Did you know one of the best books about Internet marketing was published 77 years ago?
Seriously.
In 1932, Claude Hopkins published “Scientific Advertising” – one of the great all-time books on direct marketing. Reading it will likely give you more insights into how to market your business online than any of the latest programs being pitched by Internet Marketing gurus. And at under 9 bucks, it’s probably one of the best investments in your online marketing education you can make.
Re-reading this book recently, I was struck by the following sentences . . .
“People do not expect an advertiser to lie. They know that he can’t lie in the best mediums. The growing respect for advertising has largely come through a growing regard for its truth.”
These sentences appear in a chapter titled “Being specific.” And, no doubt, adding specificity to your advertising instead of using broad generalities and superlatives is a critical component of a successful sales letter, ad, etc.
But what you do think about the statement “People do not expect an advertiser to lie?”
Is it still true today? Or have things changed so much since 1932 that consumers now expect that advertisers are more likely to lie than tell the truth?
And if you think things have changed, what do you think these changed expectations do to the importance of including specificity in your advertising, if anything?
Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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