21 copywriting lessons for the 21st century

Happy Wednesday! Welcome back to The Copywriting Gig.

I'm Jim Hamilton. Over the past 7 years, my copy has contributed to 10m+ in sales for clients across health, biz opp, and B2B.

Each week, I send out 1 short-form copywriting tip to grow your business.

Digital marketing is a dynamic industry.

Things change fast.

What’s crushing today can be out-of-date by tomorrow.

And if you don’t keep a finger on the pulse, you (and your copy) can quickly get left behind.

So today, I’m sharing 21 copywriting lessons for the 21st century.

Let’s dive in.

Read time: 3 minutes and 9 seconds

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1. In a 3-second world, the hook is king.

Mastering hooks is one of the most valuable skills you can cultivate as a copywriter or content creator. Getting attention is the first step.

2. Skimmable is readable.

People don’t consume written content in a linear way. They usually skim it from top to the bottom, then start back at the beginning if they’re intrigued. Use bullets, subheads, and short paragraphs to create a skimmable track.

3. Controversial opinions make you stand out.

Figure out where you disagree with mainstream wisdom. Then put that front and center. Just make sure you have a logical case to back it up.

4. Curiosity trumps self-interest when selling information.

Digital products are the workhorse of the knowledge economy. But how do you promote a product the buyer can’t touch? By teasing the reveal of valuable secrets.

5. Becoming AI literate is no longer optional.

Six months ago, the best use case for AI was ideation. But now it can do full-blown avatars, copy, writing personas, and so much more. Ignore it at your peril.

6. Cultivate unique perspectives.

People are stimulus rich and context poor. Most are flooded with information they don’t know how to make sense of. Show your audience how to reorganize old information in new ways, based on your own experiences.

7. Alliteration is a cheat code for making ideas stick.

When information is abundant, stickiness is underrated. Package your ideas in ways that make people remember you.

8. Repurpose winners regularly.

When you write something that resonates, don’t be afraid to reuse or recycle it. Winning copy will convert again and again. Posts become emails. Emails become ads. Make the most out of what you create.

9. Writer’s block means you haven’t done the work yet.

Gather raw materials. Get better at capturing thoughts and ideas as they come to you. Create an outline. And don’t sit down to write until you know what you’re going to write about.

10. Sell outcomes, not benefits.

Your job is to take them from A → B. Positioning your solution as the fastest and most direct path is how you make it a no-brainer.

11. Stories are the atomic unit of persuasion.

Stories are delivery vehicles for transformational beliefs. Study how authors and screenwriters use 3-act structure to tell powerful stories.

12. Forget how it looks on desktop.

60%+ of all internet traffic is mobile. Always optimize your ads, emails, and funnels for mobile first. Then worry about desktop.

13. Trends create opportunities.

Evergreen content is great. But go with the flow if you want to grow. AI and vertical video are huge right now. Pay attention or get left behind.

14. Learn to communicate in analogies.

Analogies are like keys that open doors to new ways of thinking. The more you can simplify complex concepts and make the process tangible, the better your copy will convert.

15. Demonstration is the most persuasive form of proof.

This is why infomercials work so well. Seeing the product in action makes the emotional benefits more tangible. Show, don’t tell.

16. Assume everyone is skeptical.

Most buyers have been burned before. If you don’t address their skepticism, you’re leaving money on the table.

17. If you need money, learn direct response.

Marketing and advertising change with each generation. But knowing how to write something that makes people take action ASAP is always a great insurance plan to have.

18. Become a master at creating templates.

This teaches you how to deconstruct copy and content that converts. Studying structure is where the secret sauce is.

19. Be clear, not clever.

Use simple words and write in short sentences. Readers should instantly grasp your meaning when they read the headline.

20. Don’t ignore emojis.

There’s no other way to add that much texture to your message in a single character.

21. Lists will never go out of style.

Using proven content frameworks will help you avoid writer’s block and attract more readers.

That’s it.

Thanks for reading!

See you next week.

Jim Hamilton