“Who’s that stumblin’ around in the dark? State your business or prepare to get winged!” ~ Dicky Speck (from the movie Django)
Dear subscriber,
You know, these days you can’t throw a copy of Claude Hopkin’s Scientific Advertising without hitting a copywriter.
Copywriters – they’re everywhere!
Yup, the copywriting industry is growing like the hairs on an Italian grandmother’s chin.
But alas, most copywriters today are stumbling around in the dark.
I don’t want to say that the average copywriter today couldn’t find their arse with both hands, because, well, that wouldn’t adequately describe their dearth of copywriting knowledge or expertise. So, I’ll put it this way: most copywriters today couldn’t find their arse with both hands, a map, a bum-finding machine, and a proctologist!
Even that’s downplaying it.
OK. So why so much stumbling around in the dark?
Well, below are two “off-the-top-of-my-head” reasons why most of today’s copywriters are struggling.
Reason #1
*The average copywriter doesn’t understand the following simple but powerful truths:
The most important thing when it comes to copywriting is to find a hungry market that has money to spend. The second most important element is to find a great product for that market. The third most important element is the offer. Meaning, the art and science of creating irresistible offers. Then, and only then does copywriting come into play. Listen: For your copywriting efforts to stand a chance of success, you must have those first 3 elements all in play.
Capeesh?
Fact: the best copywriters in the world can’t sell lousy products. You could lock Gary Bencivenga, Craig Clemens, and Parris Lampropoulos in a room, put a gun to their heads, and tell them they’ve got 24 hours to come up with a way to sell soundproof underwear for people who fart a lot, and guess what? They couldn’t do it. Simply because nobody wants to buy soundproof underwear!
Actually, the Japanese would probably love it.
Okay, so maybe I should’ve stuck to the old tried-and-true “you can’t sell meat to vegetarians” example.
Whatever. Now, understand this also: they (Gary, Craig, and Parris) couldn’t sell a great product to the wrong market, either. Yes, copywriting is important, but only after you’ve found the right product for the right market with the right offer does it matter.
Copywriting is not magic, Chi-Chi. It’s simply the words you use to sell great products to hungry markets.
Reason #2
*There are too many gurus and not enough practitioners.
Listen, I’m not against copywriting gurus and teachers, I’m against lousy copywriting gurus and teachers. Nowadays, you have copywriting gurus teaching other gurus who teach other gurus who teach other gurus, and so on. You have copywriting teachers writing books based on the other copywriting books they’ve read which were written by other copywriters who wrote their book based on the copywriting books they have read which are books based on other copywriting books instead of their real-world experience. All this ends up with copywriting truths and maxims that are more watered down than a McDonald’s coke.
Is it any wonder copywriters are struggling today?
That said, the ugly truth is this:
It doesn’t matter what the industry is, 80% percent are struggling or at least mediocre. To be successful at what you do, it takes extraordinary effort, hard work, and ambition.
If you have that, you will likely succeed in your chosen field.
If you have that (i.e., hard work and ambition) plus talent, well… you have all the ingredients to become great!
Now, as far as learning copywriting from me is concerned, if you want some of my best copywriting teachings that don’t just give you the “how tos” (techniques, tactics, and methods) but also give you the “whys” behind them (something missing in a lot of copywriting courses today), you may want to looky here: https://kelvindorsey.com/the-black-bookcol/
Your friend,
Kelvin
Email Marketing Maverick
