A Crucial Decision for Every Copywriter. Direct Response Email Archive July 2020.

A Crucial Decision ... And One That Very Few People Talk About ...

Dan Kennedy once said something along these lines …

If you want to be successful, find someone who has been successful and do what they did.

A sensible approach, for sure. And one that can work.

However, there’s a major problem with this approach, especially for copywriters.

Let me explain.

There are two schools of thought in copywriting.

One school champions research, finding the truth, backing everything up with carefully-selected proof, and being super-clear.

The other school champions the “big promise” and believes it’s OK to “bend” the truth, use hyperbole, make outrageous statements, and generally say pretty much anything to make the sale.

I’m not going to name names for the latter school. But the former includes:

Gary Bencivenga
Bob Bly
John Caples

I was on a call the other day with someone who was closely following a famous copywriter from the “big promise” school. I told him not to.

Why?

You don’t have to lie to help your clients succeed. You should not lie or make stuff up EVER. It’s lazy copywriting and it can get you and your clients into legal trouble. There’s a prominent member of the “big promise” school who got into massive trouble with the law yet everyone, apart from me perhaps, thinks that copywriter is one of the greatest ever.

Let me quote Gary Bencivenga from his Bencivenga Bullets.

“I believe in selling with integrity. The strongest ads tell the truth dramatically. You don’t have to lie, shortchange your customers, sully your good name, or cut corners. Treat your customers by the Golden Rule and they will reward you with much more gold.”

Great advice there.

Whenever I read copy, I know, within 60 seconds, whether the copywriter resides in the “truth” school or the “big promise” school. I especially see the “big promise” school in copy for copywriting courses and training. I'm sure you've seen this, too.

Follow the greats of copy but make sure you totally avoid the copywriters from the “big promise” school. You'll start to see who they are once you start to think about the difference.

Scott Martin