Review

Despite an infuriating number of Mad Men references, this book provides an excellent introduction to the world and craft of copywriting. Being new to this field, I found the examples of great copy inspiring. The author did a good job of collecting advice from industry greats - all of which were new to me.

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I love this book. The key message is to get your copy from your customers. It puts research ahead of copywriting genius. Some really helpful frameworks for Product Managers to think about Product Positioning.

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I’ve seen April speak at a conference and she was truly captivating. April is a great communicator, and is shows in this book.

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Book Review and Summary: Loved by Martina Lauchengco

Discover the secrets of successful product marketing with this insightful summary of "Loved" by Martina Lauchengco. Learn how product marketers can drive market adoption, craft compelling positioning and messaging, and collaborate effectively with product teams. Gain insights into developing strategic go-to-market plans, leveraging agile marketing practices, and measuring the impact of product marketing efforts. An essential guide for product marketers looking to elevate their skills and contribute to the success of their products in the market.

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Key Takeaways

The 20% that gave me 80% of the value.

Everything is derivative. Creativity is making connections - connecting two separate ideas that logically would not go together up until that moment. Ask: How can I connect this place or person or point of view to my product in a compelling way?

The words in advertising are like the windows in a store. You must be able to look right through them and see the product. Schwartz

Be clear not clever. Conversion copy shouldn’t draw attention to itself. Instead call attention to the pleasure it produces or the pain it prevents.

Copywriters don’t create demand, they channel existing demand. Get to know the demand (needs, wants, dreams, desires of people) then build products that satisfy those needs, and craft ads that speak to them.

Making the reader feel something is central to good copywriting. Moments are relatable and powerful. Zoom in on the moment, and it will speak for itself. They can help articulate a huge concept.

You’re not an artist - you solve problems. Great art starts with the maker - Great ads start with the market.

Quality almost always comes from quantity.

Marketing isn’t life or death. It’s okay to get it wrong.

Every ad is a guess. The results can be counterintuitive. Guessing is one half of marketing, the other is testing, measuring outcomes and adjusting.

• Test big splits - two unique and different angles, and one might outperform the other dramatically. Then use small splits to optimise the winning concept.

Producing derivative work will help you find your own style. Over time you’ll make more changes - and your influences become more subtle - until the work is your own.

AIDA copywriting formula: Attention > Interest > Desire > Action.

You need to do sales detective work to find the most compelling marketing stories. Ask questions and listen.

You don’t need to have great ideas if you can hear great ideas. Schwartz

40/40/20 rule of direct marketing success: 40% is due to the list (the people seeing your message). 40% is attributable to the strength of your offer (desire, price and incentives). 20% is down to the creative (copy, design, format).

It’s incredible how much your writing improves if you write each day. Part of becoming a copywriter is doing it long enough to find your process.

Preemptive claims: When you say something first - you own it.

One way to be different is by aligning with a unique set of values.

Sloppy copywriters focus on writing - careful copywriters prioritise research. Think of it as copy-researching not copywriting.

Say yes to every opportunity in the beginning - then fix the game - be selective - choose projects with a clear path to success.

You can’t always wait to feel inspired before you write. Inspiration is a luxury not a reliable strategy. Set a timer and sit down to write. When you’re stuck, stop making creative decisions - start making taking creative direction. Do some mindless - refreshing work.

Write to get ideas - not to express them Kevin Kelly

Taking ideas from 2 or more sources and combining them is creativity.

On Writing - lessons on execution

Consistently write something each day - free write to warm up your brain.

The rule of three - triples are easier to understand and remember.

Be specific ‘32 ways to save time and money’

Write about personal things - create vivid echoes for others and their experiences you’re onto something. Don’t tell people a message, show them a scene. Good writing creates images - clear vivid pictures that trigger memories and emotions. Images can move people.

Try writing a bunch of vignettes - zoom in on a moment, capture it, make the reader feel something. .

Just start writing to beat writers block. Stop waiting to feel creative and start doing something productive. Action precedes motivation.

You have to watch, listen and read what normal people are doing. Note the writing, the word choice, the clarity and the simplicity.

Proof brings credibility (testimonials, guarantees, demonstrations).

Good long copy can be more effective than short copy - it gets your attention, overcomes objections, earns trust, and asks for the sale. People read what interests them.

Great advertising starts with the truth.

Idioms are an easy way to make your writing sound more conversational. Write the way you talk - naturally. Relaxed writing makes reading easier.

You can get better at writing by re-writing (or copy-working) copy that has a voice or style you like. Make transcribing headlines, subheads or texts you like part of your routine.

Ed, I like how you think. It’s why I hired you.
But you write too long, like the books you studied in college. 
This won’t do. Sorry. I need your writing to be clear and concise.
Here’s how you can get where you need to be.

Synthesise longer writing into shorter writing - if you can say the same thing in fewer words, you’ve made the work better.

The sole purpose of the first sentence in an ad - is to get you to read the second sentence.

The best headlines appeal to people’s self interest - or give news.

Use metaphors to reduce a complex concept into a single vivid image.

The best brands often stand for only one thing. Jeeps are tough. Porsches are fast. Volvos are safe. What’s your brand’s adjective?

The cross-out test: Write your copy. Cross out any references to your company and its product. Write the name of your competitor and their product. If the copy still fits - you have a problem - and some editing to do. Come up with points the competition can’t say about their products.

How to write short: Commit to a final word count, brain dump 4x that word count. Halve the words once, then again. Questions to ask on the way:

• Does this edit express the same idea faster?
• Is this word absolutely necessary?
• Do I really like this?
• Do it enough and this process will become second nature, automatic.

Distribute your copy to everyone in the office - and ask them to rip it apart. Point to holes in the argument, identify readability issues, word choice issues any awkward transitions. It will shine a light on the problems.

Research is the key to all writing - but especially copywriting - knowledge breeds opportunities to make connections.

Separate writing from editing. Think of them as two different people. Don’t stop writing until it’s done. Don’t stop editing until its done. Stop editing when you’re edits aren’t making it better, and they’re just making it different.

Deep Summary

Longer form notes, typically condensed, reworded and de-duplicated.

On Thinking - Lessons on Mindset

• Noticing. Look at a painting for 3 hours you’ll be amazed what details you notice. Slow down and embrace the tedium, time will illuminate the details. Details will turn into connections - which are the basis of creativity and copywriting.
• Everything is derivative. Seek out experiences, people, places and perspectives that are new to you. Creativity is making connections - connecting two separate ideas that logically would not go together up until that moment.
• How can I connect this place or person or point of view to my product in a compelling way?
• Ads make promises. Promises bring hope. Don’t mess with a person’s hope.
• AI is a great productivity tool, but humans are best at writing about the human condition. Use AI for sourcing and organising ideas, not writing copy.

AI may eventually replace some writing. But it cannot replace writers, people, everything we know and feel and emote. We are, as it were, too much to bear.

“If you want to write poetry, if you want to write prose, if you want to write novels, and if you want to write literature, go outside of advertising. Because the words in advertising are like the windows in a store. You must be able to look right through them and see the product. If you see the window, it’s dirty—and you’re going to see yourself or you’re going to see the smear. You’re not going to see the product, and you’re going to lose.” Schwartz

• Be clear not clever. Conversion copy shouldn’t draw attention to itself. Call attention to the problems, the pleasure it produces or the pain it prevents. But not to itself.
• Two types of ads are both designed to compel us - the difference is when the action takes place
• Direct-response /conversion ads compel immediate action. They leverage benefits, urgency and scarcity to create tension designed to get you to act.
• Creative ads are memorable. Designed to live in your subconscious until you’re presented with a buying moment.
• Creativity boils down to putting old things together in new ways, which is a two-step process:
• One, get knowledge and experience
• Two, make unexpected connections
• You can’t force a connection - often you have to distance yourself from by distracting yourself from the problem by doing something unrelated - allowing you subconscious mind to work.

You’re often most creative when you’re the least productive Austin Kleon

• Copywriters don’t create demand, they channel existing demand.
• Get to know the demand (needs, wants, dreams, desires of people) then build products that satisfy those needs, and craft ads that speak to them.
• If the market doesn’t want or need what you’re selling the best copywriter won’t be able to help you.
• Making the reader feel something is central to good copywriting (sentimental, tenderness, sadness and nostalgia).
• Moments are relatable and powerful. Zoom in on the moment, and it will speak for itself.
• The next time you need to articulate a huge concept - zoom in on a single moment that relates to it. Focus attention - if the reader can relate it will carry weight.
• Use your life to animate your copy - it something moves you it’ll touch someone else too.
• You’re not an artist - you solve problems.
• Great art starts with the maker - Great ads start with the market.
• The words in advertising are like the windows in a store - you must be able to look right through them and see the product.
• To get good at anything - approach it like a curious idiot, rather than a know-it-all genius.
• The odds of creative success are low.
• Saturday Night Live writers produce 40-50 sketches, make 8 of which only 2-3 actually land.
• Marketing isn’t life or death. It’s okay to get it wrong. Failing is encouraged.
• Failing often and testing big differences shows you’re trying hard enough:
• Quality almost always comes from quantity
• Expect most ideas to be unusable.
• Creative success is a numbers game - your next idea might be your best.
• Test big splits - two unique and different angles, and one might outperform the other dramatically. Then use small splits to optimise the winning concept.
• Every ad is a guess. The results can be counterintuitive. Guessing is one half of marketing, the other is testing, measuring outcomes and adjusting.
• Producing derivative work will help you find your own style.
• The more changes you make - the less glaring your influences become - until eventually - the work is your own
• Highly creative people have more diverse experiences that most people - and think more deeply about their experiences.
• Leonardo’s genius was in his curiosity.
• AIDA copywriting formula: Attention > Interest > Desire > Action
• You need to do sales detective work to find the most compelling marketing stories. Ask questions and listen.
• Listen.

You don’t need to have great ideas if you can hear great ideas. Schwartz

• 40/40/20 rule of direct marketing success:
• 40% of the list (the people seeing your message - the segment of your market)
• Ideally a segment contains people who’ve bought similar products to what you’re selling, and have bought by similar ways of buying.
• 40% on the strength of your offer (desire, price and incentives)
• Desire - is this something people want?
• Price - is it priced appropriately for what it is?
• Incentives - is the ad giving people a reason to buy now? (savings, urgency, removing risk)
• 20% on the creative (copy, design, format)
• Copy - get to know the market and their pain points, frustrations and hopes
• Design - the copywriter and designer should work together from the start
• Format - how the ad is arranged and presented (how design and copy come together)
• If your copy is fascinating, the length is irrelevant.

If you write each day you’re a writer. IF you write ads each day, you’re a copywriter.

• It’s incredible how much your writing improves if you write each day.
• Part of becoming a copywriter is doing it long enough to find your process
• The 5 levels of awareness:
• Unaware: prospects don’t realise they have a problem
• Problem aware: know they have a problem, but don’t fully understand it.
• Solution aware: understand their problem, and are aware of solutions similar to yours, but haven’t heard of your product
• Product aware: know of your product - researching and weighing options
• Most aware: almost customers.
• Stand out - Estee Lauder stood out by doing campaigns in sapia not colour
• People always choose to avoid pain over attaining pleasure.
• Preemptive claims: When you say something first - you own it.
• One way to be different is by aligning with a unique set of values
• Ogilvy advice for young creative people:
• Compete with the immortals - be ambitious. Try to make each campaign the best your agency has ever done. Be more ambitious.
• Know your product - the more you know the more likely you are to sell it. Study the precedents - what other agencies have done.
• Use your unconscious - I never wrote an ad in my life in an office
• Sloppy copywriters focus on writing - careful copywriters prioritise research
• Think of it as copy-researching not copywriting
• The most resonant stories come from a singular point of view. Avoid creating ads based on a persona - understanding the perspective of a real prospect - their personal hopes, needs and desires will result in something more accurate.
• When you finish and ad it’s not done - it’s not done until the client buys in
• There’s no common ‘process’ among successful writers. A process is just what works for you.
• Make an effort and repeat the same thing every day - you need to sacrifice your time and energy to learn a craft.
• Say yes to every opportunity in the beginning - then fix the game - be selective - choose projects with a clear path to success.
• You can’t always wait to feel inspired before you write. Inspiration is a luxury not a reliable strategy. Set a timer for 33:33 and sit down to write - if nothing comes then stay put. If you fail in that session - take a break and try again.
• Incubate - stop actively thinking about a task and give your subconscious some time to work on it.
• ‘Sonder’: the sudden realisation that you’re not alone, that we’re all the same, that every person feels the same emotions.
• Powerful copy can capture ‘Sonder’
• Most copywriters keep a swipe file of ads for inspiration - but you can also photograph moments that people experience, and imagine what they’re feeling.
• Taking ideas from 2 or more sources and combining them is creativity
• Ask people how it made them feel - write it down and use it
• Copywriting isn’t perfect grammar - it’s a feeling.
• In the factory we make cosmetics - in the store, we sell hope Charles Revson - Founder of Revlon
• Can you reflect the mood? The zeitgeist - and put it into words?
• Limiting your time, format, word count and audience helps.
• Restrict yourself - constraints can help with creativity

Write to get ideas - not to express them Kevin Kelly

• Step 1: Produce 20-30 campaign ideas. Step 2: Recognise the good ideas and turn them into viable ads.
• Figure out which of these you are: A maximalist writer edits words in - A minimalist writer edits words out.
• Have patience. You’ll find your style eventually and accidentally, not immediately and purposefully.
• Sit on your work - don’t publish it immediately.
• Great creative work often happens when opposite things and concepts intersect
• Money can always be regenerated - time and reputation can’t
• Having 2 distinct work spaces helps me break through common creativity problems.
• One analog - one digital
• When you run out of steam - go back to your analog station and play
• When you’re stuck, stop making creative decisions - start making taking creative direction. Do some mindless - refreshing work.
• You need to disconnect from the world long enough to think - practice your art - and bring forth something worth sharing with others.

On Writing - lessons on execution

• Create an email account for your son and sent them messages, notes and pictures. I tell him where we went and what we did. Give him advice. Share little moments.
• Consistently write something each day - free write to warm up your brain.
• Writing on your phone slows you down which forces you to be more thoughtful and intentional. Try writing slow to write well.
• The rule of three - triples are easier to understand and remember.
• Be specific ‘32 ways to save time and money’
• If you can write about personal things - but create vivid echoes for others and their experiences you’re onto something.
• Don’t tell people a message, show them a scene
• Good writing creates images - clear vivid pictures that trigger memories and emotions. Images can move people.
• Communicating in images increases the clarity of your message
• Strong words force readers to visualise something pleasant or painful
• The more you write the better you’ll get.
• Try writing a bunch of vignettes - zoom in on a moment, capture it, make the reader feel something.
• Minimalist writers trust the reader - it gives them agency over the story. Let them play an active role in creating the narrative. Do the minimum.
• Become excellent at recording your ideas as they come to you. Build up some writing insurance.
• Just start writing to beat writers block. Stop waiting to feel creative and start doing something productive. Action precedes motivation.
• You have to watch, listen and read what normal people are doing. Note the writing, the word choice, the clarity and the simplicity.
• Do time-based work. Set timers, have hours, show up. Whatever gets done, gets done.
• Proof brings credibility (testimonials, guarantees, demonstrations).
• Keep your space orderly so it’s ready for tomorrow.
• Put up with needless friction - and you’ll eventually be worn down.
• Good long copy can be more effective than short copy - it gets your attention, overcomes objections, earns trust, and asks for the sale,
• People read what interests them
• The Life Force 8 (From Drew Eric Whitman). Humans are biologically programmed with the following 8 desires:
1. Survival, enjoyment of life, life extension
2. Enjoyment of food and beverages
3. Freedom from fear, pain, and danger
4. Physical companionship
5. Comfortable living conditions
6. To be superior, winning, keeping up with the Joneses
7. Care and protection of loved ones
8. Social approval
• When in doubt - align your benefits with the desires we’re all born with.
• If your message is relevant and interesting to the audience - you don’t need to shout. It’s better if you don’t.
• The most powerful element in advertising is truth. Exclamation marks come across as enthusiasm or hype and not truth.
• Great advertising starts with the truth.
• Try writing when you’re emotional - you might write better.
• Idioms are an easy way to make your writing sound more conversational.
• Write the way you talk - naturally.
• Relaxed writing makes reading easier.
• You can get better at writing by re-writing (or copy-working) copy that has a voice or style you like. Make transcribing headlines, subheads or texts you like part of your routine.

Ed, I like how you think. It’s why I hired you.
But you write too long, like the books you studied in college. 
This won’t do. Sorry. I need your writing to be clear and concise.
Here’s how you can get where you need to be.

• Synthesise longer writing into shorter writing - if you can say the same thing in fewer words, you’ve made the work better.
• Writing better headlines:
• Headlines need to be compelling - else nobody will read the rest.
• Make it dramatic / emotional.
• Make it vivid and appeal to the senses.
• Make it logical - Ask them a question.
• Make it hopeful / inspirational
• An ultra-short headline can move the reader to the next line almost automatically.
• The sole purpose of the first sentence in an ad - is to get you to read the second sentence.
• The best headlines appeal to people’s self interest - or give news.
• Self-interest words: sale, save, easy, quick, results, proven, how to, guarantee, last chance.
• News words: new, now, at last, it's here, discover, breaking, just arrived, introducing, announcing.
• Use metaphors to reduce a complex concept into a single vivid image.
• The best brands often stand for only one thing. Jeeps are tough. Porsches are fast. Volvos are safe. What’s your brand’s adjective?
• The cross-out test:
• Write your copy
• Cross out any references to your company and its product
• Write the name of your competitor and their product
• If the copy still fits - you have a problem - and some editing to do. Come up with points the competition can’t say about their products.
• Ask questions that tee up affirmative answers creatives positive inertia, goodness. Agreement begets agreement, putting people in a willing mood.
• How to write short:
• Commit to a final word count
• Brain dump 4x that word count
• Cut by 2
• Cut by 2 again
• Questions to ask on the way:
• Does this edit express the same idea faster?
• Is this word absolutely necessary?
• Do I really like this?
• Do it enough and this process will become second nature, automatic.
• Distribute your copy to everyone in the office - and ask them to rip it apart. Point to holes in the argument, identify readability issues, word choice issues any awkward transitions. It will shine a light on the problems.
• Challenge yourself to write something in half the time it normally takes you. Simplicity, ultimately, is the secret.
• Deep work and focus are the key to writing faster. Create an interruption free environment.
• Copywriting formula: Problem - Agitation - Solution
• Introduce a problem, agitate it by demonstrating the consequences of the issue, then offer a solution.
• Just because space is empty doesn’t mean that it lacks purpose.
• Write without your ego. The fewer ideas you have, the more weight each idea holds in your mind.
• Good copy, first and foremost is understood - a big word is less powerful than a big idea clearly expressed.
• Great stories start with a conflict.
• When you make a claim put a condition on it - ‘almost, believe it or not, usually’. Conditions take the edge off a promise that sounds too good to be true.
• Bob Stone’s Gem:
1. Benefit: Begin with your strongest benefit.
2. Expansion: Expand on your strongest benefit.
3. Positive: Explain what the prospect will get.
4. Proof: Prove the value with past experience.
5. Negative: Explain the consequences of inaction.
6. Summary: Sum up the benefits.
7. Action: Ask for action.
• Stories that start in the middle of things are inherently compelling (’In Medias Res’) - they create tension, drama and curiosity in the audience.
• Research is the key to all writing - but especially copywriting - knowledge breeds opportunities to make connections.
• Stop editing when you’re edits aren’t making it better, and they’re just making it different.
• Separate writing from editing. Think of them as two different people. Don’t stop writing until it’s done. Don’t stop editing until its done.
• The only kind of writing is rewriting. Your first draft is often your worst.
• Make a clear, specific and big promise when you can.
• The colon punctuation mark is a small promise: it promises more information.
• Stop thinking of reading as an activity - and start thinking of it as a default.
• Simplifying your language doesn’t necessarily simplify your message - accessible writing can be profound.
• Concise writing doesn’t repeat itself.
• The Bourdain structure: See stuff → talk about how it made you feel → be honest