Weekly Round Up #116 (Lite)
Your once-a-week digest filled with copywriting insights, AI tips, must-read articles, pretty cool copy examples, and much more!
Welcome to the 116th edition of the Weekly Round-Up — your once-a-week digest filled with copywriting insights, AI tips, must-read articles, pretty cool copy examples, and much more!
(Well, this week is an outlier. Unforeseen circumstances reduced my ability to source in a timely manner this week – back to regular programming next week!)
In this week’s issue:
Copy Tip: You Can’t Out-Write a Weak POV
Article Recommendations:
What Are AI Agents in Marketing & How Are They Actually Being Used Today? (via Iterable)
The Ambiguity Effect: Why Unclear Marketing Kills Decisions (via Kath Pay
The Future of Brand Creativity Belongs to the Small and Reckless (via Branding Strategy Insider)
Inclusive Marketing Beyond Buzzwords (Black History Month Edition)
Podcast Pick: Tested Advertising Methods: The Blueprint for Higher Conversions
Copy Tip of the Week
You can’t out-write a weak point of view.
Most copywriters think clarity is about better word choice.
It’s not.
Clarity comes from conviction.
If you don’t know where you stand on what you’re selling, no amount of editing will save you.
Your copy will wander. Your tone will hedge. Your reader will sense the hesitation.
Strategy shows up in tone, not just structure.
A strong point of view doesn’t need clever frameworks to land. It needs commitment to an idea worth defending.
Weak copy says: “This product might help some people in certain situations.”
Strong copy says: “If you’re tired of X, this solves it.”
The difference is perspective, not perfection.
Before you write another word, ask yourself:
What do I actually believe about this product?
What problem does it solve that others ignore?
Who is this for — and who is it not for?
Answer those first.
Then write.
Must-Read Articles
What Are AI Agents in Marketing & How Are They Actually Being Used Today? (via Iterable)
🔗 https://iterable.com/blog/ai-agents-in-marketing/
Why I recommend it: Breaks down the difference between AI agents, automation, and generative AI — and why the distinction matters. The core idea: automation follows rules you set, but agents adapt toward goals you set, handling the thousands of micro-decisions (timing, channel, targeting) that no human team can optimize manually efficiently. Worth reading if you want a clearer mental model for where AI actually fits into your workflow versus where it’s just a buzzword.
The Ambiguity Effect: Why Unclear Marketing Kills Decisions (via Kath Pay
Why I recommend it: Explains the cognitive bias that’s probably killing your click-through rates — and it’s not what you think. The Ambiguity Effect shows that when people can’t instantly tell what happens after they click, they don’t click. It’s a good gut-check on whether your “clever” copy is actually creating uncertainty instead of interest.
The Future of Brand Creativity Belongs to the Small and Reckless (via Branding Strategy Insider)
Why I recommend it: A spicy argument that big agencies are using AI to accelerate sameness, not creativity — and that the real advantage is shifting to small, opinionated teams. The core tension: AI eliminates the scale advantage that holding companies used to monopolize, which means taste, judgment, and creative risk become the new moat. Whether you work in-house or agency-side, this reframes how you should be thinking about AI’s role in your own work.
You Might Also Like:
The Russel Brunson Show
Tested Advertising Methods: The Blueprint for Higher Conversions
🎧 Listen on iTunes | Listen on Spotify
Why I recommend it: Russell Brunson walks through the basics of A/B testing using John Caples’ Tested Advertising Methods as the backbone — and the takeaway is dead simple: specificity crushes generality in headlines. A good refresher on why the fundamentals from old-school direct response still run the game!
That’s it for this week! If you have questions or comments — drop a note below.
✌️
Matt
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