Copywriting Is Just Writing, Right?

byWeb20pro

861 followers

3 years ago

If you were under the impression that copywriting is just fancy writing or a style of writing, (deep sigh) we have some work to do.

But that's okay. I'm here to set the record straight.

Buckle up, this is going to be a long one.

"If it's not writing, what even is copywriting then?"

Copywriting, by definition can be explained by the great Joseph Sugarman (expert copywriter, speaker and author) himself.

"Copywriting is a mental process the successful execution of which reflects the sum total of all your experiences, your specific knowledge and your ability to mentally process that information and transfer it onto a sheet of paper for the purpose of selling a product or service."

What does this mean though?

Let me explain.

When Sugarman says, "...reflects the sum total of all your experiences, your specific knowledge and your ability to mentally process that information..." he is saying the quiet part out loud.

See, good copywriters realize it's not the words they put on the page that really matter.

It's the thinking behind that.

Sugarman opened up his copywriting book by explaining to be a good copywriter you must enjoy many different life experiences.

Or at least be open-minded to the idea.

He then listed a plethora of activities he's experienced such as ham radio and being a pilot.

Copywriters are not just people who write copy.

No, they're thinkers.

They think about all the experiences they've gone through, the knowledge they have, and think.

Just think.

They translate these experiences and knowledge through powerful headlines that grab the readers attention.

With these headlines, it leads their prospects to read that very first sentence of the copy.

That's the entire point of headlines, sub-headers, pictures and captions.

Read the first sentence. But, I digress.

Copywriting is so much more than just writing in hopes people buy.

It's also asking questions about the product/service you're selling.

You want to become close to an expert in the product or service you are selling.

The more information you have about the product or service, the more ways you can come up with interesting copy.

The thought process behind writing copy can be super easy or it can take days of rewriting and making revisions.

Some of the copy I've written just flowed through me without a single revision, while others, you wouldn't be able to tell the first draft from the final piece because of the amount of revisions made.

Understanding the fact that copywriting is understanding your life experiences, having immense knowledge about the product or service and incorporating these into your copy will put you in leagues above your average copywriter.

Sugarman told a story about how when CB (citizens band) radios first came out.

Everyone was dying to get their hands on these things.

People would wait in line waiting and break into cars to steal them.

Sugarman, being involved in ham radio at the time understood the demand for these things.

One day a friend of his showed him this new technology on a smaller device that was quite close to the CB radio frequency.

He looked up at his friend as he said, "isn't that right near the CB radios frequency?"

His friend answered as if Sugarman was pointing out a flaw in the system, "yeah but it doesn't interfere at all."

Sugarman replied, "No! Don't you see the opportunity we have?"

They then advertised these as Pocket CBs  and sold hundreds of thousands of units at $39.95. Yeah, I know. I did the math as well.

Without this prior experience and knowledge of regular CBs, it would have been overlooked by the average copywriter.

But Sugarman realized the position they could put themselves in and market to their audience.

Main point is this.

Copywriting is not just writing. It's thinking.

Next time I introduce myself, I'll say I'm a copythinker.