The Right Way To Forget About Copy...

12 years ago

I hate to be the one to tell you this.

But... there is no fast way.

If you try "quick and easy" your copy will never be as effective as you want it to be.

So, all you can do is take a break.

Come back and edit what you've done.

In my case I do this about 27 times.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

Steve

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abugah 12 years ago

Come back and edit what you've done.

In my case I do this about 27 times.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

Steve[/QUOTE]

Steve,

Just wondering...How long does it take you to research, write and edit say a 8000-word sales letter 27 times?
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- Steve The Copywriter 12 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by abugah
  
  Come back and edit what you've done.
  
  In my case I do this about 27 times.
  
  Sorry I can't be of more help.
  
  Steve
  
  Steve,
  
  Just wondering...How long does it take you to research, write and edit say a 8000-word sales letter 27 times?[/QUOTE]
  
  Give or take a few days - about 3 weeks.
  
  Steve
  
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RazvanRogoz

12 years ago

I agree ... but only to a few points.

The best copy is fast copy. In order to write fast copy, you must research the heck out of the product ...

The worst copy is when you have a blank page in front of you and you don't know what to write ...

The best copy is when you write for 40 minutes straight without even stopping once. However, the "idea to product" time is not 40 minutes.

It's rather 14 hours, because in order to write without stopping, you need to internalize everything you were going to write about.

So ...

Research ...

Internalize ...

Write.

Edit ...

Edit ...

Edit ...

And you've got a damn good copy. If you spend more time writing the copy than researching, then you've got a problem. The actual "writing" time is under 15% of the actual project time.

Razvan

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Steve The Copywriter 12 years ago

Razvan,

I agree you can write copy super fast.

But you'll still have to edit it again and again...(x27).

Steve
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Alex Cohen

12 years ago

Originally Posted by IdrisSG

I've noticed an increased amount of frustration when creating copy.

As of this very second I've got a one page salesletter I'm sending out to business owners about a service I'm providing and its driving me nuts.

You see part of the copywriting process entails that you FORGET about your copy for a while.

Chuck it aside when you're done writing, do other things and then get back to it later and your mind would have "reset" and you'd be on your way looking at the copy with fresh eyes.

The problem is that it takes quite a while to reset and when I'm done "resetting" I look at the copy and there's always one word that I'm taking out, one word that I'm putting back in, a new way to phrase the sentence etc.

So my question is....

What's your way to "forget about copy" that's effective and quick i.e. you do it only once...

Stop worrying about perfection.

"Forget about the copy" one time, rewrite as necessary, and then get it out there.

Nothing prevents you from doing minor tweaks over time.

Alex

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Alex Cohen 12 years ago

The worst copy is when you have a blank page in front of you and you don't know what to write ...

If you've done enough research, there is no such thing as staring at a blank page. Your mind will be filled with good ideas.

Alex
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Mark Andrews

Banned 12 years ago

Originally Posted by IdrisSG

I've noticed an increased amount of frustration when creating copy.

As of this very second I've got a one page salesletter I'm sending out to business owners about a service I'm providing and its driving me nuts.

You see part of the copywriting process entails that you FORGET about your copy for a while.

Chuck it aside when you're done writing, do other things and then get back to it later and your mind would have "reset" and you'd be on your way looking at the copy with fresh eyes.

The problem is that it takes quite a while to reset and when I'm done "resetting" I look at the copy and there's always one word that I'm taking out, one word that I'm putting back in, a new way to phrase the sentence etc.

So my question is....

What's your way to "forget about copy" that's effective and quick i.e. you do it only once...

You're looking for an easy solution to this problem. One which moves you away from your current frustration and pain to pleasure i.e. your perfect and completed sales letter which converts very well your target audience.

You want to know what the best solution is (although you might not enjoy hearing the answer?)... Hand the copywriting project over to a professional copywriter. Problem solved.

At the very least... send it to one of the pro copywriters on this forum for them to fully critique and make changes where necessary. If your sales copy is half decent to begin with, you won't have to invest as much as you would have to for this copywriter to rewrite the entire thing from scratch.

Of course, it could be that your sales copy is missing some vital ingredients to ensure your product becomes a best seller. And in this case writing this out yourself could just be the most expensive mistake you're going to make in your business.

Yes, it's your product and granted, you know it better than anybody else but...

Muck up the main headline or any one of a number of other key and very important elements within your written sales pitch and if it bombs completely - what good is this to you? On the other hand...

...hand over the responsibility to a proven copywriter and the initial investment asked for, could pay back a much greater dividend (profit) than you ever imagined.

What's the point in causing yourself more grief, suffering, and pain all for what could amount to zero sales by falsely thinking it's more cost effective to do this yourself?

Surely the best solution is to save yourself all the worry, time and aggravation and increase your chances of success exponentially by hiring somebody who truly knows what they're doing and does this for a living full time.

What do you think about this answer? Does this make sense to you or not?

Best,

Mark Andrews...

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Pusateri

12 years ago

Sleep. Two or three eight hour sessions is normally sufficient. Sleep is the eraser of working memory.

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IdrisSG

12 years ago

@Steve Copywriter

So, all you can do is take a break.

Come back and edit what you've done.

In my case I do this about 27 times.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

Steve

That's an eye opener.

27 times is huge.

Would I be correct to assume that each of those 27 times represent a specific edit you do?

For example:

1st - Remove "that" from all copy as much as possible
2nd - Add words laced with visceral impact
3rd - Chop off the first paragraph
4th - Add as many "you" to the copy as possible
etc.

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Steve The Copywriter

12 years ago

Originally Posted by IdrisSG

@Steve Copywriter

That's an eye opener.

27 times is huge.

Would I be correct to assume that each of those 27 times represent a specific edit you do?

For example:

1st - Remove "that" from all copy as much as possible
2nd - Add words laced with visceral impact
3rd - Chop off the first paragraph
4th - Add as many "you" to the copy as possible
etc.

Yes all the above and much more.

You edit until...

You're absolutely convinced your copy is as good as you can possibly make it.

But, as Alex mentioned earlier, it does get to a stage when you have to stop "tinkering" or you'll be working on it endlessly.

So, just send it, put it online or whatever.

Measure the response - and carry on improving it.

Steve

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IdrisSG

12 years ago

@RazvanRogoz

I agree ... but only to a few points.

The best copy is fast copy. In order to write fast copy, you must research the heck out of the product ...

The worst copy is when you have a blank page in front of you and you don't know what to write ...

The best copy is when you write for 40 minutes straight without even stopping once. However, the "idea to product" time is not 40 minutes.

It's rather 14 hours, because in order to write without stopping, you need to internalize everything you were going to write about.

So ...

Research ...

Internalize ...

Write.

Edit ...

Edit ...

Edit ...

Razvan

Agreed.

When I first started writing copy I thought it was supposed to take a long time, like 3 weeks to create everything. And I actually did take 3 weeks.

But as I grew in experience, the time I took to write copy got sliced.

Pretty soon I could write a decent salescopy, 12 pages no images all text, salesletter in 3 days flat.

Part of what made me believe that copy can be written fast was reading one of Clayton's case studies for a financial salesletter he wrote.

He did a split test, the first copy he wrote in 8 hours, then I believe he said he spent a whole day trying to beat it with tighter editing and the second version, thoroughly edited, out pulled the first by 3 to 1.

Also - Joe Karbo allegedly wrote the "Lazy Man's Way To Riches" in a day flat.

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IdrisSG

12 years ago

@ Alex Cohen

Stop worrying about perfection.

"Forget about the copy" one time, rewrite as necessary, and then get it out there.

Nothing prevents you from doing minor tweaks over time.

Alex

That's what I did with the salesletter I just printed and sealed into envelopes.

Get it done now rather than get it perfect later.

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IdrisSG

12 years ago

@ Mark Andrews

You're looking for an easy solution to this problem. One which moves you away from your current frustration and pain to pleasure i.e. your perfect and completed sales letter which converts very well your target audience.

Yes I am looking to make the process of copywriting more pleasurable. The main kick I get from writing copy is seeing the results it brings.

The rest of the process of writing is quite painful, like giving birth... (no offence to ladies reading this who have actually given birth)

I do it anyway because my desire to watch the calls, queries and cash flowing in after a campaign far outweighs the pain of the moment.

You want to know what the best solution is (although you might not enjoy hearing the answer?)... Hand the copywriting project over to a professional copywriter. Problem solved.

I am one : )

At the very least... send it to one of the pro copywriters on this forum for them to fully critique and make changes where necessary. If your sales copy is half decent to begin with, you won't have to invest as much as you would have to for this copywriter to rewrite the entire thing from scratch.

Of course, it could be that your sales copy is missing some vital ingredients to ensure your product becomes a best seller. And in this case writing this out yourself could just be the most expensive mistake you're going to make in your business.

If only more business owners knew how true this is.

Yes, it's your product and granted, you know it better than anybody else but...

Muck up the main headline or any one of a number of other key and very important elements within your written sales pitch and if it bombs completely - what good is this to you? On the other hand...

...hand over the responsibility to a proven copywriter and the initial investment asked for, could pay back a much greater dividend (profit) than you ever imagined.

What's the point in causing yourself more grief, suffering, and pain all for what could amount to zero sales by falsely thinking it's more cost effective to do this yourself?

Surely the best solution is to save yourself all the worry, time and aggravation and increase your chances of success exponentially by hiring somebody who truly knows what they're doing and does this for a living full time.

What do you think about this answer? Does this make sense to you or not?

Best,

Mark Andrews...

Good writing style Mark!

Thanks

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IdrisSG 12 years ago

@Pusateri

Sleep. Two or three eight hour sessions is normally sufficient. Sleep is the eraser of working memory.

Sleep is what I used to do until I realized that I enjoyed it too much and started doing uncalled for stuff like day dreaming and imagining I was a giant prehistoric condor/ Iron man.

Now, I'll just do something else like workout, look at magazines, talk to someone over the phone etc.

Unless you know of a technique which puts oneself to sleep quick... and wake up again to do productive stuff.
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The Right Way To Forget About Copy...

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