For years, Drayton Bird worked hand-in-hand with David Ogilvy, founder of Ogilvy & Mather.
“Drayton Bird knows more about direct marketing than anyone in the world,” Ogilvy famously said. Together, they created some remarkable advertising.
A few months back, I was fortunate enough to work with Drayton, too, publishing a series of 10 Micro-Articles he wrote for the VeryGoodCopy blog.
He called the series:
10 Commandments for Copywriting Success
It’s a 3,547-word masterclass on the craft, laden with advice and examples from his storied 60-year career working with some of the finest marketing minds in the world. Throughout, Drayton shares his hard-earned wisdom with clarity — and without restraint.
Below are 11 timeless truths (about writing direct-response copy) quoted from the series.
In no particular order:
1️⃣ "Don’t try to be clever. Just give every good reason why people should do what you want and overcome every sensible objection they might have."
2️⃣ “A good copywriter thinks visually, not just verbally.”
3️⃣ “Do not waste your time trying to persuade those who are never likely to respond. You are pushing water uphill.”
4️⃣ “Sometimes you are too close to your own work to judge it fairly.”
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5️⃣ “Much copy is bad because it is written in the same tone of frantic enthusiasm no matter who it is supposed to come from or to whom it is written. This is amateurish. Our tone and choice of words varies depending on who we are, who we are addressing and what we are talking about.”
6️⃣ “Talk in everyone’s language, and everyone will understand.”
7️⃣ “Amateurs imagine original, quirky approaches work best. Not so: what matters is to say the right thing. Something that promises a strong benefit or escape from something people dislike.”
8️⃣ “There are few occasions when advertising really relies upon logic. In fact there are very few occasions in history when men have been driven by logic.”
9️⃣ “Never have a picture without a caption. Apart from the headline picture captions are generally the most read thing in an advertisement.”
1️⃣0️⃣ “A very, very good place to remind people of the chief benefit you offer is in the P.S. to a letter.”
1️⃣1️⃣ “Search the world and steal the best. Even if you’re a genius you don’t need to come up with something new.”
And that’s only 260 words worth of wisdom.
Imagine what Drayton shares in the remaining 3,287…
Feel free to keep reading the series now — and also bookmark it for later, so you can return to it time and time again:
Because as one subscriber said, “It’s the gift that keeps on giving.”
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Hey there, thanks for reading. :)If you want more “micro” content, feel free to explore 100s of articles, interviews, courses, and series — all free. Enjoy!Eddie Shleyner
VeryGoodCopy, founderP.S. If you like VGC, you’ll love VGC Plus. Instantly unlock every post right here.
