The adweek copywriting handbook the ultimate guide to writing powerful advertising and marketing copy

Contents Foreword: The Sugarman Legacy Acknowledgments Introduction: The Origin of This Book Section One: Understanding the Process Preview Chapter 1: General Knowledge Experiences Create Ideas Lateral Thinking for Ideas The Dictionary as a Tool Running Your Own Company Chapter 2: Specific Knowledge New Technology Required Powerful Presentation You Must Become an Expert You Must Know Your Customer, Too You Must Understand a Product’s Nature Scare Tactics Don’t Usually Work The Product Was Not Unusual Chapter 3: Practice, Practice, Practice It’s All a Mental Process Don’t Worry about the First Draft Chapter 4: The Purpose of All the Graphic Elements of an Ad Chapter 5: The First Sentence Magazines Use This Technique The Purpose of the Next Sentence Chapter 6: Creating the Perfect Buying Environment The Honolulu Experience Painting Looked Incredible You Control the Environment Chapter 7: Resonating with the Reader Wonderful Sales Technique Harmony Is the Key Chapter 8: The Slippery Slide The Force of “Reading Gravity” Slippery Slide Examples Save Those Articles Chapter 9: Assumed Constraints Elephants Never Forget You Never Really Know Chapter 10: Seeds of Curiosity A Very Unusual Call An Invitation I Couldn’t Refuse What Was Her Angle? I Explained the Problems A Shock I Never Expected Chapter 11: Copy as Emotion You’ve Learned Most of My Concept Emotion in Advertising Mercedes Advertising Logic Often Doesn’t Work The Emotional Approach What Comes after the First Draft Is What Counts Words Have Strong Emotions Attached Chapter 12: Selling the Concept, Not the Product Combining Products into Concepts Soviet Intrigue Concept Selling Does Well Price Can Also Affect Concept Chapter 13: The Incubation Process Your Mind Is Always Working Just Allow It to Happen Left Brain versus Right Brain Chapter 14: How Much Copy Should You Write? Intense Interest Long Enough but Short Enough The Long-Copy Approach Short Copy Works, Too Chapter 15: The Art of Personal Communication Emotional Process in Communication Letters Should Be Personal Use of a Byline Even Magazines Have Personalities Chapter 16: The Copy Sequence Leading the Reader April Becomes a Real Nuisance Logical Progression of Flowchart Flowing in a Logical Sequence Prepare That Big Idea Try Patterning Your Ad Chapter 17: The Editing Process The Secret to Editing Copy Has Space Restrictions Advantages of Fewer Words Some Principles of Editing Take as Long as You Need Read the Periodicals Computers Are a Great Help The Use of Commas Section Two: Understanding What Works Preview Chapter 18: Powerful Copy Elements Explained A Frank Discussion of Service Fancy Endorsement Chapter 19: The Psychological Triggers Feeling of Involvement or Ownership Honesty Integrity Credibility Value and Proof of Value Justify the Purchase Greed Establish Authority Satisfaction Conviction 10 Nature of Product 11 Prospect Nature 12 Current Fads 13 Timing 14 Linking 15 Consistency 16 Harmonize 17 Desire to Belong 18 Desire to Collect 19 Curiosity 20 Sense of Urgency 21 Fear 22 Instant Gratification 23 Exclusivity, Rarity or Uniqueness 24 Simplicity 25 Human Relationships 26 Storytelling 27 Mental Engagement 28 Guilt 29 Specificity 30 Familiarity 31 Hope Chapter 20: Selling a Cure, Not Prevention Human Nature at Play Many Products Make Powerful Cures Make a Preventive a Cure Chapter 21: Rating Your Writing Level Reaching a Mass Market Chapter 22: Seven Steps to Writing Great Copy You’ve Learned a Great Deal Section Three: Proving the Points—Ad Examples Preview Chapter 23: The Lazy Man’s Way to Riches Chapter 24: A Fluke of Nature You Can Imagine the Excitement Chapter 25: Lingerie for Men Chapter 26: The More You Learn Chapter 27: A More Stimulating Way Chapter 28: Magic Baloney Real Loser Ok, Let’s Test it Simple to Set Realize Savings Chapter 29: Pet Plane Dave is a Farmer Dave Gets the Word Advanced Avionics Chapter 30: Mail Order Mansion Very Famous Guests Very Special Final Refusal Chapter 31: Hungarian Conspiracy Massive Conspiracy Thank You Auto Parts Dealer You Can Help Chapter 32: Vision Breakthrough Couldn’t Believe Eyes Sunglass Danger Dramatic Difference Chapter 33: Gold Space Chains Suggestion Rejected He Doesn’t Give Up Enter Bob’s Cousin Chapter 34: Consumers Hero A Modern Day Robin Hood The Uncle Henry Problem Consumers Protected Already Enter Consumers Hero Now the Best Part But There’s More Easy to Join Chapter 35: Nautilus Spelling Sale Too Costly The Rules Designed for the Lower Back A Note: The Power of Your Pen Section Four: Utilizing Your Copywriting Skills Preview Chapter 36: Writing for Different Media Catalogs Flyers: Insert Stuffers, Bounce Backs, and Broadsides Direct Mail Newspapers Billboards Press Releases Radio Television The Infomercial Back-End Sales After-Sale Opportunities Home Shopping The Internet Epilogue Some Final Thoughts Appendix A: Assumed Constraints, Continued Appendix B: Seeds of Curiosity, Continued Appendix C: Summary of Axioms and Major Points Appendix D: Recommended Reading About the Author Index Expertise specificity and See also Authority Eytinge, Louis Victor Fads: belonging and exploiting publicity and timing and Failures See also Mistakes Familiarity Fear, as motivator Features, explaining Fields, Debbi Final drafts, perfecting First drafts, editing First sentences: lengthy purpose of reading simple writing Fisher, Irving Flow editing and Flowchart, logical progression of “Fluke of Nature, A” (Schultz), writing Flyers Foch, Ferdinand Fog Index “Food Crunch,” copy for Forbes, Steve, editorials by Forbes magazine: article in personality of story in Franklin, Howard, sales technique of Franklin Mint: collectibles by limited editions by Franklin Spelling Computer Freberg, Stan Fusion razor Gates, Bill Gender, addressing General knowledge importance of Gerstman, George, on marketing seminars Gettysburg Address, writing level of Gillette Gimmicks Ginger, encounter with Girard, Joe, salesmanship of “Gold Space Chains” (Sugarman): controversy over writing Grammar: correcting forgetting about problems with Grapefruit, advertisement for See Schultz, Frank Lewis Graphic elements employing human element and purpose of Greed, appealing to Group identity, importance of Guilfoyle, Richard, replicas by Guilt, using Gunning, Robert, Fog Index and Halbert, Gary personal advertisement by Harmony: buyer/seller creating importance of Headings, paragraph See Paragraph headings Headlines attention-getting critiquing of example of integrity in patterning and purpose of reading writing Health food: disease prevention and hope and Herman, Jerry, publicity for Hewlett-Packard Home shopping network, copywriting for Honesty importance of testimonial to Honeywell Hope, as motivator Hopkins, Claude “HOT” (Consumers Hero ad) writing Human element: relating products with selling and storytelling and Humor “Hungarian Conspiracy” (Sugarman), writing Iannotti, Dan Ideas: experiences and lateral thinking for Income Opportunity, ads in Incubation process elements of pressure and subconscious mind and Infomercial, copywriting for on Internet Installation, explaining Instant gratification, power of Insurance, selling Integrity building on urgency and Interest, building Internet, opportunities on Internet store Intuition Involvement devices It’s Better to Laugh (Levine) Jargon, consumer Jobs, Steven Jordan, Michael JS&A Group, Inc copywriting for Justification See Purchase, justifying Karbo, Betty Karbo, Joe advertising campaign by copywriting by death of Karpov, Anatoli Knowledge copy ideas and copywriting practical See also General knowledge; Specific knowledge Korchnoi, Victor Land, Edwin, on mistakes Language: colorful consumer technical Lateral thinking Layout, overall “Lazy Man’s Way to Riches, The” (Karbo ad), writing of Lazy Man’s Way to Riches, The (Karbo book) Left brain, right brain vs Legibility Length: copy sentence Letterman, David Letters, personalizing Levine, Kathy, on storytelling Life Extension Association, award from Limited, The, Victoria’s Secret and Limited editions “Lingerie for Men” (Victoria’s Secret), writing Linking to a body part to a fad Literary persuasion Logic, copywriting and Logos, purpose of Long-copy approach, effectiveness of “Mafia Auto Gadget, The” (Sugarman) Magazines: first sentences in personalities of reading “Magic Baloney” (Magic Stat) writing Magic Stat thermostat advertisement for selling Mailing lists/pieces, problems with Mail order advertisements applying principles to copy length and instant gratification and “Mail Order Mansion” (Sugarman), writing Marcus, Stanley, letter from Margoles, David Market, broadening Marketing knowledge and on television See also Direct marketing Mason, Archie Mass market, reaching McDonnell Douglas, advertisement by Media tests, running Membership programs Mental processes, understanding Mercedes-Benz, motivation for buying Messages: compelling educational emotion of location of personal psychology in receiving Midex burglar alarm advertisement for selling Minocqua, Wisconsin Miracell campaign for Mistakes: avoiding as learning tools See also Failures Models, using Momentum, building “More Stimulating Way, A” (Sony), problems with “More You Learn, The” (McDonnell Douglas), problems with Motivation curiosity as exclusivity/rarity/ uniqueness as hope as Mrs Fields Cookies My Life in Advertising (Hopkins) Name recognition, importance of National Enquirer, credibility of Nautilus Lower Back machine advertisement for “Nautilus Spelling Sale” (Sugarman), writing Negative features/publicity addressing Newspapers, copywriting for New York Times, Schultz advertisement in New York University, lecture at Nine-point puzzle, assumed constraints of “Nose, The” (Sugarman) Notoriety Number 7, familiarity of Objections: avoiding raising and resolving Obligation, creating sense of O’Day, Dan Offer summary Ogilvy, David Olsen, Ken, assumed constraints and Orders, asking for Orkin, Dick Overall layout, purpose of Ownership, feeling of Parade, Schultz advertisement in Paragraph headings, purpose of Pargh, Bernie Patterning, using Periodicals See Magazines Persistence “Pet Plane” (Sugarman) writing Phone-tapping equipment advertisement for Photos/photography purpose of Physical facts Pill, The, selling Pitch length of making Pocket CB Pocket Yellow Pages Popeil, Ron Popular Mechanics, assumed constraints and Positioning Practice, importance of Practitioner Press releases, copywriting for Prevention: cures and problems selling Price: comparisons concept and considerations about introductory limited-time lowering Price point: copy length and purchase justification and technical explanations and value and Print advertisements goal of personalizing and selling with Problem solving: assumed constraints and lateral thinking and Product explanations simplicity in See also Technical explanations Products: delivering drama of evaluating failure of nature of presenting testing Prospects: identifying with nature of selling Psychological triggers Publicity, fads and Purchase, justifying Quest/80 magazine, hook by Questions, answering See also Objections QVC collectors and Radar detectors, selling Radio, copywriting for Raphel, Murray, Swiss Army watch and Rarity, as motivating factor Raymond, Roy Reader’s Digest, writing level of Readership, increasing Reading gravity, force of Resistance, removing Resonating See Harmony Response devices: purpose of use of Return policy, establishing Rhythm editing for Rickerson, Mark Right brain, left brain vs Rochlis, Jeff Rolls-Royce, as status symbol Rubik, Erno Runyon, Damon Ruth, Babe Sackheim, Max Salesmanship, developing Sales pitch See Pitch Satisfaction, feeling of Satisfaction conviction Sauer, John, advertisement by Saying too much, avoiding See also Editing Scare tactics, avoiding Schirra, Wally Schultz, Frank Lewis: copywriting by grapefruit advertisement by Schultz, Ray, on Sugarman Schwartz, Gene Scientific American, advertisement in Scott, Robert, catalog of Scrub Balls, advertisement copy for Second sentences, purpose of Seeds of curiosity using See also Curiosity Seiko watch ad Selling environment, creating Selling process: enhancing/stimulating personal in print Seminars charges for participants in teachings of Sensor watch, advertising for Sentences: combining in first draft length of mixing lengths of short/easy See also First sentences; Second sentences Service commitment to questions about Sexual/sexist comments, avoiding Shaw, Artie Shipping methods, urgency and Short-copy approach, effectiveness of Simon, Fred Simplicity power of Sizzle, selling Ski Lift International, selling for Slippery slide creating examples of satisfaction conviction and Smirnoff, Yakov Smith, Fred, assumed constraints and Smoke detectors, selling Snowmobiles, exclusivity and Sony Video Communications, advertisement by Space-age products, selling Space restrictions, meeting Specificity expertise and Specific knowledge importance of obtaining Spelling: correcting first draft and forgetting about problems with Stanke, Mary Storytelling educational messages in using Style consistency in Suarez, Ben Subconscious: assumed constraints and incubation process and seeds of curiosity and Subheadlines curiosity-building example of purpose of reading writing Subliminal reactions Success (magazine), ads in Success Forces (Sugarman) Sugarman, April story about Sugarman, Jill Sugarman, Judy Sugarman, Wendy Swiss Army watch, marketing “Tap Your Phone” (advertisement) “Tcudorp” (advertisement) Teachers, practitioners and Technical explanations credibility and price point and purpose of See also Product explanations Television, copywriting for Testimonials credibility with reverse Texas Monthly, Schultz article in “That” words, looking for “They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano” (Caples) Thinking, incubation and understanding processes of Think Tank, lateral thinking and Time, writing level of Timing fads and impact of Toll-free numbers Tools, problem-solving Traffic direct marketing and increased Trial periods effectiveness of Trust, building Truthfulness credibility and responsiveness and Tuning fork, analogy of TV Guide, Schultz advertisement in Tweaking an ad Typefaces choosing corporate image and problems with Unique features, explaining Uniqueness, as motivating factor Unique selling proposition (USP) Urgency conveying effectiveness and integrity and Vague descriptions, curiosity from Valentine, Mike Value: establishing justifying price point and Vibrations, positive See Harmony Victoria’s Secret advertisement for The Limited and Video communications, selling Viguerie, Richard Viral marketing “Vision Breakthrough” (Sugarman) reading level of writing Vitale, Joe Vitamins, hope and Walkie-talkies fad for Walkman Wall Street Journal: A/B split in advertisement in credibility of Karbo advertising in Schultz advertisement in story in writing level of Watergate Game, controversy over Watson, Thomas, Sr Weschler, Mike Whole-brain appeal Winchell, Walter Words: advantages of fewer eliminating emotions and familiar length of misspelled Wozniak, Steve Writing levels, rating Wunderman, Lester, on Sackheim About the Author Joseph Sugarman is recognized as one of the most effective and prolific advertising copywriters in America As CEO of JS&A Group, Inc., he introduced hundreds of space-age electronics products in the 1970s and 1980s, setting the standard for other copywriters and marketers He was born and raised in the Chicago area and attended the electrical engineering college of the University of Miami for three and a half years before being drafted into the U.S Army in 1962 He then spent over three years in Germany where he served with the Army Intelligence Service and later with the CIA Returning home, he formed a company to market Austrian ski lifts in the United States and then later formed his own advertising agency to service ski resort accounts In 1971, after six years of running his own ad agency, he saw microelectronics as an exciting opportunity and formed a company to market the world’s first pocket calculator through direct marketing—all from the basement of his home in Northbrook, Illinois His company, JS&A Group, Inc., soon grew to become America’s largest single source of spaceage products, and he eventually introduced dozens of new innovations and concepts in electronics during the 1970s and 1980s, including the pocket calculator, the digital watch, cordless telephones, computers and a variety of other electronic items Each product introduction was made in large, fullpage advertisements, which became the recognized signature of his creative work In 1973, Sugarman’s company was the first in the United States to use the 800 WATS line service to take credit card orders over the telephone—something that direct marketers had never done before In 1986, JS&A concentrated solely on its line of BluBlocker ® sunglasses, which he sold in direct mailings, mail order ads and catalogs and on TV through infomercials, TV spots and QVC, the home shopping channel BluBlocker Corporation is currently celebrating 20 years in business with 20 million pairs sold worldwide In 1979, Sugarman was selected as the Direct Marketing Man of the Year in an award ceremony in New York In 1991, he won the prestigious Maxwell Sackheim award for his creative career contributions to direct marketing Sugarman is also a professional photographer, graphic designer, pilot (he has a commercial instrument-rated multi-engine rating), SCUBA diver and public speaker He has given speeches and marketing seminars throughout the United States as well as in Europe, Asia and Australia He also conducted about 20 of his own exclusive marketing seminars from 1977 to 2000, attracting participants from all over the world who paid up to $6,000 to attend These fourday events had a major influence on the success of his students both in the United States and abroad Sugarman is also a published author with six books to his credit His first book, Success Forces, was published in 1980 by Contemporary Books and sold 100,000 copies In 1999, he purchased and was the editor and publisher of the Maui Weekly—one of the fastest growing newspapers in Hawaii He sold the paper to a West Virginia newspaper chain in 2005 ... had to fly to Chicago, board a commuter plane there and fly to the town of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, where they then took a bus for the 40-minute ride to their motel To get to the seminar site, the. .. implement their new knowledge And they too grew in the process You too will understand how to relate what you’ve learned about copywriting to other forms of marketing and you’ll see how many of the. .. a person to start reading your ad, convey the complete story of your product or service and then convince the person to reach for the phone and order To understand this process and to effectively