The screenwriter every copywriter should study

Lately I’ve been on a Philip Yordan kick. If you don’t know who that is, he was an extremely prolific and “street smart” Hollywood screenwriter who wrote a ton of movie scripts (including many he got zero credit for) that turned into big box office winners in the old timey days. Guy would be given an idea, just an idea, and 6 weeks later would have a winning script, from start to finish, ready to shoot in some cases. He was just a fountain of writing know-how & knowledge. Much of which applies to emails, copywriting, selling online. Take this ditty from the book Backstory 2: QUESTION: Some screenwriters regard themselves as craftsmen. Others—more as artists in their own right. How do you look at your own work? PHILIP YORDAN: I think I’m an originator. I’m a chameleon, I can adapt to anything, or I can write a picture about anything. It’s more than just being a craftsman, because I can analyze and find the key. The key is, I like to lock into one thing which enables me to write the script, and that is the key. For instance, on King of Kings, it defied me. Until I got an idea. The idea I got was Barrabas wanting to throw out the Romans by force. He wanted to use Jesus, because Jesus could arouse the people; when he found out that Jesus had a different idea than him, this is when he lost faith in Jesus. That was the key.” The lessons for the copywriter are thick in just the above. Some of them obvious. Some maybe not so obvious. But the most important is the ability to think, problem solve, and adapt. All far more important than “writing” ability or talent. Copywriters can do a lot worse than study Philip Yordan. These are also unspoken themes that run throughout the upcoming King-Sized (32 pages vs the usual 20 — to fit it all in) May Email Players issue — which is an intense page-by-page, paragraph-by-paragraph, line-by-line, precept-upon-precept analysis of a successful sales letter I wrote that’s been helping grow a sweet 6-figure income stream. It includes a lot of ideas, thoughts, principles I have not taught anywhere else including in my Copy Slacker book — and with all the psychology explained, including with many tricks I use “on you.” So extra-sized. Extra-valuable. And extra-meaty. To subscribe by the deadline go here: [https∶//www.EmailPlayers.com]( Ben Settle This email was sent by Ben Settle as owner of Settle, LLC. Copyright © 2023 Settle, LLC. All Rights Reserved. No part of this email may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from Settle, LLC. Click here to [unsubscribe]( Settle, LLC PO Box 1056 Gold Beach Oregon 97444 USA