Welcome to the next part in my series “Scientific Advertising In The 21st Century”.
In chapter 8 of his classic book, Claude Hopkins deals with what might be described as the “long copy” versus “short copy” issue. His conclusion…
“There is no fixed rule on the subject of brevity. One sentence may tell a complete story on a line like chewing gum. It may on an article like Cream of Wheat. But, whether long or short, an advertising story should be reasonably complete.”
What’s important is that the copy needs to be long enough to do the job. And why is this? Because once you have someone’s attention, that is the time to put your case. It may be the ONLY time you can put your case.
“You are like a salesman in a busy man’s office. He may have tried again and again to get entrée. He may never be admitted again. This is his one chance to get action, and he must employ it to the full.”
Let me repeat. Assume you’ve only got one chance. Make the most of it.
The other key point Hopkins makes is that for any product, there will be different benefits that appeal to different people. So, you need to include all of those different benefits in order to maximize the effectiveness of the copy.
That’s one of the reasons behind the recommendation of many top copywriters to include as many bullets (or “fascinations”) in your copy. You never know which particular item will attract the interest of the buyer.
To illustrate his points, Hopkins includes a story of a wealthy man who wanted a new car. Price wasn’t really a concern but he wanted a car he felt good about and one that offered value for money.
He could have bought a well known “prestige” brand but ended up buying a lesser known brand because in their advertisements the makers provided the man with the information he wanted.
He was very happy with his purchase but later discovered information that would have altered his choice to a car that cost three times what he paid!
If it’s an important expenditure for someone, they will read a volume about the item if the volume is interesting.
Hopkins ends the chapter with reference to one of his enduring themes. The importance of testing and basing decisions on objective results – “returns” as he describes them – not mere opinions.
“Never be guided in any way by ads which are untraced…Take the opinion of nobody, who knows nothing about his returns.”