Digital Expression

Scientific Advertising by Charles C. Hopkins is one of my favourite books.  It provides common sense insights into what works, what does not work, and why. I read this book for the first time over a year ago and i've just finished going through it a second time. The book teaches one about good advertising and succesfully launching new products.  The principles can be applied to the entire online marketing suite, from SEO to Conversion Optimisation. I highly recommend reading this book. If you're short on time, here's a summary for you.

(reading time is ~ 15 mins)

Advertising

1. Advertising is salesmanship.  Its purpose is to make sales and thus its results should be compared to those of other salespeople.
2. Good advertising is expressing oneself briefly, clearly and convincingly. Fine writing and flair steals attention away from the subject.  It reveals the hook, thereby creating resistance to the sale.
3. The plain and sincere salesman that knows his products and customers is best. When writing ads, ask: "Will this help sell the item if I met the buyer in person?"
4. Advertising agencies have tested and compared thousands of ideas and recorded their results, therefore nearly every selling question which arises in business can be answered by experience. Meaningful metrics like: Cost/reply, Cost/$ of sale and Cost / Customer have been used to prove the best advertising methods for nearly every product line.
5. Principles are learned and proved by repeat tests. Uncertainties arise from people and products, not the advertising methods used.

Writing Headlines

1. Headlines should aim to attract qualified prospects and create action.
2. Headlines should isolate people whom you can interest for your purpose and target them only.
3. People are busy and skip 3/4 of the reading material they pay for. Headlines can make all the difference to the Cost/sale.
4. Learn with precision which inherent quality (of your offering) most readers seek and use it to attract more people.

Writing Ad Copy

1. When writing your copy, always keep a typical buyer in mind. Don't boast.  Don't show-off.  This causes resentment.
2. Write specifically. No superlatives because they suggest looseness of expression and devalues your authority.  Use exact figures where available. Specific facts are taken at face value.Flair and dressing is a blatant attempt to sell. Content is king.
3. Present all claims that resonate with your buyer.  You have 1 chance to gain interest of the prospect.  An average reader is only once a reader.
4. Use pictures if they offer a better return than text only.  Colour offers no benefit over monochrome.  Size does not matter.
5. Use time limits on offers to overcome the tendency to procrastinate.
6. People are selfish. The best ads often don't quote price, but offer service: Wanted information, advantages, a sample - proof without the risk. Always remember that people do things to please themselves.
7. Human nature is the same today as in the time of Caesar, so the principles of psychology are fixed and enduring.
8. Everyone is CURIOUS.  Exploit this curiosity.
9. BARGAINS not cheapness.  People don't like to feel like they can't afford something, but they do like to have access to bargains. People judge largely on price.
10. Guarantees are a dime a dozen.  Personal guarantees are more effective, as our 110% refunds and longer right-of –return periods.
11. Offers to certain classes or groups invite comparisons.  People want exclusiveness.
12. PREVENTION may be better than a cure, but it is not popular subject matter. Focus on the positives:  Don't say: "Prevents acne" say "For clear, flawless skin." Present the benefits.  No good comes from stating the problem or the "before" state. People are already familiar with it.  State the desired outcome.
13. Individuality in ads count, but be weary of changing a well established identity.

Research & Testing

1. Constant testing results in exponential savings:  The cost/reply can reduce from $14.20 > $0.85 > $0.41 with optimisation.
2. Mail-order is the hardest way to sell a product.  Ads that are used repeatedly are done so because they are proven to work. Learn from them.
3. What cannot be done on a large scale profitably cannot be done on a small scale. Small advertising expenses become large ones when the certainty of their impact is known.
4. Never state a supposition before you have proved it. Substantiate all claims.
5. Knowledge is power. Learn what people spend. Learn total consumption. What % does our ad appeal to? One can answer any question with a test campaign.

Coupons, Samples & Freebies

1. The best salesman is the product itself. Use samples, together with a mental impression and the right atmosphere.
2. Altruism leads people to buy.  Picture the customer's point of view.  Give free samples, free trials with right of return and no-money up-front or even without collection of payment details.
3. A coupon to try something free is better than just giving it away for free:  The coupon redemption attributes a value to the product, whereas a free-trial with no coupon associates $0 value, making it hard to charge for later on.
4. FREE is always in exchange for:  a coupon, an email address, something that let's you stay in contact with the customer and track the effectiveness of your campaign.
5. Coupons that can be cut-out are actionable.  This is important because people forget.  They get distracted - absorbed in some story, so something tangible like a cut-out acts as a reminder.
6. Making people mail a coupon produces lower returns than if you ask people to present a coupon at a store. Allowing people to telephone provides a much greater return than postal replies.  Perception of effort is important. (Remember, this book was written 80 years ago.)
7. Never start advertising without distribution. Samples enable one to direct customers to where they may be supplied for future purchases.  They help establish your distribution channels. Make samples available at specific stores and name those stores in your ads (or offer to name them in exchange for stocking your product.)
8. Correctly used, samples can reduce your cost / customer.

Picking Products & Services

1. Go to people already educated and satisfy their created wants, rather than trying to create new wants.
2. Watch the development of any popular trend (the creation of new desires,) then at the right time, offer to satisfy those desires.  Every year, it can be done on new things.
3. Focus on foundations and finding the advantage. Use Names that tell stories.
4. The greatest profits come from great volume at small profit.

Good Business Sense

1. If your ad fits in a 1/2 page, then don't waste money on a full page.
2. You must do your own selling and define your own success. Distributors exist to fulfil orders.
3. Generic names create new markets that others can share in. They invite commoditisation: substitution and price competition.
4. Good business is made from educated decisions.

Intrigued?  Here's a sample of the book.  I'd love to discuss Scientific Advertising with you on Twitter: @KunalKripalani

The book is out of its copyright period and has been published in full on the internet. Here's one source.