Where to Find Your Breakthroughs Schwartz' classic is not an easy study. These five lessons above are simply short summaries of data that sometimes is explained across and between several chapters. Again, your own mileage will depend on your study of this and other classics – to boil down and internalize the principles and patterns of these author's experience into a working philosophy you can employ. “No one school has all the teachers” goes a ancient Oriental maxim. So having and regularly re-studying even a small library of proved marketers is a must to succeed in any marketing. Just to summarize the high points of what we've covered: Out of the three types of copywriting practiced today, only real analysis will help you develop the breakthrough headlines and copy you'll … [Read more...]

The Two Questions You Must Ask First Probably the most vital breakthrough Gene Schwartz developed as he wrote the book was based on just two elements and their maturity. Both of these may seem obvious to someone who has a long history in copywriting. The maturity of the prospect (awareness) The maturity of the market (sophistication) Maturity of the Prospect (Awareness) Prospects mature as they are exposed to and become more aware of various products and their marketing. These parallel the market maturity, but have important differences. 1. Most aware Knows of the product and what it does and that they want it. This is the simplest and probably rarest situation you can find. All you need to do is to state the name of the product, a bargain price, and where to … [Read more...]

The Heart of Copywriting Schwartz and other copywriters immersed themselves in our culture, recommending that you get subscriptions to the most popular magazines, and you buy and read the blockbuster books, and you see all the most popular movies several times. All to help you spot the mass desires where they occur. Where those migrated from a private want into a mass desire that drives the markets. The first half of Breakthrough Advertising is devoted to the headline. The second half is devoted to the rest of the copy. And a single chapter named “The Final Touches” (which should have been elevated to a Part on its own) is how to put everything together and make it work. Right at the beginning of the second part is a list of key elements that enable copywriting to attract, grab, and … [Read more...]

Second Action - Analyzing Your Product The secrets to Schwartz' analysis process is found in his two (included) talk transcripts. 1. Keep a regular monitor on all the popular media to be aware of mass desires. Tabloid magazines, movies, bestselling books. Media that people have to pay to acquire or view. What passes for “social media” may be too mercurial to analyze for profitable trends. Any of several online trend analysis tools may or may not be of long term use in helping you determine these – and are hard-pressed to determine profitability. The key here is to develop a greater personal understanding and an innate sense of what is driving our culture in that snapshot of time. 2. Analyze the product itself and find its claims. If a book, you'll note the written claims made by the … [Read more...]

Solving Impossible Copywriting Mysteries Anyone can use cheap knock-off, copy-cat headline. The top pro's use only one universal solvent for each and every copywriting puzzle. Eugene Schwartz laid out that solution, starting in his “Breakthrough Advertising” Introduction with the following points: Every new market – every new product – every new advertisement is a fresh new problem that never existed before on the face of this earth. The correct solution, the right headline, the perfect ad – all lie buried in the problem itself. But that solution can be sprung to the surface by asking the right questions. That solution comprises the first part of your ad – its headline. The remainder of that ad is presented in the body copy, and is built out of your … [Read more...]

How to Quit Wasting Advertising and Marketing Dollars Don't be like Wanamaker. Make all your ads pay for themselves. How? Simple: study the classics. Over and over and over. Again, there's maybe a dozen books that lay out all you need to know. The rest is studying the markets you are trying to reach. And for copywriters, there's a small set of long-lasting ads that ran for decades with minor changes. There are many like this. The reason these ads ran that long was simple – they kept getting sales. Once you internalize those, and also understand how they work – then you can duplicate their success. Routinely. Sure, there will always be books that explain the technical details of how to use the latest new platform to run your ads. How many characters they allow you, how to decide on your … [Read more...]