In Part #4 we left you with a couple of teasing questions.
Maxwell Sackheim’s terrific headline; “Do You Make These Mistakes in English?” was originally titled: “Are You Afraid of Making Mistakes in English?”
We asked why did the first headline massively out-pull the second.
And which single word was it that really made all the difference?
The word “these” is the single word that makes all the difference.
That first headline aroused the reader’s self-interest and curiosity. It suggests reading the copy to find out what “these” mistakes are and to avoid them.
The second headline just suggests it is a stuffy old book on English grammar. And nobody wants to read any such type of book.
Sackheim’s winning ad ran for 40 years, without interruption. A record that still hasn’t been broken.
But that headline wasn’t Sackheim’s only claim to fame. He was a great copywriter.
One of his unique techniques was to make a character out of the advertiser. His ads were written as if the client themselves were actually doing the talking.
One of Sackheim’s clients was Frank E. Davis, “The Gloucester Fisherman”. This is how Sackheim wrote copy for this client:
“There is no use trying. I’ve tried and tried to tell people about my fish, but I wasn’t rigged out to be an ad writer and I can’t do it. I can close-haul a sail with the best of them. I know how to pick out the best fish of the catch. I know just which fish will make the tastiest mouthfuls, but I’ll never learn the knack of writing an ad that will tell people why my kind of fish – fresh caught, prime-grades right off the fishing boats with the deep sea tang still in it – is lots better than the ordinary store kind.
“But I can’t explain it; at least you can taste the difference. So you won’t mind, will you if I ship some of my fish direct to your home. It won’t cost you anything unless you feel like keeping it. All I ask is that you try some of my fish at my expense and judge for yourself whether it isn’t exactly what you have always wanted.”
This copy, and others like it, sold tens of thousands of tubs of fish right across the country. The reason this type of advertising succeeded was due to the authentic character of his client – The Gloucester Fisherman – which was brought to life by Sackheim.
You may be thinking: “Does this technique of Sackheim’s still work today?”
Well, a few years after Sackheim, a copywriter called G. Lynn Sumner wrote an ad for a pair of pear growers. The ad set off with the headline: “Imagine Harry and Me Advertising Our Pears in Fortune!”
Here’s a snippet of how Sumner wrote the copy: “Out here on the ranch we don’t pretend to know much about advertising, and maybe we’re foolish spending the price of a tractor for this space; but my brother and I got an idea the other night, and we believe you folks who read Fortune are the kind of folks who’d like to know about it. So here’s our story: …….”
Any prospective customers would believe that the pear growers actually wrote the copy. Take note of the simplistic dialogue, just how a farmer would speak. As for the headline, it’s not one as we were taught in school but it is how we speak. This particular ad started a niche of selling fruit by direct mail. Perhaps you’ve heard of them – Harry and David’s.
Could this character technique work again for you? In 1977 a seminar attendee called Frank Schulz went on to sell grapefruit by mail. He could never make his space advertising work so he went to a Joe Sugarman seminar and got the idea to write his copy based on the “character” formula.
He wrote a headline: “A Fluke of Nature” and his copy opened like this:
“I’m a farmer. And the story I tell you is the absolute truth, as incredible as it may seem. It all started in a grove owned by Dr. Webb, our family doctor. One of the men who was picking fruit in the doctor’s orchard came up to the Webb house holding six of the strangest grapefruit anyone has ever seen …”
(He goes on to tell the story of how Mother Nature created this almost magical ruby red grapefruit)…
“…and when we pick the fruit, we’re just as fussy. Every one of us takes a ‘picking ring’ when we harvest. If the fruit is small enough to pass through the ring – we don’t pick it! It simply isn’t big enough to qualify as a Royal Ruby Red! Even after picking there are other careful inspections each fruit must pass before I’ll accept it. I size the fruit. And I grade it for beauty. Sometimes the fruit will be wind scarred. I won’t accept it. Or sometimes it will have a bulge on the stem and that we call ‘sheep nose’. I won’t accept it….”
Strange words like ‘picking ring’ and ‘sheep nose’ give the impression that the grapefruit grower is writing just for you.
You might say that this is all very well, nice stories etc. but, what has fish and fruit got to do with your business? More than you may think.
For example, you can use the “character” formula to write good copy and attract more customers.
Here’s something you may want to experiment with: “I don’t normally write ads. I’m a
Copy like that could be very persuasive. You could do very well if you were to adopt this technique.
On similar lines to the “character” formula is what is called the “open letter” technique.
This powerful technique was used by Norman Cousins who resigned from the ‘Saturday Review’ to launch his own magazine ‘World Review Magazine’.
He paid $15,711 for 3 insertions in the New York Times with the headline: “An Open Letter to the Readers of The New York Times.”
This first tranche of advertising netted Cousins $54,923.00 in subscriptions.
Now we go back to Sackheim. Sackheim is also well known for originating the “Book-of-the Month” club. This is what he had to say about using ideas from other places:
“Every advertising man is familiar with the phrase ‘my business is different’. Nearly every time I have tried to convince an advertiser that a plan which has worked successfully in another business might work successful in his, he has at least thought, if he did not say it, that his business is different. But old and used ideas can be adapted to any business.”
So what can you learn from Sackheim’s Book-of-the-Month club?
More than you think. People are lazy. Getting people to take any sort of action is not easy. That’s why much of advertising uses deadlines and limited time offers.
Sackheim used this human characteristic to his own advantage.
Every month, members of his book club would be notified of that month’s book selection and unless they replied that they didn’t want the book – it was assumed that they did and it would be subsequently mailed out to them. Clever!
Sackheim originated the idea and now every “of-the-month” club operates like this. Have you experienced this?
Perhaps you’re thinking: “this wouldn’t work for me” or “my business really is different” then you’re missing the point and just not being creative enough.
You can use Sackheim’s “Negative Option Plan” to your business. If, for example, you have a web based business, you can have a member or subscription site which brings in regular, monthly income. Your customers’ credit cards can be charged each month for their renewal of membership. People being lazy will rarely cancel their subscriptions bringing you a nice recurring revenue stream.
Sackheim’s Negative Option Plan forces people to take action to cancel their renewals. Many just can’t be bothered. You can take advantage of this little bit of human psychology. Of course, you will have to provide a good product or service that gives value for money.
In 1917, Sackheim met a young man called Victor Schwab who he hired as his private secretary. Schwab, working alongside Sackheim soon developed himself into a good copywriter.
In 1928 Schwab and his partner took over Sackheim’s agency after Sackheim decided to ‘call it a day’. He was responsible for creating ads for Dale Carnegie; Charles Atlas; and Sherwin Cody’s courses (as was Sackheim).
His famous works included the best selling 1930s classic: “How to Win Friends and Influence People”.
He wrote a series of articles called: “How to Write a Good Advertisement” and introduced a 5 step formula:
- Get attention
- Show People an Advantage
- Prove it
- Persuade People to Grasp This Advantage
- Ask for Action
His series of articles were later turned into a book, also called: “How to Write a Good Advertisement.”
Maxwell Sackheim also wrote a great book on marketing called: “My First 60 Years in Advertising”. This book is now out of print (as are most of these classics) but if you’re interested in the works of Maxwell Sackheim there is a book available by Jerry Buchanan called: “Billion Dollar Marketing.” You should be able to get this from your high street bookstore or on Amazon.
That’s all for Part #5.
In Part #6 we will go back to 1912 and show you an extract from a magazine of the time that gives up the secret of what makes people buy your products and services.
And there are not many marketers that know this.
Want even more long lost secrets? Remember, this e-course is only a tiny sampling of what’s waiting for you. Get 4 nearly forgotten yet timeless Long Lost Marketing Secrets at www.secretsofmarketinglegends.com
