How I Discovered a Similar Concept from the New Book “Copywriting Secrets” in Little-Known 98-Year-Old Book

I LOVE reading old books.

I love reading them because many times I will uncover a powerful truth, concept, or idea in them that I THOUGHT was a new or recent truth/concept/idea.

But discoveries like this always remind me that no matter how much things change, the fundamentals never do.

And when I discover that what I thought was a new or recent truth/concept/idea is actually a fundamental truth/concept/idea, then I am even more excited about it than ever.

Why?

Because not only are the fundamentals unchanging, they’re also much more powerful and important than trends, fads, and “fly by night” truths/concepts/ideas.

Anyway, I say all of that because you’ll never guess what I discovered in an old, obscure book from 1921.

What I Discovered in This Old, Forgotten Book Proves That Jim is Teaching Us the Unchanging, Powerful and Important Marketing Principles in “Copywriting Secrets.”

I had just finished reading Secret #3 “Without a Strong Why, People Don’t Buy” in Jim Edwards’ new book Copywriting Secrets.

A few days later, I was skimming through this old 98-year-old book and I couldn’t believe what I saw…

“That is to say, under one or another of the six arbitrary groupings will be found all of the related human instincts to which ordinary advertising is likely at any time to find it necessary to address itself. The list follows.

1. Desire for Gain

This includes the emotions of:
Money-saving instinct
Money-getting instinct
Speculation in its various degrees Acquisitiveness Ambition (of a certain nature)
Desire for knowledge (as an end in itself, or as a means)
Self-interest

2. Caution

This includes the emotions of:
Desire to provide for the future
Desire to protect those dependent on one (whether family or employees) against poverty, disease, pain, or mental distress
Desire for health
Forethought or foresight
Fear
Self-interest

3. Utility

Which includes the instincts of:
Constructiveness
Convenience
Necessity
Desire for time-saving, labor-saving, and health promoting devices, and the enjoyment resulting from any of these

4. Self-Gratification

Which includes the instincts and emotions of:
Self-indulgence
Appetites and sense-pleasures
Love of luxury or ease or comfort
Vanity
Pleasure
Display
Ornamentation
Desire for personal adornment
Striving to imitate others
Sports and diversions
Love of the arts
Pride of possession

5. Competition

Which is inclusive of:
Ambition (of a certain nature)
Pride
Emulation
Coquetry
Desire for skill in sports, trade, mechanics, etc.
Desire for knowledge, progress, or improvement.

6. Moral and Esthetic Instincts

These are regarded as including:
Love of beauty or convenience in the home.
Desire for welfare and safety of others
Hospitality and Sociability
Cleanliness
Religion

If you haven’t read Jim’s “10 Reasons Why People Buy” on page 16 yet, then this list won’t mean anything to you.

But if you have, you know why I was amazed to see a list like this in a book from the early 1900s.

Even though this list and Jim Edwards list isn’t exactly the same, the overall concept and many of the things on both lists are surprisingly similar.

When I saw this, I realized that Jim’s concept of universal reasons that people buy, which need to be appealed to, is one that I better not overlook or dismiss.

And I’d encourage you to pay close attention to them too.
You might be wondering, “Well, could Jim have got inspiration from this old list?”

I seriously doubt it.

The reason I say that is because this isn’t a well-known, old school marketing book like Scientific Advertising.

It’s a random one that I hadn’t even heard of until I stumbled on to it one day.

The LONG Title of This Rare Book

This old book that contained this powerful and still relevant information is called…

BETTER ADVERTISING: A Practical Manual of the Principles of Advertising, Embracing Institutional and Direct Advertising, Reason Why and Human Interest Copy, Elements of the Advertisement, and the Make Up of Advertising Circulars and Folders

It was written by John M. Manly and John A Powell. Look in Chapter 3, called “Direct Advertising,” to find the section I quoted.

(If you’re a regular reader, you might recognize this title. I shared another excerpt from this book in a recent post. You can read it here: Marketing is Sales Talk Transformed into Words.)

The cool thing about this strangely titled book is that it contains a lot more information that is still relevant today.

Want to Learn More from Both of These Books?

If you would like to learn more from Jim Edwards’ new book, “Copywriting Secrets,” you can get a FREE copy (just pay for shipping) by clicking here.

If you would like to learn more from the old book, “Better Advertising,” then stick around.

I’ll be posting more information from the book in another article AND I will be uploading a copy of the book into our DRCM Member’s Resource Area.

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