Copywriting Q&A: Why “Practice Makes Perfect” is Wrong

If the way to get to Carnegie Hall is practice, that must be true for copywriters too, right? Actually…not quite. Instead of focusing on writing, writing, writing, copywriters should adopt a different technique instead. Ready to find out what it is? Read on…

Today’s question comes from Terrell R. who asks, “They say that writers get better by writing. Does the same thing hold for copywriting? Should I be churning out ads for an hour each day?”

They (whoever “they” is) say that for writers to improve, they need to write. Journalists need to crank out stories, fiction writers need to put in time and non-fiction writers need to sit down and pound the keys on that Churchill biography.

But just “writing” isn’t going to improve anyone. A mediocre novelist isn’t going to shed mediocrity just because he or she spends lots of time writing. All they’ll end up with is a lot of mediocre output.

The same holds for copywriting: Sitting down and writing ad after ad isn’t going to make you any better of a copywriter. Your level of skill isn’t going to increase just by writing more ads. (On top of the fact that you can’t write ads in a vacuum anyway; you need a brief to write them from!)

What does help you improve is applying some critical analysis. And, I’d suggest that even before you try to apply that critical analysis to yourself, you apply it to other ads.

You need to start really looking at the copy that you come across each day: the emails in your inbox, the direct mails in your mailbox, the ads in your newspapers and magazines, the copy and banner ads on websites. Really look at it all.

Then, ask yourself questions to evaluate whether or not it’s actually good copy—just because it’s out there doesn’t mean that it’s any good. Does it make the benefit to consumer clear? Is it taking the right tone with its target audience and using the right words to reach them? Is the brand’s style clear? Is the call to action clear?

You’ll come across some good copy…and you’ll come across some terrible copy. But here’s where your opportunity to improve comes in: Take those bad ads and rewrite them.

Now, obviously, you don’t have a creative brief to work with. Instead, you’ll have to infer the key points (benefit to consumer, business goal, desired action, etc.) and do a little research on the company to understand their branding. But analyzing a piece, and then improving on it is exactly how you can learn to do the same thing to your own work—and, of course, make your own work better to begin with.

In copywriting, it’s not “practice makes perfect,” it’s “careful analysis and studied revisions” that make you improve. If you take the time do to this even once a week, you’ll see marked improvement in your work—and so will your bosses and clients.

Your turn! Have you tried rewriting published copy yet? What was your experience? Let us know in the comments below!