David Ogilvy is the King of Copywriting.

And in 1982 he writes a 38 lesson manifesto titled

"How to create advertising that sells"

Here are the top 7 tips that you can use today:

We Make the Wrong Promise

A promise is not a random claim or stupid slogan.

It is a benefit for the consumer.

And the product delivers that benefit.
Awards are Dumb

"Pursuing creative awards seduces creative people from pursuing sales."

Translation:

If your job is to sell, focus 100% of your energy on selling the product.

Not selling yourself to voters to win an award.
"Nobody was ever bored into buying a product."

Give it some magic and charm.

The iPhone vs. Blackberry is a modern example:

https://t.co/vN8KIJ5T6g
Hit the Headline

"On average, 5 times as many people read the headline vs. the body."

People are scared of writing clickbait titles.

But the truth is that clickbait exists only when you fail to keep your promise to the reader.

h/t @nicolascole77
Long Writing Works

"The more you tell, the more you sell."

Readership falls off at 50 words.

But barely drops between 50 and 500 words.

Just like you will binge 20 hours of a great Netflix show, we read long writing as long as it delivers.
The Brand Image

95% of all advertising has no consistent theme year over year.

People are the same way.

We jump from thing to thing endlessly in search of our "passion".

What if you just focused 100% of your energy on ONE thing this year?
Double Down on Winners

"The best ads get discarded right when they start to pay off."

The best investments get sold too early.

If it works, make sure there is a clear reason to stop.

Don't let our never ending search for novelty win.
If you picked up a new insight, retweet the first tweet to teach a friend:
https://t.co/ObrTLOce1x
For more free frameworks, systems and business stories, join 6,288 others and sign up for my weekly newsletter here:

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You can also check out all 38 lessons here!

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