Claude Hopkins: Godfather of Copywriting

I saw an article that posed the question “If you could raise any creative person from the dead, whom would you hire at your company?”. I know a few living ones I’d want (Jack Dorsey, for instance), but finding a dead guy made me think a while. I finally arrived at Claude Hopkins, who would absolutely crush Google AdWords, Twitter and Facebook with the perfect headlines. In a 120 character world, much like the time of Hopkins, you have to hit all the right notes with customers to drive transactions.

Just Do It: Read Claude Hopkins’ Books

If you’re not familiar with Claude Hopkins, go get a copy of My Life in Advertising and Scientific Advertising ASAP. Your copywriting will be better by the time you’re halfway through the books (it’s two books in one). Hopkins emphasized brevity (they were paying for printed newspaper space) and the hook.