1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Breakthrough Advertising
In the best-selling classic Breakthrough Advertising, renowned copywriter Eugene M. Schwartz offers timeless advice for crafting persuasive advertisements that convince customers to buy your products.
According to Schwartz, there are two important components in every advertisement: the headline and the copy (the body text of an advertisement). An...
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Breakthrough Advertising Summary Part #1: Write a Captivating Headline
In this first part of the guide, we’ll explain what effective headlines are meant to achieve: Capture attention, resonate with customers, and establish the premise that your copy will expand upon. Then we’ll explore the three areas of customer research that will help you target the most relevant customer need, appeal to a specific level of customer awareness, and differentiate your product from what your competitors offer.
Headlines Serve Three Purposes
According to Schwartz, the headline is the first and most important component of the advertisement that you should work on. This is because a headline serves three purposes:
1) It captures attention by making a dramatic statement or inspiring curiosity. For example, “If you don’t read this, you’ll lose $1,000 this year,” or, “The money-saving secret fuel companies don’t want you to know.”
(Shortform note: Research backs up the necessity of provoking interest or stimulating curiosity with your headline: The average attention span is just 8.25 seconds. If you don’t engage people’s...
Breakthrough Advertising Summary Part #2: Write Persuasive Copy
We’ve just discussed three areas of customer research that will help you craft a compelling headline. The next part of creating an effective advertisement involves writing copy that builds on and reinforces the message in your headline. Schwartz offers four strategies for achieving this.
Copy Strategy #1: Evoke Customers’ Aspirations
Schwartz suggests that you consider the type of person your customers aspire to be or the lifestyle they want to have. Then, convince them that they’re very unlike this aspirational self because they’re missing something. Finally, show them how your product will help them feel, become, or appear more like the person they dream of becoming. This is effective because when you provoke a feeling of dissatisfaction, you prime customers to actively seek a solution. This makes it easier for you to convince them that your product is the “missing” thing that can “fix” them or enable them to truly become the person they aspire to be.
For example, include statements such as, “Aren’t you sick of always being the single one at parties?” and, “With this app, you’ll easily find someone that makes your friends jealous!”
(Shortform note: Kaufman...
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Shortform Exercise: Conduct Customer Research and Create a Headline
Schwartz argues that the key to creating a captivating headline lies in researching what customers want, how aware they are of your product, and how aware they are of competitors’ products. Conduct your own customer research and create a headline as a first step toward creating a successful advertisement.
Describe your product. List the materials used to create the product, any technical specifications, the aesthetic details, and different ways customers might choose to use it.
