Copying Copy, has it helped you?

I have been learning copywriting since January. I have learned from experience that when trying to learn a new skill, the most efficient way to improve is to find out who the very best is, study how they became the very best, and then copy their approach. There is no point in trying to reinvent the wheel.

I found Gary Halbert's guide to learning how to write copy and decided to follow his advice exactly as he instructed.

After reading all of his recommended books, I copied by hand all 9 of his recommended ads. It was not a fun experience. Some of those ads are brutally long, but it was extremely beneficial. As I copied them by hand I began to understand a lot of the techniques that I had read about. You will never become a great copywriter by just studying it. You need to practice implementing successful techniques in sales letters.

I understand what you mean about the wording sounding funny. I thought the same thing as I copied most of these letters by hand. The wording is not really important. The structure of the letters is what really makes them successful. As I copied them down I would think about how I would say the same thing today if I had to write a sales letter for the same product.

I then expanded on Gary's advice and began copying some newer sales letters that have been successful. I strongly recommend Ross Browning's Stripped Naked Sales Letters. In addition to copying down successful sales letters, you also get expert advice from Ross breaking down his thought process behind the letter.

Another expert copywriter, Dan Kennedy said the following:

"When I was teaching myself to be an advertising copywriter, for example, I studied no less than an hour everyday, listened to recorded material on the subject constantly, sought out and got to know the top people in the field, and when one told me to take great direct-response ads and write them out longhand 21 times each, to teach my subconscious the rhythm of such writing I did that with 100 ads. I collected over 200 books on the subject and immersed myself in them."

My only problem when it comes to hand copying letters is how time consuming it is. I would love to hear how long it takes Rick to copy a sales letter since he does one a day. It usually takes me several hours, and it is difficult for me to find that kind of time every day.

Don't worry. It's not about neatness. It's about expanding the copywriting grooves in your brain.

In my experience, modeling a successful sales letter when writing copy has been very helpful. It forced me to thoroughly analyze the successful sales letter.

But you have to be at a certain knowledge level first. It's pretty tough to figure out what the top guys are doing if you're new.

Of course that's not the same thing as actually writing one out by hand.

Alex

I'm lazy and I don't have a whole lot of time on my hands. I wanted to write out some ads in longhand because I've heard that it can be beneficial, but my hands get tired easily and my handwriting stinks.

What I did was get a copy of the Sunday paper, and I wrote out tiny classified ads, just a few, every day for about 2 years. I skipped the "legal notices" sections, and mostly focused on Pets for Sale and Homes for Rent.

Bruce Lee also said... "I fear not the man who has practiced 10000 kicks once, but I fear the man who had practiced one kick 10000 times."