Let’s talk about the infamous Arthur P. Johnson.
I say “infamous” because the man was as unlikely as anyone ever to become a successful sales copywriter.
Johnson graduated from Swarthmore College with highest honors. He then went to Oxford University for a graduate degree. He had ambitions of becoming a poet, and a backup plan of becoming an academic.
Yet, through a chance runin at a bar with a former classmate, Johnson gradually got sucked into the world of direct response. He first worked at the Franklin Mint, writing copy for collectibles (a good education — how do you sell something with no obvious benefits?).
He next worked in product development at another collectibles company. Finally, even though he did not want to write copy any more, he stumbled into freelance copywriting. And that’s when things really took off.
Johnson wrote controls for a number of major publishers, including Boardroom and Agora. He made himself a fortune in the process.
He was so successful he made it onto Brian Kurtz’s Mount Rushmore of greatest copywriters, along with Parris Lampropoulos, David Deutsch, and Eric Betuel.
And here’s the lesson. When Arthur P. Johnson was asked what he attributes his success to, he said the following:
“I think that I’m able to sell products in a more entertaining way than a lot of other people are. I think that being entertaining while you are selling is a big key to success in a very crowded marketplace these days, because you really have to buy people’s attention.”
Johnson did most of his work in the 90s and 2000s. But this lesson, about having to be entertaining to sell, is even more true today than it was back then.
I’m proof of this.
Not with these emails, where I rarely sell anything.
But starting earlier this year, I’ve helped move hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of ecommerce products.
I’ve done it by writing emails, much like this one, that tell some kind of story or share a joke or just a funny picture. And those emails most often link to advertorials I also wrote… which contain more of the same — stories, fake personal confessions, and light humor (so I think).
The thing is, I’m not particularly entertaining in real life, or when writing things other than copy. In other words, all this entertainment stuff can be learned by rote.
So how do you learn it?
Two ways:
First, start paying attention to the books, shows, emails, and movies you yourself find entertaining.
Second, read or re-read Commandment IX of my 10 Commandments of A-List Copywriters.
No, this chapter is not a how-to for writing entertaining copy. But it will give you some successful examples of such copy that are running right now.
Plus it will even give you some advice on who and what to study if you want to get better at entertaining in your copy.
And once you start to entertain in your copy, expect people to comment on how interesting your writing is. Expect to have them say how they look forward to hearing from you. And most of all, expect to have them buy — as long as you’ve got anything to sell.
Speaking of which, I happen to have something to sell tonight. In case you don’t yet have my 10 Commandments book, here’s the link: