Starting a marketing campaign from scratch each and every time is tedious and not a great way to leverage time and creativity, which is why most successful marketers build and maintain a marketing swipe file.

A swipe file is your own personal collection of creative marketing examples that can include direct mail packages, sales letters, emails, advertisements, etc.

Personally, I have several large boxes in my office where I keep my creative marketing examples and my marketing radar is always on – looking for new things to add – which might help me in the future (I recently wrote about just such an example in this article (http://www.mikecapuzzi.com/marketing-ideas).

I also maintain a set of folders on my computer hard drive where I collect and store online creative marketing examples, like emails and web pages.

I use these swipe files to generate ideas and spark creativity. Sometimes I use the materials for to get ideas for my copy writing, but regardless of what I need to accomplish, by simply maintaining a healthy swipe file of both print and web materials, I can beat the blank page blues.

If you haven’t been keeping a swipe file of creative marketing examples, here’s several ideas to help you get started.

Offline Marketing (print) – study the mail you’re receiving each day and be on the look out for unique and creative ideas that grabbed your attention. Read magazines and newspapers and pay attention to the advertisements. Again, you’re looking for examples that catch your attention. Pay particular attention to headlines and eye-catching ads.

Recently I took home several ads, from the SkyMall catalog that you find on every airline flight, because the headlines were so good.

When you attend tradeshows or marketing events, don’t just walk through the vendor area – look for marketing ideas you can use in your business.

Online Marketing (web) – watch for email headlines and emails that grab your attention. Either print them off or store them in a folder on your computer. I like to use SnagIt from TechSmith to capture web sites, optin pages and sales letters. SnagIt take a picture of the entire site – no matter how long it is – and I use it many times throughout the day to build my digital swipe file.

And speaking of swipe files… we just put together a HUGE collection of creative marketing examples from over 160 CopyDoodles members. It’s our brand new CopyDoodles Swipe File book and you can learn more about it by visiting:
http://www.copydoodlesbook.com

The CopyDoodles Swipe File book is the ultimate companion for anybody who uses CopyDoodles to improve their marketing and is the short-cut for smart marketing ideas and strategies for boosting response with over 180 real-world examples from real-world business owners around the world. It’s over 5 lbs. and 700 pages of idea-generating examples covering just about every type of media possible, including...

• Advertisements
• Books
• Business cards
• Emails
• Envelopes
• Faxes
• Flyers
• Greeting cards
• Newsletters
• Order forms
• Postcards
• Sales letters
• Special reports
• Websites

There’s even a CD-ROM containing the full-color versions of each example in the CopyDoodles Swipe File book and a special interview video with a number of individuals who submitted examples describing their marketing and results generated. For example you will see…

• The business card from the dentist in Texas that’s stopping people in their tracks…
• The postcard from the restaurant owner in California that brought in the biggest turnout he’s ever seen in one of his locations…
• The advertisements from the magician in New Jersey that took his marketing to another level…
• The email from the insurance agent in Ohio that brought in 632 more sales…
• And the list goes on.

You can grab your copy of the CopyDoodles Swipe File book and CD at a very special introductory price by visiting:

http://www.copydoodlesbook.com

Finally, one last point I feel it’s important to make – swipe files should be used for inspiration and to spark creative ideas. I do not recommend simply copying these creative marketing examples verbatim.

The bottom line is to always have your marketing radar set to on and keep your eye open for creative marketing examples you can use add to your swipe files!

I want to continue sharing a few cool direct marketing examples that recently caught my eye, including a really smart online up sell strategy that got me to spend more money.

To download a high-resolution version of these direct marketing examples, click here.

http://mikefiles.com/example2.zip

This direct marketing example came to me in the mail from Google. Inside, Google is giving me a $100 credit to try out AdWords. This in and of itself is a smart strategy, but what I like the most about this direct marketing example was the fact Google showed me the “gift card” through the envelope. They did not hide it in the envelope but instead used the window to allow me to see it.

Many direct marketing examples and packages I critique for clients make the mistake of hiding the big benefit inside an envelope that offers no indication of what’s inside. If you’re sending something valuable in the package, make sure the recipient knows about it on the outside of the package!

This next direct marketing example was a fun-looking piece I received after enrolling in Cigars International Cigar of the Month club. They sent me my own “passport” in the welcome package, which reminded me of all the benefits I was going to receive. Very smart and fun strategy for those of you who offer membership packages and one I am going to swipe for future use!

Finally, this last direct marketing example is one that blew me away (and got me to open up my wallet to spend even more money). It comes from Cigars International again, and after placing my online order, rather than present me with a typical upsell offer, they asked me if I wanted to play their “Whack-a-Deal” game which is a variation of the classic ‘whac-a- mole” carnival game.

Words cannot due this justice, so check out this video I captured as I went through the process.

http://www.mikecapuzzi.com/evp/?seed=whack

So there you have several unique direct marketing examples, which I hope can help you in your marketing. If you have any other direct marketing examples you’d like to share with me, leave me a note below!

There’s a lot of neat ideas and strategies you can use in your business, if you simply have your “marketing radar” on and are always looking for good marketing examples that are getting your attention.

This is why I am such a fan of swipe files and why I am publishing the CopyDoodles Swipe File book, which you can be a part of for free! Visit www.copydoodlesbook.com for more information!

Recently, a number of good marketing examples caught my eye and I thought you would enjoy seeing them along with my notes as to what I think they’re doing right. There’s a total of six good marketing examples and I’m going to cover the first three this week and the final three next week. Make sure you look out for next week’s article, where I am going to show you one of the most unique upsell strategies I’ve ever seen (I think its genius)!

To download a high-resolution version of these good marketing examples, click here:

http://mikefiles.com/example1.zip

In this first good marketing example, CopyDoodles Access Club Member Shannon Harvey, created a great-looking direct mail package to help raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Here’s a few of the smart things Shannon did on this direct mail package:

Envelope: I like the association with Shannon and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society on the outside of the envelope. This may have been a part of the mailing requirement, however I would like to have tested having the letter come directly from Shannon and add a note about the Society on the outside (basically flip-flopping the content on the envelope).

I like the CopyDoodle® choice Shannon made for the outside of the envelope, however I would have preferred if the CopyDoodle was in color. Again the one-color may have been a requirement for the envelope.

The blue handwritten font (and the partial red handwritten note) showing through the window caught my eye immediately.

Live, first-class stamp adds to the overall package.

Letter: Shannon did a great job with the use of CopyDoodles, photos and captions that tell a story and the clincher that got me to donate was the personal note at the top of the letter from Shannon right to me. Great job Shannon and I hope your campaign paid off big time for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

I saw this next good marketing example at a recent marketing event and it comes from Benjamin Bressington. It’s a four page sales letter that’s disguised as a comic strip. I’m a big fan of using comics and cartoons and Ben’s good marketing example caught my eye at the conference. It’s different, it’s easy to read and it stands out from 99% of the marketing out there. Nice job Ben!

Check out the course I put together on using cartoons in your marketing by visiting www.marketingresponseshop.com.

This next good marketing example is from long-time CopyDoodles member, Linda Steele Thom. Linda used one of our CopyTemplates and created her own unique-looking “check self-mailer.”

While it’s hard to see in the image above, this is a single sheet of paper that is folded lengthwise and gets mailed. On the side opposite the address side, is a personalized “check.” The recipient opens it up to a singe-page sales letter.

This is a very unique-looking direct mail piece that is inexpensive to send out and is a good marketing example.

So there’s the first three good marketing examples I wanted to share with you. The next three are a bit more “corporate”, but excellent examples none-the-less. Stay tuned for next week where I’ll share these good marketing examples with you!

Starting a marketing campaign from scratch each and every time is tedious and not a great way to leverage time and creativity, which is why most successful marketers build and maintain a marketing swipe file.

Personally, I have several large boxes in my office where I keep my print swipe files and my marketing radar is always on – looking for new things to add - which might help me in the future (just yesterday I received a cool piece of mail from a credit card company and it’s an idea I’m definitely going to swipe for my marketing).

I also maintain a set of folders on my computer hard drive where I collect and store online marketing examples, like emails and web pages.

I use these swipe files to generate ideas and spark creativity. Sometimes I use the materials for to get ideas for my copy writing, but regardless of what I need to accomplish, by simply maintaining a healthy swipe file of both print and web materials, I can beat the blank page blues.

If you haven’t been keeping a swipe file, here are several ideas to help you get them started.

Offline Marketing (print) – study the mail you’re receiving each day and be on the look out for unique and creative ideas that grabbed your attention. Read magazines and newspapers and pay attention to the advertisements. Again, you’re looking for examples that catch your attention. Pay particular attention to headlines and eye-catching ads.

Recently I took home several ads, from the SkyMall catalog that you find on every airline flight, because the headlines were so good.

When you attend tradeshows or marketing events, don’t just walk through the vendor area – look for marketing ideas you can use in your business.

Online Marketing (web) – watch for email headlines and emails that grab your attention. Either print them off or store them in a folder on your computer. I like to use SnagIt from TechSmith to capture web sites, optin pages and sales letters. SnagIt take a picture of the entire site – no matter how long it is – and I use it many times throughout the day to build my digital swipe file.

The bottom line is to ALWAYS HAVE YOUR MARKETING RADER SET TO ON!

And speaking of swipe files… I’m putting together a brand new swipe file book of smart, effective and successful marketing examples and campaigns that used CopyDoodles, CopyComics or any of the other content found on the CopyDoodles Access Club.

All CopyDoodles customers and members are eligible to be included in this book absolutely free (plus I’m going to give you several gifts). It’s a great chance for exposure and free publicity for your business.

To see all the details, visit http://www.copydoodlesbook.com

Finally, one last point I feel it’s important to make – swipe files should be used for inspiration and to spark creative ideas. I do not recommend simply copying large chunks of a sales letter or squeeze page and using them verbatim in your own business.

I’d love to hear your ideas and thoughts on using swipe files in your business. What sort of thing do you store in your swipe files? I’d love to hear from you below!