Why Copywriters Need Deliberate Practice
The Copywriter Column #211
If you practice the wrong thing over and over, you don't magically get perfect.
You get permanently wrong.
As copywriters, we're especially vulnerable to this trap. We write thousands of words daily, and if we're not carefully honing our craft, we're calcifying bad habits that become increasingly difficult to break.
So forget "practice makes perfect."
The truth is practice makes permanent.
And that reality comes with both opportunity and risk.
The Science Behind "Practice Makes Permanent"
Our brains are fascinating and somewhat stubborn machines. Each time we perform an action, we strengthen neural pathways.
It's like walking through grass. The more you take a specific path, the more defined that trail becomes.
This neuroplasticity is a double-edged sword.
Practice the right techniques with intention, and you build powerful creative highways in your brain.
Practice sloppy work while scrolling Instagram and answering emails? You're paving superhighways to mediocrity.
The stakes are high for us as copywriters. We're not just forming habits around physical behaviors like typing speed—we're creating mental patterns around how we think, how we connect with audiences, and how we solve communication problems.
When you write the same uninspired email sequences or rely on the same tired phrases repeatedly, you're not just being lazy—you're literally rewiring your brain to default to the path of least resistance.
And that's the death of creativity and effectiveness.
Transforming Knowledge into Skill: The Gap Problem
Reading another copywriting book or taking another course won't automatically make you better.
Maybe you've got Breakthrough Advertising on your shelf.
You've paid for expensive masterclasses.
Your downloads folder is bursting with swipe files.
But when you sit down to write for a client, there's this maddening disconnect between what you know and what you can actually produce.
Knowledge ≠Skill
I see this all the time with copywriters who can recite principles of persuasion or explain the psychology behind a good call-to-action, but struggle to generate compelling copy on demand.
They understand conceptually but can't execute consistently.
This is precisely where deliberate practice comes in. Not just any practice—intentional, focused, challenging practice designed specifically to bridge that gap between theory and application.
The goal isn't to practice until you get it right once. It's to practice until you can't get it wrong.
A Practical Exercise: The "Translation Challenge"
Want to start bridging that gap right now? Try this exercise:
Select a piece of exceptional copy from outside your niche. If you write for health brands, pick something from financial services. If you write B2B tech, grab something from fashion.
Identify what makes it work. Don't just admire it—dissect it. What's the hook? How does it handle objections? What's the underlying structure?
Now for the real work: translate it to your niche. Not by copying, but by applying the same principles, structures, and techniques to create a wholly new piece for your target audience.
Get feedback from someone who will be brutally honest. Not your mom, not your spouse—someone who understands good copy. (Feel free to message me, btw.)
Revise based on that feedback, focusing specifically on areas where your translation lost the impact of the original.
This exercise forces you to move beyond theory and into practical application. It requires you to understand the principles deeply enough to apply them in new contexts. And most importantly, it creates new neural pathways that connect your knowledge to your creative output.
Do this once a week for a month, and you'll see your ability to access and apply your knowledge improve dramatically.
Stop mindlessly reinforcing the same old approaches. Your brain will faithfully build whatever you tell it to.
Choose wisely what you make permanent.
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