How Copywriters write... Paul Silverman

Paraphrased from "the Copy Book"

Paul Silverman

1. A Copywriter is like a lawyer building a persuasive case by selecting positive truths and omitting negative truths.
   
2. Copywriting is not about pace. It's about brilliance. Don't waste a word.
   
3. Break through to the reader is problem one.
   
4. Consider your headline your first sentence. Then keep going.
   
5. Visualize one reader and write to that one person.
   
6. Pay attention to paragraph transitions. Don't break, corner.
   
7. Anything brilliant can break any rule. (even the rule against puns)
   
8. Verbs make faster pictures than adjectives.
   
9. The greatest act of a copywriter would be to conceive of a scene in which no words appear.
   
10. When presenting your work, don't let the copy sell itself. Sell your passion.
    

(more to come...)