Dear Chase,
I was going through an old phone's camera roll last night reminiscing on how my life used to be.
Two phones ago, I was at the start of my copywriting journey.
I took pictures of everything.
Every email I wrote, I wanted to take a pic of it so I could remember it. And it got me thinking…
There were a lot of unorthodox exercises that I did when I first started copywriting that made me who I am today.
There's one in particular that I call the Buckley's exercise.
When I was a kid, there was this commercial that would run on TV 10 times a day for a cough medicine called Buckley's.
Their slogan was:
"It tastes awful. And it works."
I thought that was hilarious.
The point of this copywriting exercise is that it definitely leaves a bad taste in your mouth, but it makes you a wicked writer.
It tastes awful. And it works.
Here it is:
Step 1, find a product or a company that holds the absolute opposite beliefs that you do.
We may have to get political here. And I do apologize. This is strictly to make a point. Nothing more, I promise.
If you are an ardent capitalist, write a promo for the Democratic Socialists of America. Or Planned Parenthood. Or something else that you completely disagree with.
If you are a staunch liberal, write a promo for the National Rifle Association.
These are extreme examples, but you get the point.
Step 2, create a real argument for each product/company like a true copywriter would.
When you have to write a long-form persuasive piece, you need to basically pretend that you're a lawyer for the product.
You need to create a bulletproof case as to why someone should believe what you believe and do what you say so they can buy the product.
It has to be genuine.
A lot of you will do this "ironically" and write the copy while kind of being witty.
"If you're the type of person who doesn't care about humanity, join the NRA!"
Nah. You can't do that.
Genuinely be serious about it and write copy that'll sell someone on the idea that the opposite position you hold is the right one.
Why is this such a great exercise?
Because when you write copy, you're mostly just writing from pure instinct.
You write about stuff you already know to be true, and you don't have to do much mental labor or research to create a piece of copy that can crush.
If you take the time to sit down and really convince yourself of something that you vehemently oppose, you can convince other people of the same thing.
The real money comes from converting cold audience members.
Instead of just being an order taker and converting people who are already 90% closed, try to see if you can convert someone who is only 10% bought into what you're saying.
THAT's where the magic is.
Try this and see how it goes.
It'll feel awful.
But…it'll work.
Yours truly,
Alex.
Sent from my iPhone 11 Pro that I had in 2020
P.S. If you want to hire a freelance copywriter who has been trained and vetted by me (Alex, aka Cardinal Mason), fill out this quick form.
By the way, I won't charge you anything for relevant intros. And there's no catch. I have been providing this value-add service for the copywriters I'm working with, and wanted to hook up Chase's audience with this opportunity too.
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