So I've been bitten by the copywriting bug. The last time I felt this excited about something was when I was 16 and I discovered the bass guitar. I've always been a decent writer, and I've been in sales for 15 years, so this really seems like a natural progression for me.

Right now I'm trying to devour everything I can from Dan Kennedy, John Carton, etc...and trying to write out by hand the best copy I can find. (This is an absolute pain in the ass, but I understand that all the top copywriters do this.)

I'm enthralled by the big league of copywriting. Companies like Rodale, Phillips and Boardroom who seek out the best copywriters in the world, and then pit them against each other to see who's copy wins and becomes the "control." The idea that these ads can run for years and generate millions in sales is amazing to me. I understand it's very cutthroat, and the money is phenomenal, and the workload is exhausting.

In my research, one guy's writing really jumped out at me. And that is Gary Bencivenga, and I've only read his marketing bullets page. This guy can write. What I'd like to get my hands on are some of his controls. Are those available anywhere?

And how do I find out what the current controls are for the major players like Rodale, etc? Are those typically only direct mail pieces, or are they published in magazines? This area is really fuzzy to me at the moment, but I figure these are the ads that I really should be studying and writing out by hand.

Anyone know?