How Dancing Can Make You A Better Copywriter

[josephkerr]

If You Learn To Dance Well, You May Be Able To Write Your First Million Dollar Sales Letter As Early As The Moment You Come Off The Dance Floor

If you'd like to master copywriting, or any skill for that matter, you've got to have the nerve to just do the damn thing. And it's quite probable you can learn this principle instantly if you learn to dance well.

Here's what I mean:

...athletes will recognize this right away. There come moments in learning new skills where you've got to surrender your comfort to execute the technique.

If you've ever golfed, you know that a proper swing feels completely unnatural. It's uncomfortable. "Icky", even. But it's in those moments where you surrender your comfort to do the swing properly, regardless of how it feels, that you get the best results.

Or if you've ever skateboarded, you know that the biggest obstacle in learning all the best tricks is to just commit to the trick at full speed and trust that you'll come out alright on the other end. It's the people who are afraid to just do it that take so long to learn.

Paradoxically, they also injure themselves more than anyone else because instead of just going for it, they sieze up and second guess themselves.

Now it's usually assumed that "practice makes perfect" by way of rote repetition. In a sense that's true. But upon closer inspection, you'll find that

The real value of practice is the environment it creates to let go completely and just do the thing on a consistent basis.

If you had the nerve to execute a new skill with perfect form... regardless of how comfortable or familiar it felt... you'd get it right away.

Until you can do that though, you have what we call "practice".

There is an old Zen saying about how archers, when playing for pebbles, are all experts. When playing for a bit of cash, their skills waver. And when playing for gold they all miss the target.

It all comes down to nerves.

Here is how dancing teaches you to have real nerves: to dance well, you've got to let go and let the music dance you.

It's heinously obvious who's...

• uptight
• insecure
• worried about whether or not they're doing it "right"
• worried about how they look and...
• who lacks the nerve to let go and just have a ball on the dance floor already.

And the people who can let go may look completely ridiculous, but it's a disarming and impressive sort of ridiculous that allows everyone else to feel more comfortable to let go themselves.

Also, while the really swinging cats might look funny, they also really appear to know what they're doing! While in contrast, the wallflowers and the stiffs look clueless, even though in their minds they've got a firm handle on themselves and what's going on.

You've got to let go.

It's not the technique, the specific things to do, that will hold you back.

It's the mental chatter.

The worry.

If you want to be a champion you've got to be able to look at the games where gold is on the line in exactly the same way you do when you're just playing for pebbles.

Sayings like "nerves of steel" and "brass balls" are hilarious, but misleading.

They lead us to believe that nerves work by effort.

They don't. They work through sensitivity. And you can only develop that sort of intelligence by letting go.

By getting out of your own way.

The only way to do that is to come off of it and just let it happen already.

In copywriting, this means that you need to stop trying to write a great sales letter and just write one already.

If you had the nerve to do it, you wouldn't need an entire "swipe" file.

One good letter to model would be enough.

But see we're operating under images of the world that teach we've got to "earn" things (whatever that means) and so until we've done enough work so that it feels comfortable that we should be "masters" of a skill... we pretend we're not.

We invent all sorts of mental fictions that tie us up into a million little knots that we've got to waste our time untying.

It's like the person who goes to speak in public in front of a big crowd... if he had the nerve to just drop it and do the speaking... he'd do great. But instead, he invents all sorts of mental fictions where people are either staring blankly with grim expressions to the music of disinterested crickets playing... or else they're laughing at and mocking him or whatever, and so he gets nervous.

He's playing for gold.

He's trying.

The same guy, when in his home with his friends, can be the life of the party without a worry in his mind.

There, he's playing for pebbles.

When you learn to stop making the distinction, everything will come much more easily and naturally.

And I know no way of learning this lesson more quickly than to get on the dance floor and get stupid.

[Ken_Caudill]

Does tap dancing count?

[Scott Murdaugh]

And I know no way of learning this lesson more quickly than to get on the dance floor and get stupid.

Maybe that's how I fell into copywriting. If you've ever seen a stereotypical white dude dancing... That's me.

Nice example of using metaphors and story telling to teach a lesson.

-Scott

[Denise Ashurst]

Beautifully put. Here's the beaurty of putting yourself out there. Not everyone is gonna like what you have to say or how you say it. You just cannot please all the people all the time, but yep absolutely you are going to inspire someone else to respond womehow, whether you see those results or not.

We all admire someone who gets out there and does it and even fluffs their lines. The fact is, they did what their passion told them to do and we like that!

Just BE YOURSELF, warts n all...

Here's another word of comfort ... some of the world's most renowned artists...were they always happy with their work? HELL NO, they just commited to getting closer to expressing whatever was in them better next time....

So yeh, practise to make perfect, but the practise isn't just about technical structuring... it's about being authentic and spilling your guts... making a fool of yourself on the dance-floor!

True story... As a yong rock chick, I went into a city night club for fellow rockers...What I was faced with when I got in there HORRIFIED me. You see I had gone their withthe expectation that my fellow music lovers would all be letting it all hang out and letting themselves go to their favourite anthems, as I did in my bedroom getting ready before going out....!

Nope... what I saw on the dance-floor - and I kid you not - was LINES of so-called 'dancers' all doing this weird ritualistic highly formulated stuff, that made them not only look like utter freaks, but just reall 'locked inside themselves' and their insecurities...

I was having none of that... I CAME TO ROCK! I got out there in the middle of the floor, with just enough buffer of people so I was not completely exposed and let myself go nuts to some of my fave tunes...

After some months NOBODY was doing that weird freaks' thing anymore and another six months or so later, a DJ came along who must have picked up on something about my energy out there, 'cause I swear he played all the tunes that made me go berserk because he knew that if one person let rip, others would too ...and they did....

I pride myself on changing the culture in that club!!! (In partnerhsip with a DJ who understood the sheer joy of rocking out!)

It's the same on a page... Just start to put something down... Tweak until you're as happy as you can get. Risk the criticism of imperfection and it'll get easier...

And guess, what...you will have fans amongst those who think like you do out there.... but just ENJOY the FREEDOM online democracy has blessed you with! : )

Originally Posted by josephkerr

If You Learn To Dance Well, You May Be Able To Write Your First Million Dollar Sales Letter As Early As The Moment You Come Off The Dance Floor

If you'd like to master copywriting, or any skill for that matter, you've got to have the nerve to just do the damn thing. And it's quite probable you can learn this principle instantly if you learn to dance well.

Here's what I mean:

...athletes will recognize this right away. There come moments in learning new skills where you've got to surrender your comfort to execute the technique.

If you've ever golfed, you know that a proper swing feels completely unnatural. It's uncomfortable. "Icky", even. But it's in those moments where you surrender your comfort to do the swing properly, regardless of how it feels, that you get the best results.

Or if you've ever skateboarded, you know that the biggest obstacle in learning all the best tricks is to just commit to the trick at full speed and trust that you'll come out alright on the other end. It's the people who are afraid to just do it that take so long to learn.

Paradoxically, they also injure themselves more than anyone else because instead of just going for it, they sieze up and second guess themselves.

Now it's usually assumed that "practice makes perfect" by way of rote repetition. In a sense that's true. But upon closer inspection, you'll find that

The real value of practice is the environment it creates to let go completely and just do the thing on a consistent basis.

If you had the nerve to execute a new skill with perfect form... regardless of how comfortable or familiar it felt... you'd get it right away.

Until you can do that though, you have what we call "practice".

There is an old Zen saying about how archers, when playing for pebbles, are all experts. When playing for a bit of cash, their skills waver. And when playing for gold they all miss the target.

It all comes down to nerves.

Here is how dancing teaches you to have real nerves: to dance well, you've got to let go and let the music dance you.


It's heinously obvious who's...

• uptight
• insecure
• worried about whether or not they're doing it "right"
• worried about how they look and...
• who lacks the nerve to let go and just have a ball on the dance floor already.

And the people who can let go may look completely ridiculous, but it's a disarming and impressive sort of ridiculous that allows everyone else to feel more comfortable to let go themselves.

Also, while the really swinging cats might look funny, they also really appear to know what they're doing! While in contrast, the wallflowers and the stiffs look clueless, even though in their minds they've got a firm handle on themselves and what's going on.

You've got to let go.

It's not the technique, the specific things to do, that will hold you back.

It's the mental chatter.

The worry.

If you want to be a champion you've got to be able to look at the games where gold is on the line in exactly the same way you do when you're just playing for pebbles.

Sayings like "nerves of steel" and "brass balls" are hilarious, but misleading.

They lead us to believe that nerves work by effort.

They don't. They work through sensitivity. And you can only develop that sort of intelligence by letting go.

By getting out of your own way.

The only way to do that is to come off of it and just let it happen already.

In copywriting, this means that you need to stop trying to write a great sales letter and just write one already.

If you had the nerve to do it, you wouldn't need an entire "swipe" file.

One good letter to model would be enough.

But see we're operating under images of the world that teach we've got to "earn" things (whatever that means) and so until we've done enough work so that it feels comfortable that we should be "masters" of a skill... we pretend we're not.

We invent all sorts of mental fictions that tie us up into a million little knots that we've got to waste our time untying.

It's like the person who goes to speak in public in front of a big crowd... if he had the nerve to just drop it and do the speaking... he'd do great. But instead, he invents all sorts of mental fictions where people are either staring blankly with grim expressions to the music of disinterested crickets playing... or else they're laughing at and mocking him or whatever, and so he gets nervous.

He's playing for gold.

He's trying.

The same guy, when in his home with his friends, can be the life of the party without a worry in his mind.

There, he's playing for pebbles.

When you learn to stop making the distinction, everything will come much more easily and naturally.

And I know no way of learning this lesson more quickly than to get on the dance floor and get stupid.

[josephkerr]

Ken... as long as you've got a cane and top hat, then you've got my attention.

Scott... thumbs out, lip bit, WHAT UP?! Do the white man...

Paul... you're too kind.

Denise... that's a badass story, thanks for sharing. : )

[writeright]

I've 500 left feet, I should be the worst copywriter ever!

I loved your piece. Next time... a video of you tapping the wood pls

[dorothydot]

Hey Mark -- Care to join me in a quick demonstration of Abbotts Bromley Horn Dance? LOL!

Or perhaps you'd prefer Bean Setting or even a Foggy Bottom special, Captain Blood (done to Mrs. Casey)?

Dot