A few things I’ve learned from studying some of the greatest copywriters.
๐ญ. ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น ๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ, ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฎ๐.
A winning sales letter shows what worked under a particular set of conditions. Whether it keeps working depends on how many of those conditions still exist.
๐ฎ. ๐๐ป๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐.
Once a technique becomes common knowledge, simply knowing it offers little competitive advantage. The real advantage comes from judgment, execution, and information your competitors haven’t discovered.
๐ฏ. ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐ ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ.
When everyone follows the same famous copywriting formulas, their advertisements start looking and sounding alike. That predictability creates opportunities for someone who notices what everyone else has overlooked.
๐ฐ. ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ง๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ.
Urgency works. Specificity works. Guarantees work. But any of them can hurt an offer under the wrong conditions. Knowing a principle also means knowing when to leave it alone.
๐ฑ. ๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐ ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ.
Every new copywriting formula gives you another option to consider. Eventually, collecting more options can become a convenient way to avoid the uncomfortable business of making a decision.
๐ฒ. ๐๐ป๐ผ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐๐ป๐ธ ๐๐ผ๐๐.
After spending years mastering an approach, you have a powerful incentive to keep using it. The more you’ve invested in your expertise, the harder it becomes to abandon it, even when the market tells you things have changed.
๐ณ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐น๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐ผ๐๐ฒ.
Even the greatest copywriters couldn’t guarantee that a specific advertisement would succeed. You can study every book on this shelf, master every formula, and follow every principle.
The customer still gets the final say.
And the customer doesn’t care how many books you’ve read.
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