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Classic copywriting books are needed now more than ever. With the explosion of marketing technologies, AI-generated content, and companies competing for the same customers around the world, timeless principles are invaluable.
Because although AI can generate content, understanding human emotions and psychology, as taught in these books, is essential to creating engaging and compelling copy.
With all of our new technology, it's easy to stray from the basics of copywriting. However, when you combine the basics with modern technology, you are unstoppable.
Groundbreaking advertising by Eugene Schwartz
Breakthrough advertising is popular among copywriters. Eugene Schwartz, a direct response copywriter prolific in the mid-20th century, is a legend.
Breakthrough Advertising is a dense book, and most reviews only cite the Schwartz lessons from the first half. For example, almost every review cites Schwartz's advice that demand for a product cannot be created, only channeled.
(I think I just did it too.)
This customer demand advice is indeed a piece of wisdom that should be written down and remembered forever. But it's the second half of Breakthrough Advertising, which gets little attention, that I find the most gems.
One of these gems is Schwartz, who writes on the topic of faith.
Faith is the goal, says Schwartz.
If you can distill the enormous power of his belief—be it substantive or directional—into just one claim, no matter how small, then that one fully believed claim will sell more goods than all the half-questioned promises your competitors are writing for can spend the rest of their days.
A potential customer cannot fully accept and value your offer if you do not build the necessary convictions. Your coupons and bonuses will bounce right off your potential customers unless they believe your product is right for them.
As an example, Schwartz describes a challenge he had selling a TV repair manual. In the 1950s, televisions were complex, intimidating devices that constantly broke down, leading to high repair bills.
The homeowner could save a lot of money by handling the repair of their television themselves. The problem was that no one believed they could actually repair a television.
Schwartz convinced potential customers that they could fix the TV with just his words. He achieved this through the way he structured his sales letter, strategically addressing one belief at a time. You can find the full sales letter in Breakthrough Advertising – it’s incredible.
HOW YOU CAN USE THIS BOOK TODAY:
Today, the marketing world is full of hype and over-promises. Schwartz advises us to go back on these big promises. Instead, focus on building faith. Put yourself in your prospect’s shoes and ask, “What does my prospect need to believe to say yes to my offer?”
If you'd like to learn more about building faith in your prospects, I'll show you a step-by-step process in my book, Simple Marketing for Smart People.
Robert Collier's letter book
Robert Collier built a successful direct response marketing business by sending simple letters through the mail.
He used letters to sell everything from coal (Collier was a mining engineer) to women's clothing. But he mainly sold books.
The books were usually stories from history, such as “The Outline of History” by HG Wells, or personal development books about achievement and success. Collier sold over 300,000 copies of his personal development book entitled “The Secret of the Ages.”
His letters were clear, convincing and, above all, humane.
Collier has a way of writing that makes you feel like he is writing you a personal letter, even though he sent these letters to thousands of people.
A remarkable letter was written to mothers and a home study course was sold. The headline reads: “There is no college like a mother reading to her child.”
That really touches the heart, doesn't it? This is classic necklace.
Now, these letters weren't just for entertainment. He calls the letters he writes “Resultful Letters,” meaning the letters had to lead to results. That is, a purchase.
But it is Collier's way of getting the reader to take action (e.g. buying the product) that sets him apart.
His approach focuses on knowing your reader. Collier explains:
Familiarity with the thing you are selling is an advantage, but the essential thing without which success in selling by mail or in person is impossible is a thorough understanding of human reactions. Study your reader first and your product second. If you understand his reactions and present the phases of your product that relate to his needs, you can't help but write a good letter.
Wise words for today’s copywriter.
HOW YOU CAN USE THIS BOOK TODAY:
Use the Robert Collier letter to add a human element to your writing. This book is different because it teaches by example. It doesn't teach as much as other copywriting books, but rather you learn from Collier's sample letters, of which there are dozens.
Read Collier's letters, his comments and his approach. The next time you sit down to write some copy, you'll naturally tap into your inner necklace.
Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins
Claude Hopkins is a pioneer of advertising. His most famous book, Scientific Advertising, is short at only 87 pages. Yet it is still mentioned for its timeless principles.
In Scientific Adveritsing, Hopkins writes:
The lack of fundamentals has been the main problem in advertising in the past. . . It was as if a man tried to build a modern locomotive without first claiming what others had done.
Hopkins complains that the advertising success felt too much like a gamble, too much like speculation, like a racetrack bet.
Do you see that we are still struggling with the same problem today? We launch a new product launch, advertising campaign or VSL and it feels like we're rolling the dice.
Hopkins believed advertising could be a safe endeavor. But to do this we need to learn the basics.
Hopkins then goes through his nearly 20 laws of advertising. He covers everything from headlines to distribution to sample distribution. The Last Law of giving samples was one of Hopkins' favorite techniques. He sold a mountain of products by giving away samples. Hopkins believed the product should be his best seller.
HOW YOU CAN USE THIS BOOK TODAY:
Each of Hopkin's laws can be applied today. For example, his law of giving away samples is easier than ever as shipping around the world is easier than ever.
His law of individuality and injecting personality into your copy is crucial given the vast amount of content on the internet and the difficulty of standing out from the crowd.
Incorporate Hopkins Laws into your next copywriting project and enjoy the results.
It's your turn
The advantage of learning texts from the greats of history is that they have not been distracted by the Internet and modern technology. This meant that they put all their strength into the only tool they had at their disposal – their words.
Study these great books to learn the timeless principles that lead to high-converting copy. Then combine these principles with modern technology and watch your results skyrocket.
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