TROY, Mich. — The NEWS is always changing. Maybe you noticed. Part of this is because that’s what news does. As soon as we get stale, it’s as if we’re endorsing atrophy for you, too. A brief look around and you see a swirling mix of politics, economy, spendable wealth, and rising unemployment in a quite active, ever-changing sea.

It’s the same with us, this magazine, our advertisers, your readership, and your business. Not changing is like standing still. “This change,” said Mike Murphy, NEWS editor-in-chief, “is anything but sitting still.”

The NEWS welcomes Adams Hudson of Hudson Ink as its newest marketing columnist. His columns will appear monthly, and he will have a weekly blog at www.achrnews.com. In addition, The NEWS expects to conduct several special projects that involve Hudson’s marketing expertise.

Murphy said, “There are two marketing experts in this industry whom I hold with the utmost esteem. One of them is Adams Hudson, and the other one makes some top-notch salsa. Our only problem with Hudson is going to be keeping him on a leash. He has some of the wackiest ideas sometimes, but the funny thing is — they always work. I can’t think of another person I’d rather have taking charge of our marketing features. He knows how to help contractors improve their bottom line.”

Hudson arrives after several years of writing for Contracting Business magazine, but according to him, “I felt the entrepreneurial shift — as we all do on occasion — swelling inside. The feeling to change, to grow and develop servant-hood to others is what drives the entrepreneurial spirit. Although most people categorize me as a ‘marketing strategist,’ I feel most connected to contractors because we’re all building something.”

And build he has. Starting as a direct response copywriter, he began charging for his services back in 1992. “Getting $400 to write an ad was like hitting the gold-rush,” he recalled.

Now, his fees are nearly 10 times that amount (far beyond the highest in the industry) and his typical backlog is four to six weeks. He has written 14 books on contractor marketing, mostly sold privately to a group of nearly a thousand clients, and he publishes millions of newsletters for contractors annually. “I’ve only had two books go into broad distribution,” he said, “mainly since I manage to offend the mainstream with alarming regularity!”

Adams is not shy in his mostly negative opinions about Yellow Page advertising, nor in his occasional frustration at contractors’ adherence to “outdated, low-image models” instead of becoming higher-image retailers. “Bringing perfect temperature, humidity, quality air, and lower energy bills to homeowners is hardly the domain for amateurs, so why give that impression?” asked Hudson.

THERE IS A MUSTANG IN THE ENVELOPE

His immense marketing talent has not gone unnoticed, nor his first love: direct response copywriting. His ads helped contractors sell a staggering $330 million in equipment last year alone, and his submission to the National Sales Letter Contest sponsored by the top Marketing Copywriter in the Nation, Dan Kennedy, won first place.

“There were more than a thousand copywriters trying to win the new Mustang Convertible. I have no idea how we managed to win, but I didn’t turn it down,” said Hudson.

In a way, he did turn it down.

Though the prize was either the car or $35,000 in cash, Hudson chose to get a copywriting project done with the master Kennedy. “Heck, the car starts depreciating the first day; his work and training will pay for years if I’m not too dumb to learn from it.”

And we think readers of The NEWS will learn too, as Adams shares with you each month. Expect his articles to be a little provocative, thought inducing, and inspiring. You can also contact him to welcome him, respond to articles, or suggest others. As he said, “We’re learning together. I’m sure not writing for me!”

Contact Adams Hudson at www.hudsonink.com, or freeNEWSstuff@hudsonink.com, or 800-489-9099.

Publication date: 02/02/2009