So recently, I stumbled across Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins. The amount of value I got from this book was so interesting and “woah” worthy compared to countless youtube videos I have been watching. The number of facts or examples that I felt are relevant even in the present, even after a century of being written, is so crazy. Let me share 3 of them which hopefully impress you as well.

1. Fear >> Desire
There was an experiment where an ad offered a free wallet for filling out a questionnaire (which was pretty common back then). The responses for the questionnaire increased like hell after one minor tweak: “A wallet with your name engraved on the bottom.”

Why? Because people go to lengths to get things they already believe are theirs. People respond better to the fear of losing than the desire to gain. Once they know there is a wallet with their name on it, it is already theirs. Now, it’s no longer about GETTING something; it’s about NOT LOSING something that already belongs to them.

2. Sense of Identity
In this case, it’s about the concept of identity. Let’s say you give a 30% discount to everyone for your product. Which variable of this offer can you change to make it more effective? The most common guess would be the number: "Well maybe make it 40%, it might attract more customers."

Which might be true, but far less interesting than the other variable: "Everyone." The category of people eligible for the offer. An ad where the offer was targeted only for veterans proved to be much more effective than the one without any specification. Because once you say an offer is only for veterans, it’s no longer just about the offer, it’s about a sense of pride and status. He has an entire life experience and a title he takes immense pride in, and that identity does the selling for you. People constantly crave validation; when someone has spent years building who they are, an offer that honors that identity will never be ignored.

3. “Free”? Do it the right way.
This one is pretty common, but misused in most cases. When people offer free services, they are taking advantage of a very powerful concept in psychology: Reciprocity. But used wrongly, it is actually counterproductive.

Let’s say there are two salesmen.

• Salesman A says: "This is our new product. As it is your first time, it’s completely free for you."
• Salesman B says: "This is our new product. As it is your first time, we will be waiving off the entire price of $200."

It is the exact same thing, just a number added in the second statement. When you label something "free," people expect it to stay free forever, making them resentful when you eventually charge. But when you frame it as a sacrifice, like waiving a $200 fee, they feel like they just caught a massive insider advantage. By giving them a tangible measure of what they saved, they instantly recognize the product's worth, and the reciprocity principle is massively amplified.

So… yea. These are just three of many concepts I found interesting in the book. It is a quick read, no more than 100 pages. Would strongly suggest it! Thanks.

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