Every year since 2015 I join my high school friend Ron to volunteer at the US Open.
This year we met in the Bay area, to help the USGA do its thing at Pebble Beach.
Along with volunteering, we played a few rounds of golf, sampled the local food and drink, and watched pretty much endless coverage on the Golf Channel.
One announcer made a point that reminded me of copywriting. He said: “The first few holes build the foundation for your round.”
It’s certainly true – if you pooch it off number 1 tee you’re far more likely to see the day devolve into brutality and sorrow.
Conversely, if you focus on getting off that tee well – and every subsequent tee too – then you have a much better chance to put together a quality score.
Which brings me to Key #4 in Writing Faster Copy…
“Copy is Assembled, Not Written”
When I’m cranking out a sales letter, it’s almost NEVER done in one fell swoop. Instead, I craft the outline first and then start plugging in parts and pieces here and there to create the initial draft.
I typically first focus on the initial headline and subhead – as that more often than not lays out the “Big Idea” that holds the entire letter together.
Then I’ll move on to the opening, as that’s a way to reinforce the big idea and to get the reader rolling in the direction I want.
And then I go off into different directions looking to fill in the blanks of the outline with pieces I gather from hither and yon.
Sometimes I take parts from the objections list I’ve ruminated over earlier.
Sometimes I toss into pieces from the offer I’ve already nailed down.
And sometimes I’ll dive right into adding in bullet points to highlight both features and benefits.
Lastly I might toss in a few testimonials, pricing, and a guarantee as well.
Point being – I don’t do this in sequence. I work on the piece bit by bit and then assemble it into a draft.
Assembling copy in this way frees you from the pressure of constantly moving from start to finish in one flowing effort. You can start, stop, change directions, drop new stuff in, etc. as the mood hits you.
It makes writing less stressful and more fun.
Your internal editor is quieted because you’re not “writing,” you’re “assembling.”
So think of your next writing project as an assembly line, where each piece gets bolted on bit by bit.
Write faster. Write better. Right now.
– Jack
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