What Some Famous
Copywriters Taught Me
Few copywriters study enough.
And many who commission copy
study even less. So the
partially-sighted serve the blind.
No wonder most copy isn’t very good.
I’ve always liked this old New York joke.
A man asks for directions. “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?”
“Study,” comes the reply.
I started studying how to write copy before I even got a job in advertising. I sat in Manchester Public Library and read everything I could find. I have never stopped. If others have done the job before you, start by studying and copying the best people you can find. It’s the only way to learn.
Most copywriters study little, if at all. They think the key is ingenuity and clever ideas. They put their faith in flair and luck. They “pick it up” as they go along. That is why most copy is so bad.
Their chances of success are not improved by those who employ them or commission copy, few of whom know much about the subject either.
Of all the kinds of copy, direct response is the hardest, yet few clients pay very well for it. To make big money you have to get a royalty deal, which is a rare and wonderful beast outside North America.
If you pay peanuts you get monkeys, so most copy is not very good. A shame, as it is perhaps the cheapest ingredient in success.
I have never specialised in any kind of copy: I take my money where I can get it. But the principles that apply to one kind of copy apply to all kinds of copy. What’s more, I have found they apply equally to all messages designed to get results - speeches, articles, presentations: you name it.
Here are some of the people I learned from. Maybe you will, too.
I suspect I learned most from John E Powers - possibly the first really professional copywriter.
He talked about what a product does for the customer, rather than what it is. He popularised the free trial offer and the money back guarantee. To this day many do not realise the effectiveness of those three things.
In an interview he said, “The first thing … is to have the attention of the reader. That means to be interesting. The next thing is to stick to the truth, and that means rectifying whatever’s wrong in the merchant’s business. If the truth isn’t tellable, fix it so it is. That is about all there is to it.”
His two chief weapons were honesty and giving reasons for his claims rather than just plain boasting. He also said to his interviewer, who was from Printer’s Ink, the advertising trade paper, “Never read any of those advertising publications. They ain’t worth reading.”
That was in the 1890’s, so nothing much has changed.
To this day many people think unsubstantiated boasting works – look at most car advertising. It doesn’t. Not in real life. Not in copy. And if you don’t explain why you are so good, people tend to disbelieve you. Both these facts are unknown to many marketers, but my partners and I have had considerable success just by applying honesty.
And to this day people still imagine a bad product can be saved by advertising. It can’t; in fact good advertising kills bad products faster.
Claude Hopkins was perhaps the most able copywriter ever – so good that allegedly by 1917 his boss used to give him a blank cheque every year and let him set his own salary.
From his book Scientific Advertising (1926) I learned many things, but principally that copy is “just salesmanship”. Your copy should do what a good salesman would do.
A salesman gives every good reason for buying; a salesman forestalls objections; a salesman is not brief. Yet little copy does a complete selling job, and many still imagine brevity works best. It doesn’t. Time after time, for nearly fifty years, I have seen long copy beat short.
John Caples was the master of testing. I used to re-read his book, Tested Advertising Methods regularly when I was young. I still turn to it. From it I learned many, many things – but especially that – as another good man, Richard V. Benson, put it, “There are only two rules in direct marketing. Rule1: Test everything. Rule 2: Refer to rule 1.”
Two of my other teachers admired him. David Ogilvy, with whom I worked for some years, was one. He told me that he and Rosser Reeves agreed that they learned all they knew from Caples.
He also told me one night over dinner that the secret of success was charm – and that “the customer is not a moron: she is your wife”. So I try to avoid the usual crass, copywriter’s English and treat the reader like an intelligent person. It seems to work.
David was a great student. He encouraged me in my belief that study was the key.
His book, Confessions of an Advertising Man, had an enormous influence on me in my first big job as a creative director: I used to test things he mentioned, like the use of certain words which increase readership. Then when I wrote my own first business book, Commonsense Direct Marketing, I copied his idea of making it very personal. People are more interested in people than theory.
Reeves’ book Reality in Advertising sold the idea of the USP. I learned that you need to be able to offer something different and better to succeed. So I spend a lot of time looking for it. And I still find that giving a competitive argument usually increases response – yet few bother to do it.
Many years ago a friend asked me if I’d like to go and work for Reeves as a creative director; I wanted to stay in England for some personal reasons so I said “no”. I suspect I would have learned a lot, though.
Vic Schwab was partner in one of the first specialist direct response agencies, back in the ‘30’s. He wrote a book called How to write a Good Advertisement. I have had the same copy for 40 years. And I still refer to the list of 100 headlines in it when I’m stuck for idea.
There are many others I knew and am indebted to. Bill Jayme, Gene Schwartz, Joe Karbo, Monroe Kane, Murray Raphel, Denny Hatch, Joe Sugarman and Gary Halbert.
And I still study in the hope that one day I’ll really know what I’m doing.
Contributed by Drayton Bird, Hon. F IDM
Guest Contributor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE™
For more tips like this, e-mail drayton@draytonbird.com saying “Ideas” (www.draytonbird.com)
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5 Comments »
Join the Discussion!
Let us know what you think. Or ask us anything. Or offer your own sage advice.
The only rule: RESPECT THIS HOUSE! Postings that contain abusive language and/or personal attacks will be cheerfully VAPORIZED. One cross word and – POOF! – your well-thought-out post will be gone in a puff of smoke.
– Clayton
Comment by Phil — October 4, 2007 @ 8:02 am
\”leaders are readers\”
I can\’t believe how many times I tell people this.
Read everything in your field, talk to people, get feed back.
Assume you know nothing and are thirsting for knowledge just like you need water to survive.
Never, never stop.
Read till your eyes bleed
thanks,
Phil
P.S. You know… the average person watches T.V. 20 to 40 hours per week. \”If\” this is you…turn off the boob tube for just an hour per day and just read and study. You\’ll be amazed what you\’ll know one year from know.
Comment by Brandon Clay — October 4, 2007 @ 8:07 am
Clayton,
Whenever you post something from Drayton, it\’s like taking in a deep breath and exhaling very slowly. The effect is calming, exact and well-considered. Not to say that exciting, emotion-laden commentary is useless, but Drayton helps soothe the marketing beast-gone haywire.
Thanks for all the great stuff. Keep it coming!
Brandon
Texas
Comment by Bill — October 4, 2007 @ 8:53 am
What a wonderful article! The references are confirming that there are a few masters, and the rest are \”me too\” copy cats.
Are the critics from other articles reading this article or have they skipped over it because it isn\’t jazzy and hip?
Comment by Ken — October 4, 2007 @ 7:35 pm
If I may offer something…I stopped watching TV about 6 years ago. Cx\’d my sub. I\’ve found that I haven\’t missed a thing. I work full time & write in the evenings for 5-8 hrs. Try it.
Comment by Ian Denny — October 5, 2007 @ 11:53 pm
As an enthusiastic amateur, I read many books, but bought and applied Drayton\’s books to my preivously pitiful attempts.
It was transforming.
I still read and refer to them. And recommend them to pretty much anyone - even if you don\’t do copy, it\’s wise to know what you\’re buying.
So educate yourself.