Science of Copywriting Rule Book - First Steps - First Edition - 28th July 2019 PDF

Science of Copywriting
Rule Book - First Steps
Quentin Pain
2
Science of Copywriting Rule Book - First Steps
© 2019 Quentin Pain - All Rights Reserved

No part of this publication may be copied or
reproduced without written consent from the
copyright holder.
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ScienceOfCopywriting.com
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Table of Contents
Introduction 5
Part 1 - The Rules 7

Rule #1 Avoid Adverbs 8
Rule #2 Always Be Moving 9
Rule #3 Keep It Personal 10
Rule #4 Read It Aloud 12
Rule #5 Keep The Flow 13
Rule #6 Attention 14
Rule #7 One Thing At A Time 15
Rule #8 Use Three Options 16
Rule #9 Think Value Not Price 17
Rule #10 Be The Leader 18
Rule #11 Favour Experience Over Learning 20
Rule #12 Life's A Game 21
Rule #13 Make It Readable 22
Rule #14 Know Your Audience 23
Rule #15 Give Enough Get Enough 24
Rule #16 Words Matter - Every Single One 26
Rule #17 Find The Obsession 27
Rule #18 Highlight Contrast 29
Rule #19 Flow With Time 30
Rule #20 Check The Players 31
Rule #21 Engage Emotion 34
Rule #22 New Sells Revolution Repels 35
Rule #23 Prefer Informal Over Formal 36
Rule #24 Beginning Middle End 38
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Rule #25 Weigh Your Anchors 40
Rule #26 Use Systems 41
Part Two - Getting Started 42

New To Copy? 42
Give Them What They Want 45
Be The Copywriter You Want To Be 47
Money 50
The First Step 51
How To Make Your Writing Less Sucky 54
Part Three - Philosophy 56

The Quick Buck 56
Pillar One - Metaphysics 58
Pillar Two - Epistemology 59
Pillar Three - Ethics 60
Pillar Four - Politics 62
Pillar Five - Aesthetics 63
Conclusion 64
Look For Contradictions 64
The Copywriting Manifesto 65
5
Introduction
To become a great copywriter means doing one
thing. You write. And you write and write and write.
If you don't write, you'll never develop your writing

voice. You can read and read and read (and that's
excellent) but without BEING a copywriter, you'll
never BE one.
However, there are short-cuts. These 'short-cuts'

are the same for anything we learn about life. We
use others' experience to improve a little faster.
That improvement may be physical or it may be

emotional (no one could break the 4 minute mile
barrier until 1 person actually did it - the belief
wasn't there until that point - that was an emotional
short-cut).
This book gives you writing rules you need to learn.

Once you've learnt them, you will have the
confidence to break them, and by doing so, your
voice will become distinct.
Ignore them, and that will take you a lot longer

(because you're going to have to discover every
rule by accident).
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You'll have come across some of these rules
before. That's great. Now you can confidently go
ahead and follow them. All the best writers in the
world know these rules. To be a great copywriter,
you need to know them too.
Quentin Pain
United Kingdom
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Part 1 - The Rules

Rules are made to be broken. It's called evolution.
But unless you know the rules and why they were
invented, you'll spend considerably more time
breaking them in a bad way than breaking them for
good.
The rules that follow are the most important for any
type of writer, but for copywriters, they're even
more so.
Pay particular attention to rule #16 for example.

When you're paid to write copy, every word
matters.
8
Rule #1 Avoid Adverbs

Some books grab you immediately. Some don't.
Some grab a small portion of their market, others
grab all of it.
Yet even the most popular have critics. It's the

same in the movie business. It's the same in the
fashion world.
It's the same with friends. It's the same with

business associates. And it's the same with
products.
So it's no wonder that some copy grabs attention

and some doesn't.
So what can you do as a copywriter?
Avoid using words that end in 'ly'. They're

exceedingly bad unless your name is Mr Kipling.
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Rule #2 Always Be Moving

Some things move us emotionally or physically and
some things don't. Some things move us today, but
don't move us tomorrow. Other things keep us
moving.
Every move we feel comes from chemical reactions

in our bodies that produce electrical impulses of
one sort or another.
These are the sparks of life. And copywriting is our

tool of choice to make our readers spark and keep
them sparking for as long as possible.
But spotting the causes of sparks are the hardest

things.
How do you do that? By starting with yourself. Write

down everything you read that moves you.
You can't miss it when it happens - it changes you

right at that instance. The trick is to remember to
stop and record the incident that brought the spark.
Do this as much as you can, and you will unravel

the moves that create the best possible content.
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Rule #3 Keep It Personal

You know when you're talking to someone and you
hit it off straightaway? And before you know it, you
feel like you've known them forever?
And as the conversation continues, you start

sharing and swapping stories about your lives, and
by the end you just feel very comfortable?
Imagine if that happened with every prospect you

met, no matter how belligerent they might be? Is
that even possible? Yes it is. And what's more,
anyone can do it.
You don't need the gift of the gab or some special

skill, you just need a system. And what if you had a
system you could use for writing copy as well as
conversations? What would that be worth?
Well here's the first rule of such a system - and it

just happens to be our 3rd rule. It's the "Keep it
Personal" rule.
If you're not having a personal conversation with

your prospect, then you're probably in selling mode.
Everyone knows when that happens, and unless
your prospect is in red hot, desperate need for a
solution right that second, then it's unlikely you will
make the sale.
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Keeping it personal means talking directly to (and

only to) your prospect about their exact needs and
how you feel the same way.
(and if you don't know their exact needs, find some

really hot prospects and listen to how they express
them).
In all my conversations, written and verbal, I'm

always talking about you and me. Sometimes I
bring in 3rd parties, in which case I talk about
'them'. This ensures that you and me stay comfy
and cosy. And if I ever mess up, it will be obvious
because you'll be long gone before I even finish my
sentence.
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Rule #4 Read It Aloud

To check your copy, imagine reading it out aloud to
your best friend. If it sounds in any way yucky, it's a
sign you're pushing too hard (either the style of
writing is not right or the message is off).
Talking out loud is the fastest way I know to edit

copy. If you're not doing this already, you'll discover
it soon becomes automatic. Everything I write, I'm
speaking aloud at the same time in my head (I still
have to leave it between edits and edit it a few
times though).
Rule #4. The fastest way to check your writing is to

read it out aloud to yourself.
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Rule #5 Keep The Flow

When we're in the zone, time is irrelevant. And so it
is with great copy.
It flows seamlessly from one sentence to the next.

From one paragraph to the next. From one chapter
to the next. And if you're an author, from one book
to the next.
But us humans get distracted - constantly -

especially when we're formulating ideas and not
nailing them.
So the need to keep the flow becomes a necessity,

not an option. That's Rule #5. Keep the Flow (and
keep the audience).
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Rule #6 Attention
The purpose of any piece of media is to get
attention. It doesn't matter how, provided it is
relevant.
But it's also possible to get attention without being

relevant. This mostly happens by accident when
someone breaks the law, makes a faux-pas, or
otherwise stands out from the crowd.
Either way, attention is the cash currency of

business, and for copywriters, it starts with the
headline.
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Rule #7 One Thing At A Time

Stick to one thing in your copy. Two things give us
a choice (and one of those choices might be to
leave fast). Three things confuse us. So stay on
track with your one thing.
I frequently forget this, and every time I do, people

get confused. It's the nature of my mind - it's got
ADHD. I love new stuff, and I especially love new
stuff in the middle of new stuff. And by the time I've
gotten into the newer stuff, I've completely forgotten
about the old new stuff.
When you stay on the one thing, you can build the
best possible case for it. Nothing gets diluted. And
it means you're giving it the 100% treatment it
deserves.
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Rule #8 Use Three Options

We all know it's important to stick to just one main
thing in our copy (so we don't confuse our readers),
but when it comes to your shopping cart, having 3
options can improve conversions (this is true for
negotiations too).
It works by using the concept of price anchoring

(when we see something expensive, any cheaper
option looks like better value).
It's widely used at the end of sales pages and gives

the prospect a choice of 3 pricing options.
Thinking up good names for these options is

always hard (Bronze, Silver and Gold is perhaps
overused).
If you're selling something that hasn't got 3 options,

there are two other ways you can utilise the 3
option rule:
1. Use different pay options (eg. Full Pay, Payment

Plan, Pay Later).
2. Add extras to add value and price accordingly
(eg. Basic, Basic Plus, Pro).
The Three Option rule will bring you in more

conversions and sales.
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Rule #9 Think Value Not Price

A decade ago I learnt from a master. I was
struggling with pricing a product (because I was in
too much of a hurry to test it and see what the
market was willing to pay).
I learnt that the more value I added to my product,

the higher I could make the price. In other words,
the price was simply about the value of the product
to its market.
So now my problem was shifted from something I

had no control over (you can't force someone to
pay what you want without a gun to the head) to
something I had complete control over - the value.
I could set the price I needed (or wanted) and keep

adding value until the product sold. This was a
revelation to me and the business, which is why it's
Rule #9 - Think Value Not Price.
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Rule #10 Be The Leader

On the face of it, it seems that some lead, and
some follow. But the truth is we're all born leaders.
All of us put ourselves first. There is no 'selfless' -

it's a myth of modern philosophy. This is a hard pill
to swallow for those who believe in altruism. But
that's fine, we all have the right to our beliefs.
Helping other people, makes us happy. It gives us

a sense of worth. It's something many of us feel
we're born to do. So we do it. It's a win win.
If we give to charity anonymously, we know we did

it, and we feel good inside. If we give to charity
publicly, it's the same thing (but we are just
acknowledging we need a little more public
recognition to feel good about it).
Every now and again I need help too. Finding

someone who can help is hard. But when I do, I am
inevitably done with them after a day, week, month,
or year. Rarely longer (although I will often talk
about them for years afterwards).
I've yet to find a leader for life. They're always short

term for me.
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But there's a pattern here, and I believe it's a
common one. It's about leaders.
There are things we lead, and things we follow.

When we follow, it's because we hear our precise
language being spoken. It's perfectly aligned with
our aspirations. Our likes, hates and above all,
desires.
And so it follows, that when we speak of our own

likes, hates and desires, we too become the leader.
Those who hear us and are aligned with our views
and passions become our followers.
Copywriting zings when you know its purpose is to

lead.
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Rule #11 Favour Experience Over

Learning
Learning is great, but writing and testing is better.
And the best bit is you can do it for real with very
small budgets using Facebook ads.
That will change of course once the big spenders

get in on the act, which is already starting to
happen, but for now, it's still incredible value
(money, speed and tracking) compared to the old
days of print, tv and radio.
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Rule #12 Life's A Game

We've all heard it: "Life's a Game". The obvious
difference between the two is the level of risk - you
can lose your life in one and your pride in the other.
The metaphor is about mindset of course. I've

found that when I take life less seriously, I get
superior results and considerably less stress.
And when I do get stressed, it's a trigger to remind

me of this rule.
And that makes it the most important rule in my

book of life.
Everyone wins and everyone has fun when you're

playing the right game (and watch your business
soar as a result).
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Rule #13 Make It Readable

My most effective copy consists of no more than 3
sentences per paragraph. Every sentence is short
and to the point. And each sentence suggests
there's more to follow… (but don't overuse the
elipsis …)
Every word is as short as possible (for easy

reading). And I've found a spoken tone works the
best (by far).
But whatever rules you read are there to be broken

(if it makes sense to do so) - especially if a longer
sentence keeps the reader engaged. And by the
way, 2 sentences per paragraph is fine too.
When I have stuff I don't want people to read, I

cram as many words as I can on one line, using
very small text, and ensuring the background and
foreground colours are similar or identical.
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Rule #14 Know Your Audience

There are two ways to write copy:
A) write generic stuff for the masses and have the

world's largest budget to broadcast it to everyone in
the vain hope that someone will hear it and act on
it.
B) know your audience so well, you can tap right

into their mindset, understand what they need right
now, and sell it to them.
Always do B unless you're Coca Cola.
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Rule #15 Give Enough Get Enough

Here's the secret to wealth. In the 1980's the world
changed. Reaganomics was rampant and
"loadsamoney" was the name of the game.
There's no change today. As a species, we're as

greedy as ever. Executives measure their worth by
money instead of production.
And here's another thing that's never changed. Our

DNA. Even when we're under the thumb of the
worst dictators we still feel a strong need to give
back when someone does us a favour.
The thing is, even if only 10% of people returned

favours, you'd still get a good return on your time if
you used it wisely.
Think about this if you've not figured it out before. If

you know something that someone else doesn't,
and that someone else wants what you know, then
that knowledge becomes valuable to them (but
remember - to you your knowledge is a commodity
- you know it already, so you don't value it very
much).
This means you can offer it to them for what seems

like a great price (in their eyes). Now, suppose they
too have something you want, that to them is just a
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commodity. You will pay good money for it, and
they will make a big fat profit.
But suppose you decided to give away your

commodity to a whole group of people to whom it
was valuable? Can you see how much influence
this would have for you? And how much reciprocity
you just stored in the bank?
This is the secret to easy and sustainable wealth

(the catch is it takes time - that's why few people do
it).
When you help enough people get what they want,

they will return that favour and you will get what you
want.
And for copywriters it starts by finding a new client

and offering to do something for them purely for a
testimonial, or an offer of work if they like it, or just
to get your name out there so you pick up some
brownie points.
Giving enough to get enough is the simplest

strategy I know. It has nothing to do with altruism,
and everything to do with being human.
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Rule #16 Words Matter - Every

Single One
Words matter. Every single one of them. Life is
analog. It's not digital. There are infinite shades of
grey (not 50).
But when we sense the world, we transform it to

digital. Black and white (and a few bits in between).
We love or we hate (the in-between bit is
indifference or boredom).
There are infinite shades of everything. Every word

is a wrapper for a whole bunch of other words.
Analog (the world as it really is) to digital (the world
as we see it).
Which means every word we choose when we write

or talk has a magnitude of meaning greater than
itself. Choose your words wisely and you'll get
better results.
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Rule #17 Find The Obsession

People often talk about needs and wants. It's kind
of like survival and pleasure. We have a strong
need to survive and we want pleasure (or
excitement or fun or adventure or whatever you
want to call it).
Either way, it seems that people either have what

we're already selling, or they don't - but still need or
want it. And so you'd think the people we need to
market to would be the latter.
But this misses the underlying truth. I know this

from my seemingly limitless need for things.
My lovely S Type Jag is an example. I've been

wanting a Jag ever since I was a kid (the guy over
the road had one and I fell in love on the spot).
Eventually I bought one. It's now 15 years old with
150,000 miles on the clock.
It gets me from A to B in comfort. The fun (I

wanted) was there in abundance before I got it, and
it was there for a few months after I got it too.
Sometimes I look at it and it brings back memories

of the strong desire I had for it, but that fades in
seconds.
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The whole world works like this. Progress is made
only because of this. Without consumerism, we
would still live in caves.
I don't know what my next car will be, but I do know

it will be comfortable, automatic, and economical.
I've never been without a car. It made no difference

whether I 'wanted' one or 'needed' one, I just had to
'have' one. And sometimes one was not enough.
Sometimes I 'needed' 3.
When people decide they have to have something,

it rarely stops at 1. We become collectors. We
become obsessed. And that's the point really. As
copywriters we need to look for the obsession in
the audiences we write for.
When you reveal the obsession, you start to get to

the heart of the matter. And when you do that, it's
plain sailing all the way to the sale.
I've got pretty much every book that's ever been

written on copywriting and writing, but show me a
book on writing that promises something new and I
need little persuasion to buy it.
Find the obsession and you'll find the audience.
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Rule #18 Highlight Contrast

What does it take to be recognised as a guru, so
those who follow you listen to every word you say?
And what does it take to be recognised as a hero,

so those who hear your story are in awe of what
you did?
In the first case, it takes years of blood, sweat and

tears. In the second, it takes a single act of
heroism.
In both cases, your fame can last a lifetime (or

more).
Gurus have to push their message over and over

until people take notice, and then push
exponentially harder until the world notices.
Heroes only need to act once. If the heroism is big

enough, the entire world takes notice overnight.
The risk to a guru is obscurity. The risk to a hero is

death.
We don't trust gurus, we do trust heroes.
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Rule #19 Flow With Time

Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like an apple.
Time moves on and we move with it.
I'm fixing up the bathroom in my 1930's house in

preparation for selling it. The next financial crash is
imminent, and I want to be in the best place I can
when it happens.
I could have put that differently: "In preparation for

selling my 1930's house, I'm fixing up the
bathroom. The next financial crash is....". The first
is what's happening followed by why, the second is
why followed by what's happening.
To the reader, the first is easier to read. It flows. It

leaves the intrigue to the end (and opens a loop -
why does he need to sell? - and then closes it,
taking the reader seamlessly to the next sentence).
The second version opens and closes the loop in

the first sentence, end of story, goodbye reader.
Taking readers step by step in time with events

keeps them with you all the way. We start here and
we go there. And by doing so we get satisfaction.
We lead, they willingly follow.
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Rule #20 Check The Players

Every piece of copy contains players. The players
are the people who are most likely to interact with
the document/article/letter etc.
There is always the writer (you) and there is always

the target audience (which ideally should be a
single defined person).
But there's also people connected with the target

audience, and people connected with those people.
Here's an example. Suppose you're writing an

introductory letter to the marketing manager at
some firm to get them to take some action (eg. hire
you).
They need to know the basics: a) can you write

well, b) can you write for their market, and c) can
you write on time.
Then they're going to want to know whether you're

within budget. And finally whether you're some kind
of threat.
That threat may be to their own job (maybe they've

done all the writing until now), or it threatens their
business (you're working for a competitor - eg. you
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may offer your services to a competitor if they don't
hire you, etc. etc.).
The first threat - to their job - means it also involves

their boss (another player). The threat of
competition adds competition as another player.
All of these are objections you need to overcome,

but when seen through the eyes of the actual
players involved, they will make your work easier to
do (it makes it easier to wear the right hat as you're
putting together your piece in order to cover all
objections).
Another player is the company itself (assuming

you're targeting the SME B2B market). The person
you're writing too needs to know you have not only
their best interest at heart, but their company's too.
If you're writing sales letters, the players are you,

the company you're writing for, the person who will
make the decision to hire you, and finally, their
company's customers.
If they're A players, they'll be checking to see your

priority is towards their customers (rather than
themselves). If they're B players, they will more
easily be persuaded with content that talks about
how good they are (avoid these people as it always
ends in tears when your copy fails to work).
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Think in terms of the players involved when writing
your next piece. Then put yourself in each of their
shoes to check it works from all angles.
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Rule #21 Engage Emotion

If it's true that emotions are the route to action (eg.
when someone gets angry, something is sure to
happen), then sales copy must embrace this as a
priority.
One way to do that is through one or more of our 5

senses. This can be done directly (car salesman:
"imagine the wind rushing through your hair as you
drop the top of this little red corvette") or with simile
or metaphor.
But most of us don't think it through deeply enough.

To connect with our audience, the experience we're
about to describe must connect with something
they already know a little about or something they
have partially experienced (think new, not
revolution).
In other words, don't just throw in a simile,

metaphor or description just because it's clever,
sounds good or makes you laugh, make sure it hits
one of the senses strongly enough to register and
then connect with the person's real life fears or
longings.
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Rule #22 New Sells Revolution

Repels
The bolder the promise, the more revolutionary
something is. The more revolutionary it is, the
scarier it is.
As the curiosity level of a promise rises, so its

believability level drops - or in scientific terms, the
curiosity factor is inversely proportional to the
believability factor.
We're curious of the new but wary of the

revolutionary. This is why new sells and revolution
repels.
If you explicitly state that something's new, you're

telling not showing (and showing always works
best), but in spite of that, people will always buy the
product that has the word 'New' on it from one that
doesn't - even if it's the exact same product (for
fear of missing out).
A converting headline is one that balances curiosity

and believability perfectly.
36
Rule #23 Prefer Informal Over

Formal
Have you any idea why it's so hard to get a
business off the ground, make a fat profit and then
exit with a big payoff?
If so, do let me know. But until then here's the truth.

Stick with me on this one, it's a simple concept, but
hard to put into words. I'll have a go...
There are two important words we need to take

notice of: Formal and Informal.
One of them is a winner, the other is a loser. Have

a guess right now.
Time ticks on…
If you guessed Formal. You're wrong. Formal

always loses long term. It's the informal that wins,
and here's why.
Formal is decided by committee. And once

decided, is more or less set in stone. It's based on
historical evidence (ie. the past). There's no
experimentation. There's no imagination (anything
based on the past is already done). All there are
are historical records.
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Informal is based on the now. Informal has no
rules. It's entirely experimental. When you go
informal, you test the waters. You don't care about
the rules because there aren't any. You come as
you are. You're YOU.
Formal is institution. It's the "Done Thing". It's "Best

Practice". It's "Normal". It's "Reasonable". And so
it's flawed. Nothing lasts forever. Everything is
always changing.
This is why formal education is so inefficient

(informal education is 1 on 1 - or anything other
than set class sizes, set timing, set curriculums
etc.).
Real winners win because they go all in on

informal. They don't care what others think (or what
is reasonable). They know that to win means being
the very best there is (best product, best service,
best themselves).
What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
38
Rule #24 Beginning Middle End

Everything we know has a beginning, middle and
end. So why is it most people try to cut out the
beginning and middle when it comes to advertising
(and therefore copywriting)?
What do I mean? Well, this: "Look at my widget. It

does X, which helps you do Y. Buy It NOW, Just
$29".
That's fine if the beginning and middle were

somewhere else and led up to this, but people who
arrive at an ad or page like this - ie. that just has
the end, are wasting their time and money.
This is why the average advertising rep on a local

newspaper will tell you to run a series of ads if you
want a return. When we hear that, our brains get
mashed up in cynicism assuming they just want our
money.
But the reps are right - at least in one respect.

When a series of similar ads are run over a long
period of time (6 months), they help us fill in the
beginning and middle because we dupe ourselves
into thinking they must be trustworthy "because we
keep seeing them".
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Another typical short cut is to use a celebrity in an
attempt at familiarity by association. Sometimes it
works, but mostly it's because it's selling a brand
where we already know the beginning and middle.
Which is why the best way to think about any type

of copywriting is as a campaign. Taking someone
from one belief system to another. From B to E via
M. From Beginning to Middle to End. Step by step.
40
Rule #25 Weigh Your Anchors

The simplest way to persuade anyone that something
is good value is to use anchoring. And the key to
anchoring is comparison.
The key to comparison is association, which is a

whole bunch of long words that just happen to tie
everything together, and it's also why most beginner
copywriters fail.
I find they learn one process or another and never

see the potential connections - let alone the
exponential consequences of experiencing how they
work together.
In other words, if you anchor a price point, but fail to

use the right comparison, the anchor will not set.
Likewise any wrong association will wreck the anchor

completely.
This is the sort of thing I cover in depth in Pro Copy

Club over here: https://procopyclub.com
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Rule #26 Use Systems

There's a simple pattern you can use to create news
stories (or press releases). It's the What, Who, Where
and When pattern.
What just happened?
Who was involved?
Where did it happen?
When did it happen?
Flesh out the story with a few more "Whats" - eg. what
are the likely consequences? - or a How - how was this
allowed to happen (to create tension by using blame),
and you'll soon have enough for something worth
sharing.
42
Part Two - Getting Started

The most common question I get is "how do I get
started?". Hopefully you'll find the following articles
useful.
But ultimately, the key is to start writing every day.

Which begs the question "what do I write about?".
One way is included in the first article of this
section.
New To Copy?
New To Copy? Want to be a freelancer? Want to
quit your job working for the BOSS?
Step 1 (ongoing): Write copy every day by choosing

something to sell - anything at all - your pen, a cup
of coffee, an idea. Make YOU the customer - write
the copy as though you're trying to sell it to yourself
(what would make you buy that pen?)
Step 2 (ongoing): Read the copy back to yourself

aloud. It will SUCK. That's good. It tells you how far
you still have to go.
Step 3 (ongoing): Edit your copy***, leave to fester

for a while, edit again and repeat step 2 until you're
happy enough (reread the next day - it will probably
suck again, so edit it again).
43
TRANSITION: When you feel more confident in

your writing abilities, add this to your routine...
Step 4: Go to local network business meetings

(they're everywhere and most are either free or
have free guest or free first visit options)
Step 5: Tell everyone you meet you're a new

copywriter (but only if they ask you what you do -
which they mostly will)
Step 6: Ask them if they need any help with the

words on their website
Step 7: When asked how much, ask a sensible

price** (until you become well known in your
community)
Step 8: Repeat until you have a bunch of business

owners who rely on you
Step 9: Raise your prices as you get more popular
**What's a sensible price? Work out what you need

to live on, then figure out your hourly rate from
there (remember, it will go up as you get better
known - don't price yourself out of work - think
about whether you want to work for a BOSS or
YOURSELF - but don't go too low either - you could
try double your country's minimum wage to start
44
with, later you can change your costs from hourly to
project based so you can start earning considerably
more - read all the posts here).
***Editing copy means removing words not adding

them - so stick everything you can into your first
draft (it will also very likely mean completely
deleting, rewriting, or rearranging paragraphs - if
you find you're adding more words, then you never
finished the first draft properly).
45
Give Them What They Want

If you've used any of my previous guides on
growing your start-up copywriting service, you'll
know it begins with finding suitable customers.
That seems obvious, but what actually happens is

people spend their time playing around with the
words on their website, designing their business
card, figuring out whether to rent a desk
somewhere or pay for a virtual office.
They also try to figure out what services to offer

and how much to charge for them. And if that isn't
enough, there's a huge question mark over
choosing whether to specialise (because everyone
says that's where the money is).
Meanwhile, Joe the Copywriter down the road has

got himself another 5 clients and is now looking to
hire or outsource some help with his
ever-increasing workload.
He's also starting to figure out his niche (it's easy

when people are paying you money), and planning
his next price increase.
If there's one habit most of us need to change to

get the transformation we want, it's the habit of
46
focus. And that means focusing on our customers
(actual and potential) and what they want.
47
Be The Copywriter You Want To

Be
I started as a sales copywriter. I did it because at
the time it was all I could think of to get my first
fledgling business underway (it was a delivery
business).
As I had zero money, I had to do everything myself,

so the first thing I wrote was a flyer.
It had a picture of a motorcycle (with me wearing a

crash helmet), my business name as the headline
("QPL Express Couriers"), a brief description ("I
deliver your urgent packages same day to
anywhere in the UK"), and contact details.
The only call to action was a telephone number.
And it worked, but that's because I hand delivered

the flyers to receptionists at the places I thought
would need my services (and when a guy walks
into your business with long hair sticking out from
under his crash helmet wearing a leather jacket,
you pay attention).
I knew what I wanted to do and who I wanted to do

it for (deliver packages for businesses big enough
to need the service - mostly building and legal firms
that tendered for contracts with tight deadlines).
48
And the business grew fast - but not without

problems.
One of my riders died when he got hit by a lorry. He

was 18. Another lost a huge box of documents on
one of the busiest roads in the UK (the A1) - papers
flew everywhere, causing a major incident. That
nearly cost me the whole business as the customer
threatened to sue.
I sold the business 4 years later and could have

invested the money and retired, but I'd gotten the
business bug, so there was no going back.
I knew nothing about copywriting back then, and

the next 3 businesses barely survived.
Then, very very slowly, I started to think about this

crazy thing people called 'marketing'.
I noticed that Richard Branson of Virgin fame did it

using publicity stunts. He created the story and
visuals and let the media come up with the
headlines. He got worldwide attention for it.
He uncovered a dirty tricks campaign by British

Airways, and it too got global attention (all before
we had the internet to spread news fast). His team
understood how to write press releases that got
attention.
49
You can be any of these types of writer - storyteller,

sales copywriter, public relations expert, press
release campaigner, but the key to starting out is to
major on one of them.
And when you've decided which it is, position

yourself as the expert by choosing an
under-represented industry for your particular
discipline.
When you do that, it becomes oh so easy to write

sales letters to the right people. You can use all the
disciplines to do it too. Storytelling to get them
hooked, sales copy to sell, publicity expert to
spread the brand, and press release campaigner to
spread the message.
Newspapers understand this. That's why they

employ dedicated headline writers.
The point is, never be afraid to be an expert - just

make sure it's not an expert at everything as far as
the public are concerned.
50
Money
When we're starting out, we say we don't know
what to do when it comes to copywriting. We're not
sure of the first step (or even if there is a first step).
All we hear are stories from famous copywriters

who claim to have earned $mn for their clients.
We know instinctively that some of this is true, but

most of it cannot possibly be. I mean, if you've
earned so much for your clients, then you must
have benefited from that financially?
In which case, why are you not just writing for your
clients? Did they all get so rich they gave up
business and stopped hiring you - and now you're
broke again and need to earn another way?
It's the same question most of us want to know

about billionaires. What drives a billionaire to want
more? It cannot be money. Look at Jeff Bezos, the
richest man in the world. He doesn't stop.
There is a simple first step to this. But let me tease

you into having a think about it. Then read on.
51
The First Step

Have you thought about it? I promised to reveal the
first step to becoming a copywriter. The tease was
about the money. There was no promise to reveal
the first step to becoming a PAID copywriter (but
the reveal coming).
I used the rhetorical tool of 'association' by talking

about millionaire copywriters generating billions
(Jeff Bezos). Few would have noticed the trick
(associating one thing with another thing to add
value).
If you were unfamiliar with it, then you'll start to see

it everywhere from now on. It's used to anchor
people in a certain state of mind.
If I had a course I told you had previously sold for

$1997, that would become the norm. Any price I
now state that's below that figure becomes a
bargain (right now you have $1997 on your mind).
If I told you a story of how someone became

successful using this or that method (and you
trusted me as a source), that would become the
new norm. Everything else would be based around
the new bias I had just implanted in your mind.
52
This is how con people work. They tell you what
they need you to hear, and they make it sound like
the truth. Then they lead you right up the garden
path (and often it's your own garden path too).
This is a pattern that works, and it's used by both

the good and the bad.
But the point is, it's a pattern. And that's today's big
reveal. When you follow a tried, tested and
successful pattern, it's hard to fail (I don't mean you
win big, I just mean you don't lose).
And with the state of advertising today, it's easy to

spot patterns. Look at the rapid increase in funnel
hacking that's going on right now.
Hack a funnel by opting in and taking note of every

step (even if you have to buy the whole
upsell/downsell/cross-sell thing) and you have the
blueprint.
Finding the right audience starts with how you

came across the funnel you just hacked in the first
place (and it's finding the right audience that is the
difference between success and failure).
The only bug in the ointment is the product itself.

Make a copycat product and the audience will see it
for what it is. But make a better product, and you're
ready to differentiate.
53
So here's the bottom line. Find something that

works, copy it, then make it better. Create a case
study for what you did. Find an audience that wants
something like that, and go show them you hold the
keys to their future prosperity.
Now go out and implement.
(Still not sure what the first step is? Do a search on

Google for something like 'top copywriter for hire'
and go down the rabbit hole - ignore all the job sites
though).
54
How To Make Your Writing Less

Sucky
Writing is hard. Here's a short list of things you
need to know.
Learn these, apply them, and you will go from

amateur to good (by good, I mean not 'sucky').
1. Edit this sentence using the rule "Remove all

unnecessary words":
"Remove all the words you've put in a sentence

that do not actually need to be there".
By the time you've finished, you should end up

with: "Remove all unnecessary words".
2. "Remove ALL adverbs". Actually, some adverbs

are necessary. Only use when there is no
equivalent verb that works on its own. In other
words, remove any word that ends in '...ly'. There's
one of those in this paragraph already. If I were to
edit it properly (oops, there's two more now), I
would have removed them all.
3. Write no more than 3 sentences per paragraph.
4. Use single syllable words where possible.
55
5. Avoid gender unless you're writing about a
specific person (if I'm a woman and your writing is
all about men, it just might put me off - and you lose
the sale).
6. Your first draft ALWAYS needs editing. It will

NEVER be good enough. ACCEPT it and get used
to accepting it.
56
Part Three - Philosophy

The most written about topic since we first learnt to
write is Philosophy. The search for the meaning of
life, the universe and everything.
There's no way anyone could ever read it all, but

luckily for you, I've broken the entire subject down
to 5 easy to understand pillars.
Learn these 5 pillars and you'll be able to create

your own philosophy. It matters because it's only
those people who have a philosophy who get to
understand what they're here for (which means
they're amongst the very few who become the
cause of change instead of the effect of change).
Before we go into the 5 pillars, here's a little

something.
The Quick Buck

There is only 1 purpose to life. Survival. There are
only two positive ways to get there: Create and
Nurture.
To convince yourself of this, just look around.

Positive things happen when we create and
nurture. Negative things happen when we destroy
and neglect.
57
We cannot survive if we destroy everything (it's why

all dictatorships fail).
"Quick-buck" products are created by people who

ignore this principle (they're called quick because
they don't last).
If you're in this for the long haul, you'll need this

mindset to survive. People will recognise and
respect you for it.
Those that don't won't do you any good until they

themselves realise this, so explain this to clients
who want the world today (and expect to pay
yesterday's prices to get it).
58
Pillar One - Metaphysics

The First Pillar of Philosophy is perhaps the most
important.
It's called Metaphysics (but don't let that put you

off). It's the Study of Existence.
The question behind metaphysics - and the only

question you need to ask about anything in life is
this: "Is it real?"
Every myth, legend and delusional state comes

from getting the wrong answer to this question.
The second our imaginations came into being, the

world became mythical.
Confusion, Chaos and Destruction reign when we

get the wrong answer to this question.
Propaganda is one weapon the unscrupulous use,

supported by rhetoric to boost its power.
As a copywriter of any sort, understanding this first

pillar is at the heart of why people do what they do.
Whenever you're confused by something, first

check it's real. More on that in Pillar Two next.
59
Pillar Two - Epistemology

The Second Pillar of Philosophy is Epistemology.
It means "How do we know?"
When someone presents something as fact, unless

you follow up with this question, you will never
know the truth.
Epistemology is the Study of Knowledge. How do

we know what we know (or better, how do we know
it is real).
It's your best weapon in any negotiation. You can

ask it outright (very challenging), or you can ask it
quietly to yourself.
This second pillar not only uncovers others' truths,

it uncovers your own (but only if you're open to
being truthful to yourself - which takes us neatly to
the 3rd pillar).
60
Pillar Three - Ethics

The Third Pillar of Philosophy is Ethics. It is the
hardest of the 5 pillars to get.
Even though we think it's about values, Ethics is

really the Study of Action.
Like every pillar, it can be summed up in a single

sentence:
"How far are you prepared to go to get what you

want?"
Whatever values we think we have, and whatever

high ground we decide to take in the moment, our
moral compass can swing in an instant if we, or
someone we love, becomes threatened.
Or, and nearly as common statistically, if an

opportunity appears that is just too much for us to
ignore, our ethics and values can fly out of the
window.
Ethics is the single biggest problem in business

because we can and are manipulated by words -
what we say and what we hear, what we write and
what we read.
61
Whenever you get stuck and need to make a
decision, remember that one phrase: "How far are
you prepared to go to get what you want?"
Your integrity and future reputation depends on it.
But don't worry too much the 4th pillar is there to

stop you. Read on.
62
Pillar Four - Politics

The Fourth Pillar of Philosophy is Politics.
Politics is the Study of Force.
Politics is what stops you from doing what you want

(and sometimes for very good reasons obviously).
It doesn't matter how much we hate politicians, we

can't live without them because they represent and
control the force of the land.
Rhetoric and propaganda are the tools of the trade.
63
Pillar Five - Aesthetics

The Fifth and final Pillar of Philosophy is
Aesthetics.
You may think aesthetics is about how things look,

but aesthetics is entirely driven by the need for
change (the need for new).
This is why Aesthetics is the Study of Change.
The single sentence that describes it is: "What is

possible?"
Bearing in mind the third and fourth pillars of

philosophy: Ethics and Politics, you can see how
absolutely vital Aesthetics is to the world.
Without aesthetics, nothing would happen.
Aesthetics allowed the character of Robin Williams

in the film Dead Poets Society to stand on a table
and get his students to see the world in a different
way.
Change the aesthetic and you can change the

world.
These five pillars are all you need to know about

philosophy other than "if you haven't got one, get
one" - Toy Story.
64
Conclusion
Look For Contradictions

If you want to make money from writing. It's simple.
solve problems. This is what people are willing to
pay for.
The trick is finding out how to uncover problems.

People are very good at hiding them - it's part of
their defence mechanism.
One way of doing this is to look for the 'but' in any

conversation. It reveals a contradiction (and as you
know, philosophically, all contradictions lead to
destruction unless they're resolved).
"I really want this car, BUT it's expensive and I'm
worried what my eco-warrior friends might think"
"I know I need to pay someone to write content for

my website, BUT I'm worried it won't work and I'll
waste my money"
Look for the 'buts' in all your conversations and

negotiations with clients. They are the golden
nuggets and silver bullets you're looking for. We
call them objections. Handle them with respect and
you'll win.
65
The Copywriting Manifesto

If you're just starting out in the copywriting world,
there are a few things you need to know.
1. There's a difference between a copywriter and a

content writer (although they're often now seen as
the same thing). A copywriter persuades someone
to do something (eg. buy a product). A content
writer writes articles to fill space and/or build
reputations and company profiles. Think of it this
way "a copywriter sells, a content writer fills".
2. Writing good copy is no different from writing

articles in one major way - if it's not interesting,
people won't read it. And if they don't read it, they
won't buy.
3. There are rules for writing no matter what type of

writing you do (and the major ones are here in this
book).
4. Learning to become a great copywriter will take

you a lifetime. This is the mindset you must start
with. If you're not willing to invest your life in
learning to become a great copywriter, do
something else. By 'lifetime' I mean some people
become proficient enough in a year, some take 20
years, some never.
66
5. To become a great copywriter you need to write
every day (every day you don't write is a day lost
you could have become a better writer). Read
every day (and read from a critical perspective).
Read everything (books, newspapers, magazines,
articles, online content). There is no one good
source of copywriting know how (it would be
impossible to contain it all).
6. The only test of a good piece of copy is the sales

it makes. Once a piece of copy has some sales
stats, it becomes the 'control' piece from which all
further tests can be measured against.
7. The opinion of other people about your copy is

just that, an opinion. The only real opinion comes
from a happy buyer of the product that your copy
sold.
8. The Science of Copywriting Group on

Facebook will help you every single day. Use it.
And when you're ready to look for work, join its
sister group Copywriting Jobs.
If you take copywriting seriously, it will change your

life (and the lives of many others along the way).
Quentin Pain
United Kingdom

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Science of Copywriting

Rule Book - First Steps

© 2019 Quentin Pain - All Rights Reserved

Part 1 - The Rules 7

Part Two - Getting Started 42

Part Three - Philosophy 56

The Copywriting Manifesto 65

If you don't write, you'll never develop your writing

However, there are short-cuts. These 'short-cuts'

That improvement may be physical or it may be

This book gives you writing rules you need to learn.

Ignore them, and that will take you a lot longer

Part 1 - The Rules

Pay particular attention to rule #16 for example.

Rule #1 Avoid Adverbs

Yet even the most popular have critics. It's the

It's the same with friends. It's the same with

So it's no wonder that some copy grabs attention

So what can you do as a copywriter?

Avoid using words that end in 'ly'. They're

Rule #2 Always Be Moving

Every move we feel comes from chemical reactions

These are the sparks of life. And copywriting is our

But spotting the causes of sparks are the hardest

How do you do that? By starting with yourself. Write

You can't miss it when it happens - it changes you

Do this as much as you can, and you will unravel

Rule #3 Keep It Personal

And as the conversation continues, you start

Imagine if that happened with every prospect you

You don't need the gift of the gab or some special

Well here's the first rule of such a system - and it

If you're not having a personal conversation with

Keeping it personal means talking directly to (and

(and if you don't know their exact needs, find some

In all my conversations, written and verbal, I'm

Rule #4 Read It Aloud

Talking out loud is the fastest way I know to edit

Rule #4. The fastest way to check your writing is to

Rule #5 Keep The Flow

It flows seamlessly from one sentence to the next.

But us humans get distracted - constantly -

So the need to keep the flow becomes a necessity,

But it's also possible to get attention without being

Either way, attention is the cash currency of

Rule #7 One Thing At A Time

I frequently forget this, and every time I do, people

Rule #8 Use Three Options

It works by using the concept of price anchoring

It's widely used at the end of sales pages and gives

Thinking up good names for these options is

If you're selling something that hasn't got 3 options,

1. Use different pay options (eg. Full Pay, Payment

The Three Option rule will bring you in more

Rule #9 Think Value Not Price

I learnt that the more value I added to my product,

So now my problem was shifted from something I

I could set the price I needed (or wanted) and keep

Rule #10 Be The Leader

All of us put ourselves first. There is no 'selfless' -

Helping other people, makes us happy. It gives us

If we give to charity anonymously, we know we did

Every now and again I need help too. Finding