How John Caples Writes The First Paragraph
Legendary copywriter and former VP of BBDO, John Caples, believed wholeheartedly in the first paragraph of an advertisement:
Millions of pages have been turned and millions of advertisements have been left unread because of first paragraphs.
— John Caples
The first paragraph can make or break a sale. So if you want to master this critical element of copy, John Caples is a great copywriter to study.
During his 50 year career, Caples wrote record-breaking sales ads such as “They laughed when I sat down to play the piano. But when I started to play…” which became an instant success.
He published four of the most useful books on advertising in existence, including “Tested Advertising Methods,” which serves as a bible for copywriters, marketers, and business owners today.
And if that’s not enough - the late, great David Ogilvy considered Caples a personal mentor and said this about the man:
“John Caples is a very rare bird. He is not only an indomitable analyzer and teacher of advertising, he is also a first-rate copywriter—one of the most effective there has ever been.”
So in this article, I busted out my 4th edition copy of Tested Advertising Methods to share Caples’ incredible insights.
After we cover the theory, I’ll break down a few Caples ads to see how this master salesman applied the first paragraph in his copy.
How to Improve Your Chances of Writing a First Paragraph that Holds Attention
Caples offers some general advice to improve your chances of success.
Warm up. Like a pitcher practicing at the mound, copywriters can “warm up” by sitting down, cracking open the laptop, and writing with reckless abandon. Let that copy flow. When the copy begins to sizzle, throw out the rest, and voilà, a delicious first paragraph appears on the page, ready to sell.
Get feedback. Ask an experienced copy chief to vet your copy. If you don’t have access to a copy chief, you can hire a copy coach to carefully comb through your copy. I know a few top copywriters who still get their copy read by other copywriters. An experienced copywriter can read your copy and circle the exact spot that needs to be moved to the top.
Rest. If you’re a business owner writing your own copy or a copywriter without access to a copy chief or funds to pay for feedback, then give yourself a day or two of rest. Rest allows your subconscious to make the neural connections necessary for your mind to sense where the true first paragraph is hidden.
Personally, some of my biggest breakthroughs in copywriting came from getting feedback.
And I’m always surprised to hear copywriters at the highest level continue to pay top dollar for their peers to review their work.
It’s kind of trade secret.
But what if you’re starting with a blank page?
Caples has you covered.
You see, Caples was a master analyzer—a former engineer who knew how to take apart winning formulas—and rebuild them for his advertisements.
Which means, he’s got a few formulas you can use to start writing your first paragraph for your next breakthrough advertisement.
Six Formulas Caples Found in the Pages of Reader’s Digest
Caples read popular magazines like Reader’s Digest because he knew the editors of the world’s largest circulation (at the time) knew a thing or two about holding attention.
By copying down the first sentence of every article in an issue, and carefully analyzing each sentence, Caples synthesized six formulas from the Digest.
The six formulas are:
Interrupting Ideas. Shakes the reader out of the boredom of every day life. For e.g. “The of the annual Christmas Show held in New York City a few months ago was a pair of skunks housed in a plastic cage.”
The Shocker. Similar to the Interrupting Idea, but slightly more shocking. “A Frenchman is rarely seen drunk, but France has the highest rate of alcoholism in the world.”
News. Reporters for major news publications know how to start their stories. Here’s one from the NYT: After six years of quiet diplomacy as the U.N.’s Middle East envoy, Nickolay Mladenov leaves his post to a chorus of praise from an unlikely choir.
Preview. Gives a brief preview of the article. “Port-au-Prince, capitol of the Republic of Haiti, is the busiest, noisiest, most colorful city in the Caribbean.”
Quotation. If you have a killer quote… use it. Daniel Webster said; “If all my possessions and powers were taken from me with one exception, I would choose to keep the power of words, because by them I would recover the rest.”
Story. Also from the NYT: “On Election Day, General Paul M. Nakasone, the nation’s top cyberwarrior, reported that the battle against Russian interference in the presidential campaign had posted major successes and exposed the other side’s online weapons, tools and tradecraft.”
So the next time you write an opening for an ad, see if you can use an interrupting idea, or a shocker, or a news item, or a story…
But there is another formula Caples loved to use.
An “Old Faithful” you can rely on again and again…
In the words of Caples, here is the old faithful formula…
You can write a first paragraph that continues the same thought you expressed in your headline.
— John Caples
Pretty simple, right?
Not so. Let’s break down some Caples ads to see the old faithful in action…
Along with his other formulas.
Breaking Down Vintage Caples Advertisements
For each of these breakdowns, I’ll show the headline first followed by the first paragraph.
To start, here’s a classic ad that sells a book, The Phoenix Mutual Retirement Income Plan.
The headline states:
The headline starts with a promise; Retire at 55 on $200 a month.
Caples also adds curiosity to the headline and handles an objection with this line; You don’t have to be rich.
That’s classic Caples…
Handling objections… and always in a curiosity-inducing way.
Notice also, Caples puts the entire headline in quotes. He does that for a reason, which I’ll explain in just a second…
But first, let’s see the first paragraph in action:
The first paragraph reads:
“I’ll draw an income of $200 a month for the rest of my life, as soon as I’m 55,” said a certain man talking of his plans for the future.
BAM, that’s a 2-for-1 Caples special!
He’s using a quote plus the old faithful (continues the same thought he expressed in his headline). And the reason he used those quotes in the headline is now clear; continuity.
The same man who made you a promise in the headline… is now telling you his story in the lead.
And what a great story lead! Caples uses dialogue copy that starts mid action, with a man speaking to a friend, making a bold claim that appeals to the reader, “I’ll draw an income of $200 per month for the rest of my life…”
To which his friend replies, how can you do it on your salary?
Which is a really important line of copy…
Because Caples addresses the curiosity hook he sprung in the headline; You don’t have to be rich.
No word is wasted.
This is the slipperiest of slides.
These old school guys didn’t mess around.
Here’s another Caples ad:
The headline, Voilà!…
And subheadline, Now anyone can quickly master this fascinating language at home… without a teacher…
… has a benefit (master french quickly) and answers an objection (without a teacher).
The first paragraph then uses the old faithful beautifully…
OUI, certainement! It is such fun to learn French the simple, fascinating Hugo way! Like playing a game — a pleasant game for your spare moments. The famous Hugo method reduces the study of French to an easy, practical formula.
And before I continue, let me just say…
I believe the secret to mastering direct response copywriting starts and ends by being able to do what Caples just did…
Just look at this line, It is such fun to learn French the simple, fascinating Hugo way!
Caples could have written, It’s easy to learn French the Hugo way!
That’s the main idea, right? That there is this mechanism (the Hugo way) that makes it easy to learn French (benefit)…
But Caples takes it a step further…
He dimensionalizes his copy by adding, (It is such fun) and the word fascinating.
Because it’s not enough to simply learn French, why not have fun with this fascinating new method?
In other words, Caples has stacked a benefit!
This guy.
And finally, let’s look at his classic ad…
The headline is pure high-stakes story…
… with a hint of a benefit for anyone who has ever wanted to learn to play piano or has started to learn…
Which is, Will I be laughed at or admired when I step up to play?
Let’s find out…
The first sentence reads:
ARTHUR had just played the “The Rosary.” The room rang with applause.
Right away, Caples gives you the answer…
And I believe this is why Caples is a master copywriter…
Caples gives you a beginning and an end.
A complete emotional, hero story in just few words.
In the headline and first paragraph, the story is told, and you, as the reader have enough from that story to feel redemption.
The rest of the copy is basically a victory lap.
You know Arthur played beautifully, and won the respect of everyone in that room. No one is laughing now. The men respect him. The women want him. He got the last laugh.
And that’s why the rest of the copy can simply expand on the story.
Many times, you know you have a big idea if you can express it in a few words.
Caples does this in the most critical parts of the copy…
Making you lean in, pay attention, and want what he’s selling.
This is an advertisement, after all.
And this advertisement did a masterful job of selling.
It all started with the headline…
And the first paragraph.
Need Help Writing Your First Paragraph?
I’m confident that I could help you get some clarity on your copywriting and marketing strategy pretty quickly.
No pressure, no sales tricks.
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