THE EVERGREENS OF ADVERTISING

I don't know how you feel but lately there seems to be a lot of very average advertising. Is it because many ads today are produced for agencies and not for audiences?

In 1923 American advertising guru and pioneer, Claude C Hopkins, wrote a very simple book called Strategic Advertising. It is 55 pages of home spun wisdom about the basics of advertising.

I recently read Hopkins's classic and found the principles he talked about in the Jazz Age remain as relevant in the Digital Age.

So if you are about to advertise, keep these Hopkins essentials in mind to maximise your impact and minimise your outlay.

Role of Advertising

• Your product or service is your best salesperson and advertising is your salesperson in print (or these days on the Internet, TV or radio). Treat advertising just like your other salespeople. Get it to work and demand that it produces results.
  
  

Audiences

• When writing an ad, don't think of people in the mass. Picture the man or woman you need to engage and write as if you were standing before them talking. You cannot go after thousands until you can win over one.
  
  
• People never read ads for amusement. Ads must convey information that potential clients will value.
  
  

Measuring Advertising

• Marketing is always expensive. Don't spend lots of money based on guesswork. Research your audiences, messages, product and price before you spend money on advertising.
  
  
• Advertising space is valuable. Make every single line of text count and every image work. People prefer attractive offers over attractive layouts.
  
  
• You can argue all day about marketing strategies, PR plans and brand values. The court of last resort is the people who buy your product
  
  

Content and Copy

• Samples, coupons, guarantees or free gifts are good ways to attract people's attention.
  
  
• The headline in your ad is invaluable. It helps pick out the people you want to attract. Give priority to producing a quality headline because it will either open or close the gate on continued readership.
  
  
• Test drive different versions of each ad until you find the one that works for the most people in your market. And then go with the one that you proved is most likely to work.
  
  
• Be specific in what you say and how you say it. Platitudes and generalities roll off people like water off a duck's back but impressive claims become more impressive when they are exact.
  
  
• Always tell the full story. If you leave out any important piece of information, it could be just what your prospect is looking for.
  
  
• Use figures and cases studies to achieve impact. The weight of an argument is often strengthened by the weight of its details.
  
  
• Have an unmistakable call to action in every ad. Ask your reader to do something now.
  
  

Advertising and Human Nature

• Always show the attractive and bright side of a product or service not a dark and gloomy perspective. Toothpaste sells better by showing pretty teeth not bad ones. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
  
  
• People tend to trust products that bear someone's name because it shows the manufacturer is proud of what she or he has created.
  
  
• Never accept the opinion of someone who never measures their marketing or their media.
  
  

So hats off or earphones out for Claude Hopkins. His common sense approach to a complex subject merits his place in Marketing's Hall of Fame.

For a free copy of Claude Hopkins Scientific Advertising, contact info@mainestreet.com.au

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