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Bob Bly
Bob Bly is an independent copywriter and consultant with more than 25 years of experience in business-to-business, high-tech, industrial, and direct marketing. There are so many copywriters out there today; it isn't hard to find one. The real challenge is finding one who has the know-how needed to "get it" when it comes to direct response copy — especially for writing landing pages, emails, white papers, direct mail, and other long-copy assignments.For a free, no-obligation cost estimate, call Bob at (201) 385-1220 or visit him online at Bly.com.
Articles by this Author
The cover story in this month’s issue of Training & Development magazine is “Metrics and Measurement: Do They Matter?” The article argues in favor of measuring success in sales training and performance … vs. (I would guess) NOT measuring it. The fact that the headline is phrased as a question implies that there
are people who are AGAINST measuring the results generated through
sales training.
After nearly 3 decades in marketing, I’ve come to the conclusion that the easiest job in marketing is market research.
Starbucks and Internet Piracy
- By Bob Bly
- 1/28/2010 - 2:30pm
- Marketing , Sales Management
A woman on a talk radio show admitted to stealing sugar packets from her local Starbucks. But she expressed no shame. Indeed,
she felt the theft was justified by the outrageous prices Starbucks
charges for a cup of coffee, calling her pilfering a “condiment
subsidy.”
Bly’s Theory of Blogging
- By Bob Bly
- 1/26/2010 - 2:30pm
- Career Management , Marketing
I am obsessed with not wasting time and being as productive as I can. After all, my income is directly linked to my ability to produce quality work at a rapid rate.
My theory has long been that the replacement of the telephone and
face-to-face meetings by e-mail has increased the average American’s
writing skills considerably, especially in business. But journalist Janet Malcolm thinks just the opposite is true.
You can manipulate statistics to prove just about any point you want to make in your copy.
Is the College You Go to Important?
- By Bob Bly
- 1/14/2010 - 2:30pm
- Career Management
Couples we know here in Bergen County, NJ are absolutely frantic about
getting their kids into a “good school,” i.e., an Ivy League college. I’m
not, because I’m convinced that where you graduate from college and the
grades you get don’t play much of a role in determining your success in
life.
A radio commercial for a financial services firm talked about how their
investment advisors could help ensure financial security for “older
senior citizen folks.”
A TV commercial for Zone Pilates said the product is “277% more effective.” This begs the question: 277% more effective than what?
It seems to me that large corporations have a decided edge in optimizing their Web sites for search engines over small business in general and solo practitioners in particular.
The business editor of our local daily newspaper e-mailed me about a story on marketing during a recession. Economists
are divided as to whether we are officially in a recession, but most
agree the economy is in a troubled state, to put it mildly. My
advice was that, during a recession, companies should be more flexible
and accommodating in matters of price, terms, delivery, service, and
sales.
The Death of Advertising
- By Bob Bly
- 12/29/2009 - 2:30pm
- Marketing , Sales Management
Many members of the new generation of online marketers — bloggers, SEO
specialists, social networkers, viral video producers — loudly and
frequently proclaim that old-fashioned advertising … derisively
referred to as “disruption marketing” … is dead.
Lord Kelvin, inventor of the Kelvin temperature scale, once said, “When
you can measure something in numbers, then you know something about it.” Nowhere does his lesson have more meaning than in advertising.
Are Your Clients Ignorant and Arrogant?
- By Bob Bly
- 12/22/2009 - 2:30pm
- Marketing , Sales Management
My late friend, the accomplished Michigan ad man James Alexander, once
told me: “I can work with a client who is ignorant. I can work with a
client who is arrogant. But I cannot work with one who is both.”
Another Nail in Print’s Coffin
- By Bob Bly
- 12/17/2009 - 2:30pm
- Marketing , Sales Management
One of my greatest pleasures is to read trade journals, newsletters,
and business magazines at home or during lunch (like many of you, I
don’t have time to read them during working hours). But
according to an article in BtoB (3/10/08, p. 28), I may soon be denied
that privilege, as magazines discontinue their print editions and make
their content available on the Web only.
Are You a Broken Man (or Woman)?
- By Bob Bly
- 12/15/2009 - 2:30pm
- Career Management , Leadership Skills
In an interview with The Record (3/13/08, p. 20), rabbi and author
Shmuley Boteach warned readers that there’s much more to life than the
pursuit of professional success — something that many entrepreneurs are
obsessed with.
I Have Seen the Future, and It Is Automated
- By Bob Bly
- 12/10/2009 - 2:30pm
- Sales Management , Marketing
Decades ago, there was a terrific restaurant in NYC with no waiters: the Horn & Hardart Automat. All
the food was displayed behind glass windows. To order, you inserted
your bills and coins in a slot, pushed a button, removed your sandwich
or pie, and put it on your tray — no waiting, no being ignored by busy
wait staff, no tipping.
The Last “Detail Man”
- By Bob Bly
- 12/8/2009 - 2:30pm
- Sales Management , Marketing
In the old days, sales reps for drug companies were invariably middle-aged men, known in the trade as “detail men.” The average detail man wore a downtrodden appearance and demeanor, no doubt from years of shabby treatment by the M.D.s who were his prospects — and treated him as a second-class citizen.
“False bonding” refers to advertising that seeks to create a bond with
the prospect, but does so in an illogical or insincere — and therefore
ineffective — way. A good example is the recent radio spot for Geico offering homeowner’s insurance to people who rent.
In an article in DM News, Tom Rapses, a creative director, divides marketing into two separate categories.
Do You Charge So Much Your Customers Complain?
- By Bob Bly
- 11/26/2009 - 2:30pm
- Marketing , Sales Management
An article in Circulation Management (5/08, p. 12) states: “Your subscribers should be complaining about their subscription price. If they’re not, then you’re not charging enough.”
A Legend in His Own Mind
- By Bob Bly
- 11/24/2009 - 2:30pm
- Marketing , Office Technology
The June 2008 issue of Fast Company features a cover story on ad agency
Crispin Porter and the much-talked-about Apple campaign “PC vs. Mac.” On the cover is a photo of the agency’s creative honcho, Alex Bogusky,
doing his best to look smug, self-assured, and ultra-cool.
The Naked Truth About Naked Conversation
- By Bob Bly
- 11/19/2009 - 2:30pm
- Marketing , People Management
Social media evangelists are in love with Twitter, Facebook, and their
ilk because these networks enable continuous “naked” conversations. Robert Scoble, I believe, has stated that his goal is to have at least one naked conversation a day.
Now, if you are a new copywriter … or new to financial subscription promotion … you might think this is a good headline. But to anyone with experience, it’s fairly lame.
One possible future for magazines is to make them more like the Web — in particular, like social media and other Web 2.0 sites.
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