4 copywriting tips from a screenwriter
Does your product have a logline?
While reading Blake Snyder’s book on screenwriting called Save the Cat!: The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need, I couldn’t help but indulge in some lateral thinking and consider how his advice on loglines for movies also applies to copywriting.
A logline is a one sentence description of a movie’s plot. If a screenwriter wants a shot at getting a producer to look at his script, a strong logline is essential.
If it takes a screenwriter several minutes to describe their movie, they are doomed, according to Blake. He says it’s important to write the logline before writing the screenplay.
A couple of examples:
“A newly married couple must spend Christmas day at each of their four divorced parents homes.” – 4 Christmases
“A just-hired employee goes on a company weekend and soon discovers someone’s trying to kill him.” – The Retreat
According to Blake, there are 4 things a logline needs:
1. Irony (the unexpected). Here are two examples:
“A copy comes to L.A. to visit his estranged wife and her office building is taken over by terrorists.” – Die Hard
“A businessman falls in love with a hooker he hires to be his date for the weekend.” – Pretty Woman
2. Compelling mental picture. This creates the promise of more.
“She’s the perfect woman – until she has a drink.” – Blind Date
3. Built-in sense of who it’s for and the cost. The logline can convey to the producer in just a sentence what type of movie it is and roughly the budget necessary to make it.
4. Killer title. The title combined with the logline is a one-two punch. The title must be the headline of the story.
It’s pretty obvious how these four things apply to copywriting.
I recommend that as you start writing copy for a product, develop a logline for it, using these four elements.
It will organize your thoughts and, who knows. Maybe you’ll end up using the logline in your copy in some way.
If you’d like an example of a logline for a product, how about my “14 emails that will help you burn fat AND make you some money.”
P. S. For another lateral thinking post, check out my 5 tips from a comic book artist.
Filed under: Email Copywriting
Today we will discuss the power of the Breakfast Club story and how to add Breakfast Club moments to your business.




