Something You May NOT Know about Claude Hopkins Author of Scientific Advertising
Claude Hopkins was born in 1866. His parents didn’t have much money, but Hopkins felt this helped him in the long run, saying he grew up expecting to work hard. Hopkins understood the common man, who struggles to feed his family and pay bills, because he came from that background. As young as 8, Claude Hopkins earned money by sweeping out two school houses and starting their fires each morning, then delivering both newspapers and ‘bills’ or single page ads to homes after school.
Hopkins father died when Claude was only 10 years old putting even greater financial strain on the family. His mother made a silver polish, which Claude molded into cakes, wrapped in decorative paper and sold door to door. Hopkins noticed that if he could talk his way into the house to demonstrate the polish that he was almost 10 times as likely to sell some.
While still a teenager, Hopkins worked as: a guest minister delivering sermons, a teacher, a fruit picker on his uncle’s farm. Then as a young adult, he worked as a bookkeeper and general errand boy at the Felt Boot Company. Within a year he had meet one of the investors in the Felt Boot Company, Mr. M. R. Bissell, president of Bissell Carpet Sweepers. Hopkins soon began working for Bissell Carpet Sweepers as a lowly assistant bookkeeper at $40 a month. Six months later he had been promoted to head bookkeeper and was earning $75 a month.
Despite this rapid rise, Hopkins wasn’t satisfied. He realized that he could go no further in this position, nor expect further raises — because a bookkeeper is an expense and a good businessman must limit expenses. He realized that he could never be worth more than another person doing the same quantity and quality of work. He recognized, from keeping the books, that the large salaries were paid to the salesmen, or to men in the factory that could reduce costs. These employees contributed to the business’s profits. Hopkins quickly saw the difference between an employee who contributes to profits, versus one who is only an expense. At that moment, he decided Continue reading
One Source of Free Online Advertising
If you are a small or a new business owner, then you’ll find yourself in a dilemma. You’ll quickly start to realize that you can’t earn revenue without marketing and advertising your business. On the other hand, marketing and advertising generally costs money. So, how in the world would you go about creating more money for your business through advertising, when you have little or no money for advertising?
Craigslist: A Powerful Publicity Tool
This guest post was written by Joan Stewart of The Publicity Hound.
So you thought Craigslist was only for finding an apartment, a job, a car or a date.
Did you know that the wildly popular web portal can be one of the most valuable tools in your PR campaign, particularly if you’re looking for grassroots publicity targeted at certain cities or countries?
Craigslist is a giant community bulleting board, an almost entirely free classified ad service where you can buy, sell or give away just about anything. Started in the late 1990s by Craig Newmark, it began as a list only for San Francisco. But it became so popular that it’s turned into 190 separate lists for people in all 50 states in the United States and 35 other countries. The more than 80 discussion forums are devoted to a wide variety of topics.
More than 10 million people use Craigslist each month, so you never know who might be reading. No one edits your posts, but you’ll be kicked off the list if your message is obscene. You can’t post identical messages to more than one city or category, but you can post a photo if you wish.
Most posts are live for only 30 days. Posts in the events and classes categories are live for only 14 days. Once a message expires, you can repost it again and again. That means that if you’re advertising an event in December, you can start posting it as early as September, then keep reposting it whenever it expires.
Here’s just a small sample of the types of things Publicity Hounds can post on Craigslist:
Meetings, fund-raisers and information about volunteers for every kind of community group imaginable. These can include poker clubs and knitting circles, self-help groups, fraternal groups and service clubs.
Classes, activities and demonstrations at schools, colleges, universities or government agencies
Anything dealing with artwork, whether you’re looking for models or giving away art you no longer want
Political meetings, rallies, volunteer opportunities, fund-raisers and ranting
Musicians who are cutting new CDs, searching for band members or looking for gigs
Free tips from hospitals, health care agencies and doctors on everything from cholesterol to bird flu
Employee awards, open houses, new products and services, promotions and other news at local companies
Speaking engagements, book signings and other events hosted by authors, speakers and experts
Questions and comments about where to find the best bar, supermarket or barber shop in a certain community
What you’re doing in your small business, such as products and service you’re offering, or free classes you’re giving
Anything dealing with child care, from where to find a babysitter to the best nannies
Every post is free except if you’re posting job listings at the New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles lists.
I’ve been posting my business events to Craigslist for a few months, and I found the site difficult to navigate at first.
The categories can also be confusing. So before you decide Continue reading
Do you have the idea that advertising is a low-life profession
I grew up long before caller-id existed and my mother was rarely madder than when “some SALESMAN called up and interrupted” her at home.
Sales people were irritating to my mother whether they called on the phone, knocked on the door or even hovered too closely in the store.
It’s hard growing up with this mindset, oh and of course haven’t we all heard plenty of jokes about the “used car salesman type of personality” which means someone with low moral standards — so it’s hard to grow up with this and then aspire to sell and sell a lot.
But we all have to sell, whether we are selling the idea that we’re the best candidate for the job or selling life insurance policies. If we have a negative association with sales and advertising, then we better consider how to get over it.
I recommend Continue reading
Advertising Idea: Good or Bad? Part 2…
So I mentionned in Part 1 of Advertising Idea: Good or Bad? how Steve Jobs and the creating advertising agency had been some of the few fans of the 1984 commercial before it aired. One year later, it was time to announce the MacIntosh Office via a Super Bowl ad and here is the commercial that was developed:
What is your guess on whether people at Apple thought this was a good ad or a bad ad?
What do you think?
Continue reading
Advertising Idea: Good or Bad?
I love discovering how different the view of an advertising campaign can be before it launches versus after it has run.
I am reading Steve Jobs Biography
Now when this commercial was aired at Apple for the first time, the first comment was…
Continue reading
I will greet this day…. Greatest Salesman
I will greet this day with love in my heart, for this is the greatest secret of success in all ventures. Muscle can split a shield and even destroy life but only the unseen power of love can open the hearts of men and until I master this art I will remain no more than a peddler in the market place. I will make love my greatest weapon and none on whom I call can defend against its force.
Getting Print Publicity
Well, as I said before, Steve Harrison tends to offer some very costly PR, publicity training. Pricey, as in $5000 a seat. So when I see him offering something for free, I am suspicious of it being a giant tease for one of his expensive programs. Still…. I decided to sign up and listen in to this seminar he is offering this Thursday, March 4th.
Radio Television Interview Report (RTIR) Reviews
I’ve often gotten mailers promoting Steve Harrison’s Radio TV Interview Report. Since most of the seminars and products that I’ve seen Steve Harrison offer for book publicity have HUGE price tags, I tossed this stuff into the garbage.
Radio Advertising for Cosmetic Surgery
Radio Advertising for Cosmetic Surgery should emphasize the following:
- the ability for customers to get all their questions answered while making their surgery decision, pre-surgery and post-surgery
- affordability – both in terms of price and any financing offered
- convenience – do you have evening appointments available or is the location convenient?
Claude Hopkin’s Life in Advertising
Claude Hopkins was born in 1866. His parents didn’t have much money, but Hopkins felt this helped him in the long run, saying he grew up expecting to work hard. Hopkins understood the common man, who struggles to feed his family and pay bills, because he came from that background. As young as 8, Claude Hopkins earned money by sweeping out two school houses and starting their fires each morning, then delivering both newspapers and ‘bills’ or single page ads to homes after school.
Don’t Sell the Steak, Sell the SIZZLE
Elmer Wheeler’s first guiding principle in advertising was: Don’t Sell the Steak, Sell the Sizzle
A Sales Technique to Make Department Stores Sell Out of Toothbrushes?
My last post was how it came that Elmer Wheeler was commissioned to make a study of salespeople. Now a bit of info about the scope and impressive results from this study, which was referred to as the Wheeler Word Laboratory.
The Final Word in Sales
As I mentionned in my last post Elmer Wheeler had a job selling advertising space. After he was told that newspaper ads often bring people to stores, but those people rarely buy, he thought he would test out this statement.
So What is a Good Advertising Idea?
The question, what is a good advertising idea, might seem ridiculously simple. A good advertising idea is one that brings results, right?
The Need for the Best Advertising Ideas
Here’s a good statement on why you need the best selling ideas:
Your salespeople can be the strong or the weak link in your company’s sales chain. If one link of the chain will hold fifty pounds, another thirty pounds, and another six pounds, altogether the chain can support only six pounds – the “holding power” of the weakest link.
So What Are You Selling?
There is really only one right answer to this question with a whole lot of flavors.
What are you selling? A better life for your customers.
