The Five Lightbulbs
Your customer needs five beliefs before they buy. The Five Lightbulbs help you build them.
Created by Billy Broas
What people say
“Every time we run our messaging through Billy’s process it ends up being one of the highest-ROI things we do all year.”
Tiago ForteAuthor, Building a Second Brain“I started working with Billy, and learning about how marketing actually works… How marketing isn’t about manipulation — it’s about education.”
Ali AbdaalAuthor, Feel-Good Productivity“When I think about messaging, the first person that comes to mind is Billy Broas and his Five Lightbulbs framework.”
Laura SprinkleFounder, RootablJoin Billy's Newsletter
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Lightbulb 1 - Your Customer's Status Quo
Your customer has a problem, and a specific way of describing it.
The first Lightbulb turns on when you use their words instead of your own. Get this right, and they'll listen to everything that follows.
The belief you're building"They get me."
Lightbulb 2 - Other Things They've Tried
They've already tried this. They've read books, hired people, and bought tools.
The second Lightbulb turns on when you make the strongest case for what they tried, then show exactly where it falls short. That gap is what Lightbulb 3 fills.
The belief you're building"Those approaches aren't right for me."
Lightbulb 3 - Your Approach
Lightbulb 3 is not your product. It's the idea behind it. It's the reason your product works where others fall short.
The third Lightbulb turns on when you build conviction in your approach, which leads to interest in your offer.
The belief you're building"This is the way."
Lightbulb 4 - Your Offer
Lightbulb 4 is where the argument becomes an offer. It's the full picture of what a customer gets when they buy.
Your offer will only make sense after you turn on the other Lightbulbs.
The belief you're building"I trust them."
Lightbulb 5 - Your Customer's New Life
Your customer needs to see the destination. What does their life look like after success with your product?
The fifth Lightbulb turns on when you show the customer what's in it for them.
The belief you're building"That's what I want."
About Billy Broas
I created the Five Lightbulbs after years of helping businesses figure out what to say in their sales and marketing.
“Billy is a copywriter, and, as a teacher, he needed to find ways to get some important copywriting concepts across to them quickly and meaningfully. On today’s show, we talked about what I consider a brilliant construct to do just that, called The 5 Lightbulbs.”
David GarfinkelCopywriting coach, host of the Copywriters PodcastBefore this career, I worked in renewable energy and biofuels, including the feedstock side of a Department of Energy cellulosic ethanol program. That background taught me to think in structures. The Five Lightbulbs is the structure I kept finding underneath every piece of marketing that worked.
The philosophical case for argument-driven marketing lives in my manifesto, Marketing Is An Argument. The book I wrote with Tiago Forte, Simple Marketing for Smart People, walks through the belief-building approach the framework operationalizes.
Finally, I help smart people make the argument for their work. Through a six-week Argument Sprint, we turn their experience and judgment into a documented argument that guides their sales and marketing. Reach out and tell me where you could use help.
I live in San Diego, where I’m starting to teach the Five Lightbulbs in small, in-person sessions. More about my work in San Diego.
Go Further
Simple Marketing for Smart People is the philosophy. The Five Lightbulbs is the practical tool.
Get the bookThe Five Lightbulbs Workshop
The message that sells your product is already in your head. Leave with it written down.
A live, two-hour workshop with Billy where you build your Five Lightbulbs for your own offer. The next date is coming soon, so join the interest list and I’ll tell you first.
Join the next workshopWho’s Used It
Over 250 course students. Over 136 people taught personally. Clients in more than 20 countries.
“Our messaging sounded so generic. It didn’t even resonate with ME. Halfway through Billy’s cohort, I updated one of our sales pages using our new Five Lightbulbs messaging. Our sales instantly improved.”
Excel educator, Microsoft MVP, 2M+ YouTube subscribers
“We’ve sold over $75M in online courses over the years, so we have high standards when it comes to marketing training. Billy is the real deal. His approach to marketing is simple, authentic, and powerful. We’re now using his messaging framework to improve our campaigns.”
Founder & CEO, DigitalMarketer
“Billy helped me craft really clear, powerful messaging that truly conveyed the value of what I was offering. It was a huge success, it generated over $300,000 for me and enrolled more than 400 really excited students. Billy knows how to generate results while respecting your audience.”
Concertmaster, Boston Symphony Orchestra
“By following Billy’s process, we had created a list of red hot buyers ready to convert. So much so, the first course we launched using his process has generated over 7 figures.”
Course creator
“I have taken TONS of marketing training and even gone through Donald Miller’s StoryBrand program. To me the Five Lightbulbs are much simpler, more intuitive and quite frankly just more fun. By the time I graduated from the cohort, I experienced something I hadn’t expected — confidence. Confidence that I could create my own content and messaging in a way that connects with others.”
Business Coach
“We recently had our best ever product launch. We didn’t do anything complicated. All we did was follow Billy’s lightbulbs and ideas for the product, promotional emails and landing page flowed naturally. What I love about Billy’s training is that it gives you a framework, not just tactics. We realised we hadn’t been focusing enough on lightbulbs 1 and 5. Once we fixed this, results improved dramatically.”
Copywriter
“I’ve done so many marketing programs over the past 10 years. I thought this program was just going to be another slick marketing reframe. This is different. It had an immediate impact on my business and a 10 times ROI in just a few weeks.”
Coach
“In October I have finally applied what I learned from you and sold a new $600 group program to 14 people. No webinar, no live challenge, no ads, no stress. It’s not one of those ‘make 6 figures in 30 days’ case studies, but it felt really good, especially considering that I spent like 2 hours writing a few emails.”
Coach
“There’s a framework I go back to whenever I need to figure out the messaging for clients fast: 5 Lightbulbs, by Billy Broas.”
Senior Content Strategist, Dapper
The Bridge, As Drawn by People Who’ve Learned It
Students have drawn their own version of the bridge while learning the Five Lightbulbs. Here are a few of my favorites.
Join Billy's Newsletter
I write about a philosophy of marketing rooted in argument, not manipulation. Subscribe and I'll send you my best work.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.