The most dangerous word in copywriting

[The Writer’ s Life]( August 29, 2017 Hi {NAME}, Everyone from The Beatles to Taylor Swift has received thunderous standing ovations. Of course, for hugely popular rock stars, you'd expect that … For a direct-response copywriter, not so much. Yet legendary Richard Armstrong is such an entertaining and informative speaker, he gets standing ovations every time he appears at Bootcamp. With 40 years of experience, he has a lot of insights, but also has a way of illustrating ideas that makes them really sink in. And he always shows you how to apply them to your own writing and business. When you read today's article, you'll see what I mean. But before we get started, I've got two pieces of news to share: First, today's the last day you can get a huge discount on Ben Settle's [10-Minute Workday]( program that will help you build a clientless writing business AND start making money in 30 days or less. Ben went over the nine steps you'll need to take yesterday — [go here if you missed it](. Second, we've only got 15 spots left for Bootcamp! If you've been thinking of attending the Copywriting Event of the Year, it's time to register. [Go here before the last spots are claimed and we have to close registration for good.]( Richard will be at Bootcamp, revealing the "10 Stupidest Mistakes" he's made in his 40-year copywriting career. And I'll be there ready to take notes! Today though, Richard has a warning about the most dangerous word in copywriting — and in typical Richard fashion, how you can use it to your advantage. To your success, Rebecca Matter President, AWAI --------------------------------------------------------------- The Most Dangerous Word in Copywriting By Richard Armstrong [Metal hook piercing paper with word client on it] The most dangerous word in copywriting is … Wait for it … "Creativity." The deep-seated desire of a copywriter to be creative — not to mention the constant pressure from clients for unusual, original, imaginative work — has been the downfall of more than a few copywriters down through the years. Myself included. On Madison Avenue, creativity is considered the single most important trait a copywriter can have. In a business where success is measured by winning awards, the pressure to be creative is intense. Copywriters and artists on Madison Avenue are actually called Creatives, as in: "Make sure some of the Creatives come to the next client meeting." Those copywriters, by the way, are asked to dress as outlandishly as possible for such meetings so the clients will think they are … well, creative. Even down here in the trenches of marketing where most AWAI-trained copywriters work — direct mail, white papers, Business-to-Business, and so on — both clients and copywriters place a high value on creativity. But I think that's a big mistake. And here's why. I got my start as a copywriter in the fundraising and membership business nearly 40 years ago. And one of the things we've known for 40 years in the world of membership is that mailings using plastic membership cards usually work very well. In fact, they work like gangbusters. But something about plastic membership cards always grated on me. They were expensive, for one thing, which creates a real drag on your production costs. They were overdone, even 40 years ago. And they just seemed so uncreative that I was always trying to come up with membership mailings that did not use a plastic card. As a result, I failed over and over again. It's sort of like when I used to go fishing with my friend Kevin. Kevin always fished with night crawlers, and he caught fish like crazy. But me? I preferred to use fancy spinning lures. My favorite was one called the "Mepps Killer." Don't you just love that name? Killer! The Mepps Killer was a beautiful lure — sleek, flashy, high-tech. There was only problem with the Mepps Killer. The fish didn't like it. In fact, they showed no interest in it whatsoever. Meanwhile, Kevin would be pulling in fish after fish and saying, "Richard, they really seem to be biting on the worms today." And I'd say, "Worms? Worms? Oh, Kevin, worms are so yesterday. People have been fishing with worms for thousands of years. The fish are tired of looking at worms. Just you wait. They're going to strike my Mepps Killer any minute now." But, of course, they never did. So after an hour or two, I'd finally switch … To another spinning lure! The Mepps "Black Fury." There's another great name. Black Fury! Very creative. Very original. Beautiful to look at, too. I'm sure the fish enjoyed watching my Black Fury go by as Kevin was reeling them in. By this time, of course, Kevin had caught enough fish to open his own seafood store. But I was still busy trying every different spinning lure in my tackle box with no success. Which is exactly how it worked when it came to membership mailings. My clients would say, "Richard, they really seem to be biting on plastic membership cards right now." And I'd say, "To hell with that. It's overdone. It's unoriginal. Let's try something more creative." But after about 300 failures in a row, I came up with the most wonderful idea I ever had. I said to my client: "Why don't we try a plastic membership card?" I believe there's a much better word than creativity to describe what we're really striving for in this business: Ingenuity. What you really want to do is study what's worked in the past. Find out what's working now. And see if you can come up with a way to do the exact same thing … Only better. If you do that, I guarantee you catch more customers … and eventually more clients, too! Do you have any questions about applying ingenuity instead of creativity to your projects? Please share in the comments [here](. *** What We're Recommending this Week *** Last Chance! AWAI Exclusive: Ben Settle's 10-Minute Workday AWAI and Ben Settle have recently joined forces to show you step-by-step how you can create an email copywriting business of your own. Ben's "10-Minute Workday" email writing business is tailor-made for anyone interested in writing for a living but don't want to work with clients. You'll learn how to choose a "market" you can write about (one you absolutely love), create products that help people, build a fanbase of readers, and how you only need to write one email to make it all happen. [Exclusive Offer Ends August 29th at Midnight.]( AWAI's Copywriting Bootcamp and Job Fair – [Almost Sold Out!] Don't miss your chance to turn your dreams of making a great living as a writer into a reality at the copywriting event of the year. Let the industry's biggest copywriting legends transform you into a well-trained, highly paid copywriter. And meet with 30+ marketers looking to hire AWAI-trained copywriters. If you want to be a well-paid copywriter, this is the event for you. But don't delay … the event is almost sold out! [Go Here Now to Claim Your Spot And Your $300 Savings Today.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Trouble viewing this email? [View in your browser, here](. For questions or requests: [contact us online](. --------------------------------------------------------------- ©2017 American Writers & Artists Inc. Do you know of someone who would benefit from reading The Writer's Life? Simply direct them [here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- American Writers & Artists Inc. 101 SE 6th Avenue, Suite A Delray Beach, FL 33483 (561) 278-5557 or (866) 879-2924 Ensure your subscription delivery. AWAI Whitelisting info available [here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- You are subscribed to this newsletter as {EMAIL}. 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