About Us: The "Direct Response Content Marketing" Manifesto

Why Some of You Won't Like Me

Let me start by making two groups of people angry at me by stating something I really believe:

If that didn’t cause you to click away and leave, then let me explain why I believe this.

And in the process, I will show you how this understanding could make you a better marketer or help your company to see new results with your marketing.

But in order to do that, I need to tell you the story.

It’s the story how I came to these conclusions and how I became a direct response content marketer…

The Wild, Wild Web

I stumbled into marketing back in 1999 without any care or interest in the field or subject.

I just knew that I needed to figure out how to get visitors to a website I had created in a small music niche.

So with the help of my free internet service, Netzero, I logged onto “the web” using my dial-up access and began to search for answers.

In the late 90’s, the then new online world was populated by “internet marketing gurus” who were applying old school direct response marketing principles on “the web.”

It was these gurus that I stumbled upon, began to follow, and learn from who taught me direct response principles and in the process began to point me to the old school direct response legends and their books.

The Forgotten Secrets of Advertising Legends

Since I am a reader, I would grab a copy of whatever old books I could get my hands on.

As I opened these books and began to feast on forgotten marketing secrets from advertising legends (people like Claude Hopkins, John Caples, John E. Kennedy, and many others.) my heart began racing.

It was like stumbling upon some kind of buried treasure.

When I read these books, I realized that the fundamental concepts that they were teaching in these books didn’t just apply back in their day, but they still applied in the new online world of the 90’s.

(Don’t be fooled. They still apply today. There are no new fundamentals!)

I not only devoured information from those books, but I also began to devour information from the living marketing legends (people like Gary Halbert, Ted Nicholas, Jay Abraham, and others).

When I read what they taught and saw how they used the fundamentals of marketing, it was like watching some martial arts masters effortlessly using centuries old moves to defeat their opponents.

Do you remember the reason I started this journey?

It was just to figure out how to get visitors to my website in that small music niche. Well, I not only learned how to do that, but I learned something else.

Armed with This Knowledge, I Began My Journey into the Marketing Arena

As I began to apply the things I was learning, I began to see results. Traffic to that site began to grow.

I was able to build a small community of 1200 people on my message board (remember those?).

But something else unexpected happened.

I discovered that I not only was interested in marketing, but it really resonated with me and I was good at it.

(You can hear more about my story, and the marketing lessons I learned, by signing up to listen to my free recording of my story that I tell to my UC Berkeley Extension marketing students.)

I won’t go into the details about that right here and right now, but I do need to tell you about how I got into content marketing.

I need to do that so you can see why I said those two potentially jarring statements at the beginning.

Accidental Content Marketing

It was around 2010, when I started hearing about something called “content marketing.”

As I began to research it, I realized that not only was it something that really resonated with me, I had been using it from the time I dipped my toe into the marketing arena. (Before anyone had given it a name!)

With this realization, I realized that I had learned many lessons about content marketing in the 11 years since I began using marketing.

Not only that, but through the new lens of content marketing, I began to see it everywhere. I saw it being used in all sorts of industries and all sorts of ways.

With my personal experience and the new insights, I began writing for the premiere content marketing website: ContentMarketingInstitute.com.

In the process of using, writing about, and going on a personal study of content marketing, some interesting things have happened:

I discovered the oldest known examples of content marketing. (Benjamin Franklin wasn't just a Founding Father)
I formulated something known as "content we crave" which resulted in a popular infographic known as "21 Types of Content We Crave."
I wrote a book on the subject that received 5-star reviews from leading experts and was nominated for a small business book awards. (See 51 Content Marketing Hacks)
I have written top websites.
I've been interviewed on multiple podcasts on the subject of content marketing.
I have spoken to B2B content marketers and young marketing professionals about content marketing.

In discovering how far back content marketing has been used and through revealing it’s fingerprint through history and many industries in my book, I realized that again and important truth: effective content marketing is all about the overlooked fundamentals.

In other words, I realized again what I learned when I began this journey…

I learned that the “secrets” don’t change. They just get new names and face-lifts.

(The problem with this is that many marketers and companies get distracted by the tools and never learn – or forget – the fundamentals.)

With this important reminder, a new-found love, and hard-earned experience in content marketing, there was one more thing that took place which led me to those two conclusions that I started with.

How I Came Up with Those Two Heretical Ideas I Started With and How They Can Help You

Even after being involved with both direct response and content marketing for so many years, I didn’t think about the connection between content marketing and direct response, or their need for each, other until recently.

It was after teaching my marketing class for UC Berkeley Extension that I was hit with the two heretical revelations that you read at the beginning.

Let me explain.

You see, I teach the young business professionals in my marketing class two important things about marketing:

Well, after thinking about this and teaching this over and over, this truth suddenly hit me:

(*Really think about those statements and see if you don’t realize that these are unspoken truths that you already know deep inside you, but that no one has put words to before.)

Direct Response Content Marketing: The Best of Both Worlds

With that realization, I realized that the most effective marketing out there is marketing that taps into the principles of direct response while also harnessing the power of content marketing.

I also realized that the greatest results I’ve ever seen in my own marketing has come when I applied direct response and content marketing.

When these insights struck me, I decided that I would never again think of content marketing and direct response as two, separate disciplines that I can apply to my own marketing and the marketing I do for others.

No, instead I’ve committed to myself to always combine the formidable powers of direct response and content marketing in a way that will bring them together in explosive synergy and produce exponential results.

My Marketing Metamorphosis

That is why I have decided to coin the phrase: direct response content marketing.

And I decided that I would no longer just be a content marketer, I would transform to become a “direct response content marketer.”

But that’s not all.

On November 21, 2018, I decided to register the domain name DirectResponseContentMarketing.com, so that I could reveal all that I’ve learned and am learning about how to combine these two forces in a way in which the whole is greater than its parts.

I created this website in order to:

Invite other like-minded individuals to join me on this journey
Create a place and a space where we can form a community and share best practices as we discover and uncover them
Create a resource or hub of information, best-practices, and exclusive insights in order to help other to see things through this new paradigm I'm calling direct response content marketing (NOTE: You will discover this through the "public" areas of this site and also from the free, Member's Resource Area.)
Reveal how any type of marketing - both online and offline, B2C or B2B, email marketing, social media marketing, funnel marketing, or influencer marketing - can be enhanced or improved with the addition of direct response principles and content marketing
Expose you to the long lost, forgotten wisdom of both direct response and content marketing principles and methods contained in my personal, digital library of 34 classic marketing books. Old books that I have sought out, stumbled upon, and gathered up from the dark, cobweb covered corners of the internet. (Yes, believe it or not, there are books from 100 years ago that talk about and reveal powerful principles about content marketing and direct response.)

A Bridge Not a Wedge

But please don’t get me wrong.

My purpose is not harm or talk bad about the content marketing industry or to turn people away from it and its practices (those are my people!).
And my purpose is not to defame the direct response industry or turn people away from it and its practices either (I got my start, was "raised" on, and am the beneficiary of its principles and the wisdom of its masters.)

No, my personal goal and the goal of this website is to be a bridge between the two disciplines and industries.

As I keep my feet planted in both of these worlds, I want to two important things:

Why? Because I believe that when content marketers and direct response marketers stop myopically ignoring the each other and the strengths that both industries bring, something powerful will happen.

It will help both industries and the results they bring to companies, corporations, non-profit communities they serve.

What I Have to Say to the Four Groups of People Who Have Read This Far

If you have read this far, you are one of four groups of people:

You know of me and my work and know, like and trust me. (If so, "Hi!" Thanks for your support. Please become a free member and spread the word.)
You have been having a nagging feeling that as a content marketer, direct response marketer, or even as company that primarily uses either form of marketing, something was missing that could take you and the marketing you produce to new levels. (If that's you, I hope you will join me and test out and to see if direct response content marketing could be the answer. )
You already have been using direct response and/or content marketing and what I've written resonates with you and excites you about the potential and possibilities of what I've shared. (If that's you, I am looking for people like you to be the founding members and influencers of this community. Reach out to me and/or join this site as a free member right now.)
You're not sure if I am crazy or onto something, but you had to read to the end to make sure one way or the other. (If that's you, thanks for giving me and my ideas a chance. I hope you'll seriously think about what I've shared in this manifesto. And I hope you'll come back and see if the things I am about to reveal will convince you that I am right.)

No matter which one of these groups you’re in, I think you’re going to want to keep checking in on things at DirectResponseContentMarketing.com.

Because if you do, you’ll discover some really eye-opening things that will make you and your marketing more effective…

If You Stick Around, You'll Discover How Direct Response and Content Marketing Have Been Used in Ways You've Never Imagined...

I have some really cool things planned for DirectResponseContentMarketing.com.

Over the next few weeks and months, I am going to reveal to you some surprising things:

How the Internet itself became popular because of the direct response techniques used by AOL
How Amazon's success is built on the fundamentals of mail-order (aka direct response)
How Facebook and Google became successes using both direct response principles and content marketing (and how their main source of revenue is built on old school methods)
How the 7 largest media companies in the world (who produce most of the news and entertainment that we consume) are masters at using content marketing invisibly
Not only that, but I am going to gathering a team of expert contributors from the content marketing and direct response worlds who will be creating content for you and helping you to up your game as direct response content marketer.

Did You Notice What I Did? Why Some of You Might Like Me Now

If you have been paying close attention, then you will have noticed that this “About page” isn’t just a page filled with dry facts about this website and me.

Instead of doing that, I decided to create a manifesto filled with stories about how I came to my conclusions and why I created this site (for your benefit and mine).

I used stories in order to draw you in and take you on a journey so you wouldn’t just read my conclusions, you’d experience them too.

In a sense, that makes thing page content marketing for DirectResponseContentMarketing.com.

So, content marketers, this is a nod to you.

And if you are paying close attention right now, you’ll notice that I am not just ending this page and hoping you decide what to do next. Instead, I am about to give you a clear call to action, explain the benefits of taking action, tell you what will happen when you take any of these actions, and most importantly, I am going to give you a reason to take action now.

In that sense, this page is sort of a salesletter for DirectResponseContentMarketing.com.

Although I am not selling you anything on this page that costs money.

So, direct marketers, this is a nod to you.

What to Do Right Now, Before You Leave

If you have liked what you have read here or are at least intrigued, then the time is now for you to take any or all of the following five “next steps”:

Join DirectResponseContentMarketing.com as a free member and you will get access to our Member's Resource Area which will give you access to additional content and resources that I won't share in the public areas of this website.
(IMPORTANT: FOR A LIMITED TIME, THOSE WHO JOIN TODAY WILL GET A FREE COPY OF MY BOOK "51 CONTENT MARKETING HACKS.")
Bookmark this site and/or begin following me on Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter, so you will be one of first to access any/all of the concepts, strategies, and insights that I will reveal. (I haven't created any separate accounts for this site yet.)
Share this page and/or any of our articles. When you do that, you'll be helping spread the word about this powerful paradigm shift and your friends, followers, and colleagues will be thankful to you for helping them be one of the first to know about this.
(CLICK THE 'CLICK TO TWEET" AT THE END OF THIS LIST IN ORDER TO SHARE THIS MANIFESTO RIGHT NOW!
Leave a comment on one of our articles. By doing this, you will be able to share your knowledge in either of these arenas, ask questions, and/or show others that you were one of the first to discover this new marketing movement.
(IT'S USUALLY THE EARLY ADOPTERS WHO GET THE GREATEST LONG TERM BENEFIT OF ANY NEW MARKETING TREND.)
Contact me if you want to write a guest post, if you want me as a guest on your podcast, or if you are looking for a speaker at your next event. By writing for this community, you'll get a chance to share your expertise to a new audience. (Content marketers will gain exposure in front of an audience of direct response marketers and direct response marketers will gain exposure in front of an audience of content marketers.)
And by having me as a podcast guest or a speaker, you get to shine by helping your audience to be some of the first to discover what direct response content marketing is all about.
(WHETHER YOUR AUDIENCE IS MADE UP OF CONTENT MARKETERS, DIRECT RESPONSE MARKETERS, OR COMPANY EXECUTIVES, I THINK THEY WILL BE APPRECIATIVE OF YOU FOR AT LEAST CARING ENOUGH TO LET THEM BE EXPOSED TO THIS NEW PARADIGM.)

P.S. I hope that since I used stories and a call to action that at least some of you content marketers and direct response marketers out there like me and trust me a little bit more. I hope that what I’ve said here and how I’ve said it reveals my goal: to elevate what you do, increase respect for what you do, and expose more people to benefits of your industry and your hard work.

P.P.S. Direct response marketers: I even used a “P.S.” Do I get any bonus points in your book? 🙂