Recently, I’ve been going through one of Frank Sinatra’s biographies (called “Frank: The Voice”) and it’s a fascinating book and very useful for marketers in my opinion.
And in some ways, it’s even more useful for copywriters.
For example:
When Frank was making his way up the food chain singing for free and taking any gigs he could to keep honing & excelling at singing, it did not take all that long for him to start making a name and distinct brand for himself.
As the book says:
“Sinatra was different and he knew it.”
Despite his Hoboken accent — that people didn’t really life apparently — and the fact he was the complete opposite of the singer who was “in” Bing Crosby, he started gaining a passionate following of fans, club owners, and, of course, chicks who couldn’t get enough of him.
All those copycats aping Crosby were helping Frank out without realizing it.
And they were doing it by making it abundantly obvious Frank was truly unique in a sea of sameness.
So it is in copywriting.
I remember the first time I read the late, great Gary Halbert’s book “The Boron Letters” being fascinating by what he wrote about copying world class ads out in your own hand to get a neurological feel for what it’s like to write world class copy.
And he specifically said, yes, you will start to sound like whoever you are copying.
But, he also said your own peculiarities will eventually emerge.
Unfortunately, a lot of copywriters clearly didn’t read that second part.
Over the years, I’ve seen all kinds of sales letters & ads — and this goes triple for emails, where it’s incessant — blatantly copying not just my style, but my obnoxious Midwest ways of phrasing certain things, and even whole paragraphs of copy, all out of context, and in a way that is truly cringeworthy.
These clearly low IQ idiots probably think they are “getting away” with something.
But they ain’t.
All they are doing is making it easier for copywriters who aren’t lazy bums like they are to stand out, make more sales, and build brands that stick out like an honest man in Washington D.C.
Which brings me to the punchline:
The June 2020 “Email Players” issue.
It’s all about the purely writing side of copywriting.
It can be applied to emails, sales letters, scrips, even content writing.
I’ve never taught this info before, yet have been using it for the past 18 years to bang out all kind of ad copy that has made a whole lot of clients (and myself, of course) a whole lot of rupees.
To get this issue before the deadline, go here immediately:
Ben Settle
