Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads

Roy Williams

📚 GENRE: Business & Finance

📃 PAGES: 224

✅ COMPLETED: October 8, 2023

🧐 RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Short Summary

In the sequel to his first book, The Wizard of Ads, Roy Williams shares more of his unique insight on advertising, business, and life. 

Key Takeaways

1️⃣ Own Your Story — Whether you’re an individual or an organization, embrace your story and all of the qualities that make you unique. Your USP is what makes you different and special; trying to be somebody else won’t work. Own your story, no matter what it is, and tell it to the world.

2️⃣ Don’t Be Boring! — The average attention span is so short. Whatever you do, don’t be boring when you write content. Use the laws of persuasion to your advantage, develop a good rhythm, and find ways to keep the reader engaged. Use interesting facts, questions to the audience, bullets, the element of surprise, and mental images to build curiosity and make the reading experience enjoyable. If you don’t, particularly in your headlines and opening paragraph, you’re going to lose your reader real quick. Do not be boring. 

3️⃣ Echoic Intrusiveness — We tend to remember things we hear a lot better than things we see or read, which is why catchy jingles are very memorable; auditory messages stick with us better than visual or textual messages. This explains how a jingle like Subway’s “five-dollar footlong” was able to catch on as well as it did. 

Favorite Quote

“There is a story that is uniquely and wonderfully your own, but you'll never uncover it by trying to imitate the success of others. When digging for the diamond that is your own unique selling proposition, you'll have to sift through a lot of worthless dirt before you find a single nugget of radiant truth. But in the end, it's worth it. Don't be discouraged. Dig for the diamond. Find the story that is uniquely and wonderfully your own, then tell that story with every ounce of your being.”

Book Notes 📑

Part 1: Chapters 1-25

  • Words Are Powerful — When selected carefully and skillfully, words have the power to bring ideas to life and inspire people to act. In all of your writing materials, take time and care to assemble the right combination of words. Don’t be lazy about this, especially in your marketing and advertising efforts. Words that are electric and create vivid images in the reader’s head are very powerful. Words that are bland and dull will not be read and certainly won’t inspire action from anybody.
    • Quote (P. 12): “Words are electric, they should be chosen for the emotional voltage they carry. Weak and predictable words cause grand ideas to appear so dull that they fade into the darkness of oblivion. But powerful words in unusual combinations brightly illuminate the mind.”
    • Quote (P. 13): “If a sentence does not shock a little, it carries no emotional voltage. When the hearer is not jolted, you can be sure he is not moved.”
      • Takeaway — Do not be dull and boring with your words. Make things interesting for the reader. Otherwise, they’ll move on quickly. 
    • Quote (P. 13): “In your ads, use words that are majestic, words that have the power to inflame people’s hearts and illuminate their minds.”
  • Specifics vs. Generalities — People appreciate specifics over generalities, especially when it comes to something they are considering buying. When people see or hear specific details about something, they tend to believe the message. Specifics are simply more believable than generalities. In your ads and marketing materials, try to be specific whenever possible. People want you to back up your statements with proof. Get into the nitty-gritty details of the product and how it’s assembled. Substantiate your claims.
    • Quote (P. 15): “The truth is never full of loopholes and generalities. The truth is made of specifics and substantiation, it’s solid. That’s why it’s easy to spot in a world full of paper-thin lies, half-lies, and hype. What about your ads? Are they full of generalities and unsubstantiated claims?”
  • Branding — Branding is essentially being able to position your company, product, or service in a way that produces positive recall with customers. Ivan Pavlov in 1904 won a Nobel prize for implanting associative memories in dogs. He would ring a bell and rub meat paste on the dog’s tongue. Every time he rang the bell, the dog would come running in expecting a meat treat. The dogs would eventually come in drooling after hearing the bell. This is essentially branding. The public is your dog — you want to create positive associative memories in the public’s mind when people hear your name. You want to tie your message to an established emotional anchor. There are three keys to branding:
    • Consistency — How consistent you are with the overall message and story you’re telling in your advertising
    • Frequency — How often you ring the bell (advertise)
    • Anchoring — Implanting an associative memory by tying your message to an established emotional anchor. When implanting an associative memory, the recall cue (Pavlov’s bell) must be associated with a memory that is already anchored in the mind (the taste of meat).
    • Quote (P. 23): “The buying public is your dog. If you desire a specific response from it, you must tie your identity to an emotional anchor that’s already known to elicit the desired response. If you make such an association consistently and frequently, branding will occur. But don’t expect too much too soon. It takes a lot of repetition to train the dog to salivate at the sound of your name.”
  • Category Dominance & USP — The ultimate goal of branding is to establish category dominance — to become the company that customers think of immediately and the one they feel best about whenever your product category is named. To do that, you have to be elite at something in particular. What is your angle as a company? What do you do better than all other companies in your industry? What is your USP?
    • Quote (P. 28): “There is a story that is uniquely and wonderfully your own, but you’ll never uncover it by trying to imitate the success of others. When digging for the diamond that is your own unique selling proposition, you’ll have to sift through a lot of worthless dirt before you find a single nugget of radiant truth. But in the end, it’s worth it. Don’t be discouraged. Dig for the diamond. Find the story that is uniquely and wonderfully your own, then tell that story with every ounce of your being.”
  • Engage the Imagination — You have to use your words to create an image or story in your reader’s mind. Nobody acts without first imagining themselves performing the act. One of your big goals as a copywriter is to create a vivid picture in your reader’s mind. You want the help the reader picture himself using the product or service you’re trying to sell. If they can see it in their mind’s eye, they are more likely to follow through.
    • Quote (P. 45): “Engage the imagination, then take it where you will. Where the mind has repeatedly journeyed, the body will surely follow. People go only to places they have already been in their minds.”
    • Quote (P. 91): “The first objective of every ad is to successfully engage the imagination of the listener with a thought more attractive than the one that currently occupies the listener’s mind.”
  • Words Are Keys — Think of words as keys that have the power to unlock certain memories in the mind. When you use the right combination of words, you can tap into a reader’s imagination and emotions. Similar to the point above, your goal should be to use your words to help the reader see in his mind’s eye what life will be like with your product or service. Paint the picture with your words. Tell him a story.
    • Quote (P. 48): “Kosslyn tells us, ‘A word is like a key. When a word unlocks the correct stored memories, it is meaningful.’ It is my assertion that the carefully guided recall of a series of such stored memories is the secret of powerful advertising.”
    • Quote (P. 48): “To put it plainly, the listener must be a participant in your advertising. You must cause him to imagine himself taking precisely the action you so artfully describe.”
    • Quote (P. 53): “Describe what you want the listener (reader) to see, and she will see it. Cause her to imagine taking the action you’d like her to take, and you’ve brought her much closer to taking the action. The secret of persuasion lies in our skillful use of action words.”
  • The Brain — Interestingly, sight and sound are stored and processed in totally separate areas of the brain, and more of the brain is devoted to sound than to sight. Additionally, the portion of the brain that stores the memory of sound touches more areas of the brain than any other. Below is a simple diagram of the brain and its various components. 

Part 2: Chapters 26-50

  • Visualize Success — Like your reader, you can only accomplish something that you have already seen in your mind’s eye, and you’ll never outperform your self-image. If you want something in life, you have to first see it happen in your mind and imagination. Nothing can happen if that process doesn’t occur. Make it a habit to visualize success. Never picture yourself failing. See yourself as a champion. Take time to visualize what you want in life. 
    • Quote (P. 60): “Preston Bradley tells us, ‘The world has a way of giving you what is demanded of it. If you are frightened and look for failure and poverty, you will get them, no matter how hard you may try to succeed. Lack of faith in yourself, in what life will do for you, cuts you off from the good things of the world. Expect victory and you make victory. Nowhere is this truer than in business life.’”
  • Surprise! — The element of surprise is one of the best ways to capture and hold a reader’s attention. When you can disrupt somebody’s normal thought pattern, you gain their interest. Try to use surprise in your headlines and early segments of your content; it’s one of the best ways to capture attention in a world where attention is tough to get. 
    • Quote (P. 69): “Surprise is the foundation of delight and the beginning of persuasion.”
  • Mix It Up! — People generally don’t like to read. For you to stand any chance of having your content read cover to cover, you have to be interesting with your writing style. Mix it up. Be creative and fun. Use the element of surprise. Tell a story. Drop an interesting fact. Develop a good rhythm in your writing. Use curiosity to your advantage. Whatever you do, avoid being boring. Nobody wants to read that. Strive to make the reading experience an enjoyable one for your audience. 
    • Quote (P. 71): “When your listener hears only what she has heard before, it’s difficult to keep her attention.”
  • Build Curiosity — If you can find a way to tap into your reader’s natural curiosity, you will have a better chance at holding their attention. As Joseph Sugarman describes it, develop a “slippery slide” and keep the reader inside that slide by using curiosity to you advantage. Using ‘seeds of curiosity’ at the end of paragraphs is a good way to accomplish this. A few examples include:
    • But there’s more.
    • So read on. 
    • But I didn’t stop there.
    • Let me explain. 
    • Now here comes the good part.
    • And here’s why. 
    • But there’s another example. 
  • Study Poetry — Studying poetry can help you develop your ability to create mental images with your words. Poetry is very expressive and vivid. Reading it will help you harness the power of words. 
    • Quote (P. 73): “I am not suggesting that you write ads that rhyme. Such a thing would probably seem tedious and contrived. I am suggesting only that you saturate your mind with poetry. Listen to it and absorb it as though you were trying to learn a foreign language.”
    • Quote (P. 73): “Go to the bookstore and buy a book of poetry, or go to the library and borrow one. Begin with Robert Frost, Carl Sandburg, and Emily Dickinson, then let your own taste take you where it will. Learn to unleash the power of words. In your ads, use unpredictable words in unusual combinations.”
    • Quote (P. 117): “If you truly want to study under masters, listen to the incomparable Paul Harvey and read the poems of Robert Frost.”
  • Echoic Intrusiveness — Echoic intrusiveness is the tendency of unusual combinations of spoken words or rhymes to lodge themselves in the listener’s memory and play over and over in the mind. This is why catchy jingles tend to be very memorable; we tend to remember auditory messages better than visual or textual messages. This is why a jingle like Subway’s “five-dollar footlong” is so easily remembered by people everywhere. 
    • Quote (P. 74): “Let me answer plainly: there is nothing better than a good musical jingle, and nothing worse than one that is average. Unfortunately, most jingles are average.”
    • Quote (P. 75): “Echoic retention causes people to remember things they never committed to memory, and a working knowledge of it gives one the ability to work miracles through the power of words. Echoic retention and the power of words are the heart and soul of advertising, though very few ad professionals understand it.”
    • Quote (P. 93): “Neurologists tell us that what comes through our ears stays in our minds for nearly five full seconds before it begins to fade. Conversely, whatever enters the eyes is gone in less than a second.”
  • Intellectual vs. Emotional Ads — Ads generally take one of two forms: intellectual or emotional. An emotional ad restates/confirms the reader’s problem and attempts to tie in the company’s product in a way that will make him feel different about the issue. An intellectual ad usually attempts to present the reader with new information on the problem he has. The ad then attempts to back up the new information or line of logic with concrete proof. Emotional ads are more effective. People generally make decisions based on emotion and then later justify their decision with logical thinking. 
    • Quote (P. 83): “In the years since my epiphany, I’ve realized that good intellectual ads suggest to the customer that she make a new decision based on new information, then substantiate the ad’s claims with indisputable evidence. But rarely are even the best intellectual ads as productive as those that engage our emotions.”
    • Quote (P. 83): “An emotional ad is one that reminds the customer of something she’s always known or has long suspected. Emotional ads build on the foundation of the customer’s own experience while subtly inserting a new perspective. As a result of this newfound perspective, the customer will have new feelings attached to the product or service featured in the ad. Psychologists call this ‘associative memory.’”
  • Time & Money — People love to save either time or money. If they can save both, even better. Some of the most effective products and services ever created help customers save on at least one of those two. How is your company’s products saving the customer time? Make those features the foundation of your messaging. 
  • One Ad, One Message — Never try to communicate several messages or benefits in one ad. Every ad should have one singular focus. One benefit. One message. One desired course of action. If you try to over-communicate, you will confuse and lose the customer. 
  • Active Voice, Not Passive — Use the active voice when you’re writing. Avoid the passive voice at all costs. Writing with an active voice is much stronger. When you write with an active voice, the subject of the sentence is doing something rather than something being done to the subject. 
    • Ex. Passive — The ball was thrown by Johnny
    • Ex. Active — Johnny threw the ball
    • Ex. Passive — At 7 p.m., the meeting will be held
    • Ex. Active — The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. 

Part 3: Chapters 51-75

  • Using Mental Images — The importance of using words to create vivid mental images can’t be overstated. You must place into the mind of your reader a mental image that involves him using your product to better his life. The best way to do this is by creating a vivid first mental image (FMI) toward the beginning of your copy and a powerful last mental image (LMI) at the end of it. An enticing FMI is the essential first step in creating a winning ad, because it determines whether your prospect will continue to listen. An intrusive and intriguing FMI will cause the prospect to abandon the thought she had been thinking. The best FMI plunges the listener into a world of stored memories, both real and imagined. A good LMI is a call to action that causes the reader to “see” himself taking the action you want. This is where studying poetry can really help. Poets are highly skilled at using words to create very vivid mental images. 
    • Ex. Bad — “The Brita water filtration system makes tap water taste great.” Why is this poorly done? The first mental image in this sentence is a “Brita filtration system.” Nobody can easily see that in their mind’s eye. 
    • Ex. Good — “Tap water tastes great when you have a Brita water filtration system.” Why is this well done? The writer first introduced “tap water,” which is easily imagined in the reader’s mind. Anybody can picture great tasting tap water in their mind, and the writer did well to introduce that first so the reader sees it in his mind right away. 
    • Quote (P. 117): “While a good FMI entices the listener to give you her attention, it’s a good LMI that causes her to ‘see’ herself doing the thing you wish her to do.”
  • Primacy and Recency — Words at the beginning of a list are more easily recalled than words in the middle, this is known among psychologists as the primacy effect. Words at the end of a list are more easily recalled as well, due to a phenomenon known as the recency effect. Primacy and recency make it essential that ads begin and end memorably. Most ad writers, however, bury the point in the middle of the ad and end with predictably dull information such as addresses and phone numbers.

Part 4: Chapters 76-100

  • Writing Job Ads — If you’re ever in a position where you need to hire someone, it’s important that you write job ads that are focused on the type of person you want, not the job itself. If you write a job ad that is focused on the job, anybody will apply. If you write a job at that speaks to the type of person you want in the role, you’ll likely get fewer applicants, but the quality of those applicants will be much stronger. What follows are a few tips to writing effective job ads, as well as a photo of a strong job ad.
    • Rule 1: Focus on the Employee — The ad should be about the employee, not the job. In the ad, describe the person you hope to find. Speak to his aspirations, interests, and strengths. 
      • Quote (P. 168): “Your dream employee will probably not know of your business. He will not recognize the job you detail. You can, however, be confident that he will recognize himself when that is who you describe. He will see himself in the words you choose, the actions you prescribe, and the admirable traits you require. ‘That’s me!’ he will cry. ‘What a perfect fit!’
    • Rule 2: Questions Are the Answer — There’s nothing more irresistible than a question. Have you ever tried to ignore one? Have you ever read a question that was aimed at you and completely escaped thinking about the answer? I doubt it. Pose questions in the ad. This rule goes for any type of content you write. Questions are highly effective at building curiosity and keeping your reader engaged. 
    • Rule 3: You Get What You Pay For — You should always offer a nice compensation package. Don’t skimp. 
    • Quote (P. 169): “Classifieds ads are no different than ads that sell a product or service. If you want a classified ad to be boring, write about the job. If you want it to work miracles, write about the person you hope to find, and don’t be stingy with your words.”
  • Fire With Compassion — If you are ever in the unfortunate position of having to fire somebody, do it with compassion. Make it as peaceful as you can. Talk about how the person is smart and talented, but his skillset doesn’t match the job he’s in. Encourage him to find a job out there that aligns with his skills. This is a better approach than telling a person how bad they are at their job and to “get out now.”
    • Quote (P. 171): “Few days in life feel as bleak as the day one is fired from a job. Why make a difficult time harder than it has to be? Even the worst employee has a few positive traits you can highlight during the termination. Why not let him leave with his dignity intact? Why not let him feel okay about having been ‘the right person in the wrong job’? It certainly makes it easier for the employee to go home and tell the family what’s happened, and it doesn’t cost you a dime.”
  • Dealing With Complaints — There are going to be times where customers or clients are upset and you have to deal with their complaints. The worst thing you can do is get defensive. The best thing you can do is listen intently and try to understand their issue. Communicate with an attitude that says, “I want to understand the problem so I can fix it and make you happy.” Below are three questions that will help you do that:
    • “What happened?” — Ask this to get an understanding of the problem.
    • “What should have happened?” — Ask this to get an understanding of what the customer expected. 
    • “What can I do to make it right?” — Ask this to calm the customer and begin the process of resolving his issue. 
  • Take Risks — As other books have also noted, the worst culture you can build is one where employees feel afraid to take risks and fail. Growth and innovation come from taking risks. Employees should be encouraged to take risks, and they should be embraced when they come up short, not reprimanded. When employees feel afraid to take risks and fail, they won’t speak up and they won’t bring new ideas to the table. The result is slow organizational progress and a culture where fear dominates. 
  • “What Makes That Happen?” — Develop a genuine curiosity for how life works. As you go through your day, ask yourself “what makes THAT happen?” and then try to find the answer. There are learning opportunities literally everywhere you go, even when you’re waiting in line at the grocery store. Develop a thirst for learning. You can learn something new from literally every moment in your life if you look for it and have a mindset of curiosity. 
  • Interesting Fact — America (or the American government) is sometimes referred to as “Uncle Sam”, a tip of the cap to a man named Sam Wilson, who during the War of 1812 packed and sent meat in barrels to soldiers on the front lines. Wilson used to stamp each barrel with “U.S.” At the time, nobody referred to America as the “United States”, so people involved in the war began using “Uncle Sam” instead. It caught on, and in 1961 Congress officially recognized Sam Wilson as the inspiration for America’s “Uncle Sam” national symbol. 
  • Interesting Fact — The “North Star” reference that you hear once in awhile is attributed to Christopher Columbus, who essentially said to keep your focus on a single star in the sky when traveling the sea rather than making decisions based on the ocean’s wave patterns, which change constantly. The story is often used to stress the importance of identifying a set of values to guide you through life and its constantly changing waves.