Breaking Down The Strategy

If you scroll Twitter or LinkedIn today you’ll find a plethora of people idolising creators that have racked up 100,000s of followers.

But for me, they aren’t the copywriters I like to look up to and study.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s very impressive and they are great copywriters.

But the copywriters I admire are the ones that can send:

• 1 email

• 1 letter

• 1 message

And have people eating out of their hand.

One of the best to ever do that, was a man named Bill Jayme.

You’ve probably never heard of him, yet I can almost guarantee that some of your relatives once bought from him.

Because in his prime Jayme was the most sought after copywriter in the world.

Every major magazine, publisher, non profit and every other major mailer in every category wanted him to write for them.

He’s wrote campaigns for:

• New York Times

• Fortune Magazine

• The Harvard Health Letters

• Psychology Today

• American Health

… And many more.

He was an absolute master at getting people to buy from just once piece of paper.

But how did he do it?

Well, that’s we are about to find out!

5 Lessons On Direct Marketing From Bill Jayme:

Lesson 1: Make it fun

Everyone hates getting sold to, but what if that was just because we are sold to in boring ways?

Jayme says:

He makes a great point.

And it’s a point that applies to all direct marketing.

I receive 4-5 cold emails per day. 99.9% of them I report to spam, delete, then move on with my day.

But everyone once in a while one will catch my attention, make me laugh and result in me sending them a nice reply back.

Fun marketing always works.

Lesson 2: The 5 essential concepts

Jayme wasn’t one for frameworks or set ways of writing when it came to his direct mail letters.

Yet he did have 5-set concepts he believed should be part of every mailing package.

He says:

I love the 5 concepts he mentions, but that last sentence is an even better reminder that we all need at times - to make it about the customer.

If you’re trying to sell someone you don’t need to use “We” or “I” - you just need “You”.

Lesson 3: Length, format, size – don’t matter

Everyone gets caught up in the length or formatting of their copy. Whether it’s a LinkedIn post, a newsletter, or copy for their website.

But Jayme didn’t believe that any of those things mattered.

He said:

In the quote he is referring to envelope sizes as many people at the time claimed 6×9 enveloped increased opens.

But in Jayme’s opinion that was a myth - people just opened what interested them.

Makes me think about all the time I’ve spent trying to write my content in a way that “Performs well” when I probably should have spent that time thinking of topics that interest my audience.

Lesson 4: Never talk in percentages

How often do you see a store offering “20% off” for a sale. Well, Jayme says they’re making a huge mistake when they do that.

He says:

Although my partner would probably disagree, as the second something says “XX off” she gets her card out…

But I do see his point. Unless you know the exact amount you are saving, the discount really doesn’t hit home.

I’m sure this is even more important in direct marketing, but I wonder how much more effective money based sales would be in general too.

Lesson 5: Say it 6 ways to Sunday

There are often 2 big mistakes when it comes to selling your offer:

A) You offer is terrible
B) You have a great offer but don’t talk about why it’s so great

Jayme didn’t have a solution to A, but he did to B - especially if you were giving away something free.

He said:

Reading this for the first time today made me realise that I’ve made this mistake way too many times when it comes to lead magnets.

If they’re free, drill home to people that they’re free.

Because people love freebies.

It’s really that simple.

3 Of Jayme’ Best Campaigns

1) Psychology Today - The Bathroom Door

Why I love it: The question seems so intimate that it feels like they know you, whilst also seeming very creepy at the same time…

Mix that in with the unusual graphic and well, who isn’t opening this?

2) Smithsonian - Fake Lean

Why I love it: Read it and tell me you didn’t try it too. I’m not sure what it is about it, but by the time he even tried to sell me - I already trusted him.

It’s like a smoke and mirrors entry into a sales pitch.

3) New York Times - This Young Woman

Why I love it: This is what storytellers call a “Cold open” and this may be one of the best of all-time.

Before I’ve even opened the envelope I’m already deep into this story. Who’s the woman? Why is her husband dead? Did she kill him?

I suppose we’ll have to open the letter to find out!

1 of my favourite Bill Jayme quotes

Why in the world is this my favourite quote?

Because it shows a clear self awareness for what he is doing - and it’s probably the biggest factor that made him so good at it.

While others saw their letters as “Direct marketing” and expected people to just open their mail, Jayme understood his letters were intruders.

If they were going to get opened, he had to make them interesting enough to be opened.

And if that isn’t a great lesson to finish on, I don’t know what is!

Bill Jayme is definitely a hidden gem that not many people are talking about at the minute, so I hope you learned something from this.

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Until next Sunday.

— Niall

This has been a breakdown of marketing lessons from Bill Jayme. I hope you have learned something and can implement a similar strategy in your business!

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