Copywriting Brain Surgery: How to Make Even Your Most Outrageous Claims 100% Believable
By: Ben Settle
One of the most fascinating things Eugene Schwartz (arguably the single greatest copywriter who ever lived) teaches in his book "Breakthrough Advertising" is the concept of "Gradualization", which he describes as:
"the process of starting with facts your prospect is already familiar with and is willing to accept, and leading him logically and comfortably through a gradual succession of more and more remote facts -- each of which he has been prepared in turn to accept"
And there is probably no better example of this than his "Why Haven't TV Owners Been Told These Facts?" ad.
In this case, he was selling a book showing people how to fix their tv sets. Only problem was, most people (at the time) didn't believe they could fix their own tv set, no matter how "easy" someone (or some ad) said it was. Especially back then -- when tv sets were pretty much a mystery as far as how they worked. It would sort of be like seeing a headline today that says:
"Now! Save $100,000.00 By Performing Your Own Brain Surgery!"
Would you be capable of believing that?
Me neither.
However, if you were properly "prepared" for the above claim...before it was sprung on you...then maybe, just maybe, you would be able to believe it.
Especially if the ad started out kind of like this:
An Open Letter To Anyone About To Have Brain Surgery:
Did you know your brain functions a lot like the computer you are reading this message on? It's true. Just like your computer, which responds to your commands via an electrical pulse created each time you give it "orders", your brain responds to and sends "commands" to the rest of your body via a similar process of electrical impulses...
And so on and so forth.
Okay, I know I'm "stretching" things here quite a bit with the brain surgery analogy. But I think the point holds: When you have a product with a really outrageous, and hard to believe claim...you have a much better chance of the prospect reading your ad if you begin with a statement quickly and readily agreed with and then, as Schwartz puts it -- "leading him logically and comfortably through a gradual succession of more and more remote facts -- each of which he has been prepared in turn to accept"
If you want a true power education on how this is done, then I'd suggest studying Schwartz's "Why Haven't TV Owners Been Told These Facts?" ad in microscopic detail. I promise you -- it'll be one of the most fascinating studies in advertising you'll ever read. You can download the ad free at: http://bensettle.net/newsletters/TV.html
About The Author:
Ben Settle is one of the few direct response copywriters in the world who really puts his money where his mouth is - structuring his deals so he gets paid only from the results of the sales - and not on any up-front fees. Although Ben is not currently accepting new clients, he freely shares his ideas and tactics on his blog at: http://bensettle.com