Keep your windows clean (a copywriting lesson)

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This analogy from the late copywriting genius, Eugene Schwartz, has never left me: 

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Goes like this: 

“The one thing I hate most in the world,” said Schwartz, “and shows me absolute disaster, is when somebody comes up to me and says, ‘Wow! That headline is so beautiful. Where did you get those words? They’re gorgeous!’

“I say, ‘Oh no, you’re seeing the words, you’re not seeing THROUGH the words. You’re seeing the words themselves. No good.’

“Look,” he said, “if you want to write poetry, if you want to write prose, if you want to write novels, and if you want to write literature, go outside of advertising.

“Because the words in advertising are like the windows in a store. You must be able to look right through them and see the product. If you see the window, it’s dirty — and you’re going to see yourself or you’re going to see the smear. You’re not going to see the product, and you’re going to lose.”

Direct-response copy should not call attention to itself. 

It should call attention to the prospect, to her problems, or to the product, to the pleasure it produces, or to the pain it prevents… 

But not to itself. 

Keep your windows clean: clear > clever. 

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Hey there, thanks for reading. :)

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Enjoy!

Eddie Shleyner 
VeryGoodCopy, founder

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