“Sales Detective” work

“So, Milt…” said John Carlton. 

“How the HELL’d you think up this Triple Coil Swing?”

(John claims he’s ‘the most ripped-off copywriter alive’ — and maybe he is? He’s certainly one of the best.)

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The Triple Coil Swing helps golfers hit longer, straighter shots. Milt Wallace, a golf pro, invented the technique. Then he created a video teaching it. Then he commissioned John to write an ad to sell the video. 

“Oh,” Milt laughed. “Who cares?”

“Just me,” John laughed. “For now.”

“Well,” said Milt, “Years back I saw this guy rip the longest, straightest shot ever. EV-ER. Just so happened he had one leg!”

“Oh?” said John. He smelled a hook.

“Yeh,” said Milt. “Turns out balancing on one leg created coiled tension in his hips, supercharging his motion...”

“...and so the Triple Coil Swing just recreates that tension,” said John, “so anyone can use it?”

“Bingo!” said Milt. “Physics! Ha!”

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Marketing hooks must create INTEREST.

As in the classic copywriting formula, AIDA: 

1. Attention

2. INTEREST

3. Desire

4. Action

So when John heard this unique, interesting story, he knew he’d found his hook. And out of it came this remarkably efficient, now-famous headline: 

“Amazing Secret Discovered By One-Legged Golfer Adds 50 Yards To Your Drives, Eliminates Hooks And Slices… And Can Slash Up To 10 Strokes From Your Game Almost Overnight!”

(28 words but each one has its place, doesn’t it?)

Years later, at a copywriting seminar, John told the Triple Coil Swing story. And he left the audience with some profound insight about how to find an advertising hook: 

“You’re not gonna find your story in the company line,” he said. “If you go to your own brochure to find a hook, you’re not gonna find it. You’re gonna find it by talking to the secretaries. You’re gonna find it from the feet-in-the-street guys, the salespeople. You’re gonna find it from the guy who invented the product in the first place, the guy who put it together. And if you’re your own boss, you may need to go outside of yourself to find it.”

John called this hook-searching process “sales detective” work.

Because the best, most compelling marketing stories are hiding from you, tucked away, unacknowledged.

And as a copywriter, the onus is on you to dig, ask questions, recognize a compelling hook when you hear one — and finally connect it to your offer in a unique, interesting way.

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