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Summary: A valuable tool for any media account executive!
Review: Even though this book is based on data from direct mail advertising, almost everything can be applied to writing copy for broadcast media such as radio and television.Mr. Caples clearly outlines the steps to take in writing, and most important, testing advertising copy. Starting at the top, with the headline, Mr. Caples walks the reader through example after example of how to, and how not to, build an effective ad. Four of the eighteen chapters in this book deal with the writing of headlines. According to Caples, if you don't grab them with a strong headline, a headline that offers the prospect something of value, they will never get sold by the copy. Caples approach to this task is both straightforward and fact-based, leaving no detail in a headline unexamined. The result is a process that maximizes advertisng pull, and acordingly, revenue. This is one book that anyone focused on building a carrer in advertising, whether it be print or broadcast, should not be without.
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Summary: The Natural Successor to Scientific Advertising
Review: First read Claude Hopkins's "Scientifc Advertising," then read this. Any modern-day advertisers and copywriters who don't follow the teachings of Caples and Hopkins are doomed to failure. Caples picked up where Hopkins left off, expanding upon Hopkins's work and breaking new ground with his work. Far too many advertisers today fail to heed the advice of Caples and it shows both in their advertisng and the results they achieve. "Tested Advertisng Methods," together with "Scientific Advertising," form the Bible of Advertising. If you are a serious student of advertising and/or copywriting, this has to be on your bookshelf.
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Summary: I first read this classic book nearly 20 years ago...
Review: I had forgotten how much of my own work as a copywriter has been influenced by it. The 5th edition is full of commonsense advice and updated examples of Caples's principles at work in the real world. And what a thrill to discover my own work cited for "doing everything right" (Select Comfort ad, p 10.). Thanks for keeping Caples ideas alive for another generation.
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Summary: Tested Ad Methods a True Ace
Review: I have read this book twice cover to cover and refer to it almost everyday. If I could have given this book 6 stars I would have done it without reservation. I have ordered and read at least 4 different books on copywriting and advertising in the last year. Most of the books have good ideas, but none of them describe the methods of writing headlines the way Caples does. He spends 4 chapters on it and let me tell you when he is finished you will know it cold! Personally that would have been enough to sell me on the book, but he doesn't stop there. He talks about scientific advertising to make sure you are writing ads that sell and not waste money. In addition, he talks through how to write the first paragraph and how to structure the copy. Finally, he spends time to talking about how to improve the selling power of copy. Since I have read this book my ability to write copy has reached a whole new level. If you are in this field or responsible for writing copy I would advise you that this is a book you MUST own.
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Summary: Excellent - Best book on advertising and copywriting ever!
Review: I have read this book twice cover to cover and refer to it almost everyday. If I could have given this book 6 stars I would have done it without reservation. I have ordered and read at least 4 different books on copywriting and advertising in the last year. Most of the books have good ideas, but none of them describe the methods of writing headlines the way Caples does. He spends 4 chapters on it and let me tell you when he is finished you will know it cold! Personally that would have been enough to sell me on the book, but he doesn't stop there. He talks about scientific advertising to make sure you are writing ads that sell and not waste money. In addition, he talks through how to write the first paragraph and how to structure the copy. Finally, he spends time to talking about how to improve the selling power of copy. Since I have read this book my ability to write copy has reached a whole new level. If you are in this field or responsible for writing copy I would advise you that this is a book you MUST own.
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Summary: Doesn't get any better than this.
Review: It is so good because Caples was in the mail order advertising business for forty-something years, and that's one of the few kinds of advertising that gets real feedback. Ads can be tested and the results can be compared. So Caples gives you FACTS rather than opinions about what works in advertising. The book is very informative and also very interesting because Caples will show you two examples of ads he ran as a split-run and says "one sold three times more than the other; can you guess which one?" Then he'll tell you, and tell you WHY. Not only that, but the book is extremely readable. I'm the author of Self-Help Stuff That Works, and I'm an expert on putting the most useful information into a readable form, and this book is as good as it gets. As David Ogilvy says in the introduction, "This is, without a doubt, the most USEFUL book about advertising that I have ever read." No more endorsement than that is needed!
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Summary: Great resource with practical examples
Review: Not only the how, but what is shared in a simple easy to use way. Very useful especially the section on how to test your marketing (your ads), much more available than I could find searching around the net. Great how-to, and how-not-to examples.
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Summary: If You Want 5 Star Content, This Book is The One!
Review: There's a reason why David Olgilvy calls this the most useful advertsing book he's ever read! I hold a Ph.D in Sales/Marketing and they simply DO NOT teach this money producing stuff enough at our colleges and universities! Instead, most of them opt for creative mush that's clever and makes for good awards and 5 minute speeches....but doesn't sell anything! If you want simple, brass tacks, powerful advertising advice, this book will be the most delapidated marketing resource in your library!
Is you're serious, RUN, don't walk to the checkout and pickup this incredible book. You'll pay guys like Dan Kennedy hundreds and even thousands of dollars for this advice...but it's all right here! Good stuff!
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Summary: Advertising 101
Review: This book gives the basic knowledges required to write good ads and reminds us that advertising is about bringing more business to your client and not winning an award for "creativity"... Well written and quickly read: it should be a requirement in any business school.
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Summary: One of the best books in advertising
Review: This book is a jewel that every marketer or member of an ad agency should have as a reference. It does not lose time in trying to be creative. It's quite the opposite, with the author defending what he defines as "scientific" advertising, the type of advertising that wins sales as opposed to ad awards. It provides clear explanations on concepts of written copy and tests every different type of ad you can imagine - short copy x long copy, ads with picture x ads without picture, etc - to provide the reader with a quite good idea on the types of ads that really work in generating sales. The only caveat of this book: it does not mention techniques that work better in radio and TV.
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