#71 Direct Marketing with Brian Kurtz

In this week's edition of The Next 100 Days Podcast we have a big name form the USA. Brian Kurtz chats to us about direct marketing and his book The Advertising Solution. Brian Kurtz loves direct marketing. For 36 years, he worked with Boardroom Inc selling millions of newsletter subscriptions and books. He became expert in direct mail and lists. He oversaw 1.3 billion pieces of direct mail over a period of 20 years. Brian’s whole life is dedicated to educating the next generation of direct marketers. Brian Kurtz told us he had to do a 10-minute talk on direct mail, and asked his son what he could say. The answer was “Dad, that’s like 9 minutes, 30 seconds too long!”. The experience Brian Kurtz got working largely in one company is like compound interest. You meet a copywriter, meet with them, get some ideas, meet the next copywriter, work with them and build on that. Then he’d work with a direct mail consultant, learn this, then another, build on that. Everything Brian has done in his life is cumulative. In an interview with Doberman Dan, a copywriter in the US, Brian Kurtz who had worked with luminaries of direct response since 1981. Brian had mentors like Eugene Schwartz (“one of the smartest and most proficient copywriters the world”) and Marty Edelston (who founded Boardroom Inc), and Dick Benson who was ‘the smartest direct mail guy of all time’ and Gordon Grossman, who invested the sweepstakes model at Readers Digest. Dan asked Brian “at the time, during those early years, did you think you were doing something that was incredible?” Brian answered that on the one hand he didn’t think he was taking it for granted, but he does remember that there was an element of “pinch me”. In the case of Gene Schwartz, he wasn’t a list expert, Brian was, so Gene would go to Brian for list information, so Brian was helping him. He didn’t know then that the accumulation of these experiences was going to be what it has turned out to be. He didn’t foresee himself as being a future educator of direct marketing in 2017. Brian did like to teach, and taught students in his early days. He stressed to students, you must get into this business – it’s awesome. You are going to get feedback on everything you do. If your promotion sucks, you are going to know it immediately. If your promotion is great, you are going to know it immediately. Accountable advertising as the Hall of Fame copywriter Gary Bencivenga called it. Great tips: http://marketingbullets.com Brian now has 2 mastermind groups, of the best direct marketers. He has written a book about the 6 legends of advertising – The Advertising Solution (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Advertising-Solution-Influence-Prospects-Multiply/dp/1599185962) and that he is about to write another book about his experiences. Direct Marketing with Brian Kurtz - The Next 100 Days Podcast Brian eulogised about Frank Kern. https://frankkern.com Brian Kurtz is a student of the online world. And studies at the feet of Frank Kern. To his surprise, Brian was invited by Frank to his $50,000 mastermind group in California! Same thing, “pinch me”. A group of the best online marketers were interested in what Brian knew…as Brian said, “pinch me”. Frank’s group were eating it up. But Brian did a speech to 400 up-and-coming copywriters last year, and he asked them… “How many people know what RFM is?” About 5 or 6 people raised their hands. So, they don’t know recency, frequency, monetary. (If you don’t either here is Brian’s recent email on the subject, which you’ll find illuminating) What is the ONE fundamental every marketer needs to know, regardless of the medium they work in, that is “the fish oil of direct response? That is, what is that one thing that everyonecan apply to everything they do when selling or marketing any product or service that will steer them most powerfully to their best customers, now and in the future? And it came down to three simple letters: RFM