The Copy Book: 80/20 Summary
- Amazon: Link
- Score: 8/10
- Skills Category: Copywriting
- Mental Models: Curiosity Instinct, Desire, Ego, Emotions, Evolution: Adaptation, Narrative Instinct, Replication, Trust, Velocity
Mental Models from the book:
'The Copy Book' can be summarised into 9 mental models:
1. Curiosity Instinct
- Write headlines that make you think: "Bloody Hell, that's interesting, tell me more.
2. Desire
- The basic motivations of people never change. Use them for great advertising. Human history boils down to the influence of:
- Love
- Hate
- Sex
- Greed
- Hunger
- Insecurity
3. Ego
- Make sure that "you" appears 3 times more than "I" or "we".
- "Our job is not to make people think what a great ad, it's to make them think what a great product".
4. Emotions
- Use your life to bring your copy alive. If something has moved you, chances are that it will move someone else.
5. Evolution: Adaptation
- The first paragraph must segway from the headline into the sales pitch.
6. Narrative Instinct
- The reader's imagination is important - Spell it out and you ruin the spell.
7. Replication
- Write every headline 100 possible ways, don't stop too soon.
8. Trust
- Raw statistics are better than opinions e.g 68 MPG is better than "outstandingly economical"
9. Velocity
- Take a train or a plane. Movement will help you write better.
Mental Model Mind Maps
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