Who Is Gene Schwartz And Why Should You Care?

What lessons does the author of the copywriter’s bible, Breakthrough Advertising, have for us all in the ‘Internet of All Things’ era? You may be pleasantly surprised…

The name Gene Schwartz may not mean much to you, or most people for that matter, but if you’re involved in digital marketing or have a business that you’re trying to bring to the attention of consumers, that name could very well be one of the most important you ever stumble across.

So, who is Gene Schwartz and why should you care? Gene (real name Eugene) Schwartz was a legendary copywriter responsible for creating some of the most successful sales content of all time. Although many people in the modern era will surely find his headlines and copy outdated, he had an exceptional gift for overcoming readers’ “scepticism, lethargy and price – and results in a sale” (his words), by creating desire in prospects, the likes of which had never been seen before.

Schwartz understood the purpose of copywriting better than most, regularly speaking of his role as a scriptwriter for the dreams of prospective customers by ensuring readers realise exactly what they’ll gain from following through on the offer, as well as making sure they know precisely what they’re missing out on. By doing so, he appealed directly to the prospect’s emotions that govern decision-making and, in doing so, created a strong emotional connection that delivers results.

What follows are Gene Schwartz’s “8 Rules of Marketing” that everyone, and not only those directly responsible for creating content, can learn from and apply to their marketing efforts.

Naturally, you should always listen to what your current customers have to say, but Schwartz also advocated listening to the market — and he practiced what he preached — because by doing so, you’ll understand what the market thinks and feels. This enables you to create content that effectively targets your prospects’ hearts and minds.

Schwartz was extremely productive, channelling his energy into many projects and not only creating some of the most effective copy of all time. To enhance his productive output, he developed a ‘magic formula’ for copywriting in which he set a kitchen alarm clock to 33.33 (thirty-three minutes and thirty-three seconds), sat down to write and never got up or stopped writing until the alarm went off.

By sticking to this formula, Schwartz produced more productive sessions per day than most people are able to do in a week, but he was also able to avoid writer’s block, never had any problems getting started and, just as importantly, he never burnt out. 33.33 may not be your magic number — it certainly was Schwartz’s — though you’re sure to find by working in intense spurts without interruptions, that you’re less tired and more productive with your time at work.

The more you know something, the better able you are to write about it. Schwartz was a strong advocate of taking the time to get to know a product so as to understand its strengths and the benefits it offers its intended audience. Once he had compiled a list of benefits, he then started writing the copy, combining the benefits that he had identified in a variety of ways to increase the product’s appeal to prospects.

If a product is high-quality and has something valuable to offer, it will have numerous strengths that can be combined and presented in different ways to appeal to your target audience.

In the words of Albert Einstein, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” This follows on from the previous point in that you need to understand the product you’re promoting well enough to write about it in a simple and direct manner.

A good way of putting this into action is to get to know the product and then when writing about it, don’t make the assumption that your prospects have a comprehensive understanding of the product or that their needs are overly complex. Write as though your target audience is between 8 and 14-years old and has simple needs and desires.

What does your product do and how does this make your prospects’ lives better? Demonstrate the benefits, especially the emotional benefits, with your copy, images and marketing content. A good way to look at this is to write about the features of a product in a way that directly shows how it will improve the prospect’s situation.

With your copy, especially your headlines, the prospective customer should already feel like they’re getting something, that they’re already feeling the benefits your products — or doing business with your company — provide. The objective here is to create desire in prospects that incites them to take action, not just create curiosity that makes them wonder about the benefits your product may deliver.

Schwartz strongly believed in testing copy to make sure it hit the mark. With the abundance of digital marketing tools, using A/B testing to test your copy and determine which headline or call to action delivers the highest conversion rate is easy. And it delivers results, so test, test, test, and don’t be afraid to fail.

To wrap things up, we’ll leave you with a gem from Gene Schwartz that will surely provide food for thought, especially if you’re wondering how to take the content you create to the next level.

“Every piece of content you create has to do two things: (1) rescue its audience from their own personal hell and (2) deliver them unto their own personal heaven. Great copywriting is about salvation … not sales.” Gene Schwartz

Bambrick Media is a digital marketing company based in Brisbane. We provide SEO, PPC, Social Media and Website Design services to businesses of all sizes and in all sectors. To speak to a team member about the digital marketing solutions we provide, call (07) 3216 1151, or get in touch via our Contact Us page.