Resource
Learn copywriting by reading Hopkins' 'My Life in Advertising'
Clemens's go-to advice for aspiring copywriters: read Claude Hopkins' autobiography 'My Life in Advertising' (not his copywriting book) first, because it tells the stories behind brands like Pepsodent, Goodyear, and Hoover, and if you don't enjoy those stories, copywriting isn't for you.
“Yeah, I always tell people to read a book called My Life in Advertising, which was written by Claude Hopkins. He's one of the greatest copywriters in the 1920s. Yeah, the psychology back then is the same as today. And I tell them to read My Life in Advertising, which is his biography, not his copywriting book, because it talks about how he built all these great brands that are around today, like Hoover vacuum and Goodyear tire and Pepsodent toothpaste.”
Steal thisRead 'My Life in Advertising' and 'Scientific Advertising' (both free online) to learn copywriting.
Fact
Pepsodent took US daily brushing from 5% to 85% in 10 years
Clemens cites that only 5% of Americans brushed their teeth daily before Pepsodent; copywriter Claude Hopkins' marketing made it a daily habit, pushing the figure to 85% within ten years.
“Yeah, people, only 5% of people were brushing their teeth daily in the United States before Pepsodent came out. Within 10 years it was 85%.”
Framework
The 'quartz movement' copywriting trick: name what everyone has, but no one says
A classic copywriting move (Claude Hopkins' beer example) is to describe a universal, unremarkable feature as if it's unique. Every watch has quartz movement and all aluminum is 'space-age,' but stating it out loud makes the product feel special to buyers who don't know it's standard.
“And so there's— this is actually a famous copywriting trick, which is Have you ever heard of, um, a time— like a watch, like a wristwatch being described as like with quartz movement? Yes, they all have fucking quartz movement, right? They all do. All of them do. Or like space-age aluminum. They all— that's not even a thing, first of all.”
Steal thisDescribe a universal feature of your product as if it's a unique selling point; customers who don't know it's standard will value it.