The greatest mail-order copywriter of all time, Victor Schwab, said this about headlines:

“An advertisement cannot stimulate sales if it is not read; it cannot be read if it is not seen; and it will not be seen unless it can Get Attention.”
— Vic Schwab

For anyone who spends money on advertising copy, getting attention is your first and primary purpose.

And it all starts with your headline.

Headlines are like screaming flags held high by a railroad track flagman, Schwab would say.

A flag gets immediate attention of a train operator and delivers a specific message. In the same way, ad headlines waive down ideal customers with words that STOP them in their tracks.

In the 1930s, Schwab published the indispensable book, “How to Write a Good Advertisement,” a book that sits on the shelves of great copywriters like Parris Lampropoulos.

In the 1950s, Schwab’s headline; “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” made Dale Carnegie’s book a blockbuster hit.

And in his later years, Schwab published a masterwork in the paper, “100 Good Headlines and Why They Were So Profitable” which ran for many years and allowed advertising agencies around the world to sell millions of products.

So if you want to write an attention-grabbing headline…

Vic Schwab is your guy.

So in this article, we look at Vic Schwab’s approach to headlines, and we breakdown these techniques by examining some of his notable works, like “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” “A Message to Bookkeepers,” and “How I Raised Myself from a Failure at 29 to Become A $250 Per Day Success!”.

The Dual Purpose of a Headline

According to Schwab, headlines have two primary purposes:

make readers want to start reading further and
motivate them to take action.

Whether you’re writing copy for a magazine, newspaper, or a website, your copy faces fierce competition, and must compete with other ads for your prospect’s attention.

The average span of a human today is 8 seconds and 15 minutes or less.

Which is why writing good headlines is imperative in seeing sales results from your ads.

Writing Headlines that Stand Out

There are two main characteristics of an attention-grabbing headline according to Schwab:

They select a specific audience and;
They promise a valuable reward for their audience after reading it

What type of rewards would make up a good headline, you might ask?

According to Schwab, there are two approaches.

Offer a positive reward. In Scwab’s words: “by managing to convey, in a few words, how the reader can save, gain, or accomplish something through the use of your product—how it will increase this: his mental, physical, financial, social, emotional, or spiritual stimulation, satisfaction, well-being, or security.”
Offer a negative outcome “by pointing out how the reader can avoid (reduce or eliminate) risks, worries, losses, mistakes, embarrassment, drudgery, or some other undesirable condition through the use of your product—how it will decrease this: his fear of poverty, illness, or accident, discomfort, boredom, and the loss of business or social prestige or advancement.”

Think you can do it? Here are some further tips to craft the perfect headline based on years of testing.

These timeless principles work today just as well as in Schwab’s time.

General Observations to Further Enhance Your Headline

Vic Schwab provided his observations on what is similar to every good headline that he created. These products may be different from each other, and how those products are sold doesn’t matter as they present some common themes.

1. The Attraction of the Specific

People are drawn to specifics as it gives them a sense of certainty in what they are getting from your product. As you read his compilation, you would notice these specific words or phrases contain all of his headline copy: "How, Here's, These, Which, Which of These, Who, Who Else, Where, When, What, Why. Also note how frequently exact amounts are used: number of days, evenings, hours, minutes, dollars, ways, types of".

2. The "Point of You"

Schwab knew that this element is fundamental for every advertiser. Almost half of his headline collection contained the words—"you," your," and "yourself." The first-person pronoun "I" (for example, How I Improved My Memory in One Evening) signals a promise that if I can do it, so could you!

3. Neophobia? —Americans Don't Suffer from This Ailment!

Many of Schwab’s headlines contain the words "new," "new kind of," "new discovery', "new way to, etc. Schwab mentioned Americans are not averted to this sense of newness; rather, they see it as evidence of "better-ness."

Now, let's breakdown these strategies and principles in some of Vic Schwab's headlines.

Unraveling Classic Vic Schwab Headlines

How to Win Friends and Influence People advertisement for Dale Carnegie sold a half-million copy (by mail order) from February to September of 1937 according to David Ogilvy's book "Ogilvy on Advertising," and those figures multiplied even further.

This advertisement utilizes a positive approach in its headline. Now, who wouldn't want to be promised to gain the ability to increase social power and likability after reading this? This is an absolutely alluring headline because everyone wants to do it.

Schwab's addition of "How To" made a huge difference. Without it, it would become "simply a trite motto." The advertisement appeared to be instructive and seemed like an easy formula that everyone could follow to this common appeal. It would be tough to pass up this opportunity.

Here's another from the advertising legend:

A Message to Bookkeepers – Wishing to Earn $100 A Week ad was written 89 years ago and proves its worth through its testimonials. The value of $100 in 1919 is roughly $1,200 today.

These few words capture all of Schwab’s principles of a good headline: calls to a specific audience and a promise of a positive reward afterward. Any bookkeeper would want to continue reading this ad in the hopes of earning more, wouldn’t you if you were one?

There is an attraction in the specific. This ad would sound passive without specifying the exact amount and how frequently you will earn it. Therefore, it would quickly be turned down by its readers.

There is an important point to study in skimming through this ad’s subheadings because Schwab intended to add an element of curiosity by presenting a negative appeal then offer a solution on the latter.

What bookkeeper could ignore reading the subheading “Few Bookkeepers Realize Their Opportunity” – to find out: “Do I belong to the many who doesn’t realize my opportunity to earn more?” or “How do I get ahead of the other bookkeepers?”

This subheading is definitely an attention-getter!

And finally, this vintage ad:

The final profitable headline that we will analyze is Schwab's ad for Frank Bettger in 1950, "How I Raised Myself from A Failure At 29 To Become A $250 Per Day Success".

This narrative-ad headline has a somewhat broad audience and offers a clear and specific benefit. The humbleness in Bettger's story of being a "failure" added a more human tone to it. Schwab made it sound like the reward of earning more has an achievable step with the use of some proven elements like "How" and "I." It tells the readers that it is easy and screams, 'You can do it too!"

This failure ailment serves as an everyday appeal to all. Now, who could brush aside this ad without reading it?

Bonus: Two More Ways to Help Your Headlines Stand Out Even More

Getting your reader's attention is not enough with just what you say, but how you said it matters as well. The headline and layout of an ad complement each other.

Schwab noted that there are two ways to successfully format your headlines:

you either make the headlines extremely powerful or dynamic or
make the headlines unusually simple or "non-professional."

These approaches would capture attention, because the more neutral a headline seemed, the easier it is to be passed up.

*****

There are many formulas out there on how to craft headlines. But if you need the attention-grabbing kind, turn to Vic Schwab for some help or, better yet, use his easy checklist for a successful headline:

Identify your audience
Promise a reward for them after reading (positive or negative approach)

Guarantee your success in writing advertisements by using Schwab's layout and include common elements to it. And always keep in mind what they legend has to say when writing headlines:

"The copywriter's aim in life should be to try to make it harder for people to pass up his advertisement than to read it. And right in his headline he takes the first, and truly giant, step on the road to that goal."
— Vic Schwab

It takes a few seconds for readers to decide if your ad is worth their time, and it all starts with the perfect headline.

Need Help Writing Headlines that Work?

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