Great point. And I like that fact that you worked in a WAR GAMES reference…

-Ray

Good observations and thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your comments — and BTW, your website rocks!

-Ray

Some were ‘naturals’ in the air. Some became airsick on every flight, and we’d always be surprised to see who made it to the next phase.

Those who earned their “wings of Gold” invariably found a way to ignite a “passion” for flying, that overcame any and all shortcomings they brought to the table.

In similar vein, I’m willing to bet you could take any mediocre copywriter, sit them down and ask them to describe one of their “passions”.

Then ask them why they love it. Tape record the conversation, transcribe it and with some editing you’d have a passable sales letter.

Would it be A-level? Not a chance. Would it be good enough? More than likely yes. And isn’t that what it’s all about?

The famous psychologist Donald Hebb is said to have once answered a journalist’s question of “which, nature or nurture, contributes more to personality?” by asking in response, “which contributes more to the area of a rectangle, its length or its width?”

The computer named Joshua in the movie War Games learned through predicting thermonuclear war scenarios that “The only winning move is not to play”

No matter which side of the argument one picks there are exceptions.

Do you think P.T. Barnum went to seminars? Do you think Robert Collier went to the AWAI bootcamp? Do you think Mike Filsaime got to where he is now in IM, and where he was before in the auto industry, by reading a bunch of ebooks?

There are few things in life I’m absolutely sure of. Death, taxes, and talent.

Surely, you CAN learn copywriting - but only if you already have an underlying gift for writing and/or salesmanship. You have to have a certain flair with words… A proficiency in human emotion… The innate ability to connect with a perfect stranger over one common interest, even if that is just the site they’re visiting happens to be one you wrote.

Even now, I can see the copywriter in me coming out as I write this comment. And that has nothing to do with the fact that I work as a copywriter, but instead is the result of BEING a copywriter. Through and through. Even if I wasn’t in this field of work, I would likely still write this way.

Talent and profound understanding cannot be replaced by any book, seminar, or workshop. You cannot learn social skills, , and emotional intelligence by reading a PDF. You either know these things, or you don’t.

Writing and salesmanship. Either one will be enough for you to learn copy, and be decent at it. But it is when the two come together that we get the Makepeace’s… The Sackheim’s… The Collier’s… The Caples’…

Talent is something that is given to you, from birth. It cannot be learned, replicated, or even destroyed. Once you have it, you will ALWAYS have it. And that’s just the way it is.

I know I’m probably going to get flamed for this, but I dare you all to prove me wrong - show me a world-renowned copywriting genius who had no writing or sales talent before he became a copywriter, and learned everything from books, seminars, or schooling, and I’ll retract my opinion.

Until then.

- Cherilyn

To me, this is the “knack” that will take you to the top.

After all, in the 40/40/20 rule of direct mail success only 20% a promotion’s power is attributed to the copy. The other 80% is the list and the offer.

And that really means knowing your customer, knowing what they want, and creating an offer that will move them to buy.

To me, a great idea properly executed is great copy, no matter who well it may be written.

That’s my two cents.

All good wishes for a successful and profitable 2008,

Doug