The Official Website of Powerhouse Direct Response Copywriter and Performance Creative Strategist, Josh C. Manheimer
"Josh, your emails are kicking ass! Up over 11%+ conversion rate from 7.22% "
Adam Young, President, Community Service Help
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Answers to questions you may have about my D2C and B2B conversion copywriting
What kind of direct response copywriting do you do?
For three decades I've written compelling copy for direct mail customer acquisition campaigns, renewal series, launches, sweepstakes. Today, you’ll also find me writing digital "conversion copy" for landing pages, emails, ClickBank VSL’s, and Facebook ads.
Do you offer direct response copywriting courses that teach how to write a great story lead?
Working on it. Stay tuned.
Who are some of your recent direct marketing clients?
Recently, I’ve created a ClickBank VSL for a fast-growing supplement company in San Diego. A Medicare direct mail package for an insurance company. A sales letter for a big nationwide auto club. An email and a lander for a major medical center. And a ClickBank VSL for the prepper audience.
Are you a digital conversion copywriter?
Conversion copywriting is a term coined by the brilliant digital marketer, Joanna Wiebe. It means a copywriter who uses all the specialized direct response copywriting techniques to get the prospect to say yes. Indeed, motivating an audience to take action is my core competency.
Do you specialize in one area of direct marketing?
Nope. If you thumb through dozens of my controls, you’ll see that I have created winning direct response sales letters across a huge swath of topics and industries. Literally, on my desk on any given day might be a ClickBank landing page for alternative natural healing ... a direct mail customer acquisition package for the largest automobile club in the world ... a long form email for a new magazine for dog lovers ... or a direct mail campaign for Consumer Reports that would roll out to 40 million people ...
Do you also write content?
I'd rather boil in a vat of hot oil. Journalists are far better suited to crank out content. I’m a poet, carefully chiseling away at sales letters, offers, guarantees, headlines, fascinations. I don’t get paid by the word. I get paid for results. I take my time and strive for copy perfection.
How did you start as a direct response copywriter?
The short version. Three decades ago, I climbed into the dumpster behind my post office, and climbed out with garbage bags of junk mail by the most brilliant direct response copywriters in the world at the time: Bill Jayme, Linda Wells, Hank Burnett, Judy Weiss. There were no schools to study direct response copywriting at the time; this was my Harvard and my Yale. Today you'll find my work featured in THE WORLD'S GREATEST DIRECT MAIL SALES LETTERS -- four times. And if you google "direct mail copywriter," you'll see I come out #1 in the United States.
What Are Old School Copywriting Techniques—And Why Do They Still Work?
<p><span style="font-family:Nunito">A: Old school copywriting refers to classic, time-tested techniques developed by advertising legends like David Ogilvy, Eugene Schwartz, and Gary Halbert. These copywriters didn’t just write—they sold. At the heart of their work was the sales letter -- one-to-one communication which exhibited deep customer understanding, bold headlines, clear benefits, irresistible offers, and strong calls to action.</span></p>
Do you offer direct response copywriting tips to budding copywriters?
Better than that. I offer my professional copywriting colleagues the opportunity to swipe from my legendary direct mail campaigns. If you're interested in studying how a master direct response copywriter motivates an audience to leap out of their chairs and shout, "YES!", my Direct Mail University (directmailuniversity.com) is a good place to start your journey.
Isn’t that outdated? Why not just use modern digital techniques?
<p><span style="font-family:Nunito">A: Great question. While platforms have changed, human psychology hasn’t. People still buy for emotional reasons and justify with logic. Old school techniques are rooted in persuasion that transcends medium. Today’s high-performing funnels, landing pages, and email sequences? Many are built on the same foundations—just adapted for digital.</span></p>
How do you get paid?
Usually, I work on a project basis. I always get half up front. Sometimes a royalty.
Can you give an example of an old school technique that still works today?
<p><span style="font-family:Nunito">A: Absolutely. Take the “problem-agitate-solution” (PAS) formula—used in direct mail 50 years ago, still a killer in today’s email campaigns. Or the use of curiosity-driven headlines (like “The Secret They Don’t Want You to Know”)—now a staple in Facebook ads and YouTube thumbnails. These techniques have simply evolved with the medium.</span></p>
Do you write ClickBank VSLs like Stefan Georgi?
I sure try. Stefan Georgi in one of the best writers on ClickBank, and you better believe I study every little twinkle in his shrewd marketing eye.
Q: How is this different from conversion copywriting?
<p><span style="font-family:Nunito">A: Conversion copywriting is the modern label. It focuses on results—clicks, sign-ups, purchases. Old school copywriting is the engine behind it. Think of it as the DNA that powers conversion-driven content. When you blend both—timeless persuasion with modern data—you get copy that doesn’t just sound good. It sells.</span></p>
Who benefits most from working with an “old school” copywriter?
<p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Nunito">A: Smart marketers, founders, and CMOs who value results over trends. If you’re running paid traffic, launching products, or managing campaigns where every word counts, old school techniques give you an edge. Especially when your competitors are chasing shiny objects instead of proven principles.</span></span></p>