It was dinner after an Ogilvy group board meeting.

David Ogilvy, who would suddenly say anything that popped into his head, remarked:

"Rosser Reeves and I were talking one day and we agreed that we learnt everything we knew from John Caples."

Rosser Reeves was the man who came up with the idea of the USP - but what I didn't know till that night was that he was David's brother in law.

I replied (like a toady): "Well, everything I know I learned from you and Rosser. So I guess I got it all second-hand"

But I was lying.

I had read John Caples' book Tested Advertising Methods (along with Claude Hopkins' Scientific Advertising) repeatedly, for over 20 years. My career was built on them.

Even now, I can go through Caples and get ideas. I know this because that is recently what I have done.

I suspected an hour long video on Hopkins' Scientific Advertising would be useful for anyone who wanted to improve their results.

But Caples' Tested Advertising Methods? My partner Al asked if I could do it. I thought it was impossible. It was too full of ideas. It would take too long.

And I was right. It took ages. Weeks of study. Days of recording. But I've done it.

These two books really did shape my career.

And if indeed Ogilvy learnt all he knew from Caples, and said no one should be involved in advertising without reading Hopkins, these two books must be essential reads for any business owner or marketing executive.

That means you.

But reading them isn't enough.

You have to apply their wisdom. And that's why I took the plunge and recorded my analysis of John Caples' Tested Advertising Methods.

I admit it. I was unsure whether to do it or not because of how long it would take.

But when I picked it up, I was confronted with the same truths that seduced me years ago: every single page has a lesson in it. Every one.

And I found that irresistible.

I have no idea why, but one of the greatest pleasures I get now is teaching. Perhaps it's my age. But nothing beats the satisfaction I get when I see an email from a subscriber saying how I've inspired a successful mailing or campaign.

So I knew I had to cover Caples at some point.

The result is long. Very long. 3 hours 55 minutes to be exact. That's why I've broken it up into hour(ish) chunks and added it to Ask Drayton.

Of course, it goes without saying, you get my iron clad money back guarantee. I'll cheerfully refund you every penny if you don't think it's worth the price you paid.

The first instalment is 55 minutes I cover the introduction (written by Ogilvy).

I add my own examples, anecdotes and boil it all down to the bare essentials.

Of course, I'm biased, but I suspect it will give you a raft of ideas for your marketing.

You can also download the videos and the audio (mp3), so they are yours to keep forever. And it's ipad friendly too.

Click the link below right now to get started. I genuinely believe this analysis, along with my Hopkins video, will give you all the tools I had to build a successful career and business.

Yes: 3 hours 55 minutes sounds like a long time.

But compare it the business lifetime of benefits you will get, as I did - and David Ogilvy did - and it's no more than the blink of an eye.

And if you are still unsure, consider this: Claude Hopkins tells you what to do. John Caples tells you how to do it.

Click here to join Ask Drayton right now.

Best

Drayton