Eugene Schwartz is widely considered one of the most legendary copywriters.

He wrote a TV-commercial so good, it sold to 7 % of all American TV owners.

One of his books, Breakthrough Advertising, is by many regarded the world's best on copywriting.

Schwartz believed copywriting was 80% research, 20% writing. By the time he was done with research, he joked about knowing the product better than it's creator. The moment he began writing, the copy wrote itself.

The Eugene Schwartz method

Schwartz strictly used the same method for writing. Before writing, he removed anything from his desk except his pencil, his paper, his research and his coffee with cream.

His last preparation was setting a kitchen timer to 33 minutes and 33 seconds. Then, he started writing..

..or not. Schwartz didn't have to write. He had just one rule: during the timer's duration, he was not allowed to get up from his chair.

He could stare on the empty paper.

He could whistle a melody.

He could do absolutely nothing.

But he couldn't get up from his chair.

Schwartz was often bored the first minutes. But after some time, the words started flowing. Then, the second his timer went off, he abruptly dropped his pencil, stood up, and took a 10-15 minute break. He repeated this cycle 5 times, 5 days a week.

If you are a writer, you can beneficially use Schwartz's method whenever you feel bored or unmotivated to write, since it - quite literally - forces you to be creative. Try it next time!