In the winter of 2020, I stumbled across a recommended booklist for aspiring writers.

I’d read many. But one book was new to me:

The Boron Letters by Gary Halbert.

I hadn’t heard of copywriting, so I picked it up.

And guess what?

I hated it. It felt sleazy and manipulative—like it had been written by a car salesperson, not a sophisticated writer.

“More like The Boring Letters,” I said, throwing the book in the bin, pleased with my play on words.

It was a costly mistake.

I continued to write. But no one was reading. I told myself it was just beginner’s hell. But after a year, I was still grinding away without results.

Then a friend recommended Joe Sugarman’s Adweek Copywriting Handbook.

As you can imagine, I was skeptical. But he told me it changed his life (quite literally). So I gave it a whirl.

The book blew me away. Perhaps I wasn’t ready to hear the message a year before, but I finally understood the point of copywriting.

It’s not about manipulation.

It’s about motivating through the written word.

And online, no skill is more important.

Social media content, YouTube, emails, ads, sales pages, products.

Everything is copywriting.

My business blew up when I took it seriously.

I went from 1,000 followers in year 1 to 100,000 in year 2. My newsletter went from something my mum and friends read to one of the most popular in our space. It took me 18 months to make my first dollar and 31 months to hit 7 figures.

It is not enough for you to relay information to your audience.

If you want them to take action, you must hook and hold their attention.

Copywriting is the secret to standing out in the sea of noise.

Now, I don’t consider myself a copywriter.

But that hasn’t stopped me learning the fundamentals. Neither should it for you too. I’ve yet to meet an entrepreneur who’s studied copy and hasn’t catapulted their business in some shape or form.

And sure, you can dive into the old books.

But one of my favourite resources is Derek Johanesen’s Copyhour.

He gives the simplest explanation for how to write great copy, spread over a 90-day email course. Crucially, he provides classic and modern examples for the advice (something many books lack).

Combine this with ‘copywork’—a handcopying practice like pouring gasoline on the fire of learning—and you pick up copywriting in no time.

3 months is a small investment when you consider the potential return.

To your business success,

Kieran