“Scientific Advertising” stood the test of time.
Many Copywriting GOATs have recommended this book.
“Nobody should be allowed to have anything to do with advertising until he has read this book seven times.”- David Ogilvy
This book is the foundation for writing copy that sells.
Here are the best lessons from the book.
1/ Copywriting = Sales 📢
The only purpose of ads is to sell.
It’s not for “general awareness” or to support other sales efforts. It is sales.
In some cases, a copywriter is even more important than a salesperson.
How?
- The salesman talks to one person. Copywriters can speak to millions.
- The salesman can lose a few clients. Copywriters can cost companies millions with a single error. One copywriter can make or break your business.
💡 Treat yourself as a salesman. Do what great salespeople do:
- They are experts on the products they sell.
- They know the language and needs of their customers.
- They analyze the results of their efforts and adjust accordingly.
2/ People don’t care about your product 😏
Many copywriters fall into the trap of writing about their product or brand in their ads.
The problem is, nobody cares.
People don’t read ads to hear how awesome your product is. They only care if they can gain something from it.
So:
- Solve their problem.
- Offer a sample for free
- Make them laugh Focus on providing value. Put your readers first.
💡After writing the copy, get into your customer’s shoes and read everything again. Did it convince you to buy?
3/ Spend more time on headlines 🗞️
First, target only your ideal clients with your headline.
You don’t care about the rest. You only want your target audience to read more (because they are the most likely to buy).
Number of customers > Number of impressions. Remember, it’s all about sales.
Second, spend more time thinking about your headline.
Many copywriters spend significantly more time on headlines than the rest of the content.
Why? The same content with different headlines is proven to have very different results.
Most people will just read your headline. It’s your one chance to convince them to read more. So spend more time thinking about how you do it.
💡Spend 10 more minutes than usual on your headline. Write at least 5 good headlines.
4/ Use human psychology to your advantage 🧠
Understand how people perceive what you write and structure your copy in accordance with that.
For example, If we promote a valuable formula, It’s not impressive to say, “It’s a valuable formula!” Why should people take our word for it?
Instead, we can say, “We paid $100,000 for that formula”. Much better.
Another example 👇🏽
Offering “free refund” performed worse than “offering the product for free”:
❌ “Try it for a week. If you don’t like it, we’ll return your money.”
✅ “Pay in a week if you like them.”
💡Spend some time reading a book like “Thinking Fast and Slow” to learn about human psychology and become a better copywriter.
5/ Be specific 🤏🏽
Don’t talk in generalities. Instead, find a specific number or item to show your client the actual value of your service or product.
❌ “Our prices have been reduced” ✅ “ Our prices have been reduced by 25%”
❌ “Used all over the world” ✅ “Used by people in 52 countries”
💡These specific details will appear if you do your research correctly. Read enough about the product & market (descriptions, reviews, competitors), and it will pop up.
6/ Size doesn’t matter 📏
“People have short attention spans.”
That statement is true. But people miss the point of it.
It’s true for the first few seconds of the copy. If you don’t grab the readers’ attention fast, you lose them.
But once you grab their attention, tell the whole story. Make every good argument you have.
Because when something is truly interesting, people spend many hours consuming content about it.
If you write interesting copy that solves an urgent problem for someone, and you deliver? You can write a book and it will be read.
💡Don’t count words when you write. Focus on solving a problem and having a clear message.
7/ Sell the cure 💊
Another element of human psychology is that we don’t rush to prevent future problems.
But when shit hits the fan, we’ll do whatever it takes to solve the problem.
That’s why people won’t exercise for years (prevention) but will pay whatever for heart surgery that will save their lives (cure).
Example for copywriters: Toothpaste sells better when you highlight “shiny teeth” (immediate) instead of “preventing decay.”
💡Every product has two sides (cure & prevention). Practice looking at the cure side of the product.
8/ Test, Test, Test 🧪
Not sure about your headline? Doubt your intro resonates?
A cheap test can answer any question, saving you money and time in the long run.
💡Don’t get lazy. Invest in a small FB campaign or promote something organically in subreddits before committing to something.
🎁 Bonus: Positive vibes only 🌟
🔋Positive advertising > Negative advertising 🪫
- Don’t attack your competitors. This is never a good practice.
- Show the bright side of things: don’t show the wrinkles you fix, but the fact your client will have.
Summary: 8 Copywriting Lessons from “Scientific Advertising”
- Copywriter = Saleman. Think and measure like a salesperson.
- People don’t care about you. Write for them. Give them something.
- Spend more time on headlines. Nothing matters if the headline sucks.
- Use human psychology to your advantage. Understand how people think and structure your writing accordingly.
- Be specific. Look for numbers. Sell tangible results.
- Copy length doesn’t matter. Focus on solving an important and urgent problem for your customer.
- Sell the cure. People ignore prevention techniques.
- Save a lot of time and money by testing.
- Use positive advertising.