Copywriting Classics Quick Tip #52

Today’s Quick Tip answers the question “What is advertising?”

 “Advertising is salesmanship.  The only purpose of advertising
is to make sales.  It is profitable or unprofitable according to its
actual sales.”    

                                  - Claude Hopkins, one of the early masters
                                     of advertising and author of My Life in
                                     Advertising and Scientific Advertising. 

     This #52 issue of Copywriting Classics Quick Tips focuses

on the late, great Claude Hopkins and how you can apply his

decades old marketing wisdom to your online efforts today. 

     Jay Abraham, renowned as “America’s Number One Marketing

Wizard” said this about Hopkins.  “Claude Hopkins is the master

of them all. His influence has easily added over $6 million to my

personal Income…and still counting.”

     So, what else did Claude have to say about advertising in

addition to the quote above?  Hopkins said “Advertising is not

for general effect.  It is not to keep your name before the people. 

It is not primarily to aid your other salesmen.  Treat it as a

salesman.   Force it to justify itself.

     Compare it with other salesmen.  Figure its cost and result. 

Accept no excuses which good salesmen do not make.  Then you

will not go far wrong.”  

     So how many of us do a good job of this in the online world?  

     Obviously the only way you can know if your advertising is
profitable is to be able to accurately track its results.  

     How many of us have thrown money at the concept of branding -
of keeping our name before the people?  Just hoping we'd get some
results.  I know I’ve been guilty of it in the past. 

      So when you’re getting ready to place that banner ad, or pay
for some online or offline directory listing, or bid on that keyword
at Overture.com, how are you going to track the cost and result?

     And don’t delude yourself into thinking that any advertising is
“free.”  The most valuable resource any of us have in our marketing
arsenal is probably our own time. 

     What do you value yours at?  $25 - $50 - $100 -  $1000 per hour?
Or more?  So be sure and include the cost of your time or whoever
you’re paying to perform that advertising task into calculating the
true cost of your advertising.

     This is truer then ever in the Internet world.  So, know your costs
and measure your results.  There are online tools available to help
you do this, so don’t get careless or lazy.  The effectiveness of your
online advertising can only be measured by its actual sales.

Your task:  Analyze all your advertising to determine its true
effectiveness.  If you're not tracking your results you have to figure
out a way to do it now.  Why?  Because Claude told you so.

Next week – you’ll get some more thoughts from Claude Hopkins. 
This time about how long you should make your ad copy in order to
make the sales.  Until then, my best wishes for success in all your
marketing endeavors.

© 2004 Info Product Sites, Inc.

**********************************************************************
The Copywriting Classics Quick Tip is written by Bret Ridgway.  To subscribe
go to www.marketingclassics.com .  Portions of this issue are excerpted
from the Claude Hopkins’ book My Life in Advertising/Scientific Advertising. 
You can locate the complete text of Scientific Advertising in various locations
online.  Or, it is available as part of the package set with My Life in Advertising
at the following page: http://www.twipress.com/productpages/MyLifeAd.htm
**********************************************************************