The Adweek Copywriting Handbook

Joseph Sugarman

GENRE: Business & Finance

PAGES: 368

COMPLETED: January 13, 2023

RATING:

Short Summary

Great copy is the heart and soul of the advertising business. In The Adweek Copywriting Handbook, legendary copywriter Joseph Sugarman provides proven guidelines and expert advice on what it takes to write copy that will entice, motivate, and move customers to buy.

Key Takeaways

Short First Sentence — If you don’t capture attention in the headline, subhead, and first sentence, you will lose the reader before they even get started. Your first sentence should be simple and short, sometimes very short. The purpose of a snappy, simple, short first sentence is to capture the reader’s attention right away, help them build reading momentum, and create curiosity so they continue on. If your first sentence is too long or complicated, you are done. Nobody will want to read the content.

The Slippery Slide — Starting with the headline, subhead, and first sentence your content should continuously build curiosity. Ideally you’re looking to create content that acts like a “slippery slide” and holds the reader’s attention down to the CTA. There are many ways to do this — “seeds of curiosity” placed at the end of paragraphs are very effective.

First Draft & Editing — The point of the first draft is to simply get something — literally anything — down on paper. The first draft can be really sloppy. Poor grammar, bad sentence structure, and inefficient word selection are perfectly acceptable in the first draft. You just want to get your main ideas on paper. From there, you can move to the editing stage and begin cleaning everything up. Editing is where the fun is. You can substitute or cut words, clean up sentences, reorganize paragraphs, and make the content pop. It all starts with the first draft. Don’t worry at all about being perfect here.

Favorite Quote

“Every product has that unique selling proposition that makes it stand out from the rest. And it is indeed up to you, the copywriter, to realize this fact and discover each product’s uniqueness.”

Book Notes

Introduction

About the Author — Joseph Sugarman is considered one of the best copywriters in the world. His ads moved millions of people to buy various products and services, and his JS&A Catalog was once America’s largest single direct mail catalog. From 1977-2000, he delivered seminars around the world on the topic of marketing and copywriting.

Ch. 1: General Knowledge

Thirst for Knowledge — One of the most important qualities to have as a copywriter is curiosity. You simply have more information to draw on when writing copy if you know a lot about the world and have a wide-range of life experiences. You should always be looking to increase your knowledge, develop your existing skills, learn new skills, and experience new things in life. All of it helps you when writing content.
- Quote (P. 11): “The best copywriters in the world are those who are curious about life, read a great deal, have many hobbies, like to travel, have a variety of interests, often master many skills, get bored, and then look for other skills to master. They hunger for experience and knowledge and find other people interesting. They are very good listeners.”
Fear of Failure — Failure is a stepping stone to success. The more you fail, the closer you are to success. You should never be afraid to fail because every mistake or shortcoming offers a lesson that can help you the next time. Go out and try things. In many ways, you should want to fail.
- Quote (P. 12): “Lose enough and eventually you will win — it’s only a matter of time. Edwin Land, the inventor of the Polaroid camera, said it best when he described his definition of a mistake: ‘A mistake is a future benefit, the full value of which is yet to be realized.’”

Ch. 2: Specific Knowledge

Become an Expert — As somebody in marketing, you should know your product or service and your customer base like the back of your hand. Take the time to know everything about the product or service. Understand what makes it special. Understand how it can help your customers. Then get to know your customers at a deep level — what motivates them and what frustrates them. By knowing your product or service and your customer base, you can design content that makes a big impact and drives people to buy.
- Ex. Cambridge — At Cambridge, we offer technology and other various solutions designed to help independent financial advisors serve their clients. The reason many advisors become independent is because they want the freedom to serve clients and build their business without restrictions. Much of the content we build in the marketing department should speak to that flexibility we offer and how it can give advisors the freedom they need to run their business exactly how they want to.

Ch. 3: Practice, Practice, Practice

The Goal — You can have the world’s best product or service, but if you can’t communicate your ideas effectively, you have nothing. That’s where copywriting comes in. In the end, the goal with marketing and copywriting is to get somebody to exchange their money for your product or service. It’s that simple.
Mental Process & Practice — Copywriting is an exercise in mental processing. Many writers have their own preferences when it comes to the process of actually sitting down and writing. It’s really a matter of personal preference. Many writers also ‘see’ the copy in their mind before they even begin putting pen to paper. The key, as with anything in life, is to practice and get a lot of reps. The more your write, the better you’ll get.
First Draft — One of the misconceptions that plagues many people when it comes to writing is the idea that the first draft has to be perfect. That is NOT the case. The goal with the first draft is to simply get something, anything, down. It can be very poorly written. Just try to get the main ideas down. From there you can polish it, add or remove things, change the wording around so it flows better, change the order of sentences, etc. Don’t spend a lot of time trying to be perfect in the first draft!
- Quote (P. 24): “Another factor to realize about writing copy is that the first draft of an ad is often terrible, and the real skill in copywriting is taking that rough draft and polishing it. You might add words, delete entire sentences, change the order of sentences or even paragraphs. It’s all part of the copywriting process.”
- Quote (P. 24): “In that first draft, the goal is to put something — anything — on paper, the emotional outpouring of everything you are trying to convey about your product or service. Don’t worry about how it reads.”

Ch. 4: The Purpose of All Graphic Elements of an Ad

Getting the Reader to Read — Every element of an ad has one purpose: Get the reader to read the first sentence of the copy. Whether it’s the headline, subhead, photos, paragraph headings, or anything of the other elements featured in an ad, the ultimate goal is to get the reader to the first sentence. Focus on building curiosity.

Ch. 5: The First Sentence

Short First Sentences — The first few lines of copy are critical, especially the first sentence. The first sentence of copy should be short, snappy, and to the point. The goal is to suck the reader in and get him/her to begin reading. When that happens, reading momentum is established. If you don’t make it easy on the reader in the first few sentences, you will lose his/her attention and he/she will stop reading before you can even discuss product features and benefits. The first sentence needs to be short. It needs to be snappy. And it needs to draw the reader in. Focus on building curiosity.
- Quote (P. 33): “So in copywriting as in selling, if your reader is not riveted to every word you write in the first few sentences, then your chances of having the reader get to the real sales pitch are very remote.”
- Quote (P. 33): “Make that first sentence so easy to read that your reader is almost compelled to read it.”
  - Takeaway — Making it easy to read the first few sentences of content aligns with what was discussed in Thinking Fast and Slow. In that book, Daniel Kahneman explained that we are designed to take the path of least resistance. We don’t want to try hard. If you make those first few sentences — or any of the content, really — difficult to read and unappealing to the eyes, the reader will not continue. You have to make it easy.

Ch. 6: Create the Perfect Buying Environment

Set the Buying Environment — Your copy should create a certain buying environment that aligns with the product or service you’re writing about. You can set the right buying environment with the words, images, headlines, graphics, and design elements you use. Regardless of the buying environment you want to create, the first few sentences are cortical in setting the tone.
- Ex. Expensive Item — If you’re trying to sell an expensive product, your copy should exude a lot of integrity and class. The words and phrases you use should be very polished and professional. The design elements should follow the same approach.
- Ex. Item on Sale — If you’re creating ads for something that is on sale, the buying environment you create with your content should be a lot different. The price can be in big, bold text. The copy can be more fun and energetic.

Ch. 7: Resonating With the Reader

Get Agreement — On top of being short and attention-grabbing, the first sentence or two of an ad should also try to get agreement from the reader or target audience. You want to stick to statements and phrases that generate a nod of agreement. That’s a sales trick — the theory is that the more you can get the reader to agree, the more likely they may be to say ‘yes’ to your product.

Ch. 8: The Slippery Slide

Slippery Slide — When you’re building the copy, design, layout, photos, headline, subhead, and opening sentences of a piece, the goal is to get the reader to read the entire thing. You do that by ‘sucking them in’ and building curiosity with your content. The headline and subhead should grab the reader’s attention. The piece should be well designed with nice images or graphics. The copy should be visually appealing with plenty of subheads and bullets to break up the text and make it easy on the reader. The opening sentences should be brief and command the reader’s interest. If you do it successfully, the reader will build momentum as he makes his way down the page until he arrives at the call to action (CTA) at the bottom.
- Quote (P. 49): “Once you start reading the headline, which forces you eventually down to the first sentence, you are in my slide. And then I take you all the way to the bottom of that slide so before you know if you’ve read the entire ad.”
  - Takeaway — I learned to do this during my time at The Vacaville Reporter newspaper. The key is the headline, subhead, and opening sentences. If you can hook them with attention-grabbing statements and sentences, you help the reader build momentum and increase the chances that he will finish the entire piece. Be creative and bold in those areas of the content.
Stories — When appropriate, short stories are a great way to begin a piece. Everybody loves stories. A brief story is a great way to grab and hold a reader’s attention as they begin reading the content.

Ch. 9: Assumed Contraints

Never Back Down — Whether it’s writing content, delivering speeches, or anything else in life, don’t ever allow yourself to be boxed in by the expectations of other people. People will often try to tell you things that are limiting or constraining in nature. Anything is possible, and you have to always believe that regardless of what anyone is telling you.

Ch. 10: Seeds of Curiosity

Seeds of Curiosity — As discussed earlier in the book, you want to create a slippery slide with your content and get the reader to read the entire piece. Building curiosity is so important. One of the tactics you can use is planting ‘seeds of curiosity.’ These short sentences are usually placed at the end of paragraphs and entice the reader to keep going. These are essentially ‘teasers’ that encourage the reader to read more. A few good ones include:
- But there’s more.
- So read on.
- But I didn’t stop there.
- Let me explain.
- Now here comes the good part.
- And here’s why.
- But there’s another example.

Ch. 11: Copy as Emotion

Emotion in Advertising — A big part of content writing is delivering an emotional experience. There are a few principles to keep in mind when writing:
- Emotion Principle 1 — Every word has an emotion associated with it and tells a story. Choose words with care. Pick the ones that will convey the emotion and story you’re looking to get across.
- Emotion Principle 2 — Every good ad is an emotional outpouring of words, feelings, and impressions.
- Emotion Principle 3 — You sell on emotion, but you justify a purchase with logic. A person will buy a Mercedes, for example, because he wants to join the exclusive club of Mercedes drivers (emotion) and then justify the purchase to others by rattling off the car’s features (logic).
Appeal to Emotion — Most words convey some kind of emotion. As a content writer, you want to use words that elicit the emotion and story you’re looking to get across to the reader. Word selection is important. For example — “The little old lady in the cottage” sounds much better than “The old woman in the motel.” The sentences are essentially the same, but the first one just feels better.
- Quote (P. 67): “For example, I’ve always used the phrase near the end of my ads, ‘If you aren’t absolutely satisfied, return your product within 30 days for a prompt and courteous refund.’ Who ever heard of a refund being courteous? It doesn’t matter. The emotion or the feel of that phrase really says that we are a very respectful and understanding company that will return your money very promptly.”
- Quote (P. 67): “Often, a phrase or sentence or even a premise does not have to be correct logically. As long as it conveys the message emotionally, it not only does the job, but does it more effectively than the logical message.”
  - Takeaway — Think of words as emotional darts. You want to use them with precision. Always keep in mind how the words you’re choosing are hitting the reader from an emotion standpoint.

Ch. 12: Selling the Concept, Not the Product

Find the Concept, Sell the Concept — Every product or service has a ‘concept’ that makes it unique. Your goal as a content writer is to find that concept and drive the message home. The concept is not the features of the product — it’s something that sets the product apart from anything else. Usually the concept involves a certain benefit or luxury that the product offers. Apple’s “1,000 songs in your pocket” language when marketing the iPod is a good example.
- Quote (P. 75): “Every product has that unique selling proposition that makes it stand out from the rest. And it is indeed up to you, the copywriter, to realize this fact and discover each product’s uniqueness.”

Ch. 13: The Incubation Process

Incubating — Creative people need to incubate. Incubating involves taking some time away from the project before writing. After thinking about and studying the assignment, you should go on a walk or do something fun for a bit while your subconscious mind processes the information and prepares to write the content. Time, ego, and environment are the biggest factors when it comes to how efficient the incubation process is. When you have a tight deadline, the incubation process is shorter and you may feel rushed.
Interesting Fact — Much has been made about the different hemispheres of the brain and how each controls our thinking. The right brain does the intuitive or emotional thinking and the left brain does the logical thinking. Writing content is best when it comes from the right brain.

Ch. 14: How Much Copy Should You Write?

Copy Length — In the end, there’s no concrete rule to follow when it comes to copy length. Your content should be compelling all the way through. You want readers to jump into the slippery slide and follow the content all the way down the page. There’s no point in using additional words just to increase the copy length. Another factor to consider is that people will read any length of text if it’s covering something they are interested in.
- Quote (P. 81): “The key is simply this: copy is never too long if the reader takes the action you request. Therefore, it can’t be dull, it must be compelling, it must relate to the reader, and, finally, it’s got to be about something the reader is interested in… If you don’t write compelling copy, you’ll never get the reader to read the part of the copy that sells your product.”

Ch. 15: The Art of Personal Communication

Quote (P. 87): “Advertising is the ultimate form of communication in that its purpose is to cause an action to be taken by consumers — usually to exchange their hard-earned money for a product or service.”
- Takeaway — At the end of the day, this is the goal of marketing and advertising. Everything a marketing department does should be with the goal of getting a sale. Try not to lose sight of this amid all the chaos that can happen on a day-to-day basis in marketing.
Get Personal — If appropriate, try to speak directly to the reader using words like “I,” “you,” “me,” “we,” etc. Framing the content like this gives the copy a more personal feel. If it’s a letter or some sort, always use a person’s name. When appropriate, the copy should be framed as if it is from me to you.

Ch. 16: The Copy Sequence

Flow of Content — Content must flow well to hold the reader’s attention. It needs to also follow a logical sequencing pattern. Ideally, the copy will begin with excitement, show how the product can help or benefit the reader, explain the features, and finish with a CTA. The content should answer the questions the reader will likely ask himself.
- Quote (P. 97): “The ideas presented in your copy should flow in a logical fashion, anticipating your prospect’s questions, and answering them as if the questions were asked face-to-face.”
  - Takeaway — This is another way of saying that you need to always, always, always put yourself in the reader’s shoes and see things from your target audience’s perspective. This is one of the most important things to keep in mind when writing content — put yourself in the customer’s shoes. Write the content based on what they might be thinking or feeling. Outline the benefits in a way that shows how the product or service will make their life better or solve their problems.

Ch. 17: The Editing Process

Polishing Gems — The editing process is where you turn your rough draft into a polished, harmonious piece that resonates with your audience. Again, the first draft is all about putting something on the board. In the editing process, you refine your copy to express exactly what you want to express with the fewest words possible. Taking out unnecessary or extraneous words and sentences gives the content better flow and appears less daunting to the reader. Other things to keep in mind while editing include:
- Eliminate “That” Words — You can often eliminate a string of words leading up to the word “that.” Usually what comes after “that” can be said without the unnecessary lead-up and still retain the same meaning.
  - Ex. “And, if you’ve tried that, you know that…”
  - Ex. “Finally, it is important to note that…”
- Edit for Rhythm — Vary the length of sentences so they don’t sound monotonous. Mix up the sentence length to improve the flow.
- Combine Sentences — You can often improve flow and rhythm by combining sentences using an em dash (—) or semicolon (;).
- Eliminate Unnecessary Words — Try to use the fewest number of words possible while still retaining the meaning of your copy. Stephen King also advocates for this in his book On Writing.
- Rearrange Thoughts — Sometimes you can rearrange the sequencing of sentences to make more of an impact and help the content flow better. This is more of a “feel” thing — there’s no real playbook for pulling it off.

Ch. 18: Powerful Copy Elements Explained

Understanding What Works — In this chapter Sugarman provides 23 tips, tricks, and tactics to writing effective content. You should always have a larger strategy in mind when you write. You should always be writing with a goal and an outcome in mind. A few things to key in on include:
- Product Explanation — All good content explains to the reader how the product or service can help them live better, happier, more fulfilled lives. It’s important to discuss the features of the product as well, but that should come secondary to discussing how the product will benefit the reader.
- Product Features — The features of the product should be outlined in a way that clearly shows how the product is better or more effective than anything else on the market. Focus hard on the features that make the product stand out from the pack. Focus on what makes the product unique.
- Technical Explanation — If appropriate, include a paragraph or two about why you personally chose the product. Outline your thought process and why you specifically chose it over other, similar products on the market. This is effective because the reader will appreciate the effort you took to research the product and the competition. After reading the section, he will almost feel as if he did the research, and will therefore feel more confident about making the purchase based on your recommendation and investigation.
- Anticipate Objections — Going back to an earlier chapter, you have to put yourself in the reader’s shoes and anticipate their questions and objections. Your content should answer all of their questions. If the product has an obvious weakness, call it out. For example, if the product looks terrible, admit that its design sucks in the content. Doing this creates trust with the reader.
- Rhythm — All good copy has great rhythm. Achieving a nice flow and rhythm is one of the hardest aspects of content writing. One of the ways to do it is to mix up your sentence length. Consistently vary your sentence length with short, medium, and long sentences. You can also use the “triad.” For example, when listing a product’s attributes, you would use three of them: “I went shopping for a hammer, a screwdriver, and a pair of pliers.”
  - Quote (P. 121): “So what does this rhythm sound or feel like in advertising copy? It has no distinct pattern: a short sentence, then a long sentence followed by a medium sentence followed by a short sentence and then another short sentence and then one really long sentence. Got it? In short, a mixture of sentence lengths that that, when read together, gives a sense of variety and rhythm.”
- Price Comparison & Value — One of the factors that really motivates people to buy is a sense that they are getting value. If the price of your product is lower than a competitor and both products have about the same features and benefits, make sure to point that out. If your product is more expensive but comes with additional features and benefits, point it out. Whenever possible, make it clear that that the reader will get more value with your product.
- Ease of Ordering — Make it extremely easy and simple to make the order. Have big CTA buttons all over the website. Make sure the number of steps and clicks the customer has to go through to make the order is as low as humanly possible. You have to make things easy on people; we are wired to be lazy.

Ch. 19: The Psychological Triggers

Moving the Needle — In this chapter Sugarman outlines 31 different psychological triggers that, when used effectively, can motivate a reader to take action and buy a product. A few of the highlights include:
- Feeling of Involvement or Ownership — The more you can make a reader feel the product, the better. Try to create vivid mental images with your content. Describe the product. Explain how it would feel to interact with or experience the product. By doing this, you are making readers feel that they already own the product and you’re letting them use their imaginations as you take them through the steps of what it would be like if they already owned it.
  - Quote (P. 132): “In short, I take the mind on a mental journey to capture the involvement of the reader. I make the reader believe that he or she could indeed be holding the calculator and experiencing the very same things that I’ve described. It’s mental energy creating a picture for the prospect, whose mind is like a vacuum, waiting to be filled.”
  - Ex. Sports Car — Take a ride in the new Corvette. Feel the breeze blowing through your hair as you drive through the warm evening. Watch heads turn. Punch the accelerator to the floor and feel the burst of power that pins you to the back of your contour seat. Look at the beautiful display of electronic technology right on your dashboard. Feel the power and excitement of America’s super sports car.
- Credibility — When you put yourself in the reader’s shoes and raise objections that they might have in the content, you establish credibility and trust. Think of all the ways the customer might run into issues or have a problem and resolve them by offering solutions in the copy.
  - Ex. Assembly — If a product will require self-assembly, don’t ignore that in the copy. Explain the roadblock and offer a solution or comforting sentence.
- Value and Proof of Value — You want to convey, through examples or by comparison, that what the customer is buying is a good value. This is one of the most influential motivating factors when people are considering a purchase. Compare your prices to products with similar features and point out that you’re providing a better value.
- Justify the Purchase — At the end of the day, the customer has to justify the purchase the in his mind. Your job is to help that process. Be strategic with your sentences towards the end of the content.
  - Quote (P. 139): “Somewhere in your ad, you should resolve any objection by providing some justification to the purchaser. Sometimes it’s just saying, ‘You deserve it.’ Other times, you might have to justify it in terms of savings (the price is a one-time-only value), health reasons (protects your eyes), recognition, or dozens of other reasons based on the wants and needs of your prospect.”
    - Takeaway — Once again, it’s so important to see things from the perspective of your target audience. What does your audience really want? What are the two or three biggest benefits to the prospect? Think about it and use messaging that hits on those areas so the prospect can have an easier time justifying the purchase in his mind.
- Establish Authority — Consumers love to do business with experts in a particular area. You can always find something about your company that establishes authority and expertise in what you’re selling.
  - Ex. Chimneys — America’s largest supplier of specialized products for the chimney sweep industry.
  - Ex. Cambridge — One of a handful of financial services companies led by a female CEO.
- Nature of Product — Every product has a unique personality or nature to it. Understand what makes your product or service different or better from anything else on the market and make sure you’re consistently driving the message home in your content. Hit on how the unique nature of the product or service will improve the life of your prospect or solve his problems.
- Understand the Audience — Your target customer has a set of beliefs, motivations, challenges, problems, fears, and insecurities. You have to put yourself in your prospect’s shoes and get a feel for what drives him and keeps him up at night. All of your content should be tailored to those emotions. All of your content should show how your product or service will help him get better or solve his problems. How will the product benefit your target customer? This is more important to hit on than the product’s features or qualities.
  - Quote (P. 149): “The prospect has basic emotional needs that your product or service will solve, regardless of how sophisticated or simple your product offering is. Examine those emotional needs. It is from the perspective of emotion that you will reach the core essence of your prospect’s motivation.”
- Linking — You can use the concept of linking to drive a point home or help the reader better understand your product or service. Linking involves relating something basic to your product so the reader will have an easier time understanding what you’re trying to get across.
  - Ex. Cambridge — The beginning of one of our marketing pieces linked the idea of a financial advisor transitioning to a new firm with buying a new house and moving to a new neighborhood. We linked the two ideas to explain that both actions come with uncertainty and fear.
- Sense of Urgency — After reading an ad, a lot of people think to themselves, “Well, I’ll think about it.” To combat that delay tactic, you have to create a sense of urgency and provide an incentive to buy now. You can use the sense of urgency in a few ways — low supplies, reservations fill up fast, closeout opportunity, future price rise, product shortages, limited-time price opportunity, or limited-edition opportunity. Your sense of urgency statement should always go at the end of the ad.
  - Quote (P. 168): “A part of the sense of urgency is based on fear. Your customer fears that he or she will lose out on the opportunity of buying a product or service because it won’t be available in the future or it won’t be available at the same price.”
- Simplicity — It’s important to keep your content simple. If the content is confusing, unorganized, or sloppy, the prospect likely won’t read it. You want to make sure the copy is clean, well structured, and well presented. Make it simple and easy on the reader. You also don’t want to give the customer too many options. The Paradox of Choice is at play when to many options are offered.
  - Quote (P. 172): “You must keep your advertising copy simple. The positioning of your product must be simple. Your offer must be simple. In short, you want to keep your entire presentation as simple as possible while still getting across your message.”
  - Quote (P. 172): “I like to tell my students to focus. Focus on what you are trying to accomplish and eliminate things that either complicate your presentation or aren’t necessary.”
- Storytelling — We love stories. Consider using stories at the very start of your content. They draw the reader in and are very effective at getting them started down the “slippery slope.”
- Specificity — Whenever possible, use stats, data, and research to support what you’re saying in your copy. People prefer to see specific numbers rather than general statements. Using stats also helps establish trust and credibility with the reader.
- Hope — You can always sell hope. Many people buy certain products with the hope that it will solve their issues. Being able to use the power of Hope effectively in copy writing requires an in-depth understanding of your target customer.
  - Ex. Cambridge — Financial advisors who turn independent and come to Cambridge are hoping they will have the freedom and flexibility to build their business on their terms. They like the idea of being their own boss and calling the shots. We can always sell that hope.
Interesting Fact — Many people in advertising use ‘A/B Tests’ to test various versions of an ad. A/B Testing lets you compare two versions of an ad strategy by changing variables such as ad images, ad text, audience, or placement. The strategy involves showing each version of the ad to a segment of your audience and ensuring nobody sees both. You then get the results and determine which version performed best. The version that performs best is usually then used on a larger scale.

Ch. 20: Selling a Cure, Not Prevention

Sell the Cure — We are all willing to pay more for something that will help cure a current problem or issue than something that will prevent a problem or issue. It’s human nature. Whenever possible, use your content to position your product or service as a cure to something, rather than a preventative. A lot of these types of products are health related, but you can still find ways to position a non-health product as a cure to an issue plaguing your target customer.

Ch. 21: Rating Your Writing Level

The Fog Index — Sugarman takes you through the Fog Index, a tool to rate your writing level that involves adding and dividing the number of words in your content. It’s not really necessary.

Ch. 22: Seven Steps to Writing Great Copy

Tying It Together — To summarize, there are seven keys to writing really effective content. These are the steps to follow when writing content. The steps include:
- Step 1: Become an Expert — Become an expert on the product or service you are writing about! Absorb as much info as you can. The more you know about the product, the better you can sell it.
- Step 2: Know Your Prospect — This has been one of the themes of this book, and others I’ve read. Who is your target customer? What drives him? What makes him mad, sad, frustrated? What are his problems and worries? How can your product or service help him solve an issue or live a better life? These are key thoughts you have to think about constantly as you’re writing.
- Step 3: Write Catchy Headlines — Write headlines that are short (a few words) and grab the reader’s attention. The subhead should also be catchy and around 16 words. The goal is to get the reader to the first sentence, which should also be short and catchy/entertaining. The goal with these elements is to get the reader started down the ‘slippery slope.’
- Step 4: Write the Copy — Write the first draft. Don’t worry about being perfect here; the goal is simply to get something — literally anything — down on paper. From there you can edit, make additions or deletions, and correct poor grammar or sentence structure. Get your ideas on paper for now.
  - Quote (P. 203): “Write the copy. Don’t worry about sentence structure, grammar, punctuation — just start writing and keep writing. Let all your ideas and thoughts flow into the computer and above all don’t worry about making mistakes. The main idea is to take everything that is in your head about the subject and dump it into your hard drive.”
- Step 5: Edit — Edit your content. Go through and cut the fat. Clean up bad grammar. Make the sentences flow well. Tighten it up here.
- Step 6: Take a Break — Take some time to incubate and relax. Stop looking at the content and get away for a bit. Ideas may come flowing to you while you’re away and you’ll be able to see the content with fresh eyes the next time you sit down to work on it.
- Step 7: One Last Look — After getting away for a bit, come back to the content and take a final look. Refine the content. It’s amazing how many issues you’ll catch and correct after stepping aside.

Mack's Book Notes

Mack's Book Notes

Mack's Book Notes