Copywriting Lesson From Best Selling Author Steven Pressfield

Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t

The title of this book about writing smacks you in the face and the book goes on teaching some valuable lessons…

Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t is a book by Steven Pressfield.

And, that’s the harsh truth, right in the title.

Nobody, probably not even your mom would want to read what you’ve written.

An ad copy that’s trying to sell them — no way your prospects are willing to read them.

You’ve to make them read your copy.

Prior to writing novels and screenplays, Steven worked in advertising, as a copywriter.

Here are some insights he shares:

Make your message irresistible

Nobody wants to read (remember?) so make your material irresistible. You don’t just have to catch the reader’s eye, you must have a compelling message that makes reader’s go “Hmm, that makes sense.”

Don’t come up with slogans and headlines — come up with concepts

Diamonds were once viewed as commodities. Why should I buy a diamond engagement ring? What’s wrong with rubies? The Ad by De Beers used the feature — the hardest material in the universe — to create a concept as a symbol of everlasting love.

De Beers’ “ A Diamond is forever” is a concept.

After this ad, if you didn’t buy a diamond engagement ring, you were saying you didn’t love her enough.

Hertz was a market leader in car rentals. Avis Rent a Car — was a similar service. Avis came up with the Ad that read “We’re #2 so we try harder.”

“We’re #2 so we try harder” turns a negative (“We’re second best and thus inferior”) into a positive (“You’ll get better service from us because we’ll work our butt off to catch #1 Hertz”)

This makes us look at the issue from a whole different angle. Now, that’s a concept. Positioning if you call it.

Steven writes, “A good concept makes the audience see your product from a very specific, sympathetic point of view and by its logic renders all the other points of view and all competing products moot and impotent.”