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10/16/2006: "Good Writers Don't Always Make Good Copywriters"

Nothing makes a writer or copywriter feel as good as when he or she is complimented on his writing. "Oh, that's great writing!" That really builds up our egos.

And if you're in college, good writing makes professors stand up and pay attention. Oh, they love good writing. And chances are, it will get you an A+ quicker than anything.

So what's wrong with that? Here's what's wrong with it. A great copywriter may not be a good writer at all. Fact is, a good copywriter is basically just a damn good salesman.

A great copywriter doesn't want someone to look at his copy and say, "Oh, that's great writing!" He wants them to say, "Oh, I must go out and buy that product now!"

A copywriter is not a star. The product or service you are selling is the star. Period.

I get a weekly newsletter from a famous former bodybuilder. He's a wonderful man and he was a successful bodybuilder of what we bodybuilding fans call The Golden Era --- when Arnold ruled.

It's a wonderful newsletter and I look forward to getting it. But this guy tries so hard to show off his writing that it takes away from the real value of the newsletter --- that is the benefits you'll get from reading it each week.

He tries to be amusing and flowery and to show off his writing skills. This isn't good. No, he's not a copywriter. But he's writing to a group of people to whom he wants to sell health supplements and ideas that promote his own business.

Eugene Schwartz, one of the greatest copywriters who ever lived, said he was not a really good writer. But he added he was a guy who worked harder than most other copywriters. He also made the product or service that he was selling the star.

When you read a Schwartz ad, you were thinking about the product, not the writing. And that's the way to be a great copywriter.

If you want to be the star, write a novel. If you want to sell products and make a lot of money as a copywriter, make the product the star.

Personally I'd rather have a fat bank account because I sell a lot of products than to be known as a wonderful writer and not be able to pay my bills.

Think about it.