03 Aug 95 year old truths you can use to make more sales.

Sounds like click bait, right? But it’s actually true. Back when newspapers and magazines were the only media around, an advertising genius called Claude Hopkins started measuring the response to his ads. To do this he invented the coupon, ran different versions of the same ad and monitored the results. At the end of his illustrious career he wrote a book summarising over 30 years of testing advertising, against human nature.

Published in 1923, it’s called Scientific Advertising and it’s considered by many to be the birth of modern marketing. So, what can we learn from first Mad Man ever? What follows is only a selection of his findings, but I’m sure you’ll discover something to help you market your business.

“Genius is the art of taking pains.”

= Do your research.

Find out as much as you can about the subject, and look for the nugget of truth that will help sell your product. For example, when asked to sell a caffeine-free coffee, he discovered a scientific paper saying that caffeine takes two hours* to take effect, and that was the key to the campaign.

*I’ve looked into this, and the evidence now demonstrates that you feel the affect after 10 minutes, and caffeine reaches its peak after 45 minutes. Also, warning dear reader, 50% of the caffeine you drink at 4pm will still be in your system at 10pm!

“Now we let the thousands decide what the millions will do.”

= Test everything.

Got a new product to sell? A new advertising campaign to try out? Test them on a smaller scale before launching into the greater market. I know this sounds unbelievably simple, but it’s amazing how many large organisations (and people who should know better) don’t actually do this.

“A man inclined to superlatives must expect that his every statement will be taken with some caution.”

= Don’t exaggerate.

When making a claim, don’t embellish. People won’t believe you. And that was back in the early 1900s, can you imagine how much more sceptical people are these days?

“If a claim is worth making, make it in the most impressive way.”

= Be specific.

Specific claims are much more effective, and Claude’s example for this is a nice one. For years a clothing manufacturer boasted “Lowest prices in America”. The competitors copied so they switched to “Guaranteed to undersell all others”, and that was copied too. Eventually everyone claimed the same, which meant of course, nobody was claiming anything.

As the largest manufacturer, however, they could get away with lower margins so eventually advertised a fact no one else could match “Our net profit is three percent”. It was specific, nobody could beat it, and it was the most impressive way of getting the point across.

The first headline I wrote for this blog was “100 year old truths of marketing you can use to make more sales.” Then I came back to it and made it specific. Only five years difference, but the 95 sounds more believable. Don’t you think?

“The only readers we get are people whom our subject interests.”

= Headlines are incredibly important

There are people out there who want to buy your product, or service. And your only chance to get them to delve into your ad, enquire further or click your link, is the headline. Don’t try to be too clever. Get your strongest point across. If people are in the market for what you have to sell, they will read on. Don’t worry about all the rest. You’re not talking to them.

“When you once get a person’s attention, then is the time to accomplish all you can ever hope with him.”

= Provide every reason to buy

If someone is reading your ad, your website, whatever it may be then they’re interested in buying from you. There may be seventeen different reasons to buy, and unfortunately, you don’t know which one will resonate – so deliver them all!

Don’t listen to people who tell you to “Keep it short, people don’t have time nowadays”. That’s quite frankly, rubbish. If they’re interested in your product or service, they’ll find time. If not, well, we don’t care about them anyway.

“Remember the people you address are selfish, as we all are.”

= Sell benefits, not features

Nobody cares what your product can do. They’re only interested in what it can do for them. For example:

“Volvo’s new SureSafe* technology has taken 21 years to perfect. Tested in the rugged and extreme conditions of the Norrbotten region of Sweden, and now an integral part of all vehicles …. “

No, no, no, no, no.

“Volvo’s new SureSafe protects your family from a head-on collision with a semi-trailer, and there’s no other car on the planet that can do that.”

*I just made this up by the way.

Think about what your prospect gets out of it. Will it make their lives easier? Save them time? Save them money? Lead with that, and then deliver the rest.

So what do you think?
Is there something there that can help you generate more leads?
Make more sales?

– Does your website provide every single possible reason for someone to buy?
– Do you talk about benefits more than features?
– Are you specific with these benefits?

If not, then perhaps you’re missing out on a sale or two. If you’d like some help with all of this, I’m happy to have a chat. I can help you with branding, marketing, copywriting and design, or just one little part of that.

Get in touch, we’ll see if I can help you make more sales.

IMAGE: Natures’s Window, Kalbarri National Park, WA