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Title: How You Can Profit From Lost Copywriting Secrets
Author: Peter Woodhead
Article:
Copyright 2006 Peter Woodhead
This is the fourth article in a series about the history of
advertising.
The previous article outlined how marketing greats, John
E.Kennedy and Claude Hopkins made their impact in the world of
advertising.
They both left a legacy for us all, and their work went on to
inspire other up-and-coming copywriters. So....
...continuing our "tour"
1912 Ask any top marketer today and they may tell you that the
secret to their success is attributable to two things:
1. the ability to write, and recognise, good copy
2. knowing what makes people buy
If you understand these two points, and understand them well,
you will make your fortune. No doubt about it!
And it doesn't matter if you sell your product or service
online, or offline, the two principles above are still valid.
Think about it. What's the point of having sexy-looking websites
or graphically designed sales letters if they don't convert
prospects into customers? Who are you trying to impress? You
need sales. You need conversions.
You don't need to be a genius writer to succeed. William
Shakespeare was a writer. Charles Dickens was a writer. Stephen
King is a writer. But you don't have to be in that league. You
need to write as if you are sat next to your prospect and all
you need to use are the right words.
It's using the right words that will get you those sales.
Winston Churchill said: "Short words are best, and the old words
when short are best of all."
John Caples wrote: "On average, 5 times as many people read the
headline as read the body copy. Therefore, unless your headlines
sell your product, you've wasted 90% of your money. The best
headlines are those which promise the reader a benefit - a
whiter wash; more miles per gallon."
Now here's a small sample from a book about writing copy:
"Good advertising copy consists of a combination of words that
convince the reader that he should do as the advertising directs.
Therefore, to become a successful advertiser, you must study
words and learn to combine them in a way that will express
thought with force and conviction.
Don't use too many adjectives, as they are likely to spoil an
otherwise good advertisement. The buying public will be more
easily convinced by the use of decisive words of praise in
description of wares, than by what are known as "gushing"
adjectives, which, however appropriate, will mean but little if
they are too freely used.
Have a care for the proper use of words and you will find that
far fewer words are required to express your exact meaning.
Do not deviate from "plain everyday speech" - simple, clean cut,
incisive language.
Express yourself as simply as possible, for simplicity makes for
efficiency at all times.
Unusual words, words of many syllables, long, involved
sentences, complex phraseology, should be avoided.
Advertising should always be written for the one purpose of
attracting and convincing the largest possible number of its
readers and never for the purpose of exhibiting either your
education or your cleverness."
And those words were written approximately 100 years ago. Is the
same not true today? I think so. And so too do all the top
marketers of today.
Ted Nicholas, "The Guru of Direct Mail Marketing," had this to
say: "Certain words produce amazing results, as if by magic.
"All you desire in life , including everlasting wealth, can be
yours depending on the words with which you express yourself. It
doesn't matter whether the words are written or spoken, either.
As with all the great truths, once known, they seem so simple."
In conclusion, you MUST learn how to write sizzling copy of your
own. It's a very learnable skill.
You can get a good grounding by studying the works of the great
marketers ofthe past - guys like John E. Kennedy, Claude Hopkins
and others.
In the next article I will cover the very necessary topic of
psychology. Human psychology - understand why people buy and it
will be a lot easier to sell to them.
About the author:
Peter Woodhead is the author of Long Lost Marketing Secrets,
other niche websites and a Public domain member site. He offers
a free 9 Part e-course at:
http://www.LongLostMarketingSecrets.com Get it today! And you
can get his 4 sales and marketing books by also visiting:
http://www.LongLostMarketingSecrets.com or view his Public
domain member site at: http://www.PublicDomainResource.com
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