“I don’t enjoy reading,” Woody Allen said once in an interview. “But it’s necessary for a writer, so I have to do it.”
Preach, Woody.
I’ve always found reading is one of those things I do out of responsibility, not enjoyment.
But do you really have to read to be a successful writer? Or at least a successful copywriter?
I don’t know. But I heard two expert copywriters talking today. And their opinion seems to be yes.
The two copywriters in question were John Forde and Mark Ford. You might know them as the two guys who wrote the book Great Leads, which is up there with Cialdini’s Influence and Gene Schwartz’s Breakthrough Advertising as elementary education for a copywriter.
So John asked Mark, where do you get your big ideas from?
Reading, said Mark.
Not by swiping what worked before. Not by intuition. Not by some magic spark of creativity.
Instead, Mark reads. And when something makes him excited and interested, he takes note, and he uses that idea, in some form, in his own writing.
Which might sound pretty simple. Or even cheap. But hold on. Because here’s a second tip from the same interview:
Mark says Googled reading won’t lead you to a big idea. You’ve got to read books.
Yes, it’s work. Maybe even unenjoyable work. But so what? Read lots of books, carefully, and you can make lots of money as a result. And as Woody Allen will tell you:
“Money is not everything, but it is better than having one’s health.”
But here’s what not to do:
Don’t read my daily email newsletter. It won’t lead to your next big idea. And it’s not enjoyable.
If you don’t believe me, or you want to judge for yourself what my daily emails are like, then click here.