Frequently asked questions

It is marketing that asks a specific reader to take a specific action, and measures how many did.

Brand marketing builds familiarity and association over time and is measured indirectly. Direct-response asks for an action now and is measured immediately by counting responses, costs, and revenue per campaign.

It is more relevant than ever. Landing pages, email sequences, paid social, and search ads are all direct-response formats. The medium has changed; the discipline has not.

The offer, by a wide margin. A strong offer wrapped in ordinary copy will usually outperform ordinary offer wrapped in strong copy. Improve the offer first; edit the copy second.

The audience. Reaching the right person with an average message beats reaching the wrong person with a brilliant one. Match the message to the list, not the other way round.

As long as it needs to be to answer the reader's questions in order — no longer, no shorter. Cost, risk, and complexity of the decision determine length. A £9 impulse buy needs less than a £2,000 commitment.

Generous enough that the reader stops calculating downside. In most categories, guarantees that feel almost uncomfortable to the seller produce more revenue than they cost in refunds.

One meaningful variable at a time, on a sample large enough to be believable. Testing everything at once turns experiments into a puzzle nothing can solve.

Cost to acquire a customer, and lifetime value of a customer. Once those two are honest and stable, add response rate, average order value, and refund rate. Almost every other metric is decoration.

Define your single best customer in one paragraph. Rebuild the offer you show them. Gather the proof a sceptical version of that person would need. Write one honest message. Track two numbers. Iterate.