Unveiling the Science Behind Persuasive Marketing: 3 Key Insights from Scientific Advertising

MY TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS FROM SCIENTIFIC ADVERTISING -ONE OF THE GREATEST BOOKS ON ADVERTISING EVER WRITTEN

MY FIRST MENTOR, ALAN JACQUES, CHANGED MY LIFE.

In case you don’t know Alan, he was a big deal back then. He is the founder of Real estate Investment Network, the largest real estate investment network in Canada. He brought all the big-shot real estate teachers to Canada. For example, Robert Allan, 

Robert Kiyosaki and many more. 

Alan Jacques knew anybody who was anybody in real estate investing on a Personal level. 

When Alan was mentoring me, he told me to read this book called, Scientific Advertising.

He said, “If you want to learn copywriting, and if you want to learn how to use written words to influence and persuade, you have to read this book.”

It was an old book.

And before this book, I had not read a lot of marketing books before. I said, “Why do I want to read a book from an old guy? Don’t I want to read stuff from more modern marketing experts?”

Alan replied, “A lot of these philosophies and marketing concepts in the present are from the past. You need to study proven principles from proven masters. Not just the latest technologies. You need to understand proven principles of human nature.”

Now, it’s not a thick book, but a lot of the concepts you see today for selling and marketing were created many years ago by Claude Hopkins in his book, Scientific Advertising.

This is one of those foundational books that I recommend everyone to read. It doesn’t matter if you’re an expert copywriter or marketer or if you’ve never even heard of copywriting before..

You will read this book and be like, “Wow, I cannot believe what a genius Claude Hopkins was at his time, and how he wrote all these marketing strategies and insights many years ago.”

SO LET’S GET INTO MY TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS FROM SCIENTIFIC ADVERTISING. 

#1 COPYWRITING AND MARKETING IS NOT ABOUT BEING CREATIVE

“Individuals may come and go, but they leave their records and ideas behind them. These become a part of the organization’s equipment, and a guide to all who follow. Thus, in the course of decades, such agencies become storehouses of advertising Experiences, proved principles, and methods.” 

– CLAUDE C. HOPKINS, SCIENTIFIC ADVERTISING

A lot of people confuse being creative with being good at marketing and copywriting. 

But I can tell you this.

You don’t have to be creative to be good at either of those things.

Back then I thought the best marketers and copywriters would sit around… smoke a pipe… and wait for creative ideas to come to them. I found out that’s not the case.

You see, marketing and copywriting is a science… It is based off testing… It is very calculated… And it’s about using proven time-tested concepts to make serious cash…

Now, if you don’t already know, a lot of the world’s best promotions and advertisements have already been written by the world’s best copywriters.

People like Gary Halbert… Joseph Sugarman… Eugene Schwartz… David Ogilvy… John Carlton… Dan Kennedy… and many, many more.

These people devoted DECADES, if not their whole lives to writing copy that sells… They’ve spent millions and millions of dollars in advertising budgets to tests what works and what doesn’t. 

They got so good, they turned the art of copywriting into a science.

So why waste time, money, and energy on a creative idea that might not even work? Why not just look at what the greats have written, and use their ideas and methods of copywriting in a way that works with your product or service? (Without plagiarism of course).

Good artists copy. Great artists steal.

#2: COPYWRITING ISN’T JUST ABOUT WORDS,  IT’S ABOUT HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY

“Remember the people you address are selfish, as we all are. They care nothing about your interests or profit. They seek service for themselves. Ignoring this fact is a common mistake and a costly mistake in advertising”

– CLAUDE C. HOPKINS, SCIENTIFIC ADVERTISING

I figured out that the more I know the audience, the more money I made. 

The more I talked about the problems the way my audience would, the more money I made… And the more I got to know them better than they know themselves, the more money I made. 

Why? It’s simple. Here’s a concept you may need to chew on a bit.

When somebody feels like you know their problems, they automatically assume you have the solution. That’s how you get a customer or client FOR LIFE.

Because one of the deepest human desires is the need to feel understood.

It’s a completely selfish desire. And as copywriters and marketers, we want to tap into that. So write in a way that appeals to their selfish desires.

Now, I learned that something that you might not know… Maybe you do, maybe you don’t. Either way, I discovered that my prospects don’t care about me. Or my product. Or my services.

They only care about what my product or service can do for them. So when you write in a way that appeals to their selfish desires…. and demonstrates that you understand their world… 

what they’re going through… and how they’re feeling…

They will open up their wallets and give you their money faster than you can say, “Boom!”

#3 DON’T TRY TO BE FUNNY

“Some argue for slogans, some like clever conceits. Would you use them in personal salesmanship? Can you imagine a customer whom such things would impress? If not, don’t rely on them for selling in print…”

– CLAUDE C. HOPKINS, SCIENTIFIC ADVERTISING

If humour helped with sales, all comedians and clowns would be rich.

But many aren’t.

So why do most people try to be funny or clever in their advertising? The sad reality is a lot of companies and marketers think funny slogans or clever headlines will make them more sales.

Now, your prospect may or may not be entertained by the cleverness or humour of your ad… but the goal of your ad is not to entertain. It is to make sales.

While yes, you may argue that there are some copywriters who are funny and make lots of sales… but a lot of those copywriters are / were professional comedians… understand humour… and are actually funny.

Now, if you try to be funny in your ad, it may push prospects away.

Why?

Because spending money is a serious topic, and it deserves to be treated that way. So majority of the time, making jokes or trying to be clever in your advertisements will do you more harm than good.

NOW, THERE IS ONE THING THAT WASN’T WRITTEN IN SCIENTIFIC ADVERTISING THAT I’VE DISCOVERED OVER THE YEARS…

It’s simple, yet profound.

After discovering this little secret, my income has dramatically increased, and I waste way less money on advertising.

Want to know what that little secret is?

Well, after making tens of millions of dollars in my life.. After being in business for +15 years… after having almost every “creative idea” I ever have cost me money instead of make me money…

And after reading thousands and thousands of books, I’ve discovered that no matter how many people believe it…

This is the Top 3 Tips Strongly Recommended for Copywriters from SCIENTIFIC ADVERTISING