically I used his 100% Refund headline including the cost of shipping and re-shipping it back which doubled my orders for one product.

It goes something like , "Headline blah blah and if you don't like it for whatever reason just drop me an email and I'll send UPS round to pick it up for a 100% refund"

Then you explain in the guarantee section they will not pay any shipping whatsoever for trying the product out.

Of course you don't send UPS round - you tell them to keep the product if they don't want it.

My refund rate on this product went up from 0.2% to only 0.3% after adding this too!

I got one of my most profound insights into marketing reading
this book:

The real key to marketing is to find a hungry market that's
easy and economical to get to.

Vincent James doesn't say this in the book but he does talk
about finding and using lists and making them pay for you.

If you apply exactly the same strategy online of getting access
to the hungry market BEFORE you think of creating a product
you'll do very well.

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

Exactly.

How many times have we been asked to comment about products for markets that either don't have any money or they are not easily accessed?

Life is short, too short. To waste any time at all trying to develop products for markets that are either not well defined nor have disposable income to spend on your product(s) just isn't a good enterpreneurial strategy.

Reminds me of Halbert talking about people coming to him with a "challenge".

It would drive him crazy that people insist on doing stuff the hard way. What he wanted was an easy setup. Like a diet pill that having a ton of proof, testimonials, miracle results, etc.

Most people shoot themselves in the foot before they get going.

I used Vincent's guide to get into direct mail, even though I'm strictly an online business.

Using the guide, I did a campaign of 10,000 pieces. It made a small profit, but it gave me the experience of putting a direct mail campaign together.

Without Vincent's program, it would have taken me much longer to get into direct mail.

Shawn Lebrun
Build Muscle - Muscle Building - Muscle Builder - Gain Muscle - Building Muscle