MICRO-ESSAYS
343 “Micro” lessons about copywriting, storytelling, and creativity ↴
Clear, concise essays designed to teach you a single persuasion principle or technique at a time. Enjoy!
VOLUME XII: 331 - 360
VOLUME XI: 301 - 330
VOLUME X: 271 - 300
Explore 270 More Micro-Essays:
VOLUME IX:
241 - 270
Something good happens when you let your brain wander:
35 books I feel good recommending:
Are you a writing minimalist or maximalist?
Read this if you’re feeling overwhelmed or anxious or fraudulent:
215-word tip for writing better headlines:
This revelation forever changed how I write:
How to find your writing style:
The time I didn’t get hired at HubSpot:
The “secret” to emotional writing:
Why copywriting swipe files are dangerous:
Every marketer should study this literary writing style:
Don’t write another headline before reading this:
8 compelling ways to write a headline:
How to find copywriting success:
What if someone steals your writing?
A solitary copywriter is an oxymoron:
9 specific examples of incentive copy:
VOLUME VIII:
210 - 240
11 timeless copywriting truths:
good copywriters are often sentimental people:
Use this proven copywriting technique responsibly:
On using dialogue in your copywriting:
Lessons from my mentorship with an "A-List" copywriter:
One of the best exercises you can do as a copywriter:
Do this to develop your copywriting voice:
Where ideas start (and where they end):
If you’re doing this, you are being creative:
How to create images in your writing:
“Creative Loneliness” is real:
Part 1: Drayton Bird's Copywriting Commandments
26 words you can almost always simplify
Ad Teardown: "A Skin You Love To Touch"
VOLUME VII:
181 - 210
Money, reputation, and creative work
The key to effective marketing
Quick trick for writing like the greats
15 profound writing prompts (to cure writer’s block)
Read if you’re feeling overwhelmed or anxious or fraudulent, etc.
1 thing over 160 iconic artists have in common
Long copy sells more than short copy
David Ogilvy: Writing Micro-Series
Get anyone’s attention with this proven headline formula:
14 things I wish younger-me knew about writing, marketing, and building an audience:
Injecting urgency into your copywriting
A timeless copywriting lesson from Breakthrough Advertising
Your copywriting education won’t be complete until you read these 11 books:
Want more marketing ideas than you could ever use?
Advertising is based on 1 thing:
Copywriting is not necessarily creation
The time I didn’t get hired at Facebook
VOLUME VI:
151 - 180
Charles Bukowski, copywriting, and sentimentality
Why copywriting swipe files can be dangerous
Keep your windows clean (a copywriting lesson)
Probably my most valuable writing advice:
Clayton Makepeace copywriting wisdom
Copywriting & Ernest Hemingway
This productivity hack saves me hundreds of hours each year
Gary Halbert’s copywriting cliches
The worst copywriting I’ve ever seen:
13 resources that have shaped my copywriting career
David Abbott copywriting wisdom
In advertising, your message will stick if…
A 136-word advertising lesson for the ages
In copywriting, length implies strength
How to prove your offer will deliver on its promise
A creativity lesson (from one of the world’s most sought-after artists)
An easy copywriting technique that could put folks in the mood to buy
VOLUME V:
121 - 150
How much should you be cursing in your writing?
In copywriting, specifics sell, generalities do not
Want to write like the writers you admire?
How to compel action (without words)
What’s your brand’s adjective?
An elegant way to approach creativity
Want your writing to captivate readers?
The greatest copywriting lesson
Love, explained by a copywriter:
Sonder, a unique emotion for a unique time
Want your marketing to stand out?
The scariest thing in the world (to a copywriter)
“The most personal is the most creative.”
Crafting a persuasive guarantee (4 rules)
How to never run out of good ideas
“Is it harder being a writer than it is being a bank robber?”
A scientific framework you can use to mirror any writer’s voice
VOLUME IV:
91 - 120
1 timeless copywriting lesson from Netflix’s “Don’t F**k With Cats”
This ruthless copywriting critique system will give you scars (and fantastic ads)
A simple copywriting secret for exploding your response
How to write better dialogue [easy, instant, Hemingway-inspired hack]
Someday, I will try to sell you something
Absolutely use cliches in your copywriting
Can’t decide what you should write about next?
Reading this will make you a better conversational copywriter
3 qualities that make copywriters successful (and 1 life-changing job opportunity)
Don’t make her feel vulnerable, copywriter
How to find your ad’s hook (according to the most ripped-off copywriter alive)
The simple truth about great advertising
When very good copywriting goes very, very bad
This is a new article about copywriting
Dialogue, the efficient copywriting tool
The most persuasive conversion copywriting tactic
Copywriting advice every marketer should hear
Consistency: 7 lessons learned after publishing 100 VeryGoodCopy articles
How to compel 9 out of 10 people to open your direct-mail ad
How to create overwhelming demand for a product nobody wants
How the ellipsis keeps ‘em reading...and satisfies our need to survive
South Park creator, Trey Parker, on storytelling, burnout, and self-doubt
The copywriting formula I use to defeat writer’s block
VOLUME III:
61 - 90
Lessons from the time I didn’t get hired at HubSpot
I asked Austin Kleon about productivity
On feeling anxious about your writing
How to put yourself into a creative frenzy
2 copywriting mantras that might give you that lovely “aha moment”
Direct marketing is very counterintuitive
Exactly 400 words about “trying hard enough” as a copywriter
What’s one of the best ways to learn about your audience?
“Ignore any of these rules at your own peril...”
Try looking at these photos before writing copy
Eugene Schwartz copywriting wisdom
Love, explained by a copywriter
Books, blogs, movies, and shows (part 1)
“Sometimes the best copy is no copy.”
“Whenever I’m really unsure about an idea…”
Creative people: if you value your time, try this proven productivity hack
Could this be the worst sales email ever written?
How to immediately connect with your readers
This exercise will train you to write BULLETS (the single-most important copywriting skill)
VOLUME II:
31 - 60
The day you become a good copywriter...
Strong microcopy will delight readers and increase your conversions
An elegant way to think about copywriting
Copywriter, you should be watching and reading these things
Want your creative work to stand out?
“The best headlines appeal to people’s self-interest, or give news.”
How copywriters put prospects in the buying mood [quick trick]
“Can you make our typical product unique?” said The Client
“How many of us have sense enough to see and do the obvious thing?”
This exercise will train you to write more concisely
Copywriters need not always create
If you’re a student of copywriting, don’t read James Joyce
Unethical copy (don't be a coward)
Don’t write another headline before reading this
How to evoke a visceral response in readers
Sonder, the marketer’s emotion
A copywriting tactic so powerful, it literally persuaded good people to commit murder
How to sell chips to people who don't eat chips
How to read 52 books a year (it's easier than you think)
I interviewed The Onion’s founding editor about writer’s block
Copywriter Interviews The Onion’s Founding Editor About Writer’s Block, Learns A Lot
You’re a copywriter, not an artist
VOLUME I:
1 - 30
The best copywriters are sentimental people
Be a writer, not a perfectionist
How to fail (at copywriting or anything else)
How to remember a book for life
How to sound like your favorite writer
How the world's most violent drug won the peace movement
Successful copywriters don't sell words
How to paint a picture with words
4 steps to crafting professional-grade headlines that won't be ignored
A timeless, two-second copywriting lesson from an industry legend
People aren't reading your articles
There's nothing worse than too late
The movie that changed my life
How to write for anyone in the world
5 questions to ask yourself before publishing content
How to make your writing better overnight
Your copywriting education won't be complete until you read this book
How to write compelling bullet points that sell
An open letter from the most profitable word in the English language
