Copywriting isn't art

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What does art look like to you?

Is it a painting in a gallery?

That banana some guy nailed to a wall?

Your favourite blockbuster?

You see, art comes in many forms — but we often value it on the same principles:

• Does it feel unique?

• Is it aesthetically pleasing in some way?

• Does it explore the human condition?

• Has someone taken a long time to create it?

Great copywriting (and marketing as a whole) is not art.

At least not in the conventional sense.

The goal of marketing isn’t to inspire people — it’s to make them buy something.

It doesn’t need to be unique or aesthetically pleasing or even take a long time to create— it just needs to work.

That’s why you’ve we’ve had a thriving industry of Direct Copywriting churning out ugly-ass ads that make $$$ for over 100 years.

These mad geniuses know how to persuade people to buy their products.

It’s pure marketing without fussiness.

Here’s how they do it:

They hone in on their exact customer, entice them with an unbelievable claim and then prove the claim is true over and over again.

And some of these guys are making millions.

The “art” in good marketing isn’t to impress people with your wit or intelligence — it’s to persuade them a product is worth their time or money.

Everything else is just self-congratulating noise.

A big marketer I used to know had this great story that proves my point…

They made a big expensive advert for their product, l think it was a car brand.

They spent thousands on producing this slick, witty, smart ad that all other marketers were jealous of.

It even won the most prestigious ad award around - The Cannes Lions.

But there was a problem…

Every time the company ran the ad, they lost money.

So what the hell did they just make?

Was it art or an ad?

In my opinion, it’s neither.

It’s a waste of time and money.

So don’t worry about coming up with something original or smart — just write what sells.

If that’s a 400-word plain-text email with no images, so be it.

That kind of ad has generated £1000s for me.

Don’t be clever, be relatable. Connect with your audience and give them something they want.

Until next time,

J

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