For those marketers who labor tirelessly, though fruitlessly, oblivious to marketing history, and unversed in copy that brings home the bacon—please take note: this article is for you.

To begin...

One of the most famous questions ever asked in an ad was penned almost a century ago by copywriting legend Maxwell Sackheim. It read:

Do you make these mistakes in English?

It was the headline for an ad that sold a rather pedestrian mail-order language course.

Yet it worked so well—pulling in so much money—the company who owned it, continued to run it for 40 long and successful years!

To be sure, a myriad of other headlines were tested, all using the same body copy, before that now famous winner was discovered.

One competing headline even read: Do you make mistakes in English? Certainly close enough, you would think. But it failed miserably, as did all others.

It was only when that seemingly innocuous word "these" was finally inserted, that direct marketing history was made—and a lesson for direct marketers was learned.

Well, some endeavored to learn it, most never tried. They merely copied its form, without understanding why it worked so well.

Even today, you’ll see that same headline in its innumerable permutations:

• Do you make these seven tactical mistakes on a first date? • Do you make these errors when doing your own taxes? • Do you make these blunders every time you write your own copy?

So on and so forth.

These copycat headlines will actually work... at least for a short while (particularly with those consumers who don’t get out very often).

But as with most formulaic copy, it’s soon recognized as a trite, clichéd, over-used and unimaginative pitch that screams: Hey, look! Here’s my ad!

Nevertheless, the question remains....

Can asking a question in an ad increase sales?

Some will argue vehemently that the use of a question is a non-starter, a pre-ordained copywriting disaster.

Craig Huey, founder and president of the award-winning Creative Direct Marketing Group, a direct marketing advertising agency, and for whom I’ve written numerous promotions, froths at the site of a question in sales copy. (He’s faithfully crossed out every one from my submitted drafts.)

Nevertheless, a question is a tool. And as with any tool, any copywriting strategy or tactic, if a question is not formulated and handled with proper caution, it could indeed do immeasurably more harm than good.

Well, let me correct that: if you’re a direct marketer who tests you can measure precisely how much harm a poorly phrased question will do... or how well a good one will convert.

The secret to constructing a well-built, hard-working, money-sucking question

For Max Sackheim the secret sauce in his brilliant question was intrigue and curiosity, both of which were lacking in: Do you make mistakes in English?

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