A layman reads "Copymaster Teach You Precise Persuasion Technique"

Author: Robert. Robert W. Bly
Translator: Liu Yinv Publisher: Capital Publishing

■ Step out of your comfort zone

This book is not the type I would normally read.

The first thought was that the titles of the previously produced articles were very simple, like noodles in a clear soup, and the title of the book was thrown on it. "a bit?

⚠️ "Yes, I Do!" But what to do?

In short, I want to learn some concepts and systematic background knowledge first, and I want to rely on it; I want to know which ones are OK and which ones are NG.

After some research, I finally settled on " Copymaster Teach You Precise Persuasion " as a stepping stone to the first contact with the theme of "print advertising" - this book has been published for more than 35 years. It should be very safe to start with the classics.

Timeless! Just last month, this book ushered in its fourth edition (I borrowed the third edition ).

■ Experience: read with purpose

The first half of this book talks about principles , the inner skills of copywriting, starting with attracting attention, effective communication, and persuasion; the second half begins with practicing external skills and discusses how to apply these skills in various media.

When I was reading, I selectively skipped some chapters of the "Actual Combat" chapter, such as PR press releases, TV commercials, etc. Because at this stage, these projects are quite far away from me, and the eight poles are out of reach.

⚠️ Pursue "purpose" reading - tool books.

So, I set the reading purpose as "general writing", and tried to learn useful knowledge points from this "copywriting" book.

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Copywriting is to convince consumers to buy a product

In the process of reading, I also began to think, what exactly is my "commodity"?

⚠️ After reading the article, you can take away some gains .

Think of the writer (himself) as the seller who is also the salesperson —the salesperson behind the keyboard, and the reader (you) as the buyer .

Now, I hope that through the skills learned in the book, the "goods" will be more optimally presented.

But I can't deny that I happen to be good at and write more often in the style of writing, which requires a lot of "organization, induction, abstraction, and interpretation" - these elements have more in common with the copy; on the contrary, if you follow the literary style , this book will What you can get is relatively limited.

Next, let's see what I've learned!

■ Notes: long and short knowledge

First attach the book Mind Map ( original map ), and list some concepts that make me useful.

Title • Inheriting the past

When it comes to titles, I intuitively think of the common "farm titles" and "killing titles" in the media. But doing business is about honesty and long -term operation, so this book does not talk about such exaggerated tactics.

 When readers look at the title of the table, they just want to know: "How is this good for me?"

🔥 The best titles that look after the reader's self-interest or provide new knowledge.

That is, revealing the benefits to consumers , that is, what rewards can be obtained after reading the article (copy). At the same time, it also promises to give specific, useful information in return for the time you spend reading it, and even the money you spend on buying it.

Successfully attracting the reader's attention is the "inheritance" function of the title.

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As for "revelation", it refers to guiding readers to read the text and want to know more.

🔥 To do this, you have to spark their curiosity first.

It might be to use humor, to whet your appetite, or to ask them to guess , or to ask a question or a provocative statement.

Citing an example from the book, the headline of a face cream ad:

"You can enjoy the results of cosmetic surgery for only $5" (OK, curious what this thing is.)
"Replacing Expensive Cosmetic Surgery with $5 Lotion" (NG, weakened)

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Content • Clear and easy to understand

Here comes the main event.

After a little calculation, there are as many as 18 tips for this topic. Later, I discovered that the concept of "long and short " has been shown again and again, and I especially wanted to talk about it.

 1. Process long texts in sections

If the article is long, it becomes harder to read, and exudes a "must be hard to read" message, it can be helpful to break up the article into smaller paragraphs.

⚠️ Use it well: Numbering, small icon bullets, subheadings ⚠️ Sufficient space should be reserved between paragraphs

Suddenly remembered something.

Usually, people who write articles work on computers , especially long articles; but a certain percentage of people who read articles use mobile phones to browse - which means that there may be a gap between the screen vision of the author and the reader .

So when I am writing now, I will switch my "field of view" from time to time, and I also use my mobile phone to check the draft of the article. From the reader's point of view, do you feel that the paragraph is too long? Adjust accordingly.

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 2. Use short sentences and break sentences at the right time.

By the same token, short sentences are easier to read than long sentences. Try to break long sentences into two or three shorter sentences, and put brevity first.

⚠️ Create a sense of rhythm

Also, alternating sentences in length creates a rhythmic flow.

Occasionally short sentences, even incomplete sentences, "dashes—", "cuts..." also come in handy!

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 3. A paragraph in one sentence

There is also a sense of rhythm between paragraphs!

Occasionally treating "a sentence" as a paragraph can change the rhythm of the article and make the whole article more lively.

Imagine driving down a long interstate, the road is long and straight - all sentences and paragraphs are about the same length, and over time can be drowsy.

If the road takes a sudden turn—a paragraph with just one sentence pops up—it surprises and completely wakes the reader up.

■ Postscript

The author has mentioned that if the advertising industry is divided into two camps that advocate sales and advocate creativity , he will stand on the same side as the camp that advocates sales.

Therefore, the argument of this book is more "pragmatic", and does not take into account aspects such as artistic expression, beauty, entertainment...etc.

Would like to see another camp's point of view.

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