library / lib4700f6b43ebed39f
The Adweek Copywriting Handbook
Joseph Sugarman · 2007
In a sentence
A master direct-response copywriter reveals the mental process, structural axioms, and psychological triggers that cause readers to exchange their hard-earned money for a product or service.
Drawn from Joseph Sugarman's legendary $2,000-plus marketing seminars, The Adweek Copywriting Handbook teaches that copywriting is a learnable mental process, not a mystical talent. Sugarman demystifies how to mentally prepare to write, how to craft a 'slippery slide' of copy that compels readers from the first short sentence straight through to the order, and how to deploy 31 psychological triggers, 23 copy elements, and 10 graphic elements that turn attention into action. With candid stories of his own failures and successes selling everything from pocket calculators to BluBlocker sunglasses to a $6 million home and a $240,000 airplane, plus annotated classic ads, the book equips novices and veterans alike to build businesses 'through the power of your pen' across print, catalog, direct mail, radio, TV, infomercials, and the Internet.
The four lenses
- Science
- Statistics
- Systems
- Strategy
The model
A causal model in which copywriter preparation and craft design levers create psychological states in the reader (engagement, trust, desire) that drive reading-through behavior and ultimately the purchase outcome.
Product and Customer Expertisedesign lever
The copywriter's depth of general and specific knowledge about the product's nature and the prospect's motivations, gathered through study, curiosity, and broad life experience.
Slippery Slide Copy Structuredesign lever
The structural craft of arranging headline, subheadline, short first sentence, seeds of curiosity, and logical copy sequence so each element compels the reader to continue reading without stopping.
Buying Environment Creationdesign lever
The tone, graphics, word choice, and integrity conveyed in the layout and opening paragraphs that set an emotional context conducive to purchasing, matched to the product's price point and nature.
Emotional and Concept Appealdesign lever
The degree to which copy sells a concept and emotional benefit rather than mere features, leveraging the emotional charge of words and storytelling to engage the reader.
Editing and Claritydesign lever
The refinement process that expresses the intended message with the fewest words, correct rhythm, simple language, and appropriate reading level for the target audience.
Psychological Triggers Deploymentdesign lever
The use of motivational levers such as honesty, credibility, curiosity, greed, sense of urgency, exclusivity, satisfaction conviction, and others to address the underlying reasons people buy.
Reader Trust and Credibility Perceptionpsychological state
The prospect's psychological state of believing the seller is honest, credible, expert, and acting with integrity, which lowers resistance to the sale.
Reader Engagement and Curiositypsychological state
The prospect's psychological state of compelled attention, curiosity, and harmony with the copy that keeps them reading and mentally involved.
Reader Desire and Purchase Justificationpsychological state
The prospect's emotional wanting of the product combined with logical justification (value, belonging, hope) that primes the buying decision.
Reading-Through Behaviorbehavioral pattern
The observable behavior of trafficking the ad, reading a large portion or all of the copy through to the offer, which is prerequisite to ordering.
Product-Market and Timing Fitcontextual condition
Contextual conditions including product nature, price point, current fads, timing, and whether the product is positioned as a cure that determine whether the offer can succeed in a given medium and moment.
Purchase Responseoutcome metric
The ultimate outcome of the copy: the prospect exchanging hard-earned money for the product or service, measured as orders, sales volume, and response rate.
How they connect
- product and customer expertise → predicts emotional concept appeal
- product and customer expertise → influences reader trust
- slippery slide design → predicts reader engagement
- buying environment → influences reader desire
- emotional concept appeal → predicts reader desire
- psychological triggers → predicts reader trust
- psychological triggers → predicts reader desire
- editing clarity → influences reader engagement
- reader engagement → predicts reading completion
- reader trust → predicts purchase response
- reader desire → predicts purchase response
- reading completion → predicts purchase response
- product market fit condition → moderates purchase response
A candidate measure
The Adweek Copywriting Handbook — derived measurement candidates
Product and Customer Expertise
knowledge audit score; number of verifiable product facts cited
self-report suitability: medium
Slippery Slide Copy Structure
structural rubric score; read-through rate
self-report suitability: low
Buying Environment Creation
tone-fit rating; reader comfort rating
self-report suitability: medium
Emotional and Concept Appeal
concept-clarity code; emotional resonance rating
self-report suitability: medium
Editing and Clarity
Fog Index score; percent word-count reduction
self-report suitability: low
Psychological Triggers Deployment
count of triggers from the 31; strength-of-execution code
self-report suitability: low
Reader Trust and Credibility Perception
perceived trustworthiness rating; believability rating
self-report suitability: high
Reader Engagement and Curiosity
interest/curiosity rating; time-on-page
self-report suitability: high
Reader Desire and Purchase Justification
purchase-intent rating; perceived value-vs-price rating
self-report suitability: high
Reading-Through Behavior
percent of copy read; scroll-to-end rate
self-report suitability: medium
Product-Market and Timing Fit
price benchmark index; trend-alignment score; cure-vs-prevention classification
self-report suitability: low
Purchase Response
response rate; cost per order; sales volume
self-report suitability: low
The story
The reader An aspiring or working copywriter, entrepreneur, or marketer who wants to write advertising that reliably moves people to buy.
External problem
They cannot produce copy that reliably causes prospects to exchange their money for a product or service.
Internal problem
They feel that copywriting is a mysterious, talent-based art they may not possess, and they fear wasting money on ads that fail.
Philosophical problem
It's wrong to believe that selling power is reserved for the naturally gifted when it is in fact a learnable, structured mental process.
The plan
- Build broad general knowledge and become an expert on each product and customer.
- Practice writing and pour out a rough emotional first draft.
- Construct the slippery slide so every element compels reading to the end.
- Apply the graphic elements, copy elements, and psychological triggers.
- Edit ruthlessly to say the most with the fewest words.
- Transfer the principles to whatever medium you sell in.
Success
- You can write a great ad and critique any ad, building businesses from the power of your pen.
- Your copy creates harmony with readers and compels them to buy, generating reliable response.
At stake
- Your ads fall flat, prospects find excuses not to buy, and you waste capital.
- You remain trapped by assumed constraints and the belief that you cannot write persuasive copy.