VersaQuill

One of the pleasures of researching the VersaQuill Copywriting Workbook has been reading books by master copywriters. I find very refreshing their assumptions that the work they do is good and useful, and that business and capitalism are good things. (See the annotated list of Sources for specific book recommendations.)

I incorporated their advice into the worksheets and checklists of the Workbook, but when I came across an idea stated with particular pithiness or clarity, I added it to my file of advertising quotes. Here are a few favorites of general interest:

• Advertising is the poetry of capitalism. (Michael Maynard)
• The next time you’re in a meeting, look around and identify the yes-butters, the not-knowers, and the why-notters. Why-notters move the world. (Louise Pierson)
• He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts – for support rather than illumination. (Andrew Lang)
• When somebody asked Willie Hoppe’s manager how it was that Willie always won his billiard matches, the answer was, “Willie is always playing billiards; his competitors are always playing Willie.” (Victor Schwab)

And here are a few that relate more specifically to copywriting:

• Good copy involves digging for facts before a word is written, not whirling around to a typewriter keyboard, and starting to bang out words. (Victor Schwab)
• Remember the people you address are selfish, as we all are. They care nothing about your interests or your profit. They seek service for themselves. Ignoring this fact is a common mistake and a costly mistake in advertising. (Claude C. Hopkins)
• The advertisements which persuade people to act are written by men who have an abiding respect for the intelligence of their readers, and a deep sincerity regarding the merits of the goods they have to sell. (Bruce Barton, co-founder of BBDO)
• The headline tells the reader what the article is about. And thus gains his first attention. The illustration illustrates it. And thus sustains his interest. … Pictures alone, in publication advertising, do not sway the millions. Pictures mean little without words to explain them. People want to know “WHY”—and that takes more than a picture can tell. (Arthur Lasker)

Eventually I’ll organize this collection and sell it as an ebook. Meanwhile, I’m giving the work in progress free to purchasers of the VersaQuill Copywriting Workbook.