Page 103 - 100 Great Copywriting Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

45 WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE
TIME TO PLAN, PLAN!

My dictionary defines “plan” as a formulated and especially
detailed method by which a thing is to be done. When it comes to
copywriting, that “thing” could be a letter, email, press release, web
page, or any one of the hundreds of media we use to pitch to our
prospects. And to me, it seems obvious that you would want to have
a detailed method for getting it done.

A commonly held view is that when you are under pressure, the best
thing to do when asked to write something is, well, to start writing
it. After all, the reasoning goes, the sooner I start, the sooner I’ll
finish. As we’ll see, that statement is holed below the waterline.

The idea

From everything I’ve ever written
“Early to start means early to finish” is wrong for two reasons. First,
if you start like that you won’t finish sooner; you’ll finish later,
because you will need many more rewrites and revisions to get
anywhere close to your objective. Second, starting with drafting is
not starting at the beginning. It’s starting one third of the way in.

The bulk of the work in writing copy is not writing at all. It consists
of gaining such a detailed knowledge of your subject that its every
aspect is second nature to you. You become so familiar with it that
you could sell it face to face to anyone even vaguely interested. That
process of research is what leads to those eureka moments when you
see exactly why anyone would part with their cash for the product
you’re selling. The features and how they confer advantages; those
advantages and the underlying benefits they deliver.

94 • 100 GREAT COPYWRITING IDEAS