The Biggest Lie in Copywriting

"I'm a copywriter that's just starting out. I have no prior experience, but I'm a good writer and I'm eager to learn. What advice would you give someone like me?"

I hear some variation of this almost every day, so I'm making sure my first post answers it fully and clearly. Here is what the gurus will tell you, every single time:

"Buy a stack of books from great copywriers: Eugene Schwartz, David Ogilvy, Gary Halbert, etc. Then, open up a page to one of their ads and copy it by hand. Do this every day to become a pro."

The idea itself comes from a well-meaning place: the goal being to internalize the rhythm, flow, and structure of the greats. But this alone isn't going to make you a better copywriter. All you're doing is passively mimicking their words, their style, and their tone. It's essentially busywork dressed up as gold nuggets of copywriting wisdom.

What actually makes you better? Real practice, real feedback and learning why the principles behind the copy actually work. Let's look at a famous example:

What is it about this timeless ad that makes it famous in copywriting circles? Let's focus on just the headline, it's got:

1. Intrigue - "When I started to play..." and then what happened?

2. Emotional hook - Everyone knows what it feels like to be laughed at or humiliated.

3. Instant sympathy - You want to see the underdog win

There were probably dozens of competing ads out there at the time advertising piano lessons, but this one is the only one that reads with intrigue, revenge, redemption and admiration, all in one perfect package.

You could write this headline and others like it all day long, but it's not the words themselves that made this ad work, it was the psychology behind them. When you can understand why an ad hits so hard, you'll be well on your way to copy mastery and not just copy mimicry.

Hand-Copying Sounds Like a Shortcut

The reason why the "hand copy the works of the greats" trick sells so well is that it genuinely feels like a shortcut: like you're going to magically absorb the genius by osmosis. The real work is messy. You'll write, rewrite, test, fail, learn, reiterate and retry. It takes time, and it takes effort, and it takes practice.

And when you can weave that into a solid headline, a compelling hook, and a powerful story that earns the click, you'll know you're making real progress.