I love what fellow conversion copywriter Josh Garofalo tweeted yesterday:
Why?
It’s a powerful reminder that depth requires a LOT of work. But it’s also what allows you to produce great quality work. And to separate yourself from the competition (yes even in today’s AI stuffed world).
Even better, the frame should be, as he says, aspiring to have the opportunity to go deep.
It should be something you WANT to do.
It reminded me of something I read recently as I’m going through Robert Caro’s book “Working”:
“during all the years since Alan Hathway had given me that first piece of advice—“Turn every page. Never assume anything. Turn every goddamned page”—I had never forgotten it; it was engraved in my mind. There would be no turning every page here.”
This is what Caro thought after realizing he needed to go through four floors of boxes and 32 million pages of documents on Lyndon Johnson to write his biography.
Can you imagine that?
Reason why it’s taking him 40+ years to write it (in a series of books).
This is a big theme for me this year: being able and willing to go deep, is truly a superpower nowadays.
And if you want to be a great copywriter you better get to it.
I had to shove this message into my head yesterday as I was going through 200 pages of reviews for a client.
Don’t just limit yourself to summarize with ChatGPT.
Don’t just glance at the first 20 or 30 reviews and call it a day.
Don’t just interview 2 or 3 customers.
Don’t just consider your direct competitors.
Don’t just come up with 10 headlines.
Go deeper. Turn every goddamn page.
Be clear on your goal, but cast a wider net. Then, extract every single ounce of knowledge and insight you can.
The final product will be so much better for it.
P.S. I just dropped a new website teardown on the Youtube channel. We’re looking at a food delivery service. Great example of addressing a specific audience with clear problems and pains! If you find it helpful, give it a quick like 😊
Quote and reflection of the day:
“Cultivate a habit of impatience about the things you most want to do.”
- Paul Graham, Life Is Short
Urgency towards your goals needs to come from you and you alone. Get comfortable with inner pressure and restlessness. It’s your intuition telling you that’s the right path.
