13 Damn Good Ideas from 13 Dead Copyrighters by Demian Farnsworth

One of the disciplines that interest me, and actually have come within reach in my current career, is advertising. There are two main branches: Art Director, who composes the graphical layout, and Copywriter, who creates the text on the ad (I like to dabble in both). In my internet searches for information I ran across a good article outlining several trend-setting ideas from bigwigs of advertising's past; below I present a simple summary list:

1. Decide the effect you want to produce in your reader. (Robert Collier)
   • What emotion do you want to produce in your reader? Write in such a way to bring that feeling to the surface.
2. Show your product in use. (Victor Schwab)
   • When displaying your product, you will get more attention by showing it in use.
3. Open like a Reader's Digest article. (John Caples)
   • Fact-packed
   • Telegraphic
   • Specific
   • Few Adjectives
   • Arouse Curiousity
4. Tap into one overwhelming desire. (Eugene Schwartz)
   • Look for a single, overwhelming desire that thousands are actively trying to satisfy at the moment.
5. Make the advertiser the character. (Maxwell Sackheim)
   • Use the CEO, President, etc. in advertising or communications.
6. Develop a unique selling position. (Rosser Reeves)
   • Identify a unique and meaningful attribute or benefit and constantly use it. Don't repeat: instead, restate.
7. Find the inherent drama in your product. (Leo Burnett)
   • Steep yourself in the subject. Tell a great story.
   • Create a hero, goal, conflict, mentor, and moral.
8. Write to one person, not a million. (Fairfax M. Cone)
   • Good advertising is written from one person to another. When it is aimed at millions, it rarely moves anyone.
9. 'Reason Why' copy. (Albert Lasker)
   • Explain:
     1. Why your product is the best
     2. Why the customer should believe you, and
     3. Why the customer should buy right now.
10. Go after points of maximum anxiety. (Mel Martin)
    • Figure out what is keeping your reader awake at 3am, and then paint a scenario that makes his skin crawl.
11. Transubstantiate your product into something else. (Bill Jayme)
    • This is the idea that a product must be transformed into something magical.
    • Don't sell features or facts. Sell a new life.
12. Everybody in the world divides his mail into two piles. (Gary Halbert)
    • They divide into the 'A-pile' (personal letters, etc.) and the 'B-pile' (bills, catalogs, brochures, etc.)
    • Make sure your letter gets into the 'A-pile': everyone always opens the 'A-pile' but only some of the 'B-pile.'
13. Do not worship at the altar of creativity. (David Ogilvy)
    • Successful advertising sells without drawing attention to itself.
    • Don't change a working ad for the sake of change or creativity.