One of the biggest mistakes people make is thinking that being a good writer naturally translates into being a good copywriter.
That just isn’t the case, though.
When it comes to writing copy, you’re combining sales and writing together to create something that will get someone to take the action you want them to take.
Getting to the point you can do that consistently takes time — and practice.
If you want to get better (and faster) at writing high-converting copy, we’re going to break down 6 different copywriting exercises you can use to sharpen your skills.
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Exercise #1: Handwriting Great Copy
“Copywork” — or handwriting and copying existing copy from the legends is one of the best ways to develop your copywriting skills.
When you start hand-copying legendary ads and copy, you’re essentially “getting in the head” of the person that wrote it.
There’s really no better way to break down psychological triggers, conversion strategies, and great flow than to take what’s already been proven to work — and copy it by hand.
As long as you’re hand-copying the work with the intention of understanding how they frame the sale, how they ask for the sale, and how they make it all flow together to get someone to take action, your copywriting skills WILL improve.
Here are a few ways to get started:
For modern ads, you can check out the Facebook Ads Library to see what ads some of your favorite influencers, marketers, and entrepreneurs are currently running.
Click here to access the Facebook Ads Library.
When you get onto the Ads Library dashboard, search for your favorite entrepreneurs to see what ads they’ve been running.
If those ads have been running for an extended period of time — say, 6 months or longer — you can almost guarantee they are profitable in some way.
Then, grab a pen and a piece of paper to start writing the copy in the ad.
As you’re writing, ask yourself a few questions, like…
- What’s the hook?
- What’s the solution?
- What are the features and benefits?
- What’s the level of customer awareness for which this ad is created?
- What’s the CTA?
- Is there any guarantee, scarcity, or urgency?
Being able to answer each of those questions will help you develop the mindset needed to put those same elements into each piece of copy you write for your own offers.
And if you’re looking for more of the vintage ads that were being run long before the internet existed, check out Swiped.co.
It’s a collection of classic ads from legendary marketers like Gary Bencivenga, Gary Halbert, John Carlton, Dan Kennedy, Eugene Schwartz, and so many others.
Plus you’ll get to see modern ads from some of today’s greatest marketers like Frank Kern, Ryan Deiss, Eben Pagan, Scott Haines, and more.
If you’re looking for a vault you can pull from to practice hand-copying ads Swiped.co is a great resource to tap into.
Then, for another resource you can use that’s constantly updated a few times a day by other copywriters and entrepreneurs, check out the “Vintage Ads” subreddit.
Now, when it comes to hand-copying work from the greats, if you want what you’re doing to “stick” in your memory, there’s a caveat: you have to HAND write it.
The exercise is not nearly as effective when you type out the copy.
By hand-copying, you’re slowing yourself down, using more of your brain, and having the ability to truly analyze each line as you’re writing it.
Writing by hand engages different parts of your brain — the parts that typing doesn’t engage.
Here, for instance, is the famous “Hathaway shirt” ad…
And here’s an example of my own copywork on this (so you have an idea of what it looks like when it’s finished).
Hand-copying vintage and modern ads is one of THE most effective ways to sharpen your copywriting skills.
Make it a regular habit and do it at least once a week (if not daily) and your copywriting will dramatically improve.
And, if you want to hand-copy ads while implementing even more elements of highly-effective copy, check out Jim’s book, Copywriting Secrets.
It will help you understand even more of the strategies being used in both vintage and modern ads so you can start looking for them as you’re practicing this exercise.
Exercise #2: So What?
The next exercise to practice is running your copy through the “so what?” test.
If you aren’t familiar with it, the idea is to look at your writing from the audience’s perspective.
Then, you want to put each word and each line through a test, asking yourself “so what?”.
What does that word or sentence add to the conversation? How does it move them forward from where they are right now to where you want them to be?
Does it actually add to the conversation or help move it forward?
If not, or if you can’t answer the “so what?” question, you may be able to remove that word or sentence from the copy to make the copy even more effective.
Because, remember, the goal is to get attention and then keep people’s attention.
If you’re including boring, fluffy, or filler text inside of your copy, you’re taking a chance on losing the attention you’ve worked so hard to get in the first place.
To practice this, apply the “So What?” test to a high-end camera that claims to have superior low-light capabilities.
- Product: High-end camera with superior low-light photography capabilities.
- Why the customer THINKS they want the product: To take better pictures in low light.
Let’s answer some “So What?” questions:
- Brand: Our camera allows you to take superior photos in low light conditions.
Customer: Ok, so what? - Brand: This means you can capture beautiful images even when the lighting isn’t perfect, like during a beautiful sunset or in a dimly lit restaurant.
Customer: Ok, so what? - Brand: This means you won’t miss capturing important moments just because the lighting isn’t ideal.
Customer: Ok, so what? - Brand: You can create and share beautiful memories irrespective of the light conditions, ensuring you never miss out on capturing a special moment.
Customer: Where can I buy it?!
Why does the customer care about each of those elements? Why should they care?
If they don’t care, or you can’t justify breaking down why they -should- care, the words and sentences probably aren’t adding anything of value to the copy.
A potential tagline for this camera could be:
“Capture every moment, regardless of the light.”
By using the “so what?” test, we’ve effectively identified the real pain point of potential customers.
We’ve spoken directly to that pain point by calling it out in the tagline and showing them how they can stop missing out on capturing life’s important moments due to low-light conditions.
Using this exercise will help you develop the ability to speak directly to what your customer really wants from your offer — making your offer far more appealing to them.
You can also apply this to individual sentences.
- Before: “Our software uses state-of-the-art technology.”
After “So What?” Test: “Our software uses state-of-the-art technology to ensure your data is secure and your operations run smoothly, so you can focus on growing your business without worrying about IT issues.” - Before: “Our bakery uses organic, locally-sourced ingredients.”
After “So What?” Test: “By using organic, locally-sourced ingredients in our bakery, we ensure you not only get to enjoy delicious baked goods but also contribute to a healthier lifestyle and a stronger local economy.” - Before: “We’ve been serving the community as a family-run store for two decades.”
After “So What?” Test: “With two decades as a family-run store, we’ve built great relationships with our customers and treat everyone that enters our store like family.”
The key with this exercise is being as objective as possible and looking at the copy through the eyes of your audience — making sure you’re only including what actually matters to them and eliminating everything else.
Exercise #3: Find Limiting Beliefs
Part of writing highly-effective copy is knowing the objections your audience is going to have to your offer before you start making the offer.
These objections usually come in the form of limiting beliefs your audience currently has.
To give you an example, let’s say you’re selling a weight loss offer.
Objections your audience might have is that they can’t do it since they don’t have access to a gym or don’t have time to go to the gym they do have access to.
Each of these objections can be overcome — and both are limiting beliefs.
By introducing alternative perspectives and how your offer helps them lose weight without stepping into a gym, you can show them a new way of thinking about the problem.
Eliminating the limiting belief they have will help them understand how your offer can actually work with the situation they’re currently in.
To get started, here are a few steps you can take:
Step 1: Identify Your Action/Result Statements
Every action creates a result.
By understanding the actions people can take to get the results they want, you can start to uncover beliefs they may have that keep them from thinking the result is possible for them.
As an example, if you run a personal training business, an Action/Result statement might be:
“Achieve your fitness goals without ever stepping foot in a gym.”
This statement takes their limiting belief off the table and makes them wonder how you’re able to make that promise to them.
Step 2: Identify Potential Limiting Beliefs
The next step is understanding what limiting beliefs may exist based on the statements you’re making in your copy.
In our fitness example, these may be things like:
- “I’m not athletic enough.”
- “I don’t have time to work out.”
- “I’ve tried working out before and it didn’t work.”
Each of these would be reasons someone wouldn’t take you up on the offer you’re making unless you specifically address them in the copy, itself.
Step 3: Combine Your Action/Result Statement with a Limiting Belief
Now, take the Action/Result statements you’ve created and add “even if you…” to the end, followed by one of their limiting beliefs.
Here’s some examples:
- “Achieve your fitness goals with our customized workout plans, even if you think you’re not athletic enough.”
- “Achieve your fitness goals with our customized workout plans, even if you believe you don’t have time to work out.”
- “Achieve your fitness goals with our customized workout plans, even if you’ve tried working out before and it didn’t work.”
See how simple it can be when you practice the steps we’re teaching you here?
It all starts with understanding what those limiting beliefs are before you start writing.
Step 4: Refine Your Statements
Finally, you want to refine the statements you’ve made to ensure they’re as persuasive as possible. By tweaking the wording you use, focusing on different aspects of the action or result, or addressing the limiting belief in a different way.
For instance:
- Achieve your fitness goals with our customized workout plans, even if you’ve always thought you’re “not athletic enough”.
- Reach your fitness goals with our time-efficient workout plans, even if you feel like you’re too busy & don’t have time.
- Hit your fitness goals with our personalized workout plans, even if every other plan you followed didn’t work.
The key here is playing with the statements you’re making so they not only read well but that they flow with the rest of the copy and help move the conversation forward.
Here’s a couple examples of headlines that address limiting beliefs:
Here’s an example of using bullet points to address limiting beliefs:
You can see how we’re addressing their objection by touching on how the limiting belief they currently have isn’t actually a barrier to them making the offer work.
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Exercise #4: Turn Features Into Benefits
Features tell and benefits sell.
To understand that, think about it like this:
A feature is a better camera.
A benefit of a better camera is being able to take sharper photos in low-light conditions.
People aren’t actually buying a better camera — the feature.
What they’re buying is being able to take better photos in low-light conditions — the benefit.
When it comes to the copy you write, the features are going to tell the audience what they’re getting when they buy, but the benefits tell them why that feature should matter to them.
Here’s how to practice turning features into benefits:
Step 1: Choose a Product in Your Home or Office
For this exercise, let’s take a desk lamp and turn its features into benefits.
Step 2: Identify The Features
Our lamp has 4 main features: adjustable brightness, a flexible neck, an energy-efficient LED bulb, and a compact design.
Step 3: Translate Those Features Into Benefits
Now, let’s break down each of the features & why our audience should care about them.
- Adjustable brightness: Customize your lighting to reduce eye strain and improve focus.
- Flexible neck: Easily direct light where you need it, enhancing productivity.
- Energy-efficient LED bulb: Save money on electricity bills and contribute to environmental sustainability.
- Compact design: Saves desk space, keeping your work area uncluttered.
Step 4: Write Benefit-Driven Copy
Once you’ve identified the benefits, tie them into the features of the desk lamp and begin writing copy for the lamp.
Here’s an example:
- Experience a new level of comfort and efficiency with our versatile desk lamp.
- With adjustable brightness, you can tailor your lighting to your task, reducing eye strain and boosting focus.
- The flexible neck allows you to direct light precisely where you need it, improving productivity.
- Plus, our lamp’s energy-efficient LED bulb helps you save on your electricity bills while contributing to a greener planet.
- Its compact design keeps your workspace neat.
- Transform your desk into a functional, clutter-free workspace with our desk lamp.
Simple enough, right?
Exercise #5: Build Your Swipe File
There’s going to be a time when you need inspiration and it’s just not coming to you.
For times like those, your “swipe file” is going to become your best friend.
If you’re not familiar with what a swipe file is, it’s a collection of ads, emails, sales letters, or other marketing material that you’ve saved for later.
Then, when you’re looking for inspiration, you can dive into the vault you’ve created, read through the ads, sales letters, emails, etc, and start pulling ideas to help get the creative energy flowing again.
To start creating one, create a folder on your Google Drive called “Swipe File” or use a planning board like Trello to create links to the copy you come across.
For more advanced solutions, you can use paid tools like the SwipeWell app.
When you’re building your swipe file, don’t just collect examples.
Instead, take time to make notes about each example you “swipe” from the creator so you remember what you thought was good about it — or what you wanted to use later.
This will help you internalize the lessons you take from each example you swipe.
You also want to make sure your vault is organized in a way that makes it easy for you to find the copy that you’re looking for.
You can categorize it by the type of copy (email, ad, sales letter, headline, etc.), by industry, or by the type of emotion it invoked in you when you read it.
Then, when you come across great copy, either take a screenshot of it to put in the vault or right-click the webpage and choose “Save as…” to download it to your hard drive.
Here’s some examples of copy I’ve included in my swipe file, both from browsing around online and from copy I’ve encountered offline…
Here’s another example…
If the copy grabs your attention, it’s worth swiping and adding it to your vault so you can touch back on it later — either to study, to hand-copy, or to use as inspiration for a new offer.
Exercise #6: Look Around You
Great copy is all around us.
By looking for it in your daily life, you’re going to start becoming more aware of how it’s used to help influence our decisions every single day.
From the ads you see on TV or hear on the radio, to the mail you receive, the websites you visit, and even the conversations you have with other people when you’re sharing ideas, once you start looking for how copy is being used in your life, you’re going to notice it more often.
By paying attention to it, you’ll get to learn on the go and see real-world examples so you understand how different audiences are being influenced, too.
So when you’re going through life, slow down and look around.
Pay attention to the billboards you pass when you’re driving down the road.
Look at the headlines on the magazines and newspapers when you’re waiting in line to check out at the grocery store.
Check out the copy used on the front of the box for products you’re thinking about buying.
Then, analyze what it is that catches your attention.
What was it that stood out to you? Was it the headline? The call to action? The tone of voice being used? How the copy was structured? The pain points it touched on?
Writing great copy doesn’t just happen while you’re writing — it happens while you’re studying, analyzing, and working what you learn into your own personal style of writing.
As you’re moving through life, if a piece of copy grabs your attention, take a picture or a screenshot of it or jot down the main points into a notebook or into an app on your phone.
Then plug those notes into your swipe file when you get back to the desk.
But never stop looking around for great copy — and learning from it as you find it.
Final Thoughts
When you start practicing the exercises we’ve laid out for you in this guide your copy will become more effective.
Remember, though: writing great copy doesn’t mean you have to be a great writer.
It means you’ve learned how to combine the art of persuasion into your writing so you get people to overcome limiting beliefs and take action.
If you’re looking for even more exercises you can use to write highly-effective copy even faster, check out Copy Quick Start Secrets.
