A common copywriting question:

“Ben I’m new to copywriting people keep saying to copy out world class ads in my own handwriting. do I really need to be doing this? Is it really that helpful it sounds boring lol!”

I get why people ask this question.

It IS boring.

It IS tedious.

And, it IS rather unappealing sounding.

But, the answer is:

Yes.

Do it.

Do. it.

Starting tonight.

The reasons people give for doing it (i.e. Gary Halbert’s “neurological imprinting” theory) are very sound and, I can say from first hand experience, it can make a huge difference in not only your ads… but the speed in which you get really good.

It’s actually a lot like the “steak & eggs” diet.

I’ve been doing it the last couple weeks.

And, since it’s fresh on my mind, I’ll use it as an analogy.

Basically, what you do is ONLY eat steak & eggs.

(Drenched in butter.)

And that’s it.

Nothing else — except water.

(And a weekly “re-feed” day where you eat anything you want.)

It was taught by an old school body building guy for getting rid of excess fat really fast and, yes, it works like crazy — not just for me, but for lots of other people who do it, too (like the personal trainers I know who recommend and do it themselves — hat tip to my boy Dan Meredith who taught it to me).

But, like copying ads out by hand, it’s boring.

And tedious.

And, yes, sounds unappealing.

But (again, like copying ads out by hand):

It’s also super simple (it doesn’t get more simple).

Works really fast.

And, gets you to your goals a lot faster.

In fact, I will even say this:

Just like with the steak & eggs diet, where every day you are (noticeably) a bit leaner and lighter… when you copy ads out by hand you should be *noticeably* better after each ad you do. By “noticeably”, I mean, the next time you write an ad for a client or your own product, you will no doubt notice it’s a bit easier than it was last time.

You’re a bit faster at it, too.

And, your ads are bit more persuasive.

More:

Like the steak & eggs thing, you don’t need to do it long term.

You do it juuuuust long enough to get to your goals.

After that, you will unconsciously apply the structure, format, and particularities of the ads you’ve been copying out by hand, and apply them to your own work, without even having to think about it.

So anyway, that’s my tasty answer.

And, if you (gasp!) doubt me, test it for yourself:

Write out 10 ads in your own hand.

Then, write an ad of your own.

The difference should be night and day.

But, there is a caveat:

They must be truly GREAT (not just good) ads.

In other words…

Don’t do this with any online sales letters (and especially not a sales letter during a launch) — look at the old school direct mail ads, where people had to spend money to test them, and not just slap them up on a page and blast an email to their list.

What’s that?

You don’t know which ads are great or not?

You want some guidance?

Then check this out:

Right now Michael Senoff is selling his $297 Gene Schwartz product for just $20. And, if you buy it by the deadline (Monday at the stroke of midnight) you get a free bonus:

A swipe file of over 527 classic ads.

(All neatly typed up in Word format).

This collection includes ads from the best of the best.

Like Gary Halbert (my favorite ads to copy out by hand)… Gene Schwartz… David Ogilvy… And hundreds more. All yours to study, model, and copy out by hand to get that neurological imprint of what it’s like to write world class ads.

But time’s short, my little droogie.

Grab it all (for a measly $20) here:

www.CopywritingGrabBag.com/labor

Ben Settle