I heard somebody say once — I can’t remember who or where — be like Mickey, not like Bugs.
Mickey is bland, nice, boring. Bugs Bunny is exciting, clever, fun.
But Mickey was the start and foundation of a multi-billion dollar empire. Bugs was not.
So be like Mickey.
I have to remind myself, and pretty often, that whenever I am particularly pleased with a piece of copy, it’s a bad sign.
There’s even a phrase that old-school writers used to describe this. They said you should kill your darlings.
This is especially true when it comes to sales copy. Whether you’re writing a sales letter to cold traffic… or a sales email to existing customers… in copywriting, clever is the opposite of good.
Simple appeals simply stated are likely to make you the most sales. Getting your message simpler is where your cleverness should be applied. And if you have any cleverness left over, then use it to find ways to surprise your readers, while still keeping your message simple.
Of course, sometimes I break my own rules. If you want to watch me fail in writing simple messages while discussing what I learn in my day job as a sales copywriter, then sign up for my daily email newsletter.