I’ve spent the last several years thinking I was missing some vital marketing skill, intimately connected to my writing ability.    Now, I’m a good writer… you don’t get to be a Ph.D. without that skill.  But I always thought I was a mediocre  “copywriter” at best…

That is, until I realized (in the course of developing the Total Conversion Code with Terry for the last few months) that copywriting is a big hairy myth.

It’s really not about writing…

It’s more about listening and “detecting”

A great copywriter looks at the market more like a sculptor looks at a block of marble…

You listen carefully (research), then chip away what doesn’t belong until the beauty comes out.

Yes, there are words to be put on the page (or in the video, or the audio, etc)…

But those are the words the market gives you… they’re already there, you don’t have to be some Hemmingway with a glass of brandy sitting in a snowy log cabin toiling away the hours by the fireplace.

And depending upon the market, a Beavis and Butthead personality might suit you better (seriously)

Which is not to say I’ve lost any respect for copywriters… to the contrary, it’s an extraordinarily valuable skill worth every penny you pay for it when you find a good one!  (Really – they’re the life blood of any direct response business)

It’s just not what you think it is, that’s all.

OK – enough rambling for today, just wanted to share my short thought with you.

Copywriting is a big hairy myth.

So let’s all stop being so frightened of it and get out selling!

Dr. G 🙂