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5. Not only is it necessary to start writing copy with an uncluttered mind, it is also impor
tant to start with an uncluttered desk. Clear your desk before you begin to write — except
for all notes, papers, and other material that you will refer to as you are doing the job. But
don't clean up your desk again until the job is done — even if it means leaving your desk
cluttered overnight.
6. If your thinking mechanism stalls when you first sit down to the typewriter, go ahead and
start writing part of the letter. Begin in the middle if you have to — but begin!
7. Try phrasing your lead at least six different ways on the first sheet of paper Then detach
yourself from the project for a moment. Pick out the lead that you think will best attract
and hold attention. Keep in mind a principle from advertising consultant Richard
Manville: "Advertisements that attempt to give people what they want outpull advertise
ments which present those things which people do not want as much — or do not want
at all."
8. When you have trouble getting a lead that satisfies you, look two or three paragraphs
down from the top of your letter The lead you want may be there.
You will find many instances where your copy can be improved by cutting away the top
paragraphs. But it works the other way too! There will also be instances where the addition
of a paragraph above the copy you have already written will make a better letter
9. It will pay you to keep thinking of leads all the time while you are reading the newspa
per, when you are listening to the radio, while you are studying magazines or books.
Dramatize your lead in copy if you can.
10. Many direct mail leaders keep a "starter" file. Clip out or jot down sentences or phrases
that catch your eye, that may apply to your product. Either keep them in a file folder or
paste them on looseleaf sheets that can be filed in a notebook.
11. Tell your prospect exactly what your proposition is — and what you want him to do —
right at the very beginning of your letter! But be sure to conduct your own tests to see if
this idea works for you.
12. Once your lead is written, and you progress to the body of the letter, please remember to
keep your copy moving! One way to do this is to say what you have to say in an interesting
way.
Writing in an interesting manner is one of the most difficult of all copywriting tricks to learn. I
say learn because I don't think it can be taught. You have to want to learn — and you have to do
this job yourself.
13. Read good books by authors who have a definite style. If fiction, study the style, not the
plot. If non-fiction, read only the paragraphs that attract you. Then go back to observe
how what you missed could have been said in a more interesting way.
14. Subscribe to magazines that seem to have a style of their own — magazines like Newsweek,
Reader's Digest, Time. Time is a particularly good one to study. Read good columnists
whose stock in trade is telling things in an interesting way.
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