I can’t believe it’s been three years since we launched the first Breakthrough Advertising Bootcamp…and with the 8th one coming up soon (it begins on May 6th), I wanted to look back on its evolution.
And I also want to share with you four examples of how I applied the fundamental concepts of Breakthrough Advertising in my career with extraordinary results…and how you can do the same.
The Bootcamp was an outgrowth of a series of fortunate occurrences, beginning with Barbara Schwartz, wife of one of the greatest copywriters who has ever lived, trusting me with the copyright of the landmark book…and we were off and running from there.
The next step was to create a “Breakthrough Advertising Study Group” inside my virtual mastermind, Titans Xcelerator…as an “overdelivered add-on” to the already extraordinary benefits.
The members loved it. Especially at the price (it was free).
Proof of concept (without a concept in mind at the time) was achieved…which led us to offering the “Study Group” as a mini course (6 live, 90-minute calls), outside of the membership, and the first Breakthrough Advertising Bootcamp was born.
It has turned into a “franchise” that you all can partake in…and I encourage you to check out the P.S. for those details.
Not to mention the creation of Breakthrough Advertising Mastery, the brainchild of Chris Mason, my marketing partner and co-creator of the Bootcamp, which is a 500-page companion volume and a classic in itself.
Everything mentioned above has been derived from the brain of one of the best copywriters who has ever lived, Gene Schwartz…and I know he is smiling down knowing that his teachings have been expanded to a new generation…over 15,000 marketers and copywriters…in over 75 countries.
And don’t forget every one of them becomes a human behaviorist with this book in hand (which is a requirement to become a marketer or copywriter). 🙂
But you still need to apply it…see the P.S.
During the first week of the first Bootcamp, I not only met the initial group of students willing to take the plunge into the deep end of this dense book, but I also spent time (coincidentally) with some of the most inspiring (and aspiring) copywriters working in our industry today—however you define “our industry.”
That is, I was a guest speaker at a spectacular gathering of up-and-coming copywriters (known as the Reign Makers) led by a superb copywriter, Alex Cattoni.
Both “events” confirmed something I knew already:
Copywriters are the best guests to invite to any party.
Many are introverts…but when you get them talking and sharing, miracles happen.
I was in both places to teach something (supposedly)…but as is always the case when I am asked to teach, I learn so much more.
I learned what it means to be a copywriter at the highest level, a level I will never achieve, but still marvel at.
My week as a teacher-student also reminded me of a conversation I had with copywriting legend John Carlton a few years ago that is as relevant today as it was then.
He made the brilliant observation that the next “big things” in marketing may not be in the areas of whiz bang technology (not to diminish A.I.); but rather in the blocking and tackling that we old school direct marketers are still especially good at…including such seemingly mundane and non-sexy things as state-of-the-art list segmentation, creating irresistible offers and of course, writing kick ass copy.
These ideas were front and center at the Bootcamp and with the Reign Makers.
While I always bring guest speakers to my events who are practitioners of cutting edge marketing techniques, there are also copywriters on many “Titans agendas” as well.
Those who spend more time storytelling and less time figuring out the next big “ninja technique” (hate that term as you can read here), will be the big winners in the long run.
Great copy and innovative creative approaches create businesses.
Ninja techniques create revenue events.
Both are critical to the big picture—you need innovative tactics all the time too…but tactics without a bigger strategy enveloping those tactics are just things to keep you busy.
You’ll make some money…but it will only keep you focused on the present and not the future.
I maintain it’s the copywriters who predict future trends more than anyone else.
They are the canaries in the coal mine…and for those of you who aren’t familiar with the meaning of this phrase, here is how Wiktionary defines it.
“An allusion to caged canaries (birds) that mining workers would carry down into the mine tunnels with them. If dangerous gasses leaked into the mine, the gasses would kill the canary before killing the miners, thus providing a warning to exit the tunnels immediately.”
Now I don’t want you to take me literally saying that we should sacrifice our copywriters for the sake of saving the lives of everyone else in marketing.
And no copywriters were harmed in the writing of this post.
Copywriters are people too.
But my observation (as well as Carlton’s) is that the best copywriters are always ahead of the curve (including with A.I.); and because of their insatiable curiosity and need to research everything at the deepest level before putting pen to paper, they are in the best position to warn us of what is happening in the marketplace…and what will make people move to action.
Alex asked me to talk with her Reign Makers about “marketing psychology” including:
- How to discover your market’s secret desires anytime you want. These are the desires they don’t want anyone to know about.
- How to present your offer as THE solution for your market’s strongest desire.
- How to sell to a market that doesn’t trust you (yet).
They didn’t need me to talk about these areas because Breakthrough Advertising is The Bible on these topics.
And check out the P.S. to explore the answers to Alex’s critical questions…and more.
Since I am not Gene Schwartz, I deflected her questions (temporarily by offering all of the Reign Makers a complimentary seat inside the next Breakthrough Advertising Bootcamp) and instead talked about research to Alex’s students.
Intense research and never settling on the obvious or the mundane is what separates the best copywriters from the average ones…and allows them to be the canaries in the coal mine to protect us mere mortals from impending doom.
We can stop the metaphor here…no one needs to die to make my point today (canary OR copywriter).
But I want to talk about some examples of why I think top copywriters are the folks to pay the closest attention to, all in the spirit of Gene Schwartz and Breakthrough Advertising, if you want to know the best route through your marketing tunnel (and yes, that’s “tunnel,” not “funnel”). 🙂
1. The best creative platform might be more obvious than you think
A Boardroom trademark was how we brought our experts together on a regular basis…whether at our famous “Boardroom Dinners” or just assembling experts from a particular discipline to meet and debate to see what sparks would fly.
When they got together in a moderated discussion those sparks always turned into the best story ideas.
One time we brought together all our tax experts in one meeting from all over the country…and we were smart enough to not only invite our editors to listen in but also one of our copywriters (Parris Lampropoulos).
What came out of that meeting were dozens of the best story ideas…but also a blockbuster control package for our newsletter Tax Hotline.
What Parris figured out was that the concept of a “secret meeting of the country’s top tax experts spilling the beans on things they would not normally talk about in public” was a differentiator that would make Tax Hotline the most attractive publication of its kind at the time.
A secret meeting in a coal mine. 🙂
The secret meeting became the premise of a new control, a control that was impossible to beat for over a decade.
And it was brought about by a Schwartz tenet, summarized by “copywriting by walking around”…and this quote:
“You cannot lose touch with the people of this country, no matter how successful or potent you are; if you don’t spend at least two hours a week finding out where your market is today, you are finished.”
2. I’m not a doctor but I play one in direct mail
When I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008, one of the first calls I made (after finishing up with the doctor and then alerting some family and friends) was to Parris.
I knew I had a lot of research ahead of me in terms of choosing the right treatment and doctors…but I also knew that one of my ace copywriters had read more and written more about this cancer than most doctors I would talk to…especially in the alternative treatment area.
I knew that with one phone call to Parris, I would benefit from the fact that he was a copywriter who never wrote anything about any topic before he researched everything on that topic.
I was right. And he charged me a lot less than a doctor’s visit.
And it led to a positive outcome.
I am still here, and I will die of something else besides prostate cancer.
David Ogilvy said it best, who I profiled in my first book, The Advertising Solution (along with Gene Schwartz and 4 other legendary “Mad Men”):
“Advertising people who ignore research are as dangerous as generals who ignore decodes of enemy signals.”
3. I’m not a doctor but I play one on TV
Arthur Johnson was our partner in some of the most successful infomercials during the mid-2000’s for our books The World’s Greatest Treasury of Health Secrets and Bottom Line’s Ultimate Healing—as both a writer and on-air talent.
Arthur not only co-wrote the scripts, but he appeared on screen in an interview format with legendary newsman Hugh Downs.
And what did we call Arthur in the show?
“Medical Writer and Editor.”
And that couldn’t have been more accurate.
He was on the show because of his command of the material and his relationship as a reporter of the life-saving information the doctors who appeared on the show were sharing.
We couldn’t have found anyone at the time who was more passionate and knowledgeable.
Who could be better than an ace copywriter for this job?
Arthur had read the books cover to cover and had pulled out what he thought were the most important treatments and research consumers needed to know right now.
He put the time and effort in, and it showed in his writing, editing…and his on-screen performance.
Those infomercials weren’t just marginally successful…they were groundbreaking.
And going from direct mail to TV with these health books, back to direct mail with the TV offer, then online with the new offer, and back to TV with additional shows, this “franchise” created revenues north of $200 million for Boardroom.
I guess it pays to read, research and study to become the best writer and editor.
I remember Hugh Downs asking Arthur on the set during one of the shoots (off camera):
“Where did you study medicine?”
He could have answered, “Everywhere there is cutting edge information to write about.”
I know he didn’t answer “in medical school.”
4) Don’t leave your best material on the cutting room floor
Always allow your copywriters to probe your editors, your gurus, your experts to make sure there is not more “stuff” in those incredible brains that could create some of the most exciting and breakthrough articles or concepts…which will lead to more compelling promotion copy…and yes, more sales of your product or service.
When Parris thought the material in one of our health newsletters was boring and had little in the way of cutting-edge information, he probed the doctor-guru of that newsletter, encouraging him to share everything he avoided writing about because of censorship by our editors who took issue with some of the most engaging information as too controversial.
From that probing, new assignments were given to the editors to get the proper backup for the most exciting content that had previously been off limits.
The most bleeding-edge studies and findings that were able to be backed up properly became the core of a new blockbuster control package.
I’m not recommending ever being irresponsible and making up stuff that’s not true; but don’t give up easily when there is an opportunity to share what has never been shared before…and all it might take is a little more research.
A reaction of “I didn’t know that” beats “so what?” from our audiences every time.
Note: In the Breakthrough Advertising Bootcamp I will share a personal experience I had with Gene Schwartz and how he compelled me to avoid “so what? copy” at all costs…with one simple question.
All of this reminds me of the classic Henry Kissinger story which I call, “Is this the best you can do?” (my version of it):
A speech writer for Kissinger went off to write a speech for him…brought in his first draft…and Kissinger sent it back to him to improve it.
Assume for the purpose of this version of the story this happened 8 times.
Finally, the writer brought him the 9th version and said, “This is the best I can do…I can’t do any better…”
To which Kissinger replied:
“OK, now I will read it.”
An A-List copywriter usually won’t consider showing any of the first “8 versions” to a client until they have gone “full canary” with their research.
I don’t know about you, but that’s who I want as my marketing partner…panel participant…or dinner guest.
Warmly,
Brian
P.S Breakthrough Advertising might be the most quoted—and least applied—book in the entire marketing world.
That’s not on Gene Schwartz.
He gave us brilliance, depth and frameworks that still hold up 60 years later.
What he didn’t give us though is a chapter on implementation.
You know—the chapter where someone grabs your hand and says:
“Here’s what this means. Here’s how you apply it. Here’s what you do next.”
Well, that’s the chapter I’d like to write with YOU for your specific business…
On May 6, my marketing partner Chris Mason and I are kicking off a live, two-week Breakthrough Advertising Bootcamp—a working session to take Gene’s words off the page and into your business.
You’ll get:
- Six live, focused sessions
- Simple, practical assignments you’ll want to do
- Real-world examples of how this stuff plays out in the wild
And if you don’t yet have the book yet, no worries.
When you join the Bootcamp, you can get your own copy of Breakthrough Advertising for just $100 (regularly $125 plus shipping).
This bootcamp is the missing chapter—the one Gene didn’t write, but every serious marketer needs.
If you’re ready to move from admiration to application, this is where it starts.
Click here to grab your seat—and your book—before we close enrollment.
Gene gave us the playbook. This Bootcamp is where we run the plays—together.