My Life in Advertising - notes fr. preface & Ch. 1
by Claude Hopkins
Forward
most concentrated wealth of useful discoveries.
before your eyes. adv life is lived., all that went to make successful, lessons taught as they were learned.
expierience.
hopelessly out of date and amazingly current. <definately> guidelines important.
short. simple. to the point.
adverising pioneer. fixed principles. fundamentals.
useful to neophyte and expert alike.
Preface.
business story. helpful, value to beginners.
only claim…worked twice as long as anybody else.
learned fr. experience.
fr. Chapter 1:
thrift & caution. conspicous conservatism. lack of has wrecked more adv business men than anything.
economy and caution. fundamentals.
wrecks due to over-reaching, reckless speculation on a hidden chance.
advertising disasters vs advertising failures.
dealing wi/human nature. wants, prejudices, idiosyncracies we cannot measure up.
ordinary failures mean little. expected.
feeling the public pulse.
failures. many. never strongly agnst me.
when i lost, i lost little. when i won, gained millions.
taught work
pg.6 early jobs: opened school. paper boy “Detroit Evening News” scrubbed two school houses, church janitor, bill dristributor, worked on a farm 16hr days.
working hard. same in business. no working hrs.
pg.7 sundays best working hrs. no interruptions.
man who works twice as long. go twice as far. does two or three times the work learns two or three times as much. makes more mistakes and more successes…learns fr both.
exceptional hrs. frugality and caution.
common people. know them. their wants and impulses, struggles and economies, simplicities.
talk to in print one of their kind.
responsive chord. my words will be simple, my sentences short. millions of humble homes common people will read and buy.
p9. experiences taught salesmanship. house to house canvasser. learned human nature as applied to spending money.
canvassing wonderful school. sell in person before in print. farmers viewpoint. womans angle.
school of experience instead schhool of theory. higher eductation a handicap
<see gary halberts post re: claude hopkins. downright dangerous. & ben suarz’s thought fr. 7 steps to freedom.>
burn it (course on adv)
practical business vs school of real business. learn more in 1 week talk wi/farm folks than by yr in classroom.
will carleton city ballads - there wasnt any room for his heart.
pg14 railroad foreman friend - worked with enthusiasm. made work a game.
learned great lessons fr. attitude of mind.
not lazyness. too much love of play. wrong idea of play. diff idea of fun.
love work. we do best what we like best. regard life work as most fascinating game that he knows.
