![VeryGoodCopy [Logo] DARK.png](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5615edeae4b0b9df5c3d6e90/1531797752704-DEP0H0XDQSH5OU9LG7HI/VeryGoodCopy+%5BLogo%5D+DARK.png)
In 2012, Austin Kleon published a book.
He called it Steal Like An Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative.
It’s a valuable read, short and clear, entertaining and absorbing. I revisit it often because it helps me find inspiration when I can’t write.
It helps me move forward when I’m staring at a blank screen — blocked and frustrated — especially the last chapter, which Kleon titled:
![VeryGoodCopy [Logo] DARK.png](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5615edeae4b0b9df5c3d6e90/1531798353185-OLQUI50UO5Y051E9MBKR/VeryGoodCopy+%5BLogo%5D+DARK.png)
Creativity Is Subtraction
“The way to get over creative block is to simply place some constraints on yourself,” writes Kleon. “It seems contradictory, but when it comes to creative work, limitations mean freedom.”
Limitations, depending on your craft, can take on many forms:
![Creative Block [VGC art].JPG](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5615edeae4b0b9df5c3d6e90/1531798652006-1YJCFBT231EV8DX39EGR/Creative+Block+%5BVGC+art%5D.JPG)
- A chef, cooking a meal, can limit the variety of ingredients she uses (e.g., only eggs and onions).
- An artist, painting an oil on canvas, can limit the number of colors she uses (e.g., only blue and red).
- An entrepreneur, starting a business, can limit the financial investment she begins with (e.g., only $500).
- A copywriter, writing a sentence, can limit the type of words she uses (e.g., only colloquialisms; no jargon).
Limitations incite action by simplifying the creator’s decision-making process, by forcing her hand.
“Nothing is more paralyzing than the idea of limitless possibilities,” writes Kleon. “The idea that you can do anything is absolutely terrifying.”
Too many options can lead to decision paralysis, which is overthinking a choice to the point of inaction. Having fewer options, then, makes it easier to take your next step.
But what if you’re unable or uninterested in limiting your options?
In that case, there’s another way to constrict yourself — a cross-disciplinary strategy scientifically proven to help spur creativity:
Limit your time.
Parkinson’s law states that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”
Therefore, the less time you allow for getting your work done, the faster your brain is forced to make cardinal decisions. (This’ll happen automatically, by the way, subconsciously.)
Whether those decisions are good or bad, from a creative standpoint, doesn’t matter. What matters is that the work is getting done, that you’re advancing toward a first draft that can then be edited, molded, perfected.
Next time you're blocked and can't write...
Give yourself a word count and a hard, aggressive deadline to finish the draft (e.g., 500 words in 75 minutes).
If you take the exercise seriously, you’ll finish. I promise you will.
The draft will be far from perfect, but it’ll be a start. And having started means you’re no longer blocked. And that’s a beautiful thing.
LEARN TO PERSUADE
![VeryGoodCopy [Logo] DARK.png](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5615edeae4b0b9df5c3d6e90/1531798137922-IWXEZOJW34QQTDHFAVUO/VeryGoodCopy+%5BLogo%5D+DARK.png)
WRITE BETTER.
MARKET BETTER.
SELL MORE.
Because copywriters conjure emotion for a living.
The buildings in Jaipur, India are built of vibrant red brick. The entire place glows like Mars.
Writers share their work.
Perfectionists hoard it.
"I'm sorry about all this," I said.
"Thanks," he said. "But I deserve it. Things could've been different."
Here's a learning tactic.
It's what I do when I want to internalize a book — or an article, for that matter. You can do it, too.
When Big Lurch woke up, he was alone in a prison cell, confused and covered in blood.
As a content marketer, your most valuable asset is not your content.
Pressure and time. Pressure and time. Pressure and time.
Words are commodities. Anybody can fill space on a page.
Simplicity can be impactful.
Thank you, grandma.
Every time you're blocked ...
What's the purpose of your first line of copy?
They never have ...
Ideas, like love, can escape you. Don't let them.
Passion drives success.
Kevin Kelly, Co-founder and Editor of Wired magazine, on God and meaning of life.
Three billion people have access to the Internet, but only a third of those people speak English.
Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
And it isn't even about copywriting ...
There are two types of bullet points: Those that break up text, making information easier to digest. And those that sell.
Swearing can be a powerful gesture. It could also be meaningless ...
Three simple rules that'll make your copy bolder, clearer, and more persuasive.
You should know, I'm not sexy. Sorry.
The one question that will help you write devastatingly creative and effective ads.
Whatever it is, nobody is going to buy it without ...
Creativity is like a muscle: It grows and develops with exercise, practice.
You’ll know you’re good.
You’ll know you’re good because a few clues will give it away…
Microcopy is concise, clear, small-print text that helps or encourages readers to complete an “action” on your website or app.
It’s how the great copywriter, Gene Schwartz, thought about the discipline…
If you aspire to write good copy, watch and read these things religiously.
Make it ugly.
Let me explain…
The longer you focus, the more focused you will become.
Focus long enough and you’ll tap into something called Deep Work…
There’s a marketing tenant every good copywriter respects…
Knowing that, here are the words and phrases every copywriter should use…
![How copywriters put prospects in the buying mood [quick trick]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5615edeae4b0b9df5c3d6e90/1533095575515-C2JPAZA3C46IBX00EMM8/Put+prospects+in+the+buying+mood+%5BVGC+art%5D.JPG)
As a teenager, I sold magazine subscriptions door-to-door. At first it was hard and I was unsuccessful.
Then I picked up a trick that skyrocketed my conversion rate…
This strategy is scientifically proven to help writers — and anyone else — spur their creativity.
“I can do that,” said The Copywriter. “But first let me ask you a question.”
“And how many of us have persistence enough in following out our ideas of what is obvious?”
If your goal is to write tighter copy — copy that says more in fewer words — try this 15-minute exercise.
Sometimes that feeling — that mood — is already there, all around, omnipotent and omnipresent.
Joyce was a magisterial novelist, but he would’ve made a miserable copywriter.
Smart writing is clear and concise. It’s easy for the eyes and mind to follow. It’s accessible and unpretentious, easy to consume and hard to create.
Smart writing is readable. Effortlessly readable.
Be a copywriter, not a coward.
If you can back up your claim, write the copy. If you can’t, be a professional and do the right thing.
Don’t write headlines that are flat, invisible, like white paper on a white desk. Write compelling headlines that stand out. Headlines that contain emotion, image, logic, and promise.
Here’s how to do that.
A visceral response is a physical reaction to a non-physical experience, an emotion.
If you feel it, don’t dismiss it. Let it wash over you.
You’ll be a more empathetic person for it — and a better marketer, too.
“We’re talking about him having an accident,” said the man, whispering. “Just walk up to him, put your hand on his back, and give him one big push!”
Don't sell chips. Sell a worldview.
It boils down to a simple three-step process ...
“I was The Onion’s editor at the time so, mainly, I was just punching up or rewriting other people’s work,” said Scott. “And so when I sat down to write the pilot, I was like, ‘Shit! I have writer’s block! I got nothing!’”
CHICAGO—Saying he was ‘more than happy’ to jump on the call, Scott Dikkers, The Onion’s longest-serving editor-in-chief, graciously gave time out of his day to talk to a copywriter about how to overcome writer’s block.
As a copywriter, it’s tempting to get lost in the majesty of your creativity, your ideas.
Looking inward for ideas will burn you out.
Want more ideas than you could ever use?
Confident copy says, “Go ahead, you’re making the right decision.”
Great copy starts with efficient questions.
“You have to be more concise,” he said. “You write like a water hose. You need to be a nail gun."