Good ol' Stuart, is he still active? I see his Beyond Wealth website has ended.

Yes I noticed that too. He's more of an offline marketer, Those articles were from his brief foray into internet marketing. It didn't last very long, I think he prefers it offline. Shame, as I enjoyed his stuff and haven't received any mailings from him since 2012.

"The advert cost ten thousand pounds and we sold...zero..."

Zero? Wow. Would love to see that ad. The product sounds like a stinker (wonder if this is it here --http://www.amazon.com/Goosebumps-Massage-Balls-Stimulation-Acupressure/dp/B0000DAWNW). ...but zero? Maybe the pricing was all off too... And maybe the ad medium was poorly chosen.

Anyway, just goes to show you that you can take some of the expert copy recommendations with a grain of salt. When learning copy, it's best to confirm the methods one guru recommends with what others are saying... Learn from multiple sources and take to heart what many of them say in common. Also shows you that copywriting ain't magic, results aren't automatic, no matter what many copywriters say...

Another takeaway is don't be afraid of failure. If it's good enough for the gurus, it's good enough for you. Get out there and earn your own zero results! (Preferably on your own products & services, rather than clients... )

...But the most valuable line in the article, imho is this one: "Most good copywriters are blatant plagiarists of ideas which have worked in the past." "Plagiarists" might be a little too strong a word ... but the gist of the statement is true & it's something beginners should remember. A major part of the art of copywriting is repurposing what has worked in the past... Build up that swipe file!