I’m about to show you 12 copywriting exercises which will take you from complete beginner to 95% better than your average copywriter.
Here are the best copywriting exercises for beginners:
You know when you're looking at a product and all you see is a list of features? That's not what grabs your attention.
What really gets you interested is understanding how that product can make your life better. That's where the magic of copywriting comes in.
So here’s what I want you to do:
Then turn those features into benefits.
Here’s an example:
If you can’t grab attention with your headlines and hooks, you’re screwed.
They couldn’t be more important. In fact, when people watch the news, 60% of people admit to skimming headlines. They are so distracted and have the attention spans of a potato thanks to TikTok.
So how do you become an absolute savage with hooks and headlines?
First, you study hooks and headlines of viral social media posts.
I like Twitter (now X) for this personally.
Then apply this viral headline formula I created for Twitter Threads.
(yes, you can use it for all other types of copy - not just Twitter)
Increase these as much as possible:
Decrease this as much as possible:
It works by wowing them with a headline they can’t ignore and then appealing to their inner laziness.
Here are some examples of viral headlines which worked for me on social media:
As you can tell, this formula rips judging by how many likes and comments I got from these posts.
The next step is to create a list of viral Tweets, sales page headlines and website copy.
You can use a plugin like Twemex to find them.
Then go through one by one and practice rewriting them.
You’ll become a master at headlines in no time.
Writing like anything is a habit. If you can build up the muscle of writing, it becomes no different than brushing your teeth or taking a shower.
In March of 2022, I moved in with Dan Koe. If you don’t know who he is, he’s one of the biggest content creators on Twitter and Instagram. I mention this because when I moved in with him, we talked about a viewpoint he and I shared.
Adopting the mindset: “If I don’t create every day, I die.”
Gone.
Vaporized.
Eliminated.
Cease to exist.
Dramatic? Yup.
Necessary? Absolutely.
The #1 reason people fail is because they’re inconsistent. They write when they feel like it. They wait until it’s perfect.
They tell themselves “I’ll do it tomorrow.”
As a result, they never become anyone significant because they never put in the reps to get better.
It’s a way to avoid doing the work and give into their fear of judgment.
I’m telling you right now, start a Twitter account (now X) and publish every single day.
Not when you feel like it. It needs to become almost like a healthy addiction.
Now, I’m not saying you need to log onto social media every day. I understand that we need time off. But I am saying you need to publish every day. That’s where social media schedulers and other tools come in.
We all go through terrible writer's block and bad ideas.
One copywriting exercise to overcome this is to just write.
Don’t worry about how horrible it comes out.
Ed Sheeran coined this “getting rid of the dirty water.”
The way he describes it is like a water faucet.
When you first run your faucet, the water which flows out is dirty.
Eventually, you keep the faucet running and then the water becomes clean.
Turn on a timer for 1 hour and just write.
Eventually, you’ll be able to extract gems from it.
A swipe file is your own personal library of top-notch copy.
Every time you read something which interests you, causes you to buy or makes you give your email address add it to your swipe file.
You’ll start to see patterns of what works.
Study it and then emulate it.
Whenever someone asks me how to build a swipe file, here’s what I tell them:
If you're a writer, create a swipe file:
Every time:
• An email makes you buy
• A headline makes you read
• A tweet makes you retweet
Place it in the folder.
I wouldn’t recommend downloading other people’s swipe files because they might not be relevant to what you offer or what resonates with you.
Instead, do your best to curate it.
My favorite places to get ideas are:
Write an analysis about why those pieces of content worked so well.
I read these 7 copywriting books:
One copywriting exercise is to share what you’ve learned from these books on social media.
Here’s an example of something I tweeted on social media:
Treat Everything as Content and find ways you build upon the idea.
Look at everything in your life through the lens of a creator.
How?
You are a human with experiences.
No matter how uneventful you think they are, you can turn boring events into brilliant ideas and content.
For example, the books you read, the people you talk to, the events that take place, these are all things you want to jot down.
Next, look at these experiences in life and ask yourself, “How can this be turned into value for others?”
Value can be in the form:
Practice writing how you can entertain or educate others with those ideas you wrote.
Do this enough and it becomes automatic.
Here are examples of what I mean:
You have dozens of experiences that happen to you every day.
Turn them into content which can help you practice your copy.
Ever see an enticing Youtube ad pop up on your screen?
You keep seeing them over and over again.
It’s because they make the person who is running them boatloads of money.
These are funnels, friend.
Put your email address into them.
Then analyze them.
Study the headlines and offer. Note what makes them compelling.
Look at the language and tone used. Is it formal, informal, friendly, authoritative, etc.?
Examine how the copy is structured. Look for the use of paragraphs, bullet points, bolding, etc.
Note the placement, wording, and design of CTAs.
Look for Psychological Triggers like scarcity, urgency, social proof, etc.
Look at each funnel through the lens of copywriter and identify everything they do well.
Want to know how to command attention and come up with “sticky” ideas?
Practice being a contrarian.
Take something which is generally regarded as a common belief and paint a picture of why it’s wrong.
Polarize these beliefs and you will their attention.
Dan Koe and Justin Welsh are masters at this.
Dan Koe has an idea called the four hour work day.
The common belief is entrepreneurs need to work 14 hour days every day to be successful.
His one person business is staged to do $2 million dollars in revenue with high margins and he argues why it’s actually counterproductive to work that much.
According to Dan, you only need 4 hours of focused work per day.
Another example is when Justin Welsh replied to Lelia Hormozi.
Lelia posted a schedule of how much she works. Justin calculatedly responded with this Tweet:
I run a one-person business that does $2M a year in net income, giving me roughly the same access to things that make people happy, work less than 40% of this, and I don't need to work myself to death to do it.
When it comes to emails, most of us tend to skim or ignore them, especially if they're sales-related. They're just too frequent and often not that interesting.
But every now and then, one grabs our attention and we end up buying something.
What makes these emails different?
Well, they usually have a unique voice or style that stands out from the rest. Reflecting on why you found these emails appealing can help you improve your own writing.
One way to get better at this is by subscribing to newsletters from writers who are really good at what they do. James Clear, Dan Koe, and Sean Anthony are a few examples. Their work is well-researched and genuine - something they'd stand by no matter what.
By reading their content regularly, you'll start noticing patterns in how they write and present information. You can then apply these insights to your own writing to make it more engaging and effective.
Copywriting is all about persuading with words.
To do it well, you need to grasp persuasion techniques. Books are a great resource for this.
Some top picks include "Influence" by Robert Cialdini and "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie.
Also, don't forget practical application - using these techniques in your everyday life can really help cement them in your mind.
Reading your copy out loud is a secret weapon in the world of writing. It's like having a personal proofreader who catches awkward pauses and flow issues that might slip past you on paper.
Get someone else involved too. A fresh pair of ears can catch things you've missed, making your writing even stronger. They don't need to be an expert - just someone willing to listen.
Try using different voices as well. Imagine you're a character from your favorite book or movie, and read your work in their voice. This helps ensure the words flow well and keeps things interesting.
These steps are more than just tips - they're essential tools for improving your copywriting skills. They'll help make sure every piece you write is clear, engaging, and easy to understand.
Copywriting exercises can sharpen your skills.
Building a daily habit is crucial for compounding results in copywriting. It's all about consistency.
Just to recap here are some copywriting exercises you can do right now:
I show you how to build a high-paying creative business without doing work you hate.
