Archive for August, 2008
« Previous Entries“Scientific Advertising In The 21st Century” - Part 10 “Things Too Costly”
Saturday, August 30th, 2008Chapter 10 of copywriting classic “Scientific Advertising” is titled “Things Too Costly”. By this, the great Claude Hopkins means…
“Many things are possible in advertising which are too costly to attempt. That is another reason why every project and method should be weighed and determined by a known scale of cost and result.”
Put another way, there [...]
When It’s OK To Brag…
Tuesday, August 26th, 2008…maybe!
Let’s face it, nobody likes a braggart. Which is why one of the guidelines for effective copywriting is to focus on your prospective customer rather than indulge in chest-thumping about how great you or your company are.
However, there is a lot of poor copy out there and you often see ads loudly proclaiming “We’re #1 [...]
“Scientific Advertising In The 21st Century” - Part 9 “Art In Advertising”
Sunday, August 24th, 2008In this next part of this series “Scientific Advertising In The 21st Century”, legendary copywriter Claude Hopkins turns his attention to the use of art in advertising.
Not surprisingly, his key criterion is whether or not including a picture will help the sale and improve results. Hopkins observed…
“Pictures in advertising are very expensive. Not in the [...]
Copywriting Notes - Olympic Lessons
Friday, August 22nd, 2008Coming towards the end of the 2008 Olympics, couple of observations about success occur to me.
Now, I will confess that I’m not a great sports fan and I haven’t been watching the games much. I’m also somewhat dubious about the idea of using athletes and sportsmen and women as role models in other fields [...]
Master Copywriter John Carlton On Closing The Sale
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008Fascinating discussion of the psychological dynamics involved in closing a sale in this video from master copywriter John Carlton.
Copywriting has been defined as “Salesmanship In Print” (or, alternatively, “Multiplied Salesmanship”). To me, one of John Carlton’s great strengths is his very clear eyed focus on what the purpose of your copy is. That is, to [...]
If It Ain’t Broke…
Tuesday, August 19th, 2008…no need to fix it!
I was reminded of this adage while doing a little background research on Robert Ludlum for yesterday’s post.
As mentioned, I bought the new Jason Bourne novel (”The Bourne Sanction”) and while glancing through the list of other Ludlum novels, I couldn’t help notice that the titles all looked…well, pretty similar.
For example, [...]
The Secret Copywriting “Code”…
Monday, August 18th, 2008If you’ve been studying copywriting and direct response marketing for any length of time, you’ve probably come across…
1. The technique of using stories in your copy; and
2. The idea that “secrets” are a powerful device to attract the attention of your prospect.
I was reminded of these 2 things over the last couple of days firstly [...]
The Importance Of The Offer In Copywriting
Sunday, August 17th, 2008Your offer is one of the most important elements of any promotion. Here’s a video from copywriter John Carlton’s “Copywriting Checklist” video series spelling out some of the critical points to keep in mind…
Copywriting Notes - 3 Tips For Greater Productivity
Friday, August 15th, 2008A rare treat this week. Legendary copywriter Gary Bencivenga has released another of his “Marketing Bullets”.
It’s titled “3 Secrets For Multiplying Your Productivity, Success, Income And Personal Happiness As A Copywriter Or Marketer”.
I recommend that you read the whole article, but here are the 3 tips, plus my comments…
Will This Message Reach The Market?
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008If you’re a copywriter or have any experience of direct response marketing, then I’m pretty sure you’re familiar with the important concept of “Message-to-market-match”. That is to say, when advertising you choose an avenue that will reach your desired audience.
So imagine my surprise as I was reading this week’s edition of “The Economist” when I [...]