Bob Bly is one of country's best copywriters. This is from his newsletter.
Gene Schwartz was one of the greatest advertising writers who
ever lived.
Yet he eschewed the so-called creativity of Madison Avenue, and
many of his ads were written using formulas.
Here are 10 of his favorite ad writing formulas:
1-Numbered lists.
Example: "The Seven Deadliest Crimes Against Yourself."
2-How-to headlines.
Example: "How to Make Anybody Like You!"
3-Secrets.
Example: "Secrets of Eastern Super-Men Revealed at Last!"
4-Question headlines.
Example: "Why Haven't TV Owners Been Told These Facts?"
5-Reason-why headlines.
Example: "Why Models Stay Young Till Sixty!"
6-Make a big promise.
Example: "I'll Make You a Mental Wizard as Easily as This!"
7-Reference to a foreign or exotic location.
Example: "Doctors in Sweden Say There is a Cure for Arthritis."
8-Put a time reference in the headline.
Example: "One Day with This Man Could Make You Rich!"
9-Use the word "now" in the headline.
Example: "Now-Run Your Car Without Spark Plugs!"
10-"Don't pay one penny."
Example: "Don't Pay One Penny Till This Course Turns You Into a
Human Computer!"
Note: once Schwartz found a formula that worked, he would adapt
it to many other ads for many different products.
Sincerely,
Bob Bly
P.S. You'll find more about Gene Schwartz and his great ads here:
www.100moneyblueprints.com
Bob Bly
Copywriter / Consultant
More on copywriting from David Garfinkel.
https://fripp.com/articleoncopywriting.html