Small success but I'm stoked about it (17)
Hey guys,
I just wanted to post and tell you guys something very cool that I finally got solidified recently, and I'm really happy about.
So, I've been doing marketing/advertising for several years now, and have done relatively well in terms of moneys and such. When I first discovered advertising online, I looked to the past century's thought leaders for inspiration on how to create the best ads, how to run an agency (in case I were ever going to do so), how to get to the heart of the consumer, how to get companies to give you a chance to work with them, etc.
My very favorite person to read on this topic was/is David Ogilvy. He wrote several books about advertising and how he took himself from nothing to one of the greatest advertising agencies in the world. His story and his methods were very inspirational to me as I was getting started, and even now. Also, his last name is Ogilvy, mine is Ogle, so I always tell people that it'd be sick to have an article in a magazine titled "Ogilvy vs Ogle: something something something".
Well, that hasn't happened yet, but my company DID just solidify a partnership with Ogilvy and Mather on a huge account -- so, while David has been dead for a while so I can't work with him directly, we'll get to actively work with his company for a great client. They're handling all the branding, we're handling the monetization, and HBO & Overstock are handling distribution.
It's highly unlikely that I come out of this having made better than minimum wage for the hours it'll take to do the work -- agency accounts are almost by definition not very profitable and an enormous use of time, except at the very highest levels of accounts (like Coke) -- but for some reason, whatever reason, this feels like I've legitimized myself and my company in a way that I haven't before.
I get to work with Ogilvy!
Wow that is huge man! Congratulations.
I'm a huge fan of Ogilvy too, I think I blogged about him on at least four separate occasions. He/they were/are way ahead of their time.
Would love to hear more about how you wiggled your way in there...
Mucho respect!
Wow that's awesome mate.
Who cares about the wage... working directly with Ogilvy and Mather as well as HBO and others is an invaluable endorsement!
Dude this is huge, I am a big fan of building brands vs just making internet monies. You could carve out a niche as a high-level monetization company. Ogilvy and HBO give you the kind of street cred money can't buy. Do it even at a loss!
Can't wait for the case study. 
Originally Posted by joshogle
Ogilvy are very good at what they do, and you will definitely learn a lot from the experience--especially about branding and client management. As you start working with them, however, you will also be pleasantly surprised at how little they actually know about data driven, conversion based performance marketing.
In other words, don't be shy in your interactions with them, since you will definitely be bringing a lot of skills and knowledge to the table as well.
Best of luck to you!
Awesome Sir. Ogle you've been doing good things for a long time now very happy for you man!
Thank you guys very much for the positive comments! I'm hoping to come out of this having learned a lot of useful things, and hopefully teaching a lot to the others, too.
Congratulations! And it's not a small thing. How many people can say they work with Ogilvy and Mather? That's awesome!
Dude that is HUGE. Congratulations! I completely understand what a big deal this "small" success is.
I'm a big fan of David Ogilvy. His writing was a font of knowledge for me when I started out in my
copywriting career, and he has continued to inspire me ever since. I have one of his quotes tattooed on
my right arm. Helps keep me focused on what's important when writing copy and sculpting winners for
my clients.
Congratulations man, quite an accomplishment!
PS- I saw a great DO documentary when I still lived in the UK. It was called something like "David Ogilvy:
The Original Mad Man."
Definitely worth watching if you can find it online.
Originally Posted by the_writer
Originally Posted by cmdeal
Go big or go home, right?
Originally Posted by the_writer
10 David Ogilvy quotes on advertising that can change your online business
Advertising legend David Ogilvy is known as the “Father of Advertising.” In 1962, Time Magazine called him “the most sought-after wizard in today’s advertising industry.” He found Ogilvy and Mather in 1948. Now Ogilvy and Mather is one of the leading companies in advertising, marketing and public relations in the world.
As more and more online marketers turn to paid advertising such as PPC, banner ads and solo ads to promote their products and services, it is vitally important to study David Ogilvy’s words of wisdom on advertising.
Advertising is a business of words, but advertising agencies are infested with men and women who cannot write. They cannot write advertisements. And they cannot write plans. They are helpless as deaf mutes on the stage of the metropolitan opera.
It may sound harsh, but it is true that many online marketers know nothing about advertising and some even don’t know how to write. The good news is that success is a learnable skill. You can always learn from the best people in the advertising industry. So don’t be discouraged, keep reading . . .
David Ogilvy Quotes On Advertising #2:
There isn’t any significant difference between the various brands of whiskey, or cigarettes or beer. They are all about the same. And so are the cake mixes and the detergents, and the margarines… The manufacturer who dedicates his advertising to building the most sharply defined personality for his brand will get the largest share of the market at the highest profit.
“How to differentiate your product and service from your competitors” is a question to every online marketer. David Ogilvy suggested that you need to build a sharply defined personality that tells the market who you are and what you do. In other words, you need to carefully define your unique selling proposition. Do you have a unique selling proposition for your product and service? If not, think about it.
David Ogilvy Quotes On Advertising #3:
On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.
Ogilvy once pointed out that the purpose of your headline is to get people to read your first line. The purpose of your opening line is to get people to read the next one. It is an on-going process to sharpen your skill of writing compelling headlines that sell. Have a marketer’s eye and start to collect headlines that catch your attention.
David Ogilvy Quotes On Advertising #4:
The more informative your advertising, the more persuasive it will be.
Before people making a buying decision, they have many questions. For example, why they should buy from you, why your product is better than other similar products, why they should trust you, and why they should buy it now, etc.
If you can answer these questions in your ad, your ad is informative and persuasive. It will help people to make a buying decision quicker and easier because you have answered their questions in advance.
David Ogilvy Quotes On Advertising #5:
If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think. We try to write in the vernacular.
This has been proved to be effective by many top online marketers such as Eben Pagan and Jeff Walker. You should use your prospects’ language in your landing page headlines, sales letter, and emails, etc. If you know your prospects’ pain and dream even better than they do, they will buy from you for sure.
David Ogilvy Quotes On Advertising #6:
I have a theory that the best ads come from personal experience. Some of the good ones I have done have really come out of the real experience of my life, and somehow this has come over as true and valid and persuasive.
People love to read stories. They like to know you as a real person who has your struggle, pain, success and failure, etc. One well-known example is Jared Fogle’s weight loss story which made millions of dollars for Subway. Start to collect your stories from today and use them in your ad campaigns.
David Ogilvy Quotes On Advertising #7:
Never write an advertisement which you wouldn't want your family to read. You wouldn't tell lies to your own wife. Don’t tell them to mine.
As a common Chinese saying goes, “Don’t do to others what you don’t like to be done to you.” Tell the truth in your ad copy and only promote products that you believe in. This is a very important rule for people marketing affiliate products.
David Ogilvy Quotes On Advertising #8:
Do not address your readers as though they were gathered together in a stadium. When people read your copy, they are alone. Pretend you are writing to each of them a letter on behalf of your client.
I am sure everyone wants to be treated as a special individual. Pretending you are writing to one person helps you better connect with your readers.
David Ogilvy Quotes On Advertising #9:
Never stop testing, and your advertising will never stop improving.
Testing was used in advertising decades ago. The internet has made testing so easy that every online marketer can use it to improve advertising results. Google content experiment is a free tool for you to do split testing.
David Ogilvy Quotes On Advertising #10:
If you ever have the good fortune to create a great advertising campaign, you will soon see another agency steal it. This is irritating, but don’t let it worry you; nobody has ever built a brand by imitating somebody else’s advertising.
If you get upset by other people stealing your advertising ideas or content, I hope you feel better at David Ogilvy’s words of wisdom. So focus your energy on creating more brilliant ideas and engaging content to build a solid online business.
from http://www.examiner.com/article/10-d...nline-business
None of those, as excellent as they all may be. If I were to opt
for one of them, it would be #3 or #9, but mainly so I could stop
myself going hoarse from constantly explaining them to clients.
My quote is:
"Don't bunt. Aim out of the ballpark. Aim for the company of immortals."
Doesn't apply specifically to copywriting, but it helps me keep the
intensity cranked when I feel the words starting to wander.
Originally Posted by cmdeal
Thanks cmdeal!
Originally Posted by _mcr_
Most people will scribble down 3 or 4 headlines, probably based on another ad they saw or an angle they thought of or whatever, and call it good.
But I've been a copywriter for quite some time, and I've found that if I sit and write a minimum of 50-100 headlines, the ones I come up with from 40-50 or 90-100 are always MUCH better than the earlier ones.
I've come to think of it as a bit like mining or something - the first 20-30 headlines you write are essentially you just digging through the dirt to get to the gold, which always lies deeper than you wish it did.
Originally Posted by the_writer
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