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Copywriting takes a LOT of mental energy!!

by rammonster
9 replies
Hey warriors,

Just something i feel like sharing....

Its 6:30 in the evening here and my head hurts...a LOT! I started writing a mock copy for a "imaginary" product today morning. I wrote down all its features, I mean numbers and everything. Then i thought about my target audience. Who they were, what they would gain by purchasing my product.

After completing my "sales detective" work, I decided to start thinking about the pitch in my head. I used to work as a telemarketer for about a year so this was kinda easy. I just locked myself up in my room and started speaking to my "imaginary prospect" holding the cell phone and pretending i was talking to an actual person. Yea, I know some of you might think I was taking it a bit too far but I think it really helped me structure my letter in my head.

I sat down and started typing my headline. Writing just the headline took me close to an hour...but I still wasn't sure if it was good enough. Somehow I convinced myself to move ahead and write the opening paragraph, which was again a very strenuous task.

I probably hit the backspace key a thousand times. I've been practicing for long hours and have been pulling my hair out. I now understand why copywriters charge the fee they do, it is extremely hard work and takes a good amount of experience and practice to perfect this art. A winning copy will bring in profit for years. While a copy written by a "normal" writer will hardly pull.

I am still learning...its hard work, But it gets easier every time I sit down to write. How long did you guys take before you finally decided to take the show on the road?

Thanks guys.

Cheers,
kunal
#copywriting #energy #lot #mental #takes
  • Profile picture of the author arfasaira
    When I started out, it was six months in total of coaching and mentoring with live clients to boot after the halfway mark. I immersed myself into it as much as I could (with a baby to boot) and yes, its hard work, and long drawn out hours too.

    I leave the headline until the very end - in fact its the last thing I do when writing copy. TO me, inspiration usually strikes when I have a structure in my mind for the letter and a sound understanding of my own message...thats when I write the headline.

    Always go back to your core message - if you had to sum up your client's product in a paragraph, what would YOU write about? What does it do and what main problems does it solve?

    That will at least help you collect your thoughts and have a greater understanding of what you need to convey through your headline.

    I also find writing sales letters and autoresponders does drain me - of all the good ideas I have to be in a certain mood when writing. I cant do it if I'm feeling bored, agitated or uninspired. I feel the copy doesn't write well if I am in one of those moods.

    I am one of those writers who writes from the heart, which can be a a bit annoying when i have deadlines looming and i still don't feel inspired! It all comes together in the end, but yes, it does take a huge amount of mental effort!
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    • Profile picture of the author rammonster
      Originally Posted by arfasaira View Post

      When I started out, it was six months in total of coaching and mentoring with live clients to boot after the halfway mark. I immersed myself into it as much as I could (with a baby to boot) and yes, its hard work, and long drawn out hours too.
      I on the other hand am not all that busy. I have close to 6 gigs a month. The rest of the time is spent on maintaining my amazon sites. So with all this extra time, I can sit down and type away.
      I dont have a coach at my beck and call but i think I learn best when i teach myself. I just have this thing...I dont know..But ever since i dropped out of high school, I haven't been too fond of "teachers" :p


      I also find writing sales letters and autoresponders does drain me - of all the good ideas I have to be in a certain mood when writing. I cant do it if I'm feeling bored, agitated or uninspired. I feel the copy doesn't write well if I am in one of those moods.
      I can totally relate to that, I am a extremely moody person. I like to sit on my bed and write rather than sitting on my office chair and i tend to eat less when I'm on a writing spree.:confused:

      Thank you for the useful advice.

      Cheers,
      kunal
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  • Profile picture of the author Rezbi
    Arfa,

    I've noticed you and a few others who were coached by Paul Hancox have done relatively well in a very short time.

    I think that's a great testament to Paul's course. However, you all must be very hard working as it takes the willingness to actually DO the work, as well.

    I remember doing a course where my instructor asked me to hand copy three sales letters, three times each, within a day. So I did. My hand was cramping up with all the writing.

    When he asked me the next day if I'd done it, and I said yes, he sounded very surprised.

    I assumed from that not many people do it.

    Edit: I knew there was something I left out. When you were learning, on average how long each day did you study and how long did you write? I ask as I've found it makes a difference to what you do later.
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    • Profile picture of the author arfasaira
      Originally Posted by Rezbi View Post

      Arfa,

      I've noticed you and a few others who were coached by Paul Hancox have done relatively well in a very short time.

      I think that's a great testament to Paul's course. However, you all must be very hard working as it takes the willingness to actually DO the work, as well.

      I remember doing a course where my instructor asked me to hand copy three sales letters, three times each, within a day. So I did. My hand was cramping up with all the writing.

      When he asked me the next day if I'd done it, and I said yes, he sounded very surprised.

      I assumed from that not many people do it.
      I have to admit, Paul is a superb instructor - Im doing better than I ever thought I would and its opened doors for me I never knew were possible. I got hired by a big branding agency in the Middle East and they have now kept me on which is excellent.

      I never, ever had to write out letters though - I really don't see the point in writing something verbatim - it makes no sense whatsoever. If I learnt an entire medical textbook word for word, its not going to make me a doctor, since doing that teaches you nothing about methods and applications or even how something is structured.

      Sure, you learn a lot from knowing what good copy is, but its knowing why something is good copy that makes the difference - and then being able to translate it into good solid copy yourself.

      And yes, it helps to have an instructor that understands your strengths and weakness and is able to explain to you why something is the way it is and the reasoning behind it.

      That's the difference between a good coach and a fantastic one.
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      • Profile picture of the author Rezbi
        Originally Posted by arfasaira View Post

        I have to admit, Paul is a superb instructor - Im doing better than I ever thought I would and its opened doors for me I never knew were possible. I got hired by a big branding agency in the Middle East and they have now kept me on which is excellent.

        I never, ever had to write out letters though - I really don't see the point in writing something verbatim - it makes no sense whatsoever. If I learnt an entire medical textbook word for word, its not going to make me a doctor, since doing that teaches you nothing about methods and applications or even how something is structured.

        Sure, you learn a lot from knowing what good copy is, but its knowing why something is good copy that makes the difference - and then being able to translate it into good solid copy yourself.

        And yes, it helps to have an instructor that understands your strengths and weakness and is able to explain to you why something is the way it is and the reasoning behind it.

        That's the difference between a good coach and a fantastic one.
        Hmm. Have to disagree on that.

        I find whenever I'm stuck for what to write I can start copying out something and then the words just flow for me in my own copy.

        Maybe it's an individual thing.
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  • Profile picture of the author MissLizzie
    Hey Kunal,

    When I'm feeling a bit down in the dumps about writing, I always go back to one thing. No matter how good you are, your copy will always get better with practice and a little bit of self-education.

    Now, you might not see those results immediately, but over time, that improvement gets more and more noticeable. You might even get to a point when you look at the first sales letter that you wrote and think, why did I say that... It's sh$t! But at the time, you were so proud of that copy and it was the sample that you gave out to all of your clients. Oops!

    So, I suppose it's just a case of keeping going! I hope that helps and good luck with your headline too.

    Lizzie
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  • Profile picture of the author Oxbloom
    Wait...nobody told me this was supposed to get easier.

    I still pull my hair out and hit the backspace key about a thousand times before I finish the first paragraph.

    And if the headline takes me an hour, I know I've half-assed it.

    The only exceptions for these rules occur when I really, truly, just don't give a crap about the product and spit out the copy in one go, without stopping to think or worry.

    In which case it inevitably outsells the things I try really hard to get right.

    I need my morning martini.
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    • Profile picture of the author rammonster
      OK, I guess I wasn't clear enough. I meant writing in general NOT writing copy. Writing copy is always a challenge but putting in the right words in the right place is something i am still perfecting. :p

      Originally Posted by Oxbloom View Post

      Wait...nobody told me this was supposed to get easier.

      I still pull my hair out and hit the backspace key about a thousand times before I finish the first paragraph.

      And if the headline takes me an hour, I know I've half-assed it.

      The only exceptions for these rules occur when I really, truly, just don't give a crap about the product and spit out the copy in one go, without stopping to think or worry.

      In which case it inevitably outsells the things I try really hard to get right.

      I need my morning martini.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3592426].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    Originally Posted by rammonster View Post

    Hey warriors,

    Just something i feel like sharing....

    Its 6:30 in the evening here and my head hurts...a LOT! I started writing a mock copy for a "imaginary" product today morning. I wrote down all its features, I mean numbers and everything. Then i thought about my target audience. Who they were, what they would gain by purchasing my product.

    After completing my "sales detective" work, I decided to start thinking about the pitch in my head. I used to work as a telemarketer for about a year so this was kinda easy. I just locked myself up in my room and started speaking to my "imaginary prospect" holding the cell phone and pretending i was talking to an actual person. Yea, I know some of you might think I was taking it a bit too far but I think it really helped me structure my letter in my head.

    I sat down and started typing my headline. Writing just the headline took me close to an hour...but I still wasn't sure if it was good enough. Somehow I convinced myself to move ahead and write the opening paragraph, which was again a very strenuous task.

    I probably hit the backspace key a thousand times. I've been practicing for long hours and have been pulling my hair out. I now understand why copywriters charge the fee they do, it is extremely hard work and takes a good amount of experience and practice to perfect this art. A winning copy will bring in profit for years. While a copy written by a "normal" writer will hardly pull.

    I am still learning...its hard work, But it gets easier every time I sit down to write. How long did you guys take before you finally decided to take the show on the road?

    Thanks guys.

    Cheers,
    kunal
    Hey there dude...
    I'm impressed. You're one of the few people I've seen that has asked for help on this forum and who appears to actually taking good advise and using it. Your post shows it. Well written, good puntuation and spelling. It's very impressive compared to the way you started out. Hell, it's just impressive by itself.

    These are the things potential clients notice. But even more important, you're establishing good writing habits... stuff that will serve you well as a writer forever. Bravo. Nice work.
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