Be a Rule-Breaking Copywriter
The Copywriter Column #97
If you want to stand out as a copywriter, you have to break the rules.
Yep, even the ones you were told should never be broken.
Why Rules Aren’t Superior
I studied Christian social ethics in grad school (it’s a long story – I wanted to teach and then never pursued a PhD). We looked at “rules” quite extensively.
Of the many things I learned were 4 things people consider when making decisions:
Rules
Principles
Overarching moral theories/beliefs
Legal Norms
Surprisingly, each of the above items is governed by what falls beneath.
Rules are governed by principles, principles by an overarching belief, and that belief is usually governed by some pre-established norm.
In other words, we create rules based on a specific principle, which is supported by a specific belief, which is created in light of a social/political/religious norm we ascribe to.
Maybe an example would help? In fact, let’s inverse the pyramid here so it makes more sense.
Religious Norm: All human life is sacred
Belief: Human is sacred because it was created in the image of God
Principle: Because human life was made in the image of God, we should protect it.
Rule: Don’t kill your neighbor, dude.
OMG, WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH COPYWRITING??
A lot, actually.
If you can identify the underlying principles that guide the rules you write by, you can start breaking the rules.
Identify the beliefs that govern those principles, and you can start tapping into core beliefs.
Dig even deeper into those beliefs, and you’ve unearthed a whole other level of mind-altering impact.
Clearly, I’m not addressing the mechanics of writing (i.e. grammar, spelling, etc.) as much as I am the strategy behind the words you write.
So what are you waiting for?
Go break some rules.
P.S. Like what you read? Please comment and share this post on LinkedIn. It’s an easy way to support my work and goes a long way! You can also repost it on Substack.
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