E. Haldeman-Julius - Marketing Master
NEW YORK -- Book publisher discovers what Americans
really want to buy.
 |
E. Haldeman-Julius discovered exactly
what Americans really want to buy as he sold 100 million
"Little Blue Books"
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In the 1920s, E. Haldeman-Julius single-handedly sold over 100 million
copies of his "Little Blue Books" to create a publishing empire. What's
most astounding is the fact that he did it in less than 9 years!
But he did more than sell his books. He conducted an intensive
marketing experiment.
With each campaign, he methodically experimented with every headline
and every book title. In doing so, he ultimately unmasked what the
American public really wants to buy.
And the lessons that Haldeman-Julius learned for his marketing
experiments are timeless. American tastes really haven't changed in
over 75 years.
(Psst... And knowing what they are will improve the pulling power of
your ads! Haldeman-Julius has done all of the "dirty-work" for you!)
Here's the story:
The Little Blue Books were a collection of some 2,000 titles. All the
books had a blue cover and measured 3 1/2 x 5 inches. Most contained 64
pages, although sometimes they went up to 128 pages.
The titles of the Little Blue Books were wide and varied. They covered
everything from Shakespeare to the Debate on Birth Control. Many of were
self-help "How To" books.
They were sold in large ads that appeared in many of the major
newspapers and other publications such as Colliers and the Saturday
Evening Post. They sold for a nickel (5 cents) and you had to buy at least
20 of them with every order.
Those ads were similiar to what you find today. All the books titles
were listed on the order form and prospects checked off the ones they
wanted.
The most remarkable thing is that Haldeman-Julius simply advertised his
books by title alone. There was no selling copy, only the title of the
book. That's it. Even listing a brief description of every book would have
been expensive.
Haldeman-Julius also had a policy that if a title didn't sell over
10,000 copies a year it was sent to a place in his office called "The
Hospital". Inside "The Hospital", a new title was designed for the poorly
selling book. If the revised title didn't sell, the book went into "The
Morgue".
In changing book titles, Haldeman-Julius discovered that certain title
words could increase the sales of almost any book. Words like:
The Art Of The Facts You Should Know About The History Of How To The Key To A Little Secret That The Story Of The Truth About and many, many more...
Also, Haldeman-Julius learned that the American public is most willing
to pay and read these four general categories:
Sex, Love and Romance Self-Improvement Free Thought and Skepticism Entertainment
Haldeman-Julius compiled all his marketing lessons and statistics into
a book titled The First Hundred Million.
Note: The First Hundred Million is currently available
