How To Write Million Dollar Ads ?

One of the skills that marketers needs to possess is copywriting.

Back in the days where old school direct response was all direct mail, copy can make or break you. And those were the days where million dollar ad copies were written and several direct response marketers made their mark in the industry.

Those guys are legends… and if you want to become a good copywriter… what better way there is to learn from these all time greats. So here in this blog post, I am going to share with you some of the things I did to get my copy up to speed.

As a “self-taught” guy, one of the skills that I picked up early when I was learning about internet marketing… was copywriting.

Sure, I may not be as good as these legends are, but throughout the years, my copy has brought in millions of dollars in sales. In fact, my first copy brought in over $20,000 just through email.

No follow ups, no pre selling – just plain cold list of prospects who has never heard about me or my business.

Not too bad for a rookie copywriter..

Now before I get too carried away, one of the things I did to “hone” my skill as a copywriter is to >>>

Drum Roll Please…

Rewrite the copies from these legends.

Yes, I literally rewrote the classic copies of these legends, word for word.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t mean that you can copy and publish these intellectual properties of other people… it’s not right and you could get sued for copyright infringement.

But if you were to write them word for word for practice, not for publication… you are actually tapping into the minds of how these legends think.

Ahh… the thought process, the copy structure, the words/phrases they use.

You can’t get any better than that.

By learning how they try to bring their sales message across to their potential clients/customers, you are actually training your mind to think like a million dollar direct response marketer.

Does it work.. ?

Hell yea… A rookie like me got some decent results from my first copy… and I have went on to bring in millions through my copy.

And I am still… a rookie. =)

Think about this… if a copy has been proven to bring in millions, if not billions of dollars, then its something that has worked.

So… what makes them tick ? Why is the copy so successful ?

Of course, there are external factors such as the list (which by the way, plays the most important role in DRM), the pre-selling (if any), the brand… etc…  but if the copy is able to bring in money to the table, then… think about the journey that the copy writer brings the reader through.

The headline, the tease, the offer etc…

By rewriting… you’ll get more insights than you’ll do just by reading it.

And trust me… its a lot harder penning down a nice decent copy so… what better way to start than by re-writing the ones that’s already proven to work.

So… whose work should you look into ?

I’ll list down some of my favourites… and if you were to go through them in detail, you’ll also notice that certain copywriters have their own “style” and flair of writing… in fact, you can pick up whose copy it is once you’ve studied enough… =)

Here’s my favorites and guys whom I literally picked their brains from their works:

> The Late Gary Halbert
> John Carlton
> Dan Kennedy
> Jay Abraham
> Vincent James

So, go Google these guys up… look for their classic copy, ie, John’s Carlton’s one legged golfer etc.

Read through them over and over again… and if you are like me, sit down… take out a piece of paper and rewrite the whole thing… I am sure you’ll find yourself becoming better and better with each finished letter.