Imitation is not only the sincerest form of flattery, it can also be one of the surest paths to success… if you imitate the right people, that is.
If you wanted to be a great pianist, you would study what Count Basie or John Legend did every day to master their instrument. You would want to discover and imitate their professional success habits.
And if you wanted to be a great tennis player, you’d follow the training routine of Serena or Venus Williams and delve into what they’ve done, every day, to become number one in the sport. You’d want to imitate their professional success habits.
Since it’s your goal to attain that same high pinnacle of success and respect as a copywriter, it makes sense to imitate the success habits of the very best in our own field… as well as the up-and-coming copywriters who are rapidly rising to the top.
You hold in your hands a very special document that will allow you to do just that. Our American Writers & Artists Inc. (AWAI) team surveyed some of the top copywriters in the industry to discover their success habits... copywriters like Bob Bly, Clayton Make peace, Marcella Allison, Paul Hollingshead, and David Deutsch, to name a few.
We knew you could get tons of helpful ideas from these well-established masters.
But we didn’t stop there. We also asked the fastest-rising stars to share their secrets with you — copywriters like Candice Lazar and Christina Gillick, who, just a few years ago, were where you are now. We knew you’d want to know what they did that helped propel them up the ladder of copywriting success.
In order to understand the success habits of these copywriters, we asked them a number of probing questions. Then, from their answers, we extracted seven Core concepts and compiled them into this report.
Developing Good Habits Takes Practice
Of course, it isn’t enough to simply know the success habits of these men and women. To attain their level of success, you must make the effort to practice those habits… consistently... just as you practice your copywriting skills.
It’s going to be easier than you might think. Follow The 7 Daily Habits of Successful Copywriters for only a week, and you’ll see how much more productive you have become. Continue following them, and they’ll become almost automatic. Before you know it, you will have made them your very own.
Meet Your Success Habits Master Copywriters:
- Marcella Allison, A-list copywriter in the financial industry
- Bob Bly, A-list copywriter, prolific author, teacher, and info-marketer
- David Deutsch, A-list writer for publishing
- John Forde, A-list copywriter and founder of Copywriter’s Roundtable
- Christina Gillick, emerging top copywriter and part-time earrings innovator and business owner
- Paul Hollingshead, AWAI co-founder and A-list copywriter
- Candice Lazar, emerging top copywriter and lawyer
- Don Mahoney, AWAI co-founder and A-list copywriter (Don passed away in 2015 at the top of his game)
- Clayton Makepeace, A-list copywriter and financial marketing leader
- Will Newman, A-list copywriter and teacher
- Mike Palmer, A-list copywriter for Stansberry Research
SUCCESS HABIT #1:
Make the Commitment to Be at Work
One of the main benefits of being a freelancer is being able to work at home… or anywhere you choose.
But no matter where they’ve chosen to work, every successful copywriter we interviewed has had to make the following commitment:
When it’s time to work, you must adopt the mindset that you are at work.
The biggest obstacle to success that you’re likely to run into as a work-at-home freelancer is distractions. This cuts into your productivity and, consequently, into how much money you’re able to make.
The best way to overcome this obstacle is to establish an area that defines your “office.”
The Freelance Copywriter’s Office
You don’t have to rent a room in an office building to have an office. Nor do you
even have to have a separate room in your house. It can simply be a table in the corner of your bedroom. But by designating a distinct place for work, you will signal to others — and yourself — that when you’re there, you’re at work and not to be disturbed.
Here’s how three of our copywriters have set up their offices:
Bob Bly:
I used to rent a spacious room on the third floor of an office building around eight miles from my house in northern New Jersey. I was the only occupant on the floor, so it was quiet. No one else was there, so I could work long days undisturbed. (Bob recently moved to a different home with a quiet office space on a separate floor.)
Marcella Allison:
One thing that really helped me the most was to get a separate office outside my home. This was in part because my son was living with us at the time, and
I couldn’t work at home with his interruptions. But having a set time to get up and a place to go like a “real job” helped me to be more committed.
Paul Hollingshead:
I’ve traded in my big office for a small, comfortable, bright room in my home. I use a laptop to write. There’s a good solid desk, a shelf for keeping old promos, a small filing cabinet, and a leather recliner that I’ll often sit in when
I’m on a roll writing copy. A fireplace that I’ll light on particularly cold winter days caps off the space.
It’s very important to create a space you enjoy going to — that’s all your own — that’s bright and conducive to creativity.
SUCCESS HABIT #2:
Establish a Consistent Schedule... And Stick to It!
One of the secrets to being a successful copywriter is to work 12 hours a day, seven days a week … right?
Wrong. Completely wrong. Many of the most successful copywriters work far less than that –– far less, in fact, than the average office worker.
Gene Schwarz — one of the early masters of copywriting — worked about four hours a day. And he created one million-dollar promotion after another. How did he do it? He understood the real secret of how to structure work time.
The secret is this:
Know when you work best… Know how you work best…
Build a productive schedule around those times… And stick to it. Many freelancers, in all fields, ignore one of the most crucial habits to success: scheduling.
When you don’t schedule your work, it will expand and fill as much time as you give it. And then, instead of knocking out four productive hours on a project (like Gene Schwarz), it will take you eight hours to make the same amount of progress.
You’ll find yourself working 8, 10, 12 hours a day… every day of the week. And on your vacations — if you allow yourself to take them — you’ll be tied to a laptop. That’s certainly not the lifestyle you dreamed of when you made the decision to be a freelance copywriter, is it?
Successful scheduling means more than just writing down the times you’re going to work.
- It means understanding when you are at your most productive.
- It means understanding the way you work best.
- It means setting up a work schedule based on what you know about yourself.
Understand When You’re Most Productive
If you’ve had a chance to hear or read what Mark Ford had to say about the subject of productivity, you know that he believes very strongly in getting an early start on your workday.
So we weren’t surprised that 10 out of 12 of our copywriters told us that their most productive time is in the morning… sometimes very early in the morning.
Why do so many people experience a productivity spike at the start of the day?
Some obvious — and not-so-obvious — reasons:
- Assuming you haven’t been out partying until 2:00 a.m., you’re refreshed and more energetic when you wake up.
- There are far fewer distractions at 5:00 a.m. than at 3:00 p.m. No phone calls… fewer family demands… and your surroundings are quieter and more conducive to concentrating.
- Your brain has a full supply of glycogen, the sugar it uses to do its work.
- Early morning is much closer to the time when your mind is at its most creative: during REM sleep, when you dream.
SUCCESS HABIT #3:
Read Every Day
Reading provides fuel for your brain. And because it’s so basic and so necessary to being a good writer of any kind, every one of our top copywriters identified this success habit. So, what should you be reading? Everything. Including:
Current direct-marketing controls (best-selling sales letters)
Past controls
Good, mediocre, and bad examples of copywriting
Copywriting-related e-zines and online newsletters
Newspapers, magazines, and books
Product labels
Fiction
Here’s what some of our master copywriters say about the importance of reading:
Mike Palmer:
Read like crazy — everything you can get your hands on. As a copywriter, you should be reading at least one new book a week.
Marcella Allison:
I try to keep up with new promos by reading copy every day. When I begin a new project and I’m deep in research, I’m reading articles and books about that topic. Or I start going down a rabbit hole on something. Lately I’m very interested in how creative teams work, so I ordered a bunch of books and I’ve been reading about Pixar’s creative process and the process the Inklings used (Tolkien and C.S. Lewis) to give creative feedback.
Bob Bly:
I read every day. I study at least one direct-mail piece or online promotion a day.
I watch people wherever I go, observing behavior and listening to conversation.
I absorb popular culture — TV shows, movies, and magazines that the masses read, like People.
Christina Gillick:
With smart phones, it’s easier than ever to read every day. Use the Kindle app (or similar) to download a book and read while waiting... instead of playing CandyCrush or scrolling Facebook.
SUCCESS HABIT #4: Write Every Day
Writing is not art. Writing is not a special gift. Writing is a craft, a skill that that you learn… and then perfect with practice.
If you’ve been to one of AWAI’s Bootcamps, you’ve heard Mark Ford talk about his 1,000-hour/5,000-hour model for copywriting success. It goes like this:
To be a good, competent copywriter, it will take 1,000 hours of practice. If you want to be a great copywriter, it will take 5,000 hours.
So to accelerate your progress and supplement the hours you spend writing for a client or doing an AWAI exercise, copy the Hall of Fame letters.
And any online sales letters you see or mailings you get that strike you as having something special. Copy each piece in longhand –– paying attention to the way
it’s constructed.
Another idea: When a poor piece of marketing copy lands in your mailbox (or you see it online), rewrite it to make it better… just for the practice.
While you’re waiting to land the bigger, more lucrative clients, write for local clients, even if you have to do it on spec.
Write for local nonprofits that do work you believe in –– and don’t charge them for it.
This is a way for you to get more practice, develop your portfolio… and start to make a name for yourself. (Plus, when those nonprofits have paid work available, your name will be at the top of their list to call.) All of our master copywriters agree that writing daily is incredibly important.
SUCCESS HABIT #5:Prepare to Write... Before You Write
- Before a master sculptor begins chiseling away at a chunk of marble, he gathers his tools together. He talks to the model. He makes sketches and maps out his approach.
- Before a master cabinetmaker touches saw to wood, he draws up a plan and makes extensive measurements.
- Before a master copywriter puts a word on the screen, he, too, makes some careful preparations.
And here’s how seven of our masters do that:
John Forde:
The first thing I do is read.
I start by reading relevant articles. Then I study the product and any documentation or editorial elements that come with it. And, finally, I get together with two or three of those people who know the product best.
You can do this by phone. You can do it in person. You can do this online via Zoom or Skype. I record every preliminary meeting or conference call, and then listen to it when getting ready to work.
You don’t have to go that far. But do take precise notes. A lot of what the people closest to the product or prospects will say eventually ends up in my finished copy.
Claton Makepeace:
I try to approach each project by thinking first about my prospect. If I’m working on a promotion for an investment product, for example, I think about what the prospect’s investment experiences are likely to have been over the past year or so. And I consider how my prospect is likely to be feeling about those experiences, as well as the prospect’s feelings about his overall financial situation.
I consider what’s working and what isn’t to this market. I try to understand why strong controls are connecting and why failed packages are not.
Then I study the product, looking for the specific ways in which it addresses my prospect’s strongest resident emotions:
Solves his most frustrating, frightening problems, and delivers on his deepest desires.
I spend a day or two letting all that wash over me, talking to friends and family about the project at hand, organizing my thoughts and, finally, selecting a main theme for my package
Paul Hollingshead:
I do some research, of course, to get to know the product. I think of who my audience is, and then I boil it down to one person. Usually, I picture that person as someone I know, so I can have a visual image of who I’m writing to.
I start with the headline and usually don’t get into the letter until I have a headline I’m at least happy with.
Then I write the letter — sentence by sentence — as opposed to some writers who like to do the order form first, write out bullets, and so on.
The reason I like to write a letter from the beginning is because — as I add sentences — I’m constantly going back and editing previous sentences and paragraphs.
I find that this way, the earliest (and arguably the most important) parts of the letter get the most attention, and therefore tend to be the strongest.
Marcella Allison:
This is very “woo woo”... but I have a writing altar with a candle, a tarot card, and a chime. I start the day with a ritual of pulling a card and lighting a candle. This centers me and focuses me on the start of my day.
Will Newman:
Right after getting the assignment, I try to do a burst of research that includes examining the product and doing some internet work. But this research is to prime the pump. After the first day or so, if I have the luxury of time to be able to do so, I “let it go.” I don’t do anything for several days.
After a while, my conscience and my calendar nag me about getting back on the project. I start doing extensive research at this point into the product, the market, and the prospect.
I resist the impulse to try to force ideas about the promises or the lead. I just research and take notes. This is where ideas form. I make sure I have scraps of paper or tablets with me. And, of course, a pen. (I always carry at least one.)
Once I reach this point, most ideas come in the shadows: falling asleep, waking up, showering, etc. This is where I begin writing… usually on paper.
Mike Palmer:
Spend at least a week reading books, back issues, newspaper articles, talking to editors and product managers, etc. I don’t try to figure out what the theme
of the package will be — I just immerse myself in the research.
Bob Bly:
I gather as much information as I can about the product and the market. When you have a file full of facts at your fingertips, writing good copy is easy.
You simply select the most relevant facts and describe them in a clear, concise, direct fashion.
Here’s the four-step procedure I use to get the information I need to write persuasive, fact-filled copy for my clients.
Step #1: Get all previously published material on the product.
For an existing product, there’s (hopefully!) a mountain of literature you can
request as background information. By studying whatever the client can send
you, you could have as much as 80% of what you need to get started. And you can get the other 20% by picking up the phone and asking questions. That’s where Steps 2-3 come in.
Step #2: Ask questions about the product.
You want to know things like: What are its features and benefits?
How is the product different from the competition’s?
If the product isn’t different, what attributes can be stressed that haven’t been stressed by the competition?
What problems does it solve?
How reliable is it?
How efficient?
How economical?
Who has bought the product and what do they say about it?
Step #3: Ask questions about your audience.
You need to know things like: Who will buy the product? What is the customer’s main concern? (Price, delivery, performance, reliability, service maintenance,
quality efficiency?)
Step #4: Determine the objective of your copy.
This objective may be to generate inquiries... to generate sales... to answer inquiries... to qualify prospects... to transmit product information... to build brand recognition and preference... and/or to build the company’s image.
Christina Gillick:
With enough research you’ll have plenty to say, and writer’s block will completely disappear. If you’re like me, your biggest problem will be deciding what to cut.
SUCCESS HABIT #6:Research Everything
In the last section of this special report, we hope you got the message –– loud and clear –– that research is of major importance to every copywriting assignment. It is so important that we asked our top copywriters exactly how they go about doing it.
Here is how several of our top copywriters approach the job:
John Forde:
If you had asked me how to do research 20+ years ago, I would have said, “Go to the library to read article clippings on microfiche.” Of course, Google has completely changed all that.
You have to study the product, of course. And all the documents and premiums and cover letters that come with it. Studying past testimonials and other letters and emails from past customers also helps.
Aside from this, I’d have to say that the most typical research I do comes down to three things:
- Talking to the people on the inside (who are closest to the product).
- Looking for books on the same great theme I intend to use as a thread running through my copy. And,
- Going to websites like Google.com (or, even better, Google’s “News” section) and typing in keywords until I get links to hundreds of articles worth reading.
Ah, there’s one thing I’m leaving out: Studying past promos that have worked. Any marketing manager can help you identify the biggest hits of past marketing efforts. You gain a lot just by digging in to study the top two or three.
Clayton Makepeace:
It changes from project to project, of course. If I’m promoting a health or financial newsletter, I begin by reading each premium and every issue of the newsletter that I can — at least the last year’s issues, and sometimes as many as five years of back issues.
As I read, I type (or, if I’m working from electronic documents, I copy and paste) the articles that pertain to the themes I’ve selected for my copy.
I create several documents, one for each type of research: One may be all the personal stories and facts I’ve learned about the editor. Another may contain articles that directly address my prospect’s most powerful emotions. Still another may contain articles that make the challenges my prospect faces real and demonstrate why others haven’t been able to solve his problems or deliver on his desires.
If I’m going to be offering pre-existing premiums, I identify the value that they offer the prospect, and then write ads for each of them.
When doing this, I:
1) Identify proof elements (surprising, ingenious tips, tricks, and tactics that I can give away in the promotion to demonstrate the value of the premium), and
2) identify fascination fodder (advice in the premium that addresses the prospect’s fears and/or desires in intriguing ways that I can tease to in my sales copy).
Candice Lazar:
For me, research often takes more time than writing. Of course, the time spent
should be commensurate with the length of the project. You generally don’t want to spend weeks researching something for small-budget project that’s
going to take you just a day to write.
Marcella Allison:
You can’t write financial copy without knowing how to research. So anytime I’m working on a project, I spend a great deal of my time on research before I ever start writing. And then, there’s more research that I do on the fly as I’m
working on the project. The more research, the more proof, the better. BUT... do not fall into research rabbit holes where you spend all your time researching
and not writing. It’s a balancing act.
SUCCESS HABIT #7:Put Writer’s Block Behind You
William Faulkner described it as “the tyranny of the blank page.” Most of us call it “writer’s block.”
It’s that dead feeling between the ears when nothing seems to want to come out of your fingers.
And if you intend to be a successful copywriter, you cannot afford to let it go on very long.
Here’s how some of our other masters deal with this common — and serious — problem:
Clayton Makepeace:
If I’m struggling with a creative task — like outlining, writing heads or subheads, or creating copy out of whole cloth — I switch to a more detail-oriented task like research. And vice-versa.
Bob Bly:
I don’t have a problem with writer’s block because I am always working on multiple projects. If I get bored or stuck with Project A, I just move on to Project B until I feel ready to tackle Project A again.
David Deutsch:
There is always some part of the promotion I can work on. Or I just write whatever comes into my head without thinking about whether it’s any good or not. It’s important to just get the momentum going.
