In 1946, Louis Engel wasn’t even a seasoned marketing guy.

He was a frustrated editor and journalist who bounced around different writing jobs till he ended up as an advertisement and sales promotions manager at the Wall Street investment firm Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Beane.

Two years later, he had a ‘crazy’ idea:

“Let’s write an ad that educates upfront and then let's offer to give away more useful information in the end.”

No one had done this before. His bosses told him this “different kind of ad” would never work. “Just test it. If it doesn’t work, I’ll go away.” He told them. Finally, they agreed to run it in a small regional newspaper.

It pulled in 5000+ leads.

Then on 19th Oct 1948, they ran it in The New York Times. Merrill Lynch went on to become a household name and the ad alone has pulled in more than 3,000,000 leads.

Here are 4 simple reasons why I think it worked so well:

Doesn’t matter whether you call it ‘opt-in’, ‘lead magnet’, ‘permission marketing’, or ‘content marketing’. The idea is to give first, then ask. Sales is not salesy when you educate. Educate for FREE and sell the implementation.

You can model this method for your business

You don’t need 3,000,000 leads.

For most businesses that depend on expertise, client education, and relationship building, 25 good leads can change the game. A lead magnet is even more effective when it’s founder-led and written in the founder’s voice. It will help you:

• stand out from the masses that are screaming “BUY!”
• address skepticism, questions, and objections upfront
• simplify the complex and remove biases

97% of your ideal customers aren’t in buying mode right now

They are in research mode, asking questions, searching for answers, and wishing an expert would come and guide them over the edge. A lead magnet will let you educate that 97% and create goodwill on autopilot.

People are 10 times more likely to come to you to learn something helpful rather than be sold to.

Like this ad, all you need to do is talk the plain talk.

Then end with —

• “Let me know if you want more info”
• “I can’t cover everything here”
• “Naturally you would have further questions”
• “Happy to send you more resources”
• “Want me to walk you through on a call? No charges or obligations.”
• “If you feel like you need my service, click here”

See you next week.

— Abhi

P.S. I've created this lead magnet for myself. If you'd like me to create one for your business, too, then schedule a call with me here.