IWriteW WithMyEar rs(byEugene eSchwartz)

(Thi isarticlehail lsfromthep prePCageof fexclusivem malepronoun ns.Its simple,s succinctandstillamazing glyvaluabletoadwriterstoday.Theboldingsanditalicsaremine.) Copywri itingisthesimplestofallpossiblejob bs.Itconsists ssolelyoftu urningitemsintoads,ofmaking thephys sicalverbal,o ofconstructinganemoti ionalhologra aphofthepr roductsoconvincingtha atpeople willpart twiththeirg goodmoneytoshareit. Toproducecopy,therefore,isnotreallytow writeitintob being,butto olistenitinto obeing.Inot ther words,t tobeasemi passivecond duitbetweentheproduc ceroftheite em,anditsneeder.Betw weenthe manwhomakesitdowhatitdo oes,andtheo otherman somewher reoutthere whoneed dswhat itdoes. Thefirst tstep,there eforethee essentialste epinturni inganitemi intoanad,is sturningyou urself intoalis stener. Youliste entwoways:firstwithyo ourears,and dthenwithy youreyes.Yo ouhearever rythingyouc can aboutth heproduct,a andthenyou ureadeveryt thingyoucanabouttheproduct. Thethin ngthatastou undsme,whe enIreadmo ostads,orwo orkwithwrit ters,isthatt theyreallyhavent bothere edtolistend deeplyenoug gh.Thisismo ostobviousinbookcopy y,whereyou ucancheckthead againstt thetext.But titalsostand dsoutquiteclearlyinpro oductadvert tising,where e youcancheckthead dagainstthe ewaythepro oductworksforyou. sproduceba adads.HereswhatIved discovereda aboutsharpe eningmine: Lazyads 1.Sitdo ownwiththe eownerofth heproduct themanw whoshiringy youandp pumphelloutofhim. Putona ataperecord derandhave ehimtalkfor r3or4hours s.Askhimw wherethepro oductcamef from, whatitd does,whata areitsproble emsandhow whestriedto ocurethem, ,whyitsbet tterthanits competi itors,wholik kesit,whodoesntlikeit t,whatproof fhesgottha atitworks,w whatstrange euses havepeoplegotout tofit,whatf funnystories shasheaccu umulatedinr regardtoitsmanufactur reoruse, whatpro oblemswashetryingtosolvewhenhecreatedit t,howwould dheimprove eitifhehad

unlimitedmoney,whatcausesmostofhisrefunds,whoworksforhimtohelphimmakeit,howitis made,howdoeshekeepupthequality,whowriteshimwhataboutit,etc. 2.Talktohiscustomers.Doitinpersonoronpaper.Seeiftheyagreewithhim.Iftheydont,find outwhy. 3.Listentohiscompetitors.Theyoftentellyoumoreabouttheopportunitiestheyremissingin theirads,thantheopportunitiestheyreseeingandthereforeseizing.Letthemwriteapossiblehead ortwoforyou,outofthebodycopyoftheirads. 4.Thenputallthematerialdown,inonebigpile,andunderlineit.Startblendingittogetherlike youdmakeacake.Giveit,first,priority(yourheadandsubheads);andthen,order(thebody claims).Andthentypeituppreferablyaddinglittleofyourselfexceptasselectorandcondenser. Wantexamples?Well,JoeCossmanspokemymostsuccessfulfishinglureheadSWIMSUNDERITS OWNPOWERIjustputitonpaperforhim. HarryLorayneblurtedoutmylongestlivedbookhead:GIVEME15MINUTESANDILLGIVEYOUA PUSHBUTTONMEMORY.Again,Ijustputitonpaper. MartinEdelstondreamilypronouncedmybestknownnewsletterhead:READ300BUSINESS MAGAZINESIN30MINUTES.Ijustpickeditoutofa17pagetranscriptadaylater. AndBillBartmancameupwithFLOATSFATRIGHTOUTOFYOURBODYDaveRosswithINSTANT LEARNINGClemMartinwithWORLDsFIRSTEFFORTLESSEXERCISER. Yousee?PeopleconstantlyaskmewhyIhaventburnedmyselfoutbynowhowIcanwritethree orfourfreshadseachweekwithoutgoingcrazy. Theanswerissimple:Idontwritethem.Ilistenthem.Andyoucantoo.