Something really odd happened to me the other day. Over at the Warrior Forum, one of the members started a thread asking who our favorite copywriters were and put up some letters to read. I read one of them and was left stone cold dead. Now supposedly, this was supposed to be a good letter. Yet, it did nothing for me. And this got me thinking. When we get ideas for our own sales letters, how do we know that the ideas we’re getting are any good?

One very acceptable form of copywriting is through the use of swipe files. This is where we take bits and pieces of other sales letters (with permission of course) and then tailor them to our own copy. Some copywriters have swipe files that are 100 yards long. And that’s all well and good. But how do you know what’s good to even swipe when you reach a point where sales letters leave you deader than a door nail? Well, to answer that question, we first have to understand why this even happens.

As you write more and more and as you see more and more salescopy, it is inevitable that you’re going to start to get a little bored. After all, after a while, you’ve pretty much seen all the tactics. Nothing is really new. Suddenly, everything starts to blur. Sure, the lousy salescopy stands out because it has poor headlines, or no headlines at all, focuses too much on features and not enough on benefits, doesn’t have testimonials, no bullet points and doesn’t make an attractive offer.

But what about the rest? How do you tell a great sales letter from one that is just good or okay? With those sales letters, it comes down to the crafting of the words, or how they push your buttons. Problem is, when you’re so jaded with salescopy, those buttons become harder to push. While you can intellectually see that the sales letter is well written (has all the necessary ingredients) you really can’t tell HOW well written because you’re not feeling it. So, again, the question is, how do you tell?

YOU can’t…but others can. Those who are NOT so jaded can read that sales letter and feel the emotion…if it’s there. So what you need to do (no way around this) is put that letter out there and find out what others think. But don’t put it out there to other professional copywriters, because they could be as jaded as you. Put it out there to regular people and see how THEY react.

That is the ONLY way to tell.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Want to write copy just like the pros? Visit my site at http://www.bcipe.com/ and discover killer copywriting tips that have allowed me to write my own copy for years and earn myself a 6 figure a year income selling my own products.