The Psychology of Advertising
by Walter Dill Scott, PhD.

This little-known book was discovered in Max Sackheim’s: “My First 60 Years in Advertising”. Max Sackheim is the mail-order genius famous for the classic headline: “Do You Make These Mistakes in English” that ran un- challenged for over 40 years (a record that still remains unbeaten).
Here’s what he says about this book:
“The only book on advertising I read as a youth was written by Professor Walter Dill Scott of Northeastern University and was titled ‘The Psychology of Advertising’. I still think it is one of the finest books ever written on the subject – and that his formula for successful advertising has never been surpassed.”
Maxwell Sackheim
Creator of “Book of the Month” club
And Mail order guru
It shouldn’t take much convincing to read this book and discover all the secrets it reveals.
It is an absolute treasure trove of psychological reasoning and insight into what makes people buy and respond to advertising.
Although some of the material is dated – the concepts are just as valid today as they were nearly a century ago when Professor Scott first introduced them. In fact, it’s a fair bet that not 1 in 100 so-called “gurus” could even tell you who Professor Scott was. But their borrowed ideas and much of their “secret” information is probably derived from what he discovered all those years ago.
And it probably took them years to learn when they could have just read this book and gotten straight away.
This is a classic manuscript that transcends time. There is so much valuable knowledge in it that you’ll want to read it several times to master the material.
Here is just some of what you can expect to get out of Psychology of Advertising:
- Use the irresistible power of “direct commands” to achieve immediate action to your ads. Professor Scott found certain words that work wonders. This is on page 136
- The little-known psychological trigger to gaining a prospect’s immediate attention. Find this on page 18
- Solve one of the biggest problems all advertisers face – getting attention! Here are 4 psychological principles that really work. You’ll find them on page 87
- The 5 immutable laws of “idea association”. Find out on page 56 why you need to start using these.
- 4 secrets to making your ad stick to a prospect’s memory like Velcro. Most people forget any message within 2 seconds – don’t let that happen to your ad with the information contained on page 9
- One glaring mistake most companies make (even today) that are costing them thousands in lost sales. Could you be making this same glaring mistake? You’ll never know unless you go to page 33
- 9 ways to awaken the prospect’s imagination and get them to buy even if they cannot see, touch, taste or hear your product or service (perfect for the internet). See what this is on page 36
And this is just the tip of the iceberg – because you’ll also discover:
- What “triggers” you can use to enter your prospects’ mind just as they’re thinking of your product or service. You’ll find what they are on page 63
- 2 ways you can use the power of suggestion to create immediate action. See page 49
- How to make your product or service so well known that your competitors’ ads will actually work for you. Find out how on page 32
- 3 key points to making “fusion” work for you – instead of against your ad. Very important for any kind of product that needs a credibility boost. See page 101
- Discover the 5 steps all prospects use before they decide to buy. Understand these and you can be on your way to a fortune. What are they? Find out on page 63
- What to do so that your product or service is the only possible choice a prospect can make. Find out the two ways to make sure that this happens. See page 130
- The top 7 reasons why customers buy (hint: price is NOT #1). Turn to page 71
- What kind of pictures succeed to attracting attention. See page 11
At 140 pages, this one advertising classic will be worth many times the investment.