Advertising is a very precise science. It finds its bases in many different fields including copywriting, psychology and even math. In recent decades, we have observed a slow but steady beautification of advertising.
For marketing experts this can work. For less savvy advertisers, it is a huge pitfall that draws attention away from the much more important aspects of a successful selling proposition. Faulty advertising costs its makers billions of dollars a year, and almost all are guilty of it, even the huge corporations.
You will see many of todays internet marketing gurus recommending volumes several decades old. There is a good reason for this. Many of those volumes were written by direct marketers that engaged in extremely costly mailings.
These ads have to produce optimal results or they produce losses. The upside is that results can be measured and broken down to a ridiculously precise extent. In fact very small fluctuations in these figures separate success from failure.
First and foremost is the written word. Nothing replaces a captivating headline and solid advertising copy. For headlines, the goal is to grab attention and qualify....