Gary Bencivenga’s Best Kept Marketing Secret

The other day, I was reading an ad written by legendary copywriter Gary Bencivenga.

When something dawned on me:

I realized that on top of the hundreds of other reasons why Gary’s ads are so darn effective, there is one little thing that (in my opinion) makes him one of the best. This little “thing” rings true in every ad Gary ever wrote. It was what made him unique. And to this day it’s hard to find another direct response copywriter that does this as well as Gary Bencivenga did.

What is this “thing”?

He was believable.

Every piece of copy Gary ever wrote is credible.

It’s believable.

It’s real.

Which sounds simple enough, and like something every copywriter should do. Right? But the next direct response ad you read, ask yourself if you believe what the writer is saying. And if you don’t then why don’t you believe the copywriter?

In most cases, I find that ads are too full of hype and hoopla. They come across as salesy. And whenever you… or I… or someone else gets hit with a hypey-claim, it turns us off.

We say, “Yeah right. Here we go again. Just another person trying to get into my wallet.”

And that kills any chance the copywriter has of making the sale.

But not a Gary Bencivenga ad.

Gary’s stuff hardly ever contained any pumped-up claims… or exaggerated benefits… or moments in the copy when you’d say, “Yeah right.” And in my opinion, this is what makes Gary so good.

So what about your sales letter?

Or your space ad?

Or even your client newsletter?

Are you making a bunch of hypey claims that you can’t support with proof?

Or are you telling a believable story about what your product can (and can’t) do?

Remember, there is nothing that adds credibility to your appeal then when you admit a fault. Tell your reader why you are not perfect.

In fact, the ad I was reading by Gary Bencivenga did this near the middle of the ad. And boy did it add much more credibility to what I was reading.

So there you have it.

The reason why Gary Bencivenga was such a great direct response ad writer.

And one last thing:

If you are serious about growing your small business, then what’s holding you back? More than likely all you need is one good idea. But you have to be careful where you look for ideas. Because now days everybody and their brother claims to be some kind of “business expert”.

So ask yourself this:

Who can you turn to for good ideas like what’s in this article?

I certainly have plenty of great ideas. But, our personalities may not jive. In fact, if there is some “rub” between us then it’ll never work. You won’t be happy. And neither will I. To see if we’re a good fit, stroll on over to my website which you’ll find in the author box below.