How to write a good advertisement

What Hacker News says

1. tmcdosMar 2023
   I am not an entrepreneur (yet) but I still want to share a few titles with you:

   - "Maverick or The seven day weekend" by Ricardo Semler

   - "Rework" by Jason Fried and David Hansson

   - "Startup - an insider's guide to launching and running a business" by Kevin Ready

   - "Bookkeeping and Cost Accounting for Factories" by William Kent (1918)

   - "Practice what you preach" by David Maister

   - "Don't oil the squeaky wheel" by Wolf Rinke

   - "Selling The Wheel: Choosing The Best Way To Sell For You Your Company Your Customers" by Jeff Cox

   - "The power of stupidity" by Giancarlo Livraghi

   - "How to write a good advertisement" by Victor Schwab

   - "How to Make Money Out of Thin Air" by Brian Sher

   - "Good manners and business etiquette. Illustrated Guide" by Elena Ber

   - "Don't just roll the dice: A usefully short guide to software pricing" by Neil Davidson

   - "Message to Garcia" by Elbert Hubbard

   - the TopLeaf course of 36 video lectures on management by dr. Izhak Adizes can be purchased on https://vimeo.com/ondemand/topleaf or found on ru tracker (if you have access)

   Show morethread
2. febinFeb 2019
   I am also on the same boat. Based on my learnings and experience from running failed startups, here's a system I am experimenting.

   Step 1: Observation

   There are oppurtunities around you; some people are good at finding them and exploiting it to build profitable ventures.

   The intended outcome is to find a problem people are struggling with and help them solve it.

   Here's how I find problems.

   1. Most Voted "Ask HN" Queries: I have already noted your question as a story idea for my medium blog. Since this is something, people need help in figuring out.

   2. Comments Most Voted HN Posts : Not all posts have comments where people talk about their problem, but some post has insightful data.

   3. Comments on Top-Listed Products on Product Hunt : Find out the top listed products on product hunt. Go to the comment section and check out for the 'cons'.

   4. Conversations : Go out and talk to people who have a different perception of the world. Try putting yourself into their shoes. Then try to if you can bring a solution to their problems with the knowledge you have.

   5. App Store Reviews / Amazon Reviews: These reviews contain problems with current product users have.

   Step 2. Study

   Now that you have got the puzzle, you need to find a cheap and efficient way to solve it.

   I mostly try to see how people in a different field solve this problem. Later, try to see if their solution can fit into the issue I selected.

   I also find solutions in books, research papers, hackathon projects, etc.

   For now, you only need to find a theoretical way to solve the problem.

   Step 3: Shadow Testing & Writing

   Make a landing page about your ideal solution. Make sure you include good graphics such that your product looks ready.

   The landing page also won't be enough to attract people. Write about your learnings on Medium or your blog. At the end of your blog add a signup link to your landing page.

   If you are new to copywriting, please read the book "How to Write A Good Advertisement" by Victor O. Schwab.

   If people can relate to the problem, you would be receiving signups. Ask them to join a slack or a telegram or a WhatsApp group.

   Step 3. Validating with the Early Adopters

   These people are a boon. They have extended me so much help in my earlier startup. They do this because they would like to see their problem solved.

   Start having a conversation with them, build prototypes. Incorporate their feedbacks. Make sure what they are willing to pay exceeds the production cost so that you can make profits.

   I hope this helps.

   Show morethread
3. jaworromJan 2018
   "Scientific Advertising" Claude Hopkins

   "Tested Advertising" Caples (4th edition or earlier only)

   "How I Raised Myself from a Failure to Success in Selling" Betger

   "How to Write a Good Advertisement" Schwab.

   "How to Write Sales Letters That Sell" Drayton Bird

   "The Robert Collier Letter Book" - by Robert Collier

   "Tested Advertising Methods" -by John Caples

   "The Lazy Man's Way to Riches" - by Joe Karbo

   "Break-Through Advertising" - by Eugene M. Schwartz

   "Advertising Secrets of The Written Word" by Joe Sugarman

   "Making Ads Pay" by John Caples

   "Web Copy That Sells" by Maria Veloso

   "The Architecture of Persuasion" by Michael Masterson

   "Influence The Psychology of Persuasion" by Robert Cialdini

   "The Adweek Copywriting Handbook" by Joe Sugarman

   "The Elements of Copywriting" by Gary Blake and Robert Bly

   "The Ultimate Sales Letter" by Dan Kennedy

   "Cashvertising" by Drew Eric Whitman

   "Write to sell " it is written by Andy Maslen

   "Influencing Human Behaviour" by H.A.

   "Tested Sentences That Sell" by Elmer Wheeler

   "Unlimited Selling Power" by Moine and Lloyd.

   "Writing for Emotional Impact" by Karl Iglesias

   Bob Bly's "The Copywriter's Handbook"

   "How To Make Your Advertising Make Money" - John Caples

   "The Copywriters Handbook" - Bob Bly

   "The Adweek Copywriting Handbook" - Joseph Sugarman

   "Sales Letters That Sizzle" - Herschell Gordon Lewis

   "Cash Copy" - Jeffrey Lant

   "Magic Words That Bring You Riches" - Ted Nicholas

   "Ogilvy On Advertising"

   "Method Marketing" by Denny Hatch.

   "My First 50 Years in Advertising" by Maxwell Sackheim.

   "The Greatest Direct Mail Sales Letters of all Time" by Richard Hodgson.

   "How To Write Advertising That Sells" by Clyde Bedell

   "Ads That Sell" by Bob Bly

   "Advertising Headlines That Make You Rich" -- David Garfinkle

   "Magic Words" -- Ted Nicholas

   "Robert Collier Letter Book" -- Robert Collier

   "My Life In Advertising" -- Claude Hopkins

   "Bird" - Commonsense

   "The First Hundred Million" by E. Haldeman-Julius

   David Ogilvy's "Blood, Brains and Beer"

   "Confessions of an advertising man"

   "Million Dollar Mailings" by Denison Hatch

   "The Wizard of Ads" trilogy by Roy H. Williams

   "Making Ads Pay" by John Caples

   Show morethread
4. supersrdjanFeb 2019
   incidentally, Dale Carnegie didn't write that title. The main title and all the chapter titles were written by an advertising copywriter named Vic Schwab. Arguably the titles made it the publishing phenomenon it is. Schwab also wrote a book that probably changed the lives of many marketers. It's title is "How to write a good advertisement"
   thread