Yesterday while walking my dog on the beach, something hit me.
I ain’t talking about seagull poop, neither.
No… I was hit by a realization.
The realization of just how much impact all those years of mindlessly reading comic books had on my business, my marketing and even my income.
Yes… I’ve spaketh of this before.
But here are a few MORE things comic books do for marketers:
1. Make the complex simple
Comic book writers are forced to make complex concepts (like physics, chemistry, psychology, etc) easy for younger minds to grasp. Sales (and, thus, the writers’ jobs) depend on it. This skill can’t help but rub off on anyone who’s read a few hundred issues of X-Men, Hulk, Spiderman, etc.
2. Direct response indoctrination
Pre-1990 comics are PACKED with the best direct response ads you’ll ever see. Those copywriters were sales letter “super heroes” themselves (they probably even wore capes) that made the stoopidest things (X-ray glasses, sea monkeys, glow-in-the-dark neck tie, etc) irresistible.
3. Cross-selling
Those comic book publishers are the best in the world at leaving you on a “cliffhanger” each month so you’re forced to buy multiple other comics to see how the story ends. You may THINK you’re just grabbing an issue of Batman… until you realize you have to buy Superman, Green Lantern, Justice League and a half dozen other titles for the FULL story.
4. Personality
If you want a world-class education on how to inject personality into your writing, just crack open any of the old Stan Lee comics from the ’60′s and ’70′s. There’s a reason HIS characters (Spiderman, Hulk, X-Men, etc) are responsible for raking in billions of dollars in sales.
5. Outside the box thinking
My subconscious is bursting with strange and bizarre ideas from all those comic book stories that I often apply directly to my ads, books, emails and other writings today.
Anyway, those are some reasons marketers should read comic books.
I think you’ll find it extremely profitable reading.
And who knows?
You may even have a little fun on accident.
Ben Settle
P.S. If you’re interested in having a bunch of direct response comic book ads for ye old swipe file, check out the CD that comes with “The Copywriting Grab Bag” at:
