Now I spend hours on headlines - days if necessary. And when I get a good headline, I know that my task is nearly finished.

Remember that the reader's attention is yours for only a single instant. They will not use up their valuable time trying to figure out what you mean.

What good is all the painstaking work on copy if the headline isn't right? If the headline doesn't stop people, the copy might as well be written in Greek.

The purpose of the headlines must be to convey a message to people who read headlines, then decide whether or not they will look at the copy.

If you use a poor headline, it does not matter how hard you labor over your copy because your copy will not be read.

Remember that the headline and the appeals are ONE AND THE SAME. In successful ads, the appeal is almost always expressed in the headline.

The best headlines are those that appeal to the reader's self-interest, that is, headlines based on reader benefits. They offer readers something they want - and get from you.

Don't underestimate the value of beginning a headline by naming the people you want to reach.

Even today you can look through almost any consumer or professional publication and find headlines that possess not a single one of the necessary qualities, such as self-interest, news, or curiosity.

Avoid the "hard-to-grasp" headline - the headline that requires thought and is not clear at first glance.

In striving to produce an attractive headline, the copywriter should not emphasize the "quick, easy way" to such an extent that the headline becomes unbelievable.

Possible impossibility emerges From an impossible possibility, Or possibly, impossible possibility Blooms from the impossibly possible impossibility.

Is today a good day to die?Is today the day?And if not today–when?

The conversation ran as fluidly as the tea out of the samovar’s crooked nose.

[To the South African parliament:] I do not know why we equate - and with the examples before us - a white skin with civilization.

It is the plain women who know about love; the beautiful women are too busy being fascinating.

I have always been able to rise above the expectations.

Rita Haywood gave good face.

Nothing meaningful or lasting comes without working hard at it.

I like girls with a good sense of humor.

Many people have compared me to the Victorian adventure writer, Rider Haggard. I accept that as a compliment. As a boy growing up in Central Africa I read all Haggard's African novels.