If you want to write copy that sells, you HAVE to learn from the godfather of advertising.
Scientific Advertising by Claude C Hopkins is the Bible for copywriters who want to persuade readers to open their wallets and buy from them.
It is jam-packed with valuable copywriting principles, strategies and secrets that can explode your income.
In this blog post…
I’m going to reveal the 5 biggest lessons I’ve learned from Scientific Advertising.
I’ve added my own insights to help you get the most out of them.
If you apply them to your writing, I can almost guarantee you will boost sales with every ad you write.
Who Was Claude C. Hopkins?
Claude C. Hopkins was one of the founding fathers of direct response advertising.
He worked for a handful of big wig advertising agencies like Swift & Company and Lord & Thomas.
In 1907, Claude was hired by Albert Lasker to work for Lord & Thomas for a starting salary of….
$185,000.
Guess how much $185,000 was back 116 years ago?
$5,000,000
Per year!
Claude C. Hopkins could command these elephant-sized fees because he got RESULTS for the companies he worked for.
You see…
Claude understood that advertising’s sole purpose is to sell products.
Not to be clever, humorous or entertaining.
None of that mumbo jumbo you see on TV.
Instead, ads should be measured by scientific tests and justified by the sales they produce.
Claude C. Hopkin’s data-driven approach transformed advertising & copywriting forever.
He single-handedly turned a once mysterious profession into a crystal clear system for advertising success.
If you follow the hard-won secrets found in his book, you too can follow a clear path for getting results through your writing.
5 Valuable Lessons from Scientific Advertising to Transform Your Writing Skills (With Quotes)
1.“Remember the people you address are selfish, as we all are. They care nothing about your interests or profit. They seek service for themselves. Ignoring this fact is a common mistake and a costly mistake in advertising”
How many self-centered ads do you see each day?
We are bombarded with ignorant ads that brag and boast about the company.
How superior their product is, how many shiny awards they’ve won, how many customers they have.
Yada. Yada. Yada.
It’s all about them, them, them.
This is ASS BACKWARDS.
It’s common knowledge amongst sales pros and psychologists…
Humans only care about themselves.
We are deeply selfish.
But you can tap into this human trait by writing about what your READERS want most.
Find out through research…
Then…
Get inside their world and write about what THEY are interested in.
Write about what THEY want.
Fill your copy with “you” language.
Talk directly to your reader in a friendly, down-to-earth way and help them solve their problems.
If you give them what they want, they will reward you with their credit cards.
2. “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.”
In Scientific Advertising, Claude C Hopkins made it window clear that pictures in ads have one main purpose.
To grab your ideal reader’s attention and guide them to read your copy.
You should never add anything to your ad, or any piece of copy, that does not strengthen your sales message.
Pictures should not be added to get a cheap laugh, entertain or impress.
The overall layout, structure, pictures, highlighted words, etc, all should push your sales message along and get readers to read every word you write.
This concept expands just pictures and layout though.
It relates to EVERY word you write.
Every word you write should help attract eyeballs, engage readers and persuade them to buy.
If not…
Delete them.
3. “We learn, for instance, that curiosity is one of the strongest human incentives.”
In Scientific Advertising, Claude C Hopkins revealed the BIGGEST reason why people buy from ads…
Curiosity.
Curiosity is the single most persuasive sales technique to use in your copy.
Did you know people will buy a product, they had no intention of buying, solely because they were curious?
It’s true!
Curiosity creates a fierce itch on our brains that we MUST scratch.
If you soak your copy in curiosity, you will grab attention, engage your readers and make it virtually impossible NOT to buy from you.
2 best places to add curiosity:
- Headlines/subject lines
- Bullets
4. “Ads are not written to entertain. When they do, those entertainment seekers rare little likely to be the people whom you want. This is one of the greatest advertising faults. Ad writers abandon their part. They forgot they are salesmen and try to be performers. Instead of sales, they seek applause.”
Throughout Scientific Advertising, Claude Hopkins stressed how copywriting is nothing more than salesmanship in print.
The same principles of good salesmanship apply to writing persuasive copy.
Your ad’s #1 goal is to SELL.
Claude gives tons of time-tested sales lessons and principles throughout Scientific advertising.
Perhaps the best being…
Find out what people want…
Then…
Help them get it.
Simple, huh?
If you discover what people want most and demonstrate how you can help them get it through your writing, you can earn virtually any amount of money you desire.
5. “In the same way it is found that an offer limited to a certain class of people is far more effective than a general offer.”
Scientific Advertising taught me how trying to please everyone in my writing is the WRONG move.
Good copy is written to ONE person.
Your IDEAL buyer.
Everything you write MUST be targeted to them and only them.
Appeal to their interests, wants and desires and strike emotional chords with this particular buyer.
If you talk about what they’re interested in, you will NEVER bore them.
And if you offer them a risk-free guarantee of something they desperately want or need, they will buy in droves.
Conclusion
Apply these 5 copywriting lessons PRONTO.
They are worth their weight in gold.
Also, make sure you read Scientific Advertising by Claude C. Hopkins AT LEAST 10 times.
It will be one of the greatest copywriting educations you ever receive.
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