During the “Overdeliver Bootcamp,” which completed last week, when I spoke about “the smartest guy I have ever met in the world of direct mail,” I received many questions…which led to a discussion…and the overriding question was “why was he the smartest?”
It’s worth a blog post.
I call him “The Bogey Man” (more on that in a minute) …and while he was intimidating to the outside world, he was a teddy bear on the inside (once you got to know him).
He called himself “Timid Timothy” …but he was anything but timid.
He was the boldest thinker of his era.
Richard “Dick” Benson was one of my most consequential mentors…he shaped my early career…and the careers of many others in direct marketing.
Today I want to share some things I learned from “The Bogey Man” in addition to the importance of always calculating “the highest acceptable cost of acquisition of a customer” (his definition of a “bogey”).
Which is nothing to be afraid of…:-)
As mentioned already, Dick Benson was a true master when it came to the art and science of direct mail.
For my money, no one could hold a candle to him when it came to discussing anything to do with that medium.
Of course, that also made him the most knowledgeable person I could go to on anything to do with direct marketing/direct response (dead or alive)…because the secrets of direct mail (which are only secrets if you don’t pay attention) transcend all media…including everything online (which Dick never experienced firsthand but you wouldn’t know it).
My relationship with him was pre-Internet so there were far fewer offline media choices to master…but he mastered them all…direct mail, print, package inserts, TV, radio.
But if he practiced today, with his lively mind and his diligence and respect for the core principles of direct response, he’d also master every medium online.
Although I don’t necessarily see him doing TikTok videos. 🙂
“Doing it” for over 50 years (not Tiktok, just direct mail), and at a high level, made him an expert…the guy had seen every possible test and could comment on any test you were doing based on his experience in the trenches.
And while he was often called a curmudgeon and was known to “never say goodbye” on the phone (he simply hung up when he assumed you were done), he was an awesome mentor.
I learned to embrace his gruff exterior rather than be intimidated by it which made our relationship very special.
Having said that, I could only get so far with him…I always said that I would have been his favorite client had I been a woman…the man was a charmer when he wanted to be…and he was nicer to the gals than the guys.
But you can be sure that he did not discriminate when he thought you had it “wrong”–regardless of your XY chromosome configuration.
All he wanted to do was to educate everyone in his path.
Being that I come from a long line of teachers, I always hated the expression:
“Those who can’t do, teach.”
My experience with Benson changed that expression to:
“Those who did it have an obligation to teach it…and we better listen”
[Nod to Jay Abraham who added the word “moral” before obligation.]
Benson taught from everything he did…both the successes and the failures…with many more of the former than the latter.
As a publisher himself, he launched his own newsletters and made them among the largest circulation newsletters in the health category in the world with the University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter and the Johns Hopkins Medicine Health After 50 newsletter.
As a consultant, Dick built Contest Newsletter to become the largest circulation consumer newsletter in America.
I recall the owners of the company buying him a Mercedes-Benz (a big one!) in addition to making him their highest paid consultant—for helping them grow (and then sell) Contest Newsletter at a huge multiple.
He helped my company Boardroom Inc grow our consumer newsletter, Bottom Line/Personal, to over 1 million subscribers…although I can’t say we bought him a new car.
We just paid him a boatload of money and he was worth every penny.
Benson was also incredibly quotable.
His “31 Rules of Thumb” which make up chapter one of his all-time classic, Secrets of Successful Direct Mail are timeless, eternal truths about direct response; and as I mentioned during the “Overdeliver Bootcamp,” all 31 apply to every online medium today, whether directly or indirectly.
[NOTE: When you buy Overdeliver at OverdeliverBook.com, one of the 11 bonuses is a PDF of Benson’s classic book…and the book is currently out of print. How’s that for a priceless bonus? And there are more where that came from]
Another amazing thing about Benson was that he never had his clients blindly follow his rules…although he was known to “fire clients” (no matter how much they were paying him) when they did things that violated his direct marketing sensibility and sound business practices he felt strongly about.
He was flexible while being uncompromising at the same time.
Just depended on what his clients were talking about.
Benson’s Rule of Thumb #21:
Direct mail should be scrupulously honest
You can substitute “direct mail” with your medium of choice.
I remember when I challenged him (with some trepidation) about #9 on his list of his “31 Rules”:
“Self-mailers almost never work.”
I told him that in the case of Boardroom’s publications, in the newsletter and book category, a format called “magalogs” (self-mailers on steroids) were hot–and I made my case for using the self-mailing format based on the fact that our products needed a longer sales message and much more education for the consumer about us and our products since we were far from a household brand.
We already used 12-page sales letters.
These magalogs were often anywhere from 20 to 32 pages long.
His response?
“Self-mailers almost never work. You, however, should test a self-mailer.”
I loved the man because of stuff like that.
[I’m working on a blog post on how magalogs were the precursor to online marketing…stay tuned for that one in the coming weeks]
He was principled but he knew that everything, for the most part, was testable.
That’s why he loved direct marketing so much too…because it’s measurable…and accountable.
He knew the rules and knew how (and when) to break them properly…which goes back to my favorite quote from Picasso, “Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist.”
I can never repeat that enough.
One of my favorite “Benson-isms” is:
“You have to believe your numbers because they are all you’ve got.”
There are layers to this quote…that is, the numbers need to be statistically significant, they need to be calculated accurately…and you must have a “numbers guru” (Director of Analytics or equivalent) by your side as your most important partner in any direct marketing enterprise.
I remember putting together a promotion for the direct marketing industry titled “Benson Babies Speak” which entailed each of his most famous “students”–a who’s who of direct marketers in the 1980’s and 90’s–touting their most influential “Benson Rule of Thumb.”
You won’t be surprised that the one most important to me was #23 on his list:
“Lists are the most important ingredient to the success of a promotional mailing.”
Today that would be:
“Lists are the most important ingredient to the success of a promotion.”
Please watch my short video, “When 41% is a majority” to see how well Dick schooled me…and many of you know how that video begins and ends. 🙂
I must admit that I was an eager student at his knee since I was a list manager during the time I worked with him…that is, I spent ALL of my time on lists, database modelling and segmentation…and I always made sure that the focus on lists and list research was the highest priority for every promotion we put together.
That led to a highlight of my career.
It happened during one of my all-day visits with him when I only knew him for a short time (and he is the consultant who popularized “the client comes to me”).
Or…the mountain comes to Mohammed:
After discussing dozens of tests, results and new test ideas, he started asking ME about lists for his own products (the health newsletters I mentioned earlier which grew to over a million subscribers each).
I gave him lots of ideas from my experience.
After the day, he simply said:
“Brian I don’t know you all that well yet but frankly, I’m impressed.”
Those of you who knew Dick would agree that I probably should have hung up my spikes right there and retired.
But I did decide to go on for the next 30+ years anyway…leading to this post today…and because I had a teacher like him, I am just getting started.
And yes, lists are the most important component to any direct response campaign.
After one of those all-day sessions many years later, after I knew him very well, and after he opined on, and analyzed, every test Boardroom had done over the last quarter…and made recommendations on everything we should test over the next quarter…I simply asked him:
“How did you get so smart?”
And he answered with his thumb and index finger about an inch apart:
“I know everything about this much.”
And with that simple phrase he taught me the lesson of going a mile deep rather than a mile wide which I teach and implement in everything I do…then and now.
One specific application is when I coach young entrepreneurs inside my mastermind (or anywhere), who don’t think they know anything or feel they don’t belong…to which I say:
“You know everything about something…share it freely.”
“The Bogey Man” might have scared some folks in his lifetime…he was far from warm and fuzzy…but who needs warm and fuzzy when there are rules of thumb to learn…and finite time to change the trajectory of your business and career?
Warmly (and a little warmer and fuzzier than Benson I suppose),
Brian
P.S. Gary Bencivenga, the world’s greatest living copywriter, sent me an order for Gene Schwartz’s “other classic,” The Brilliance Breakthrough.
You might think it’s silly that I look at every book order…but every buyer of my blue-chip educational products and books is special to me…and when I receive an order from anyone, I have an immediate kinship and some even deserve a personal response.
I know that sounds corny…but it’s what I do.
And in this case, receiving a paid book order from Gary was a delightful surprise…and that my copywriting hero is still a student (of course he is!) warmed my heart since he had taught me so much during my career…and he deserved my attention.
When I sent Gary an email letting him know “his money is no good here,” it spurned a wonderful email exchange.
Here was his response when I told him he should know better than to “buy” a book from me:
You’re too kind!
Thank you so much for the gift—from both you and Gene. What a talented combination!
I had no idea this book even existed.
As soon as I came across the title recently, I looked on Amazon.
There was only one copy available, and the price was $3,083!
[NOTE FROM BRIAN: The price on Amazon fluctuates for used copies…at the time of this writing, the price is “down” to $2,000…click here]
I watch in admiration how well your enterprises are doing. Bravo!
Your newsletter is so informative…and a pleasure to read.
Of course, your super-successful post-Boardroom career is no surprise, given your knowledge, experience, and wonderful way of working with people.
All is well here, thank goodness.
I hope the same is true for you and yours.
You’re a prince, Brian, and it’s been such an honor to know you all these years.
All good wishes, my friend. And thanks again.
My response to Gary:
If I am a “prince” it’s only because I have been a member of your Royal Family over the past 40 years. 🙂
And putting my name with Gene’s in the same sentence certainly makes my day…and he, like you, is on my Mount Rushmore of copywriters.
The price points on Amazon vary…this latest one is awesome…talk about a price anchor for my version at $195!
A lost classic at a 94% discount!
I’m thinking about using that…
Enjoy the book.
And read my afterword which talks about what a lost classic The Brilliance Breakthrough really was…
Cheers!
Why am I sharing this correspondence with you (besides it being the ultimate humble brag)? 🙂
There are a few reasons/lessons:
- You never know who is lurking (or buying) inside your online family…it’s worth your time to find out
- Look to engage whenever possible with that family…especially if it’s with the best copywriter in the world
- Be the first to give even without an “ask”
- Never pass up an opportunity to learn more about your products…their availability…their scarcity…their desirability
- Never pass up an opportunity to learn more about your people…their wants…desires…suggestions…feedback…and if flattery is included, you’ve hit the jackpot 🙂
- And…to anchor a price on a book that you must have in your marketing and copywriting library
The Brilliance Breakthrough is not a companion volume to Breakthrough Advertising …but it is equally impactful.
Where Breakthrough Advertising is as much about human behavior, markets, segmentation as it is about copywriting and marketing, The Brilliance Breakthrough, is a book about “writing in pictures” (and images), choosing the right word for every occasion and beginning with the premise that “grammar is overrated.”
Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?
It is.
Dare I say fascinating.
And it will change the way you write whether you are a professional copywriter, or someone who only does correspondence and journaling.
The book comes with a workbook for the exercises Gene Schwartz created inside the book, perfectly mapped out, so you don’t have to write in the book (something I learned in elementary school that I violated in college…and don’t want to violate anymore).
I recently had someone buy the book for himself (he’s a working copywriter) but wanted additional workbooks for his high school age kids.
Everyone can “write like Gene.”
While I can’t say “your money is no good here” like I said to Gary—well, until you write promotions that make millions of dollars—I can give you a 90% discount on the price that’s being charged on Amazon right now.
Go here to read more about the book and to purchase a copy.
And you can be sure that I will know your name when you do.
I might even email you. 🙂