Tag: Claude Hopkins

Copywriting

“We Will Buy” is a much better headline than “10-Cent Cake Free”

Chris Labs

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”

Copywriting

Show the trend, show what the crowds are doing.

Chris Labs

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.

Copywriting

The advantage of making specific claims.

Chris Labs

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.

Copywriting

Describe a gift, and some will decide that they want it, more will decide that they don’t. But everybody wants a secret gift.

Chris Labs

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.

Copywriting

Tell the same story that any rival could have told, but all others thought the story was too commonplace.

Chris Labs

In advertising Van Camp’s pork and beans, Claude told of their steam ovens where beans are baked for hours at 245 degrees. That is regular practice. They told how they boiled beans in soft water to eliminate the lime which make skins tough. -My life in advertising, p.66 Continue reading Tell the same story that any rival could have told, but all others thought the story was too commonplace.

Learnings

Never give advice.

Chris Labs

We have our own lives to live, our own careers to make. We have no way of measuring others’ desires and capacities. Some are weak. A discouraging word at a critical moment may change their entire course. Then the one who gives that word incurs the responsibility. I court no obligations of that kind. Advertising teaches us how fallible are our judgments, even in things we know best. -My life in advertising, p.60 Continue reading Never give advice.