How to Get Better Copywriting With Less Hassle

Do you want better converting copy while putting less blood, sweat, and tears in?

Then follow this simple principle:

Never WRITE copy, always ASSEMBLE!

Now, what does it mean to assemble copy?

It means that you don't sit down and start writing a piece of sales copy, like you would write a letter to your loved one or the next novel you're working on.

You would rather use existing structures, formulas, templates, and words.

Then you patch them together in a new and unique way and adapt them to your current case.

Finally, you sprinkle some stardust over them, if you feel like it.

You need to see that assembling is something completely different from writing.

Assembling comes from given, and PROVEN structures, while writing tries to evolve from a void.

Here's an example:

Let's say you have a consulting service and want to write a landing page.

Your want to turn readers into leads for a consultation.

The writing approach would be to sit down and try to craft this landing page content from the top of your head. - The love letter approach. (While of course I would hope the contents of a love letter would spring from your heart, not your head.)

The assembly approach is to come from an existing landing page outline and then fill that structure.

You will find formulas from the big to the small.

A whole landing page will have a structure, the segments follow a structure, and even the parts within the segments, broken down to the single sentence or expression, follow a structure. - That's why there are easily over 200 different formulas for headlines alone.

Here's WHY you should assemble your copy and not write it.

The first and most important reason is that some of the most successful copywriters of all time tell you to do it that way.

Following the principle of believability (meaning to follow the advice of people who've been there), it just makes sense.

Let me quote the Godfathers:

Eugene Schwartz says:

"Copy is not written. If anyone tells you, 'You write copy,' sneer at them. Copy is not written. Copy is assembled. You do not write copy; you assemble it. You are working with a series of building blocks, and you are putting the building blocks together, and then you are putting them in certain structures."

Dan Kennedy says: 

"The idea of writing a sales letter is actually something of a false idea. It suggests sitting down with a pristine, blank sheet of paper and conjuring words. In actuality, a truer description is assembling a sales letter."

And he goes on to say:

"Writing copy that sells is not a creative act so much as it is mechanical process, adhering to formulas, and assembling essential component parts within a reliable framework."

The whole discipline of collecting swipe files is based on collecting structures and formulas that work, to assemble and adapt them to your own copy.

Sure, you can ignore what these incredibly successful people (with millions in their bank accounts and a notable art collection) say and do.

But to me, it makes no sense.

I'd rather start from what works and not try to reinvent the wheel of copywriting.

Now let me share some further reasons WHY the assembly approach works.

Copywriting is about persuasion

Now, the human mind is about as stubborn as a Mongolic donkey when it comes to persuasion.

The ONLY way to move this donkey in ANY direction is to appeal to its INTEREST.

But as the ass is so stubborn, you need to do this in a highly sophisticated way.

You will need to captivate its attention, then show it the most vivid picture of how your offer will help, leading away from what the donkey detests and leading towards what it loves.

And you may not once stumble and bore that donkey, because then you've lost its attention.

So you need to stay on track with every step!

And to do this trick, there are existing, time-tested formulas and structures.

Deviating from them by trying to come up with some "clever" writing puts you in the very real danger of tripping on that track and falling off the cliff.

The next advantage is that it's just WAY easier and faster.

Taking existing templates and assembling them is far from rocket science.

It's work, and you need to do it very thoroughly to start making your copy sell.

But still, it's WAY easier than trying to come up with copy by writing it from the top of your head.

So let's recap:

The ultimate pros recommend doing it, it keeps you on track to your goal, and it's way easier. To me, these are some very compelling reasons to stick with assembling and adapting rather than writing copy.

Now, the idea of assembling instead of writing may repel some pseudo-artistic minds.

They may think, "Where's the creativity? The copywriting magic?"

I want to share two things with anyone coming from this direction.

One, sales copywriting has only one job - to sell.

The copy that sells better IS the better copy. So forget artistic expression in this arena.

Two, assembly and adaptation of existing parts IS creativity. If you don't know this, be invited to read the book "Steal Like an Artist." You will learn that none of the great artists came from a void. They used what was there and assembled it in a new way, sometimes sprinkling their own stardust upon it. That's just how the creative process works.

Which brings me to the final part:

How do you do that?

You get this done by following a straightforward process:

Step 1: Understand and embrace the idea of assembly and adaptation (That's what we're working on together in this post).

Step 2: Learn to know the formulas. AIDA, PAS, 4 P's, and on and on. Learn to know them, understand them, and use them.

Step 3: Analyze winning copy. Now, find proven, winning copy and analyze it. Which formulas were used? What headline formula did the copywriter employ? What overall structure does the copy piece follow? What CTA formulas? And on and on.

Step 4: Build your swipe archive. You need someplace to pull structures and formulas from. So start collecting your best examples and you will make yourself a gold mine of material. Besides, if you have a collector's mind, like me, it's just great fun to do. (If not, do it anyway, because it's a cornerstone of copywriting success).

Step 5: Start assembling and adapting. Once you have your swipe material (Step 4) and understand the WHY's behind it (Steps 2 and 3), you can start with the creation of new copy. Take what's proven to work, patch it together, and adapt it to your case at hand.

Now here's a bonus tip if Steps 1 to 5 sound too laborious and you're short on time, but still want to have some copy that turns visitors into buyers:

Find 2-3 benchmarks that have proven to work, and reassemble and adapt these. - BUT: Do it in a way that ensures you do not copy anything directly. Because copywriting and copying are two different things.

That's the fast-track approach. It's still way better than trying to "write" copy.

To wrap things up:

I told you that I have a way of reducing your hassle by 90% while increasing your success chances by 500%, and I stick to that promise.

Trying to come up with captivating copy by "writing" is not only a massive mental strain, it has also been shown not to work well. - Collecting what's there, assembling, and adapting it, is a walk in the park compared to that. AND it has proven to work better.

As always, please let me know what you think. - I'm curious.

And, of course, above all, have a great day.

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