“Think different” was Apple’s (ungrammatical) slogan.

->-> It worked for them ... but will it work for you?

An entertainingly vitriolic new book and a Spectator magazine event suggest it will.

“Thinking Backwards” featured Rory Sutherland and Matt Ridley on September 1st.

Steve Harrison's, “Can't Sell Won't Sell” preaches a similar sermon from a different perspective.

Their thesis? If you do what everyone else does you’ll get what they get. Less than you deserve.

(I’ll declare my interest: both Steve and Rory started as copywriters with me at Ogilvy & Mather.)

Many people believe to succeed today you must be “creative”, different and original, ignoring tested techniques that have worked since modern advertising began.

This is poisonous bunkum.

Steve shows how today’s marketers consider selling so beneath them that they’ve forgotten what pays them – which is sales. So today being different means, well, just selling.

If you plan to make a living in this recession you’d better start persuading people to buy what you sell.

David Ogilvy explained why it matters simply. “No sell, no eat”.

And a very, very simple formula shows you how you must do so.

It is Attention, Interest, Desire, Action - AIDA.

However I have always added a C - AIDCA.

The C stands for Convince.

It's not easy to seize people's attention, interest them enough to desire your offering, then make them act.

But nowadays people are drowning in messages.

Online. Off line, On TV. On posters . Everywhere.

So your hard work is wasted if you don't convince them. And in today’s fake news jungle it’s harder than ever.

That is why the testimonial is powerful – and essential.

How many have you got? Do you collect them? Are they boldly displayed on your website? Are they in your ads?

Do I practice what I preach?

There’s a glut of testimonials on DraytonBird.com - and not long ago I sent you an email full of them - all about Ask Drayton.

Maybe you're not quite convinced yet.

But you risk nothing. Your full month's trial costs $1.

And even better, it's refundable if you don't agree with Dennis Sullivan...

"My goodness, I don’t know what I pay for Ask Drayton.But it ain't enough."

Why not give Ask Drayton a try, right now?

Best,

Drayton

P.S. Know anyone who'd appreciate my Bird Droppings? Tell them to sign up to my mailing list here.