22 inspirational copywriting quotes. From the best copywriters!
Posted by James, 11 December 2020 (4-5 minute read)
Copywriting feels like a timeless discipline.
What is more, it’s a discipline that has existed for a long time. Matt Bailey even argued a few years ago that everything you need to know about copywriting was written by 1935. And to be honest, he’s got a point!
It seems that if you want to become a copywriter – or become an even better one – then a quick look to the past is definitely no bad thing.
So with all this in mind, I have compiled a list of 22 inspirational copywriting quotes. Copywriting quotes written by some of history’s best copywriters!
On keeping it simple
1. “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo Da Vinci
2. “Make your copy straightforward to read, understand and use. Use easy words; those that are used for everyday speech. Use phrases that are not too imprecise and very understandable. Do not be too stuffy; remove pompous words and substitute them with plain words. Minimize complicated gimmicks and constructions. If you can’t give the data directly and briefly, you must consider writing the copy again.” – Jay Abraham
3. “There is a secret every professional artist knows that the amateurs don’t: being original is overrated. The most creative minds in the world are not especially creative; they’re just better at rearrangement.”
– Jeff Goins
4. “All the elements in an advertisement are primarily designed to do one thing and one thing only: get you to read the first sentence of the copy.” – Joseph Sugarman
5. “If writers write, do copywriters copy? Yes.” – Anon
6. “Sometimes the most important job advertising can do, is to clarify the obvious.” – Jay Chiat
7. “Sometimes the best copy to sell a horse is, ‘horse for sale.’” – Jay Abraham
8. “Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.” – Leo Burnett
On knowing your audience
9. “When I write an advertisement, I don’t want you to tell me that you find it ‘creative.’ I want you to find it so interesting that you buy the product.” – David Ogilvy
10. “Nobody reads ads. People read what interests them. Sometimes it’s an ad.” – Howard Gossage
11. “A copywriter should have an understanding of people, an insight into them, a sympathy toward them.” – George Gribbin
12. “Copy is a direct conversation with the consumer.” – Shirley Polykoff
13. “The greatest thing you have working for you is not the photo you take or the picture you paint; it’s the imagination of the consumer. They have no budget, they have no time limit, and if you can get into that space, your ad can run all day.” – Don Draper
14. “You sell on emotion, but you justify a purchase with logic.” – Joseph Sugarman
On telling a story
15. “The very first thing I tell my new students on the first day of a workshop is that good writing is about telling the truth.” – Anne Lamott
16. “Effective content marketing is about mastering the art of storytelling. Facts tell, but stories sell.” – Bryan Eisenberg
17. “Copy is not written. If anyone tells you ‘you write copy’, sneer at them. Copy is not written. Copy is assembled. You do not write copy, you assemble it. You are working with a series of building blocks, you are putting the building blocks together, and then you are putting them in certain structures, you are building a little city of desire for your person to come and live in.” – Eugene Schwartz
On the art of effective copy
18. “We have become so accustomed to hearing everyone claim that their product is the best in the world, or the cheapest, that we take all such statements with a grain of salt.” – Robert Collier
19. “Poor copy cannot overcome faults or gaps in dealer distribution; it cannot even cash in on the finest dealer setups. But good copy can, and does, surmount many dealer difficulties, making them secondary, and selling in spite of them.” – Victor Schwab
20. “It follows that unless your headline sells your product, you have wasted 90 percent of your money…” – David Ogilvy
On being a copywriter
21. “Probably the biggest thing or biggest ‘aha’ moment I had with the process of copywriting was when I realized that copywriting was more than just being creative. I used to think, ‘Wow, let’s come up with something great and wonderful,’ and I didn’t start becoming successful, in my own eyes, until I said, ‘No, my clients are not hiring me to be creative; they’re hiring me to deliver a control.’” – Carline Anglade-Cole
22. “Every copywriter knows what it is to struggle with copy for hours, for days – fixing it, polishing it, rearranging it. We have all been guilty of leaving the headline until last and then spending half an hour on it – or perhaps only ten minutes.” – John Caples
Do you have a favourite? Can you think of other inspirational copywriting quotes? Tell me your favourites on Twitter @JWCopywriting or over on my Facebook page.
And if you need a great copywriter, then JW Copywriting Services is here to help! Take a look at my website today. You can then contact me using the form here – I aim to reply within 24 hours.
In next week’s JW’s Thoughts of a Copywriter, I’ll be showing you 6 superb examples of copywriting in TV and film trailers.
Have a fantastic week,
JW