Scientific Advertising Notes - The Wisdom of Claude Hopkins

Scientific Advertising Notes

Claude Hopkins was one of the greatest advertising pioneers who ever lived. His book, Scientific Advertising, was written in 1923 and is still considered required reading for any advertising man. In fact, there is a quote by David Ogilvy (another influential marketer) that reads: "Nobody should be allowed to have anything to do with advertising until he has read this book seven times. It changed the course of my life."

Gary Halbert told me to read the classics, highlight them, and copy them word for word in my handwriting onto 3x5 cards. Scientific Advertising is the first book he recommends. The guy is a little crazy, but I don't argue.

Here are the notes (from my 3x5 cards) that I took from Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins.

These notes are broken out by chapter. But, I've shuffled through these cards so many times that the chapters are out of order, and the particular notes inside the chapters are out of order. Hey, you're getting what you paid for it!

Headlines

• But people do not read ads for amusement. They don't read ads which, at a glance, seem to offer nothing interesting.
• The writer of this chapter spends far more time on headlines than on writing. He often spends hours on a single headline. Often scores of headlines are discarded before the right one is selected. For the entire return on an ad depends on attracting the right sorts of readers. The best of salesmanship has no chance whatever unless we get a hearing.
• It is not uncommon for a change in headlines to multiply returns from five to ten times over.
• The purpose of a headline is to pick out people you can interest.
• Headlines on ads are like headlines on newspapers. Nobody reads a whole newspaper.
• Don't think that those millions will read your ad to find out if your product interests. They will decide by a glance - by your headline or your pictures. Address the people you seek, and them only.
• We pick out what we wish to read by headlines, and we don't want those headlines misleading. They either conceal or reveal interest.

Tell Your Full Story

• So present to the reader, when once you get him, every important claim you have. The best advertisers do that. They learn their appealing claims by tests - by comparing results from various headlines. Gradually, they accumulate a list of claims important enough to use. All those claims appear in every ad thereafter.
• Whatever claim you use to get attention, the advertisement should tell a story reasonably complete.
• When you once get a person's attention, then is the time to accomplish all you ever hoped with him. Bring all your good arguments to bear. Cover every phase of your subject. One fact appeals to some, one to another. Omit any one and a certain percentage will lose the fact which might convince.
• The most common expression you hear about advertising is that people will not read much. Yet a vast amount of the best paying advertising shows that people do read much. Then they write for a book, perhaps - for added information.
• Never be guided in any way by ads which are untraced. Never do anything because some uninformed advertiser considers that something right.
• So never waste one line of your space to say something to present users, unless you can say it in headlines. Bear in mind always that you address an unconverted prospect. Any reader of your ad is interested, else he would not be a reader. You are dealing with someone willing to listen. Then do your level best. That reader, if you lose him now, may never again be a reader.

Strategy

• It is a well known fact that the greatest profits are made on great volume at small profit.
• We cannot go after thousands of men until we learn how to win one.
• Names which tell stories have been worth millions of dollars. So a great deal of research often precedes the selection of a name.
• Things done in one way may be twice as easy, half as costly, as when done another way.
• One hardly cares what he pays for a corn remedy because he uses little. The maker must have a large margin because of small consumption.
• There is nearly always something impressive which others have not told. We must discover it. We must have a seeming advantage.
• On other lines a higher price may be even an inducement. Such lines are judged largely by price. A product which costs more than the ordinary is considered above the ordinary.

Just Salesmanship

• One must be able to express himself briefly, clearly and convincingly. Just as a salesman must.
• The only purpose of advertising is to make sales. It is profitable or unprofitable according to its actual sales.
• Ask yourself, "Would this help a salesman sell the goods?" "Would it help me sell them if I met the buyer in person?"
• Ad-writers abandon their parts. They forget they are salesman and try to be performers. Instead of sales they seek applause.
• Don't think of people in the mass. That gives you a blurred view. Thank of a typical individual, man or woman, who is likely to want what you sell.
• Ads are planned and written with some utterly wrong conception. They are written to please the seller. The interests of the buyer are forgotten. One can never sell goods profitably, in person or in print when that attitude exists.
• Advertising is salesmanship. Its principles are the principles of salesmanship.

Information

• Impressive claims are made far more impressive by making them exact.
• Genius is the art of taking pains. The advertising man who spares the midnight oil will never get very far.
• A painstaking advertising man will often read for weeks on some problem that comes up. Perhaps in many volumes he will find few facts to use. But some one fact may be the keynote of success.
• The ad seems so simple, and it must be simple to appeal to simple people. But back of that ad may lie reams of data, volumes of information, months of research. So this is no lazy mans field.

Letter Writing

• Experience generally shows that a 2 cent letter gets no more attention than a 1 cent letter. Fine stationery no more than poor stationery. The whole appeal lies in the matter.
• In a letter, as in ads, the great point is to get immediate action.
• Do something if possible to get immediate action. Offer some inducement for it.

Offer Service

• Remember that the people you address are selfish, as we all are. They care nothing about your interest or your profit. They seek service for themselves. Ignoring this fact is a common mistake and a costly mistake in advertising.
• The best ads ask no one to buy. That is useless. Often they do not quote a price. The ads are based entirely on service. They offer wanted information. They cite advantages to users. Perhaps they offer a sample, or to buy the first package, or to send something on approval, so the customer may prove the claims without any risk.
• Practically all merchandise sold by mail is sent subject to return

Being Specific

• No generality has any weight whatever. It is like saying "how do you do?" when you have no intention of inquiring of one's health. But specific claims, when made in print are taken at their value.
• So a definite statement is usually accepted. Actual figures are not generally discounted. Specific facts, when stated, have their full weight and effect.
• One expects a salesman to put his best foot forward, and excuses some exaggeration born of enthusiasm. But just for that reason general statements count for little.

Individuality

• In successful advertising great pains are taken to never change our tone. That which won so many is probably the best way to win others.
• That's why we have signed ads sometimes - to give them a personal authority. A man is talking - a man who takes pride in his accomplishments, not a "soulless corporation." Whenever possible, we introduce a personality into our ads.
• We try to give each advertiser a becoming style. We make him distinctive, perhaps not in appearance, but in manner and tone. He is given an individuality that is best suited to the people he addresses.
• A person who desires to make an impression must stand out in some way from the masses. And in a pleasing way. Being eccentric, being abnormal is not a distinction to covet. But doing admirable things in a different way gives one a great advantage.

Use of Samples

• Say to the woman "only one sample per home" and few women will try to get more of them. And the few who cheat you are not generally people who would buy.
• Give samples to interested people only. give them only to people who exhibit that interest by some effort. Give them only to people to whom you have told your story.
• Samples sometimes seem to double advertising cost. They often cost more than the advertising. Yet, rightly used, they almost invariably form the cheapest way to get customers. And that is what you want.
• Samples serve numerous valuable purposes. They enable one to use the word "free" in ads. That often multiplies the readers.
• A sample gets action. The reader of your ad may not be convinced to the point of buying. But he is ready to learn more about the product that you offer. So he cuts out a coupon, lays it aside, later mails it or presents it. Without that coupon he soon forgets. Then you have the name and address of an interested prospect. You can start him using your product. You can give him fuller information. You can follow up.
• Bear in mind that you are the seller. You are the one courting interest. Then don't make it difficult to exhibit that interest. Don't ask your prospects to pay for your selling efforts. Three in four will refuse to pay. Perhaps 9 in 10.
• Therefore, it is always best, where possible, to have samples delivered locally.
• On one line, three methods were offered. A woman could write for a sample, or telephone, or call at a store. Seventy percent of the inquiries came by telephone. The use of the telephone is more common and convenient than the use of stamps.
• The product itself should be its own best salesman. Not the product alone, but the product plus a mental impression, and atmosphere which you place around it. That being so, samples are of prime importance. However expensive, they usually form the cheapest selling method.
• Where samples are effectively employed, we rarely find a line where they do not lessen the cost per customer.

Information

• The cost of advertising largely depends on the percentage of waste circulation. Thus an advertising campaign is usually preceded by a very large volume of data.

Negative Advertising

• We are attracted by sunshine, beauty, happiness, health, success. Then point the way to them. Not the way out of the opposite.
• In advertising a dentrifice, show pretty teeth, not bad teeth. Talk of coming good conditions not conditions which exist. In advertising clothes, picture well dressed people, not the shabby. Picture successful men, not failures, when you advertise a business course. Picture what others wish to be, not what they are now.
• Show the bright side, the happy and attractive side, not the dark and uninviting side of things. Show beauty, not homeliness, health, not sickness. Don't show the wrinkles you propose to remove, but the face as it will appear. Your customers know all about wrinkles.
• To attack a rival is never good advertising. Don't point out others faults.
• Tell people what to do, not what to avoid.

Psychology

• Hand an unwanted product to a housewife and she pays it slight respect. She is in no mood to see it's virtues. But get her to ask for a sample after reading your story and she is in a very different position.
• Many have advertised "Try it for a week, if you don't like it we'll return your money." Then someone conceived the idea of sending goods without any money down, and saying "Pay in a week if you like them." That proved many times as impressive.
• We learn, for instance, that curiosity is one of the strongest of human incentives. We employ it whenever we can.
• We learn that cheapness is not a strong appeal ....... They want bargains but not cheapness. They want to feel that they can afford to eat and have and wear the best. Threat them as though they could not and they resent your attitude.

Art in Advertising

• So with beauty articles. Picturing beautiful women, admired and attractive, is a supreme inducement. But the is a great advantage in including a fascinated man. Women desire beauty largely because of men. Then show them using their beauty, as women do use it, to gain maximum effect.
• Pictures should not be used merely because they are interesting. Or to attract attention. Or to decorate an ad. Ads are not written to interest, please or amuse.
• But the picture must help sell the goods. It should help more than anything else could do in like space, else use that something else.
• Use pictures only to attract those who may profit you. Use them only when they form a better selling argument than the same amount of space set in type.

Mail Order Advertising

• In mail order advertising the pictures are always to the point. They are salesmen in themselves.
• Mail order advertising tells a complete story if the purpose is to make an immediate sale. You see no limitations there on amount of copy. The motto is "The more you tell, the more you sell." And it has never failed to prove out so in any test we know.
• It is far harder to get mail orders than to send buyers to the stores. It is hard to sell goods which can't be seen. Ads that do that are excellent examples of what advertising should be.
• Mail order advertising usually contains a coupon. that is there to get some action from the converts partly made. It is there to cut out as a reminder of something the reader has decided to do.
• In mail order advertising there is no waste of space. Every line is utilized. Borders are rarely used. Remember that when you are tempted to leave valuable space unoccupied.
• Mail order advertising is always set in small type. It is usually set in smaller type than ordinary print.
• The advertising is profitable or it is not, clearly on the face of the returns. Figures which do not lie tell at once the merits of an ad.
• Sometimes the advertiser uses small ads, sometimes large ads. None are too small to tell a reasonable story. But an ad twice larger brings twice the returns. A four times larger ad brings four times the returns, and usually some in addition. But this occurs only when the larger space has been utilized as well as the small space. Set half-page copy in a page space and you double the cost of returns. We have seen many a test to prove that.

Test Campaigns

• When we learn what a thousand customers will cost, we know almost exactly what a million will cost. When we learn what they buy, we know what a million will buy. We establish averages on a small scale, and those averages always hold.
• He is playing on the safe side of a hundred to one bet. If the article is successful, it may make him millions. If he is mistaken about it, the loss is a trifle.
• We may use a sample offer or a free package to get users started quickly. We learn in this way the cost per customer started.

A Name That Helps

• There is a great advantage in a name that tells a story. The name is usually prominently displayed. To justify the space it occupies, it should aid the advertising.

Things Too Costly

• People will do much to cure a trouble, but people in general will do little to prevent it. This has been proved by many disappointments.

Copywriting Wisdom From A Legend

If there is one thing that will make you successful in Internet business, it is copywriting. There are many other skills that are helpful. But, how can you make money if you can't convince somebody to open their wallet and spend their hard earned money on your product or service?

It's a fact that average folksie folks make the best copywriters. They're not extraordinarily talented writers. They're not even extraordinarily smart! They just know people, and the fundamentals of writing a convincing letter. And they know them both inside and out.

Gary Halbert is my hero. He's my shining superman. Made of steel. Impervious to evil. He may never die. Years ago I started reading his newsletter and took one piece of advice to heart. He instructed me to read books written by the copywriting legends. He instructed me to read ads written by the copywriting legends.

Then... comes the pain.

He instructed me to reread all those advertising books and take notes.

"Write down every good idea, every important insight, and every nugget of wisdom that is contained in all that material. What this means, my friend, is that by the time you are finished, you should have hundreds of notes."

He instructed me to copy the ads in their entirerty.

"I want you to sit down and copy them out word-for-word in your own handwriting. "

"Do this. Do it. Do it."

"If you really want to know it you've really got to do it. There are no shortcuts."

"You know, I'm sick to death of people who can't be bothered with the little nitty-gritty details of "hands on" experience. Of people who believe they can know a thing without doing it. Listen: It is possible to be "conversant" with something and not really have any kind of "gut understanding" of it at all. I'm sorry, but no matter what your Mommy and Daddy told you, men can never really understand the pain of childbirth, priests cannot comprehend the joys of sex, "normies" can never understand alchoholics, and not one speck of true advertising wisdom has ever been written by a PhD."

Read the entire rant here.

He further instructed me to keep a swipe file of all the headlines I found in all of these books and letters. He asked me to further extend my headline swipe file with every great headline I could get my hands on.

So, like a humble student of greatness, I didn't argue. I did it. I have copied, by hand, several complete books. Plus, many of the best direct mail pieces. Plus, hundreds and hundreds of headlines. All onto 3x5 cards, stored in boxes next to my desk.

And, it really works.

When I'm preparing to write a sales letter, I break out my notes and rifle through them. I am instantly inspired with the wisdom of the greats.

Anytime I write a headline I rip through my headline swipe file. I modify them to fit my needs and I instantly have 10's of perfect headlines for any application. (Then it's just a matter of narrowing them down to the one I want to use.)

One thing Gary Halbert knew is that great copywriting is not genius. It's hard work. It's burning the midnight oil and being a student of the great copywriters before him.

So, don't think that you can get rich on the Internet easily either. To make money on the net, you have to be good at several things. Copywriting is at the top of the list. And copywriting is not lazy man's work.

I'm going to (at the possible expense of copyright infringement) start posting the relevant snippets that I've copied from some of these books. It is a good exercise to keep it fresh in my mind, and maybe it will help to inspire somebody out there to follow the Halbert way.

Happy writing!

Travis

Good Copywriting Makes You Rich

Bad copywriting just makes you a bad business person... you don't get any inquiries, customers, or feedback. Much less any money. The most important thing you can do is have good copy. If you can't do it yourself, or don't want to put in the extreme effort required, then hire someone to do it for you.

You can have the hottest market, with the best product, for the best price, and not make diddly squat... if you can't get that message across. You can sell ice-cold umbrella drinks in the desert and make nothing if you don't know how to reach your customer.

I've broken down a beautiful Gary Halbert newsletter into 14 steps to write an ad that sells. The article is titled "Hands On Experience For A Basic Education In Advertising Principles!"

This list only covers the second half of this particular newsletter. The first half goes into great detail on how to train yourself to become a good copywriter. It's not for the faint of heart - but I'm sure the advice is golden. That part is also interesting, and I'm going through the steps that he lays out in great detail (I've already hand written 5 direct mail ads - tough for a life-long typist...) The second half is where he describes how to actually write the ad. I've ripped much of his stuff directly, and added my own flavor. To see the original newsletter, go here.


Steps to write a decent ad:

1. Collect all online pitches for the product or service you're writing about.
   
2. Find any possible offline ads, direct mail packages for related, or similar services.
   
3. Carefully examine the product or service and learn everything you can about it. Become a student of the product. Ask questions.
   
4. Read, re-read and take notes on everything on 3x5 index cards. By the time you're done with this, you should be an expert.
   
5. Determine customer pain spots - what evokes their emotion that's connected to the product? (Sell the holes, not the drill) - write it down on 3x5 index cards
   
6. Take a couple of days break
   
7. Re-read notes.
   
8. Write down the CSI - central selling idea that pops into your brain
   
9. Write, write, write - get it all out on paper. Tell everything, every detail, every nuance. Every benefit, every product feature, every advantage. Don't stop. Rave! rave! rave! crow! describe! enthuse! Give details. Don't worry about getting it perfect. Don't worry about formulas. Just write.
   
10. Take a break for a day
    
11. Organize the copy into the following sequence (AIDA principle - Attention, Interest, Desire, Action):
    
    
    
    1. Say something that gets attention
       
    2. Tell them why they should be interested (expand on the CSI)
       
    3. Tell them why they should believe what you are saying is true
       
    4. Prove it is true
       
    5. Itemize and describe all benefits
       
    6. Tell them how to order
       
    7. Tell them to order now
       
    
    
12. Check spelling, grammar, edit, tighten copy
    
13. Read the copy aloud to discover all the little snags where the copy isn't smooth. Reading aloud helps you find where the copy isn't seamless from one sentence to another, one paragraph to another.
    
14. Edit again. Make it tight. Use short sentences. Short paragraphs. Everyday English. Use some one word sentence paragraphs. Use some sub-heads that make your copy look interesting and easy to read.
    

I highly recommend getting this info from the horse's mouth. Gary's web site is fantastic. Informative. To the point. He's actually a pretty funny dude...

Thanks for the education Gary!
http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com

Writing a Headline

The headline of your sales page/advertisement is the most important part of your whole sales process.  Especially in this Internet age of whiz-bang shiny object syndrome - If you don't grab the user's attention, they're gone.  A good headline is more important now than ever...

 

What makes a good headline?

 

1. Appeal to the self-interest of the user: "Be financially free for the rest of your life!"

2. Make it seem easy and quick: "You can be financially free in 5 days!"

3. Attract curiosity: "How a fool stunt made me financially free!"

4. Stay away from the negative: avoid "You could go bankrupt, or you could be financially free"

5. Try to summarize in a few words what would make you actually whip out your wallet as the consumer and pay good money for the product you're advertising.  That's your headline.

 

These headline laws are obviously not made up by me - they're time tested truths about advertisting.  They're advertising laws I'm reading right now in John Caples Tested Advertising Methods, which is a legendary advertising/marketing book.  You would think that after 100 years of testing headlines that most advertisers (especially the big ones) would get it right, but here's a couple of headlines I logged onto latimes.com and pulled today:

 

This ad for boeing jobs doesn't describe anything for anyone.  It's accompanied by a picture of a man holding a kid in the air.  The kid seems to be reaching for something.

STILL REACHING?  - boeing.com/careers

 

This ad for Standard Pacific Homes doesn't describe their product, and doesn't even do a good job of attracting curiosity, as intended.  How would a potential customer be enticed to click on an ad with this heading?  There are no good pictures or other significant text associated with the banner.

WHERE DO YOU WISH YOU LIVED?

 

I'm still not sure what this ad is for... I'm not gonna click it either!  There's a picture of a couple barbequeing...  no other text at all.  What a waste of money!

TIME WELL SPENT - Avalon Del Rey

 

 

A couple that seem to have it nailed:

 

This ad for cars.com uses self-interest and curiosity to attract a person interested in buying a car and getting a good deal (that's everyone that buying a car).  Everyone wants a good deal, and they will click the ad just to find out what the four keys are.

HOW TO GET THE BEST DEAL ON YOUR CAR - Four keys to success

This ad in the personals section appeals to self-interest, and touches the curiosity and easiness factor.  It's a natural click if you're interested in losing weight.

WHY NOT GET THE RED CARPET RESULTS AND LOSE WEIGHT LIKE THE STARS? -  Non-surgical liposuction

 

 

John Caples says in his book that he's seen the same ad, no other modifications pull 19 times better with a targeted headline.  I think the key to that statement is that he tested one headline against another.  How would he otherwise have been able to know which one was better, much less an exact number like 19 times better?  My law is to follow the basic advertising rules, and test everything to make sure.  test and measure and test and measure and test and measure and test and measure and test .......

 

TG

--

>> There are only 10 kinds of people in the world - those that know binary and those that don't.