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 effective headline captures attention and encourages customers to continue reading. Effective copy builds on and reinforces the message in the headline.
This guide presents Schwartz’s methods for writing effective headlines and copy in two parts:
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.
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 attention within this time, they’ll automatically switch their attention to something else and you’ll lose your chance of appealing to them.)
2) It resonates with what customers want and promises to fulfill a specific need. Customers rely on headlines to judge whether the advertisement’s copy is relevant to them and, therefore, worth reading. For example, the headline “Fill your gas tank for half the price,” is highly relevant to budget-conscious car drivers, so they’ll have a good reason to read the rest of the copy. Meanwhile, non-drivers will have little reason to learn more by reading the rest of the copy.
(Shortform note: Charles Duhigg (The Power of Habit) sheds light on why people scan headlines and automatically ignore advertisements that don’t feel relevant to their needs. Your brain seeks out ways to avoid information overload so that it can function efficiently. It achieves this by creating automatic routines and decisions based on what you do or pay attention to most often. These stored patterns allow you to get through your day without having to pause and consciously think about everything you do—they account for more than 40% of your daily decisions and behaviors, including what advertisements you pay attention to.)
3) It establishes the premise that your copy will expand upon. For example, following on from the headline above about half-price gas, readers can expect the copy to address how expensive gas is and why this is a bad thing before explaining how to get a cheaper deal.
(Shortform note: Research adds additional insights into how headlines influence a reader’s expectations of the copy: Headlines affect what parts of the copy readers focus on and what information they’re able to recall. A headline frames the copy by drawing attention to certain details or specific points of view that influence the way readers perceive and interpret the text. Because they expect the copy to discuss the content within the headline, they actively seek out the information that supports those details. And, because readers pay more attention to the information that upholds the headline, the details they later recall coincide with the headline’s main theme.)
Schwartz argues that the key to creating a headline that captures attention, resonates with customers, and establishes the premise that your copy will expand upon lies in researching three things about your customers:
Let’s explore each of these three areas of research in detail.
To create a compelling headline, you must first understand what customers want. Schwartz argues that it’s not possible to convince customers to want something. Instead, you must understand what they already want and figure out a way to frame your product as the only solution to fulfill their needs.
(Shortform note: Psychologists offer a contrasting opinion: You can convince customers to want something. This is due to the mere exposure effect—the premise that the more often you’re exposed to something, the more you like it. Research suggests that regular exposure makes a product easier to interpret and reduces the uncertainty you feel about it—thus increasing your confidence in it. Your increased confidence influences you to want this item. However, the mere exposure effect doesn’t work for things you initially dislike—it tends to only work if your initial reaction to something is neutral or positive. For example, if you dislike comic books, regular exposure to advertisements is unlikely to make you want to read them.)
Schwartz claims that you can effectively frame your product by following a two-step process:
Let’s explore these two steps in detail.
Schwartz argues that the more you know about your product, the easier you’ll find it to create positive associations between what customers want and what your product offers. He suggests that you list the materials used to create the product, the technical specifications, the aesthetic details, and all of the different ways customers might want to use your product.
For example, say you have a dating app you want to advertise, and you’re analyzing how it functions and what it offers. You note all of the different features the app includes, such as the ability to view other members’ profiles and chat directly with them, the number of members it hosts, the advertisement-free interface, and the subscription price. You also note that members may want to use it to develop friendships as well as romantic relationships.
(Shortform note: Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur (Business Model Generation) suggest that businesses should reverse this approach by defining the customer need they intend to target before developing their products. This way, instead of developing something and hoping they’ll find a way to align their product with a customer need, businesses can intentionally design products with features that cater to a specific customer need. Further, because businesses already know what need they’re targeting, they can devise marketing and sales strategies during the product’s developmental phase—thus accelerating the product’s launch into the market.)
Once you’ve noted every detail about your product, group each item on your list against a specific customer need that it satisfies. This will help you understand what motivates customers to purchase products similar to yours. Schwartz notes that, as you connect your product’s attributes to specific customer needs, you should consider that customer needs fall into two categories:
Finally, choose the customer need that applies to the largest potential market for your product and target this need in your headline. For example, your research indicates that the need for love motivates more customers than the need for an advertisement-free interface. Therefore, you choose to frame your app as the best solution for finding love.
(Shortform note: Some marketing experts disagree with this approach: Instead of attempting to target the needs of the largest potential market, they say, businesses should target the needs of the smallest potential market. Businesses that attempt to reach the maximum audience for a product often create generic mass-market advertisements designed to appeal to everyone. However, because these advertisements are often bland and predictable, they fail to impress anyone. On the other hand, focusing on the smallest market need for a product helps businesses clearly define the type of customer they’re targeting and understand how best to appeal to them—which helps them create advertisements that clearly express why their product’s worth buying.)
Primal Needs Motivate All Purchasing Decisions
While Schwartz distinguishes between primal and shifting customer needs, other marketing experts argue that primal needs motivate all purchasing decisions. According to Josh Kaufman (The Personal MBA), people make purchases in an attempt to fulfill five deep-rooted needs: to feel good about themselves, to connect with others, to grow and learn, to feel safe, and to avoid effort. For example, customers don’t want advertisement-free interfaces because they’re influenced by market trends, but rather because they want to avoid the effort of closing irritating advertisements while they search for love.
Therefore, if you believe your product fulfills a shifting need, consider how this need contributes to fulfilling a deep-rooted need. This will help you frame your product in a way that feels more relevant to customers, regardless of market trends.
Once you’ve chosen the specific customer need your headline will target, find out how much they already know about and feel like they need your product. This will help you determine what type of information you should put in your headline to capture attention.
According to Schwartz, customers move through five different levels of awareness as they learn more about your product. Each level of awareness determines how much information you must provide in the headline to get customers to consider your sales pitch.
(Shortform note: Seth Godin (Purple Cow) expands on why you should pay attention to customer awareness levels. Knowing exactly what customers already know about your product makes it easier to understand their perspective—how they judge your product. This understanding helps you frame your content in a way that engages and educates customers. For example, customers unaware of a product’s purpose don’t understand its value—so, when you show them the price up front, they might judge it as overpriced. However, when you know that customers don’t understand your product, you can sway them into perceiving it as a good deal by educating them on the product’s value before mentioning the price.)
Schwartz suggests that you should find out what level of awareness the majority of your customers currently have and write a headline that caters to how much they know about your product. Let’s explore his advice for crafting headlines for each awareness level.
The first level of product awareness represents customers who don’t recognize or acknowledge the need that your product satisfies. This means that they’re either unaware of your product or don’t care about it.
Schwartz suggests that your headline should echo an emotion or an attitude that they can identify with. You can then use your copy to educate them on why they need your product. For example, when advertising a dating app, you could use the headline, “Have you forgotten what it’s like to be in love?”
(Shortform note: Marketing experts expand on Schwartz’s advice for appealing to customers who don’t feel like they need your product. For a product to create a new desire in customers, it must have five characteristics: newness, surprise, intricacy, mystery, and an ability to raise questions in the customer. For example, the iPhone is a notable example of a product that created a customer desire that hadn’t existed before: Customers didn’t want hand-held computers that could make calls and browse the internet because they didn’t know it was possible. This changed in 2007 when Apple generated hype with an intriguing marketing campaign that showcased the product’s novelty.)
The second level of product awareness represents customers who are aware that they require something to fulfill the specific need your product satisfies but they don’t yet know about any potential solutions—including yours.
Schwartz suggests that your headline clearly define the need you’re targeting, convince customers that they urgently need a solution, and then present your product as the inevitable solution. For example, “Are you tired of feeling alone and unwanted? Download our app and you’ll never be single again.”
(Shortform note: Marketing experts expand on Schwartz’s advice by suggesting that you’ll reach more customers at this stage of awareness if you present your advertisements online as informative content. Customers often scroll through various articles and blog posts as they search for potential solutions to fulfill their needs. Gain direct access to these customers by writing informative posts that provide them with the information they need—be sure to include relevant keywords so that your content appears high up in the search results. Then, frame your product as the best solution for fulfilling their needs and include a link to the product’s sales page.)
The third level of product awareness represents customers who are aware of the need your product satisfies, and they know how they want to fulfill it. However, these customers don’t know that your product can provide the solution they seek.
Schwartz suggests that your headline should emphasize three points:
For example, “Sick of bad dates? Sign up for [app name] where all the good ones hang out!”
(Shortform note: Be aware that even if you convince customers to read your copy, they might not progress from knowing what they want to buying what they want. This is because customers prefer to keep their options open instead of completing transactions. Browsing through advertisements involves imagining what it’s like to own different things. This process releases dopamine (the happy hormone) into your bloodstream and increases your desire to imagine more possibilities that make you feel good. However, this dopamine hit stops the moment you commit to one possibility. In other words, it feels more pleasurable to think about buying things than to actually buy them.)
The fourth level of product awareness represents customers who aren’t sure that your product can fulfill their needs. This is because they either don’t have enough information about your product, or they feel skeptical about the product information that they have seen.
To engage customers at this awareness level, Schwartz suggests that your headline should focus on achieving one of five objectives:
1) Reinforce their need for your product: For example, “Don’t waste your life waiting for the one.”
(Shortform note: Kaufman (The Personal MBA) offers a way to reinforce customer need for your product: Incorporate limitations into your advertisement. Achieve this by implying that the product has almost sold out—for example, “While stocks last.” Alternatively, set an expiration date on a discounted price—for example, “Valid until midnight tonight.” These tactics reinforce customers’ need for your product by suggesting that they’ll “lose out” if they don’t immediately complete the transaction.)
2) Emphasize how good life will be once they’ve purchased your product: For example, “Have fun finding the love of your life.”
(Shortform note: To effectively convey the future benefits of owning your product, customer service experts suggest that you express enthusiasm and a genuine interest in serving the needs of your customers. When customers feel like you genuinely care about meeting their needs, they’re more likely to believe that you’re capable of meeting their needs. For example, change, “Have fun finding the love of your life” to, “We really want you to have fun finding the love of your life!”)
3) Prove that your product can fulfill their need: For example, “Sparks more dates, relationships, and marriages than any other dating app.”
(Shortform note: The more evidence you provide to back up your claims, the more customers will perceive your advertisement as credible. This will influence them to trust your advertisement and your business, and might also make it possible for you to charge higher prices for your products. In one study, 71% of participants said they would prioritize buying from businesses they trusted, even if other businesses offered them cheaper deals.)
4) Clarify how your product fulfills their need: For example, “Find the perfect someone in your own city using GPS technology.”
(Shortform note: Brian Tracy (The Psychology of Selling) offers additional advice for using this tactic: Focus on what the product does rather than what it is. He explains that customers don’t care about product features or technical specifications. Rather, they only care about the end result—what benefits they’ll receive after buying the product. Therefore, headlines that place more emphasis on the benefit (easily find compatible and local dates) hook more customers than headlines that describe product features (GPS technology).)
5) Suppress any doubts or concerns they might have about your product: For example, “Find your match in six weeks or get a full refund.”
(Shortform note: Customers often have doubts or concerns about completing a purchase when they’re under the influence of a cognitive bias called loss aversion: the tendency to worry more about what they might lose than to feel hopeful about what they might gain. This means that customers tend to focus more on the amount of money that they might lose if the product fails to fulfill their needs, rather than the number of benefits they might enjoy if the product succeeds. Marketing experts suggest that you can restrict the influence of this bias by offering customers a risk-free way to learn more about your product—for instance, by offering free samples, trial periods, and discounts.)
The fifth level of product awareness represents customers who already know about and want your product. They just require a little motivation to complete the purchase.
Schwartz suggests that since these customers already know about all of the features and benefits your product offers, your headline’s primary focus should be on incentivizing customers to complete the purchase. For example, “Sign up now to get 75% off!”
(Shortform note: Marketing experts refer to this type of motivational strategy as a call to action (CTA). According to them, an effective CTA starts with a command verb, uses words that provoke an emotional response, and provides a compelling reason to take the action. For example, “Sign up today and get 50% off your dream vacation.”)
Once you’ve figured out what your customers want and how aware they are of your product, find out how aware customers are of competitive products. This will help you determine how much emphasis to place on distinguishing your product from similar versions in the market.
Let’s explore Schwartz’s advice for distinguishing your product for two different types of customers:
According to Schwartz, if customers aren’t aware of similar versions of your product, your headline should be as simple and direct as possible. For example, “Finally, an effortless way to find love!”
(Shortform note: Schwartz implies that having no competition makes it easier to attract customers. While there’s some truth to the claim, William M. Luther (The Marketing Plan) warns that there are higher costs involved in marketing a product that faces no competition. He explains that customers rely on what’s already in the market to provide the context they need to understand a product’s benefits. Without this understanding, they have no interest in the product. Therefore, businesses have to focus their marketing efforts on educating customers about why they should want the product before they can sell it. This results in higher costs because existing competitors would have already educated customers and built demand.)
If customers are aware of a few similar versions of your product, Schwartz suggests that, instead of inventing a new headline, you simply expand on your competitors’ headlines and elaborate on why your product is better than all other versions. For example, if a competitor uses the headline, “An easy way to find love,” you can expand on their claim with: “The fastest and easiest way to find love.”
If customers are aware of many versions of your product, they won’t be as receptive to new advertisements—because they’ve already heard all of the claims and have lost interest in this type of product. Schwartz suggests two ways your headline can revive customer interest in your product:
(Shortform note: While the three research methods Schwartz suggests may help to distinguish your product, they’re unlikely to change how customers feel about the first competing product they learned about. According to Al Ries and Jack Trout (The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing), when consumers learn about a new product, they unconsciously perceive the brand that first introduced the product as synonymous with the product itself. For example, people often refer to tissues as Kleenex—because Kleenex was the first brand to offer facial tissues. This form of attachment makes it difficult for new brands to change how customers feel about established brands with existing products—even if the new brands offer superior products.)
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.
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 (The Personal MBA) expands on why provoking a feeling of dissatisfaction makes customers more receptive to your product. According to him, even when customers want to improve something in their lives, they’re only receptive to products that claim to help them if they’re uncomfortable with their current situation. This is because people are more motivated to move away from discomfort than they are to move toward comfort. So, if they're comfortable with their situation, they won’t feel motivated to buy products that claim to change their lives. However, if you provoke feelings of dissatisfaction or discomfort, you’ll motivate them to seek relief—by buying your product.)
Explain exactly how different product features effectively fulfill the customer need you’re targeting. Schwartz suggests that you refer to the product analysis you’ve already completed—your list of all the materials used to create the product, the technical specifications, the aesthetic details, and all the different ways customers might want to use your product. Consider how you can frame these different features as proof that your product can effortlessly fulfill the customer’s need. For example, “Our unique algorithm ensures that every match is compatible.”
(Shortform note: Tracy (The Psychology of Selling) adds to Schwartz’s strategy with two pieces of advice for presenting product features as proof of a product’s effectiveness. First, introduce features one at a time to avoid overwhelming the customer with information. Second, use the following three-part structure: “Because of (feature), you can (benefit), which means (relevance).” This structure links the product feature to its benefit and then makes it relevant to the customer. For example, “Thanks to our unique algorithm (feature), you’ll only see profiles for compatible matches (benefit). This means you won’t waste any time finding your perfect match (relevance).”)
Schwartz recommends that you include recommendations from professional experts, testimonials from happy customers, or celebrity endorsements. This is effective because endorsements act as external validators or social proof that convince skeptical customers that your product can fulfill their unmet needs. For example, “[Celebrity] found the love of her life through our app and she couldn’t be happier.”
(Shortform note: Marketing experts confirm that testimonials and endorsements are an effective way to establish customer trust and increase sales. According to them, effective endorsements hinge on two factors. First, an endorsement’s success depends on how well you know your potential customers’ interests—this guides your decisions about what type of expert or endorser to look for. For example, if you know that your customers care about the environment, you’ll look for someone who has already expressed an interest in similar issues. Second, an effective endorsement depends on how authentic the endorsement seems—the easier it is for people to believe that the endorser actually uses your product or service, the more appealing it will be.)
Schwartz suggests that you point out weaknesses in competitors’ products and emphasize your product’s superiority to demonstrate that it’s the best option. This is effective because the more aware customers are of competitors’ products, the more help they need distinguishing between these products to figure out the best option. Therefore, emphasizing all of the ways your product does a better job than what competitors offer helps customers judge your product as the best option. For example, “Unlike other apps, we make sure user profiles are accurate so that you always know who you’re meeting.”
(Shortform note: According to Luther (The Marketing Plan), instead of focusing solely on what makes your product superior to competing products, you should also emphasize what your business does better than your competitors. This will help differentiate both your product and your business in a way that appeals to customers. To achieve this, consider how you want customers to perceive your business and what will influence them to choose you over competitors. For example, brands that target eco-conscious customers emphasize how much they donate to environmental programs. This implies that they’re more environmentally friendly than other businesses and that they care more about what matters to customers.)
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.
List the different customer needs that your product can fulfill. Which customer need applies to the largest potential market for your product?
How aware are customers of your product? Recall: Customers move through five levels of product awareness: They don’t feel like they need your product, they feel a need but don’t know how to fulfill it, they know how they want to fulfill the need your product satisfies, they aren’t sure about your product, or they want your product.
How aware are customers of competitors’ products? Are they unaware of competing products, aware of a few competing products, or aware of many competing products?
Craft a headline that emphasizes the most relevant customer need for your product, appeals to your customers’ level of product awareness, and differentiates your product from any similar versions in the market.