| By :
Wendy Moyer
If you are earning $185,000 a year you are earning a pretty good income. You might own a nice home, drive a nice car, and take good care of your family. In 1907 Claude Hopkins, one of the great pioneers of advertising, was hired to work at an advertising company called Lord & Thomas. In 1907 his salary was $185,000 a year. To put his income into perspective, today's manufacturer's suggested retail price for a 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe starts at $38,165. In 1907 Cadillac's Model K two-seater runabout, known as the "Tulip" roadster, had a base price of $800. In other words, one of today's most affordable Cadillac's cost almost fifty times as much as their 1907 model. So, Mr. Hopkins was earning some very serious money. As the author of the classic book, "Scientific Advertising", Hopkins earned his reputation by tracking the results of the advertising copy he wrote. He used coded coupons, and continually tested headlines, propositions, and offers against each other. By analyzing his results he was able to continually improve the profits his ads generated for his clients. Claude Hopkins once conducted an experiment using New York City's newspapers. He was introducing a new product to the market and wanted to track the results from ads that millions of people would read. His client knew that anyone who tried a sample of their product would become a lifelong customer. Therefore they wanted to give away as many free samples as they could. For his test Hopkins split his call to action into three parts. The first call to action read that it was easy to get a free sample of the product. All anyone had to do was to write their name and address on a piece of paper and send it in. The second test also said it was easy to get a free sample of the product. All anyone had to do was to call a certain telephone number and give the operator their name and address and the product would be on its way. The third call to action also said it was easy to get a free sample of the product. This call to action gave the reader the choice of either writing their name and address on a piece of paper and sending it in or calling a certain phone number and giving their name and address to an operator. Do you want to know which call to action generated three times as many leads? It was the one that told people to call a certain phone number and give their information to an operator. Why was this approach so much more effective? This call to action was the most effective because the other two tests allowed the readers to delay their actions. And any delay, no matter how small, can kill a sale. Maybe you're thinking that this concept worked a hundred years ago but that it won't be as effective today. A more modern marketing legend, Gary Halbert, tested the same concept seventeen times. And, guess what? The phone option tripled the response rate every single time.
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