Got a funny swipe file story to share with you.
At least, I think it’s funny.
Some people reading this — especially anyone who mindlessly swipes online sales letters — probably won’t find it funny.
Anyway, here’s what happened:
Recently, a copywriter emailed me an ad he insisted I just “had to put in my swipe file” from some marketing dude (I’d never even heard of) who makes tens of zillions of dollars or whatever.
So, being a sucker for stuff like this, I immediately read it.
Holy shnikes this ad was amusing.
It was packed top to bottom with one over-hyped claim after another — complete with exclamation points and all-cap letters.
Paragraphs were interrupted by “speed bumps” — like empty, “Gee, I think you’re neat” testimonials and photo-shopped bank statements. (They looked fake, but what do I know?)
And there was no story, or logical flow of information, or even any respect for the reader.
It actually kinda hurt my head (and probably my IQ) to read it.
And yet, this is (I guess) considered “good copy.”
And what makes it “good copy” is (I guess) the fact the guy running it is a “guru” who’s supposedly rolls in the dough.
Listen, I’m not “guru bashing” here (whatever that means).
But there are people out there who really want — and NEED — to learn copywriting. People who don’t have a lot of time to mess around. People who are maybe a paycheck away from starving or who desperately want to become a full time copywriter.
And if that’s you, then here’s some advice:
Don’t be so quick to sip the swipe file “kool aid.”
Just because an ad “raked in a millyun dollars” (on the Internet) doesn’t mean you should swipe it.
In fact, 9 times out 10, not only would I NOT swipe most “million dollar” online sales letters…
… I’d ignore them, delete them and probably even BURN them.
The wrong ones could literally set you back years.
And, in many cases, their success has FAR more to do with being mailed to lists of people who will buy anything the marketer sells (some of these guys could put their grocery lists with an order button up and people’d buy from it), than the strength of the “copy.”
So what (or who) should you study, then?
Personally, I dig the copywriting masters.
Like Claude Hopkins, John Caples, Gary Bencivenga, Gary Halbert, David Deutsch, Doug D’Anna, Jim Rutz… and anyone whose copy competes (and wins) against other extremely talented copywriters head-to-head.
It’s easy to spot ads from these copywriters.
They have a certain eloquence, charm and “depth” to them.
There are no dorky sales tricks or “mind control tactics.”
And they talk to you intelligently — like you’re a rational thinking person — instead of like they think you belong on the “short bus” to school.
But hey… don’t take my word for it.
Check ’em out for yourself.
Last year I compiled a ton of ads like this (and websites where you can find them) in a swipe file report at:
You won’t find many Internet sales letters in there.
But you will find ads from some truly great copywriters.
The kind of stuff (IMHO) you SHOULD study.
Check it out today, it’s free.
Ben Settle
Been getting a LOT of emails from people asking more or less the same question about my opinion of sales letters used in recent product launches. So I should definitely clarify something:
I think some of them are actually extremely good. (For example, unlike a lot of copywriters, I actually liked the Traffic Secrets 2.0 letter). And I know of some that were originally good, but then mangled by some committee (happened to a copywriter friend of mine last year, very frustrating). The point is not what “not” to study, but what “to” study.
And if you can’t tell the difference, you should probably just stick with studying the “tried and true” copywriting masters until you can tell the difference.
It’ll save you a lot of time, and keep you out of a lot of trouble.
