As you probably know, you can often increase sales by attaching your promotion to something your target market is already thinking about.

Holidays… current events… even celebrities are all fair game for getting your prospects’ attention and getting them to buy.

That’s why I was pleased to see this creative promotion in my email inbox today.

Impulse Theater (formerly Comedy Works) is the longest running show in Denver. My wife and I go there a few times a year.

Anyway, I love how they took a common government tax form — the 1040 EZ — and turned it into a promotion. Brilliant! This is much more creative (in my opinion) than those “I’ve got a big tax bill” sales.

While it is likely true that Mr. Marketer has a big tax bill, it is an overused appeal that has lost some of its pizzazz.

Impulse Theater, on the other hand, takes an old theme — Tax Day! — and comes up with a creative promotion that cuts through the clutter.

Nice work.

-Ryan M. HealySimilar Posts:

• Big Government Targets Freelancers
• I Demand a New Tax to Fund My Marketing!
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I don’t know what exactly happened, but my mailbox is filling up with catalogs faster than I can get rid of them.

It’s really unbelievable.

I actually threw away a number of them before I realized how many I was getting… and decided it would make a good photo opp for my blog. Check out my current collection of holiday catalogs (about 2 weeks’ worth)…

A Sampling of Holiday Catalogs I've Received in Fall 2009

Given how many catalogs I’ve received, I’ve got to believe it’s a good time to be a catalog copywriter… or even a catalog merchant.

I got my start as a direct response copywriter writing copy for a hybrid catalog/Internet company. The annual catalog prompted many of the sales; incentives drove customers to place their orders on the web site.

Personally, I really enjoy catalog copywriting. Every block of copy is an exercise in brevity.

A year ago, I would have passed you on to Jay White so you could join his Catalog Copywriting Secrets membership site, but it hasn’t been available since February 2009. And there’s no indication when it will be available again (if ever).

In the mean time, just take a look at some of the company names on these catalogs and keep the catalogs you get in the mail. This will give you a good place to start.

You never know… it might be worthwhile to ring up some of these catalogers and see if they have any overflow work for freelancers.

-Ryan M. HealySimilar Posts:

• Copywriters Channel Enthusiasm
• Copy Not a Cure-All
• Amazon Offers $20,000 in Gift Certificates for Best Advertisement
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