One stupidly simple strategy that won an A-list copywriting competition — and you can apply today
Last week, I won a bullet-writing* competition. So what, you may say?
Fair enough.
Beating out a bunch of very talented copywriters…
winning an award from copy chief Kevin Rogers and Australia’s best copywriter, David Throssell…
or just getting the right people on the hook for your offer…
It Isn’t for everyone.
But if you’re interested, here’s my stupidly simple strategy.
Were my competitors’ bullets punchy? Oh, yes.
Did their bullets provoke curiosity? Certainly.
Did the bullets read well, with clever language and wordplay? No doubt.
Now, the bullets were for a CopyChief podcast where Kevin Rogers interviews Daniel Throssell.
So I aimed to out-Throssell Throssell.
Before I wrote one word, I thought about the podcast’s audience, many of whom love Daniel’s emails…
I studied bullets that Daniel himself had written…
Then I incorporated the best elements of his style into my bullets. That’s it.
Did I just hit copy-and-paste?
No, over a couple of hours, I analysed his bullets for language choice and structure, flow, psychology, and tactics.
No one else did this—even though I’d shared Daniel’s bullets in the community.
Now, this strategy could have back-fired. I could have been accused of not being “creative” enough. But luckily Daniel is unpretentious and has a sense of humor.
After all, this is the man who said: “I am calling a veto on these bullets for this egregious misspelling of my name!”
(He forgave me).
All this is to say that copywriting is more than pretty words.
As Ogilvy said, “… advertising is not an art form, it’s a medium for information, a message for a single purpose: to sell”.
Or more succinctly: “If it doesn’t sell, it isn’t creative.”
And if creative doesn’t “work” – then it was not effectively creative, was it?
But judge my bullets for yourself:
- Wait, can Daniel Throssel EVEN be trusted?! Major “I can’t believe he said that” moment when Daniel admits “I will be a complete dishonest liar when it comes to ____.” Jump to 26:42 to steal the legit hook that you’ll use to set up the sale in every email you EVER write, even if you’re not a natural storyteller.
- Shock horror: “I don’t know what to do next”. What Daniel does when literally NOTHING happens in his story. You can use this technique (which you won’t find in any other copywriter’s emails but is revealed at 32.24) to entertain readers with “Deadpool” levels of inside humor and you-get-me asides.
- Want to avoid buyer sticker shock? Most copywriters put off offer pricing until the last minute. Daniel explains the psychological benefit of revealing the price early on. Best part: it’s not high-pressure or begging. See 44:21.
- That moment when Daniel Throssel called himself a used car salesman type of guy… He’s talking about a technique Kevin has been using for 10 years to disarm hecklers in smokey comedy clubs. And you can use it to preemptively call out ANY objection in your emails (works for sales letters too). 58.05
- PPS Get the cheeky last-minute link-clicking trick that’s worked on… wait for it… Kevin Rogers. Seriously, when NOTHING has resonated in your email, try this Hail Mary technique. (Daniel swears by it). It’s yours at 01:09:48.
* Bullets or “fascinations” are the sirens of the copywriting world, short, bite-sized pieces of copy that lure victims people into reading, clicking and buying. If you’d like to slow down the skimmers and looky-loos and get them hooked on every syllable of your story, give me a shout.