The “Golden Rule” I Learned from the Greatest Advertising Copywriters

Dear Marketing Maven,

As you’ll recall, Maxim #2 stated…

“To become a master, study the masters.”

And what is a “golden rule” of copywriting that the greatest advertising masters of all time recommend?

You’ll find it in three simple words…

Maxim #9:
Know Your Product

In the book The Art of Writing Advertising, three immortal copywriters gave almost identical advice about how you, too, can be a great copywriter.

“My technique, if I have one,” wrote Leo Burnett, “is to saturate myself with the knowledge of the product.”

William Bernbach added, “If I gave any advice to anybody, it’s to know your product inside out before you start working. Your cleverness, your provocativeness and imagination and inventiveness must stem from knowledge of the product.”

George Gribbin agreed, saying, “I think the writer should get to know a great deal about a product—not just the physical characteristics of the product—but knowing the kind of people who are buying it, and what their motives are apt to be for buying it.”

Another advertising master, David Ogilvy, summed up his approach with these words, “I learned to sell, which means listening more than you talk, knowing your product inside and out, having a sense of humor, and telling the truth.”

The Night I Rode Shotgun as a Security Guard

Getting to know your product isn’t always for the faint of heart. I vividly remember being assigned to write the copy for a company that supplies uniformed security guards to protect armored cars, department stores, factories, and construction sites late at night.

To get to know this business, I interviewed the head of the company and several key executives, one of whom insisted that I “ride shotgun” with one of his foremen as he made his midnight rounds through some of the toughest neighborhoods of New York City.

Yeah, it was spooky walking down dark alleys and through the darkened hallways of (hopefully!) empty buildings after midnight. But by hanging out with the guards, accompanying them on their rounds, and interviewing the security executives who hire and fire them, I learned more about the guard business than I possibly could have by hiding in my office and reading a few articles.

This was the price I was willing to pay for superior results, which almost always came my way because I simply took the time to know more than my competition did.

It was never superior writing ability or imagination. It wasn’t some secret copywriting formula. It was just the willingness to invest the shoe leather of basic detective work to find out what my client’s prospects want…what makes them tick…what their biggest problems and hot buttons are…how they use their favorite buzzwords and shoptalk…and how the product or service I was promoting could deliver benefits of great value.

Before going out on all such investigative field trips, I would work up a list of questions, just like an investigative reporter or obsessed detective, and then scribble down or record any answers and observations I came across.

My Checklist for Researching the Product

• How did this product come to be? What need was it designed to fill?
• Why did the founder start this company or launch this product? What did he or she see as its reason for being?
• Is there an interesting story about its launch—obstacles that were overcome, false starts that led to brilliant realizations, a big break that put it on the map, etc.?
• What is the product’s unique selling proposition—how does it fill a consumer need or want better than its competition can?
• Why is it made the way it is?
• What are all its features, and how does each translate into a consumer benefit?
• What options does the product come in (different materials, sizes, colors, deluxe version, etc.)?
• If you could wave a magic wand and improve some aspect of this product or service, what would it be?
• If you were sitting next to a prime prospect at a dinner party, how would you sum up in a sentence or two the main reasons this product is better than any other?
• What will the prospect lose by not having this product—money, time, convenience, status, exclusivity, etc.?
• What service and support come with the product?
• Can the product be a desirable gift item?
• When are most orders placed and why? Is there a seasonal tie-in?
• What other information exists about this product—previous ads, brochures, direct mail packages, data cards of mailing lists, ezines, article reprints, focus group videos and other market research, back issues if it’s a publication, photos, websites…plus the ads and websites of competitors?
• Who else can be interviewed—top salespeople, founder, CEO, board members, brand manager, marketing manager, customer service reps, product designer, engineer, happy customers, company librarian, public relations firm, etc.? When interviewing those in sales and marketing, always ask which themes have interested their prospects most.
• Are there any online chat rooms where you can be a fly on the wall and hear firsthand what your prospects are really saying about their problems, wants, and needs?

With any of the people you meet in researching these questions, be sure to ask if they can think of anything else you should know about or anyone else you should interview to better understand the product and its benefits.

In the next Maxim, we’ll see how to research an often-overlooked factor that will usually give you an exceptional advantage in boosting response.

In the meantime, always remember…

Maxim #9:
Know Your Product

Resources:
Denis Higgins, The Art of Writing Advertising.
David Ogilvy, Confessions of an Advertising Man.

Sincere wishes for a good life and (always!) higher response,

Gary Bencivenga

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