In Joe Vitale’s book Buying Trances, Joe shares the story of how Texaco was looking to sell more oil by having service station attendants ask customers “Check your oil today?” Too many people, without giving it a second thought, said “no.” Elmer Wheeler, who was one of the pioneers of pursuasion, suggested replacing the question with “Is your oil at the proper level today, sir?” Texaco paid Elmer Wheeler $5,000 for those nine words which was a small fortune in the 1930s. In one week, Texaco attendants got under 250,000 more hoods.
Do you want to increase the conversion of your web copy, email marketing and online advertising? If yes, you need to have a good understanding of effective copywriting and learn from the wisdom of the greatest copywriters in the history of modern advertising.
Copywriting (“C”) is an important component of our WELCOME Lead Attraction System™. In this post, I am going to share with you the words of wisdom from some of the greatest copywriting masters.
If you want to get paid, make your copy interesting.
Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.” – Leo Burnett
“Nobody reads ads. People read what interests them. Sometimes it’s an ad.” – Howard Gossage
“Every product has a unique personality and it is your job to find it.” – Joe Sugarman
It all starts with your headlines.
It is not uncommon for a change in headlines to multiply returns from 5 to 10 times over.” – Claude Hopkins
“On the average, five times as many people read the headlines as read the body copy. It follows that unless your headline sells your product, you have wasted 90 percent of your money.” – David Ogilvy
It is not about you!
Study your reader first – your product second. If you understand his reactions, and present those phases of your product that relate to his needs, then you cannot help but write a good letter.” – Robert Collier
“The consumer isn’t a moron; she is your wife. You insult her intelligence if you assume that a mere slogan and a few vapid adjectives will persuade her to buy anything.” – David Ogilvy
“There are certain prime human emotions with which the thoughts of all of us are occupied a goodly part of the time. Tune in on them and you have your reader’s attention.” – Robert Collier
“Don’t think so much about what you want to say as about what the prospect wants to hear– then the response you will get will more often be the one you are aiming for.” – Elmer Wheeler
“I don’t know the rules of grammar . . . If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think. We try to write in vernacular.” – David Ogilvy
Benefits, benefits, benefits!
Don’t show the wrinkles you propose to remove, but the faces as it will appear. Your customers know all about the wrinkles.” – Claude Hopkins
“Don’t sell the steak, sell the sizzle.” – Elmer Wheeler
“People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole.” – Theodore Levitt
If you do your job right, customers have to feel guilty if they don’t buy right now.” – Joe Sugarman
Which quotes do you like the most? Who are your favorite copywriters? Do you have your faviorite quote to share? I would love to hear from you!
