Never repeat. A salesman who wastes his time might cost 1$ per hour. But an ad which does like things is wasting $10 per word. That can make the difference between profit and loss. Most success comes through efficiency. Most failures are due to waste. -My life in advertising, p.115 Continue reading In national advertising, every word is worth 10$. Every word that is worth less should be cut.
Your reader is perusing (browsing) a magazine or newspaper. She has paused because your subject or your headline attracts her. But in a moment she will be interested in her reading and will usually forget you. In some way in your climax inspire immediate action in those interested. -My life in advertising, p.114 Continue reading Aim to get action
Use every word to talk about the service. That is what you selling, that is all your prospect wants. There is no place to boast the brand. -My life in advertising, p.113 Continue reading Do not waste a sentence or a word on anything else than what you’re selling.
No one can profitably change habits in paid prints. Instead, the advertiser comes in when those habits are changed. He says “Here is the right method”. Converting new users was a very expensive proposal. No new user would pay us in his lifetime the cost of his conversion. -My life in advertising, p.95 Continue reading No advertising campaign can educate readers into a new habit profitably, none.
Personalities appeal, while soulless corporations do not. All of us love to study men and their accomplishments. -My life in advertising, p.93 Continue reading Establish a personality in your ads.
This plan has many advantages over a “free” offer. It is much more impressive, for one thing. There is a considerable difference in the psychological effect when you offer to buy an article for a woman to try, and pay the dealer his price for it,as compared with offering that article free to all. The “free” offer cheapens a product. There is a certain resistance when we ask people to afterward pay for a product which came to them first as a gift. -My life in advertising, p.85 Continue reading “We Will Buy” is a much better headline than “10-Cent Cake Free”
Make it a complete story. People have no reason to read it again. So I wish them to get in that one reading every convincing fact. Of course, any story grows monotonous and boring to the man who reads them all. But this is not the case of your customers. -My life in advertising, p.76 Continue reading People read your story once, they might never read it again…
People are like sheep. They cannot judge values, nor can you and I. We judge things largely by others’ impressions. People follow styles and preferences. We rarely decide for ourselves, because we don’t know the facts. But when we see the crowds taking nay certain direction, we are much inclined to go with them. “I showed in my advertising how the crowds were going to Overland automobiles. I told how the demand had forced a bankrupt concern into solvency.” -My life in advertising, p.75 Continue reading Show the trend, show what the crowds are doing.
Generalities make no more impression than water on a duck. To say. “Best in the world”, “cheapest in the long run”, etc. does not create conviction. But when we make specific and definite claims, when we state actual figures or facts, we indicate weighted and measure expressions. We are either telling the truth or a lie, people don’t expect you to lie. -My life in advertising, p.72 Continue reading The advantage of making specific claims.
There are things to considerin such an offer. The gift must not be disappointing. It should be somewhat better than customers are led to expect. -My life in advertising, p.69 Continue reading Describe a gift, and some will decide that they want it, more will decide that they don’t. But everybody wants a secret gift.
Roadmap to Billions 