THE DIRECT RESPONSE MARKETING PLAYBOOK
The marketer’s swipe file, finally in order.
100 principles. 8 masters. 1 system.
A century of ads that had to pay for themselves, boiled down into one method you can run on your next campaign. 48 pages. Read it in a weekend, use it for years.
Instant download · card or crypto · 30-day money-back guarantee
Strengthen the offer before decorating the copy.
what’s in the file
Everything a response-driven marketer keeps pinned above the desk.
8
Masters
Hopkins to Kennedy: what each knew, how to use it now, and where it breaks.
10
Systems
Research, awareness, promise, headline, proof, offer, risk, funnel, testing and the build.
100
Principles
One line each, on two pages. The checklist you run before anything ships.
30
Days
An 8-stage build that takes one campaign from blank page to a tested result.
hover or tap a photo
Eight people who had to make ads pay.
Each gets a page in the book: the core idea, what to borrow today, and the limit to respect.
HOPKINS
The ad becomes an experiment.
Claude Hopkins
CAPLES
Attention with a commercial purpose.
John Caples
OGILVY
Research before decoration.
David Ogilvy
HALBERT
Market, list, offer, copy.
Gary Halbert
SCHWARTZ
Channel desire; match awareness.
Eugene Schwartz
COLLIER
Enter the conversation already underway.
Robert Collier
SUGARMAN
Create momentum one sentence at a time.
Joe Sugarman
KENNEDY
Build a system around response.
Dan Kennedy
a free sample
Draw a principle.
Twelve of the hundred are in this deck. Shuffle as often as you like; the other 88 are in the book, with the systems that make each one work.
PRINCIPLE
Start with a market that already wants progress.
no. 1 · tap to draw
- Start with a market that already wants progress. (1)
- Use the customer’s language before inventing campaign language. (2)
- Treat every major claim as a testable hypothesis. (3)
- Sell the destination, not the vehicle. (4)
- Specificity beats unsupported hype. (5)
- Match the message to awareness. (7)
- Let the headline select the right reader. (8)
- Keep the ad and landing-page promise continuous. (10)
- Use proof beside the claim it supports. (12)
- Demonstration is stronger than assertion. (13)
- Strengthen the offer before decorating the copy. (16)
- Make every bonus remove an obstacle. (17)
FROM THE BOOK · 1 OF 30 EXAMPLE ADS
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- Opens on a situation the reader is living, in their words (Collier)
- One promise, tied to a job, not a demographic (Hopkins)
- The next step is small and specific (Kennedy)
the build
One campaign, 30 days, a tested result.
Part V turns the book into a schedule, with a tracker so you know what each stage must produce.
Days 1–3
Define the commercial problem
4–7
Collect market evidence
8–10
Map awareness and belief
11–14
Position and promise
15–18
Build the offer
19–23
Build the journey
24–27
Prepare the test
28–30
Launch and learn
put it to work
The book tells you what to do. These tools do it.
Eight tools from Tradiant, the publisher of Ink & Signal, each built around one part of the method. Ink Redline runs on our servers; the other seven you buy once and run on your own.
“Every paragraph should have a job.” · no. 73
Ink Redline
Paste an ad, page or email. It marks the lines that lose you sales, names the principle each one breaks, and writes the fix. 3 reviews free.
“Measure revenue quality, not only lead volume.” · no. 36
ReplaStats
Private, cookie-free analytics that show which page and source each response came from. Three months free with the book.
COMING SOON
“Test appeals, not only button colors.” · no. 32
ReplaSplit
A/B test headlines, offers and whole pages on WordPress, even with page caching on.
COMING SOON
“Make the next step unmistakable.” · no. 19
ReplaPop
Popups, bars and inline forms that capture the lead, with every targeting rule included.
“Follow-up is part of the offer experience.” · no. 45
ReplaCRM
Every lead and sale on one card, with the follow-up most businesses skip.
“Use the customer’s language before inventing campaign language.” · no. 2
ReplaChat
Live chat on your site, so you hear the buyer’s own words while they decide.
“Research objections before writing rebuttals.” · no. 15
ReplaTicket
One inbox for every store you run. Your best copy research is already sitting in it.
“Research before decoration.” · Ogilvy
ReplaGrowth
Researches keywords and writes SEO articles in the words your buyers search with.
the offer
Get the playbook today.
One PDF, yours to keep. Read it on any screen or print the pages you want on the wall.
BONUS
3 months of ReplaStats + the WordPress plugin, free
Cookie-free website analytics on our servers: visitors, sources, top pages, live traffic, session replays and heatmaps. No consent banner to add. Three months of hosting ($27) plus the $29 WordPress plugin: a $56 value. You can even pass the claim link to a friend and give them three months too. Read about ReplaStats →
BONUS
One Blind Spot Audit, free
A scored audit of one part of your business (positioning, marketing, sales or your client base), with the one fix worth doing first. A $67 value, redeemed with a coupon from your download page. See Blind Spot Audit →
BONUS
The Campaign Scorecard
25 questions that score your campaign in the book’s seven areas, name your weakest one, and rank the fixes. Take it before you start and again after your 30-day build.
BONUS
Principle a Day
All 100 principles as a daily card: why it works, a 5-minute exercise for your own campaign, and a question to sit with. Your place is saved as you go.
ADD AT CHECKOUT
The Ink & Signal Workbook: $27 $47
44 fillable pages: 14 famous ads taken apart, each with the original ad and a link to see it, plus a worksheet for every chapter. Type into the PDF or print it. Tick the box at checkout to add it.
30-DAY
MONEY
BACK
$37
- The 48-page playbook (A4 PDF)
- 8 masters, 10 systems, 100 principles
- 30 worked example ads, with notes
- The 30-day build and stage tracker
- Bonus: ReplaStats, 3 months + WordPress plugin ($56 value)
- Bonus: one Blind Spot Audit ($67 value)
- Bonus: the Campaign Scorecard
- Bonus: Principle a Day, 100 daily cards
- Optional: the 44-page Workbook, $27 at checkout
30-day money-back guarantee. If the book is not for you, write to hello@inkandsignal.co within 30 days and we refund you in full. No questions, and you keep the PDF.
Secure checkout by ReplaPay. Cards via Stripe; Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT and more.
before you buy
Questions
Who is it for?
Founders, marketers and copywriters who sell online and want each campaign to teach them something they can measure.
Is it just old ads?
No. The eight masters are the starting point. Every idea is translated into today’s channels: landing pages, email, paid social and search, with 30 modern example ads.
How do I get it?
Straight after payment you land on your download page. The link is in your receipt email too, so you can always come back to it.
What if it is not for me?
You have 30 days. Write to hello@inkandsignal.co and we refund you in full, with no questions asked.
How do the bonuses work?
Your download page has a link to claim three months of ReplaStats Starter for one website, with the WordPress plugin included ($56 value). You fill in your name, email and site, and it is set up for you. The claim link can be shared, so a friend can get three months too. See what ReplaStats does.
It also has your coupon for one free audit at Blind Spot Audit ($67 value), which you can use once.
And it links your Campaign Scorecard and your Principle a Day deck. The deck saves your place in your browser, so bookmark it.
What is Ink Redline?
Our AI copy editor, built on the book’s 100 principles. Paste an ad, landing page or email and it marks the lines that lose you sales, names the principle each one breaks and writes a replacement. Every quote is checked against your copy. Try 3 reviews free; book buyers get the first year of Solo for $97 from their download page.
What is the Workbook?
The companion to the playbook: 44 fillable pages with 14 famous ads taken apart chapter by chapter, each with the original ad and a link to see it, and a worksheet for every chapter so each one ends with your own campaign on paper. It is $47 on its own, or $27 when you tick it at checkout with the book.
Can I pay in crypto?
Yes. Card, Apple Pay and Google Pay go through Stripe; Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT and 350+ other coins go through our crypto gateway.
send a signal
Build what earns a response.
$37, instant download, and a method you will use on every campaign after this one.