If you want to be a better copywriter, watch a good magician at work.
See how he shows us a coin in his hands, for example.
And suddenly, “before our very eyes”…
It vanishes.
Although we know there must be a logical explanation, we can’t help but stare in slack-jawed, open-eyed wonder.
And that is — or should be — what we do as copywriters for our audience.
We pull back the curtain on the powerful opportunities hidden all around them — how the stock market can make them rich, how their health can be improved, how to make more money in their business.
We open their eyes to the wonders inside them — who they really are, who they can become, how their dreams can be achieved, how their fears can be overcome, how they can live richer and healthier lives.
Voilà! Through mere words on a page, we transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.
A product transforms into a ladder that will enable them to finally reach their goals and achieve their dreams.
A mere supplement becomes the key that unlocks the good health that has been eluding them all these years.
Sure, like any good magician we employ a bit of sleight-of-hand.
We focus their attention on results, rather than the cost or effort that may be involved.
With our words we change the “lighting” to best reflect our product.
And, of course, we make objections vanish into thin air.
So stop merely writing words.
Give people what they really want and need…
Bring a little magic into their lives.
P.S. I was inspired to learn a simple magic trick myself after reading the wonderful book that inspired this post, Here Is Real Magic: A Magicians Search for Wonder in the Real World.
The trick doesn’t always work since I’m really not very good at it yet, but when it does I love seeing the look of wonderment on people’s faces.
Every copywriter, everyone who wants to understand human nature, should learn a simple magic trick.
