David Abbott, one of the world’s greatest ever copywriters, will teach you for free!
Everywhere I look these days, someone is trying to sell me a course on how I can earn a handy six figure income from writing copy. And that’s just the ones reduced from $199 to $4.95! But that’s not all. There’s a tsunami of free copywriting tips out there as well.
I’ve asked myself why, all of a sudden am I being bombarded with this shit? (There, I’ve given myself away as a member of the Cranky Copywriter Collective. Thank you for that @Peter T. Britton.)
I mean, I've been writing copy for longer than most of you reading this have been alive. I read the (badly written) BS, and think surely no one’s buying this pitch? And then I read the comments. How much are these guys paying for their strangely repetitive reviews? And why is there never a negative review? Are people really that gullible?
That’s when the penny dropped. (I’m sometimes a bit slow on the uptake.) Here’s the deal. A bunch of people who can’t write copy, are trying to convince another bunch of people who can’t write copy, they can make a killing by writing copy.
Don’t be one of those. You don’t need to spend a brass razoo to learn how to be a
copywriter. David Abbott will teach you for free!
“Who’s David Abbott?” I hear from the people trying to sell copywriting courses. Really? Seriously? David Abbott, was one of the world’s greatest ever copywriters.
So if you’re ready and you want to learn how to be a copywriter, then David Abbotts (free) course starts here.
This is what he said by way of an introduction: “Good copywriting comes from spending a lot of time on it. From revising, polishing and editing it. The best pieces of copy are the ones I have spent a lot of time on.”
David had five simple rules on good copywriting. Ignore any of these at your peril.
1. Put yourself into your work. Use your life to animate your copy. If something moves you, chances are, it will touch someone else too.
2. Think visually. Ask someone to describe a spiral staircase and they’ll use their hands as well as words. Sometimes the best copy is no copy.
3. If you believe that facts persuade (as I do), you’d better learn how to write a list so that it doesn’t read like a list.
4. Confession is good for the soul and for copy too. Bill Bernbach used to say, “a small admission gains a large acceptance.”
5. Don’t be boring.
All done. You’re all copywriters now. Good luck.