Method Marketing

by Dension Hatch

Book Overview

In Method Marketing, Denny Hatch describes how eight multi-million businesses were built by men who discovered the secret of getting inside the heads and under the skin of their customers. Franciscan priest Father Bruce Ritter, founder of Covenant House, developed a lean prose style reminiscent of the young Hemingway that told horrific stories of prostitution and drugs on city streets and that repeatedly touched consumer hearts and wallets. The result:...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 156625115X
• ISBN13: 9781566251150
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing
• Length: 292 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

If you are trying to get beyond the "Hype" of today's marketing gurus, this is a great place to star

Although you may not be familiar with Dension "Denny" Hatch, he has probably forgotten more about Direct Marketing than many of today's experts have ever learned. Method Marketing is a series of "Case Studies" of Direct Marketers and Direct Marketing campaigns. You will learn what has worked, what may have failed, and what drives many of the largest direct marketers around. You will learn the secrets of... A)Boardroom: How Martin Edelston created one of the most efficient direct marketers around. B) Mel Martin and the secret of writing "Fascinations" C) Agora Publishing: How Bill Bonner has used "exclusivity" to make Agora publishing a powerhouse in direct marketing. Plus: J. Peterman, David Oreck and How Denny Hatch found himself facing imprisonment, exile and perhaps even ...., but that would be telling. Highly Recommended! Cheers!

Getting Inside the Customer's Head

Denny Hatch is one of the top direct marketing copywriters working, although these days he's probably more focused on "Target Marketing," the magazine where is a contributing editor. I first discovered Denny in 2006, when I came across his blog and got hooked on his insights into events and how they relate to marketing. In "Method Marketing," Denny reveals his methods for creating effective, response-getting copy for direct marrketing pieces. It's based on the same premise as Method Acting, meaning the idea is to get into the head of the character, or in this case, the prospect, and figure out what drives them emotionally. Then, you write copy designed to trigger those emotions and the desired result. But Denny's explanation of his method isn't the best part of the book. Other copywriters will tell you they use a similar process to write, they just haven't come up with a name for the process, as Denny has. No, the reason to buy the book is for the samples of direct mail pieces found in each chapter of the book. The chapters, for the most part, focus on a particular company and it's direct marketing efforts. Most chapters feature the original letters, giving copywriters a chance to obtain some great pieces for their swipe files. But, unlike most other books that show samples of direct mail pieces, Denny doesn't just publish successful pieces, he also makes us privy to some that didn't work, and explains where they failed. He even includes a story about a series of letters that turned out to be a scam, explaining how the author pulled off the seemingly amazing predictions he was making in each letter. And he closes with a funny tale of a legal battle that he suddenly found himself in the middle of in England, all while attending a trade show. Is this must reading for marketers and copywriters? I'd say yes, if for no other reason than for the opportunity to add to your swipe file. Personally, I'm using some of the Covenant House letters as inspiration for a piece I'm working on for a non-profit. Buy it. It's worth the price of admission.

Denny Hatch hits the nail on the head

Mr. Hatch, also editor for years of 'Who's Mailing What' sees more direct mail in a year than most of us do in a lifetime, and has studied the inside story of a staggering number direct marketing efforts. While 'book-learned' marketers play it safe (and naive) with facts-only, feature-centric direct mail creative, Denny's acknowledgement of the 'emotional sell' shows his deep understanding of what really opens a customer's wallet. Too bad more of today's marketers haven't read this book or subscribed to his pubs! -- P.S. The prior review that notes the Peterman financial failure shows the reviewer's lack of understanding of the REAL story: Peterman's success was sidetracked by the outsider he hired in, who obviously didn't have the market understanding that Peterman had. I heard the guy speak at a conference and he clearly was out of touch. Their push into retail and cinematic themes finished them off, not any flaw in Peterman's premise and execution of the printed catalog. Peterman's fatal flaw was in his hiring practices, not his own marketing expertise.