A few days ago I made a blog post titled “how to promote a new product that doesn’t have a market” It was based on what I have learned from the chapter 2 of the book Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene M. Schwartz.
I am not making a 10 line summary of a 300-page book (getting a superficial understanding of a book will not help you in the long run).
The force that makes advertising work…..
The power, the force, overwhelming urge that makes advertising work, comes from the market itself not from the copy.
Copy can not create desire for a product, it can only take the hope, fears, and desire that already exists in the hearts of millions of people, and focus the already existing desires onto a particular product.
- So the advertiser’s task is not to create mass desire – but to channel and direct it.
What is mass desire- and How is it created? (if you don’t wanna forget this take notes*)
- Mass desire is a public spread of a private want.
Advertisers deal with percentages of people. They address their ads to individuals; and yet the success of their advertisements depends on thousands, sometimes even millions of individuals sharing the same response to these ads. “The response of wanting our product enough to pay us”.
Before these people share the buying response, they must first share the desire upon which our ad is based privately.
You need to target a group of people who want the same thing.
In other words, you need to target your market first.
A market consists of all the buyers and sellers making transactions for the same thing.
And there is a market for almost everything.
Markets may consist of a desire shared by only a few thousand people, such as the urge to own yachts or It might be shared by hundreds of millions, as the desire to have six-pack abs or to lose weight.
But….
It is there, demanding to be satisfied.
Waiting only for the information that will direct it onto your product.
Since mass desires are shared by millions of people it takes years to develop, they are created by social and economic forces far greater than any kind of advertisement.
That’s why advertising can be so profitable, by simply directing it’s already existing desire- rather than being required to create it, advertising can sometimes increase your sales by god knows how many percentages.
So…
- Don’t try to educate people by telling what they need.
- Just simply tell them How your product can satisfy their already existing needs in your ads.
What are these forces that create this mass desires?
They fall into two general categories…
1.Permanent forces….
Mass instincts….
The desire of women to be attractive, men to muscular, or men and women both to keep good health.
In this case, the instinct never fades the desire never changes.
And you should not pick out the TREND.
- The job for the writer is to distinguish his product from the others that were there before it.
- The writer’s job is to create a fresh appeal.
- To build a stronger believability.
- And to shift desire from the fulfillment offered by one product to YOUR product.
A mass technological problem. Bad television reception or the time it takes for aspirin to bring relief.
Until the problem is finally solved, the customers will buy and try – buy and try again.
And here the copywriter has the same problem – to offer the same claim of relief as his competitors,
But offer it in a new way ~
2. The forces of change.
The beginning, the fulfillment, and the reversal of a trend.
The sudden mass decision to show off a pay raise by buying a Porsche rather than installing a swimming pool in the back yard.
Suddenly caring about how many horsepowers your car has instead of caring about how big your car is.
Getting your hands on every type of fidget spinners there is…..
Then just forgetting about them…..
These are forces of change.
- Here the copywriter needs sensitivity, foresight, and intuition.
- He must sense and catch the rising tide when it’s imperceptible.
- Sense which of the several appeals are built into his product.
- And just simply show those trendy features in the ads.
It’s all about getting there first.
How to channel mass desire onto your particular product.
A copywriter must have knowledge of three things:
- Peoples hopes, dreams, desires, and emotions.
- His client’s product.
- And the advertising message.
3 stages of a copywriters work.
Getting the right type of attention from the customer.
The most powerful statement about your product that hooks your potential customers isn’t necessarily about the best functionality in your product.
It is the most impressive one.
One statement that differentiates your product from your competitors.
Let’s assume that you are selling a supercar that costs a quarter of a million dollars.
If your ad is based on the car having 600 horsepower, your car probably won’t sell because every car in that price range has 600 horsepower.
So what do you do?
You make ads like these.
“At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock”
Mercedes-Benz can’t make that statement because It is only unique to Rolls-Royce.
This alone will differentiate your product from everyone else’s. And get the full attention of your potential customer(if the person is interested in buying something similar to what you sell).
And that is what you need.
Knowing about the prospect’s state of awareness.
Everyone knows about Rolls-Royce but how many people know about your product?
Probably not a lot of people. So you have to be aware of that.
- If your prospect knows about your product your headline starts with your product.
Examples:
“At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in this Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock”
“Hair coloring so natural only her hairdresser knows for sure-Miss Clairol”
“The amazing story of a zippo that worked after being taken from the belly of a fish”
“9 out of 10 screen stars use Lux toilet soap for their priceless smooth skins”
- If your prospect is not aware of your product, then your headline starts with the problem it solves or the desire it satisfies.
Examples:
“Now run your car without spark plugs”
“Whoever heard of 17,000 blooms from a single plant?”
“Who else wants a whiter- wash with no hard work?”
“Stops maddening itch”
“Shrinks hemorrhoids without surgery”
Stuff like that
3. And then you take the series of performances that are built into your product-what your product does-And show how those product performances inevitably satisfy that desire.
After getting the attention of the customer, you need that person to read your entire ad.
And you must tell your prospect every single thing there is to know about your product in detail.
The purpose of the headline is to get the reader to read the first paragraph. And the purpose of the first paragraph is to get the reader to read the second paragraph. And the purpose of the second paragraph is to get the reader to read the third paragraph and so on.
After the person finishes your whole ad he should have a detailed understanding of what your product does and how your product does it.
Tell them the facts and the benefits.
You see, most people do not know what a two-layered windshield does so tell them because the windshield is two-layered, it’s bulletproof.
After they know everything about your product you don’t even need to tell them to buy your product.
They will decide which product is the best bang for the buck.
And the fun part is your product doesn’t even have to be the better one. Because if they know more about your product than your competitor’s product, your product will look superior.
“The more you tell, the more you sell “
~(forgot his name) :’(
Let’s say you wanna sell an average car.
what can you possibly tell your customer to sell the thing?
Let me try…..
“This car offers you comfortable transportation. The ability to carry yourself, your family, your luggage, your pets, and your furniture from place to place.
It offers you dependability. The freedom from breakdown, stalling, poor performance, repair bills, embarrassment, and inconvenience.
It offers you economy. Inexpensive transportation, savings in both gas and oil. No repair bills, durability, and high trade-in value, and low insurance cost.
It offers you power.10 horses at your command. Take off at the lights, acceleration on hills and in traffic; it has a top speed of 105 km/hr even if you never use it. All adding up to a feeling of dominance on the highway.
It offers you recognition. Admiration, status, subtle and accepted bragging, envy, and the feeling of having arrived.
The “Ohs” and “Ahs” of neighbors. The first ride, the new smell of a second-hand car.
It offers you value(costs less than the iPhone you are using to read this). The fact that it can last for another 1 and a half years, even though you have the option sell this to a guy more broke than you a week later.
The car offers you novelty: The thrill of being the leader, the pace-setter, the proven pioneer.
And you can get this rewarding experience of riding in a maruti 800 just for the price of 800 us dollars.”
I can go on and on ….. But you get the point right?
That’s how you channel the mass desire onto your product.
I hope this helps and please consider subscribing.
And if you have any content suggestions feel free to knock me.