Maxim #2:
To become a master, study the masters.

Dear Marketing Maven,

Let me tell you about a most intimidating meeting I had with a famous copy chief, and the invaluable lesson he taught me in just ten minutes. I’ll never forget it.

When I was a young copywriter with a few years of success under my belt, I landed a job in the Direct Response division of Ogilvy & Mather, one of the most famous and respected ad agencies in the world. It was as if I’d been called up from the minor leagues and was about to play in the majors. Wow, what a feeling!

My excitement didn’t last long.

Late in the morning of my first day, the department copy chief summoned me to his office. As I nervously sat across from him, this grizzled veteran of scores of successful campaigns for famous clients gave me his “welcome talk.”

With visible exasperation, he complained that most copywriters haven’t even read—let alone memorized!—the core teachings of the great advertising masters of all time.

Shaking his head and raising his palms in wonder that such incompetence could ever be tolerated in any serious copy department, he made it fiercely clear that such unforgivable ignorance would never be acceptable in his shop!

He looked me in the eye and said, “Most young copywriters are as useless as medical students who aspire to practice medicine but can’t be bothered to study the difference between a liver and a kidney or where to locate either!”

I got the message and faithfully read the books he recommended. On every assignment he gave me, I strove to put their master principles into practice. Over the next few years, thanks to these principles and my fidelity to them, I seldom lost a split-run test. And when I went out on my own as a free-lancer, my phone never stopped ringing.

That ten-minute talk changed the trajectory of my entire career. Until then, I’d never bothered to find out who the greatest advertising masters were, or the principles they taught for consistently creating breakthrough ads and response.

Had I never learned those guiding principles, I would likely have spent my entire career wandering a bleak and bitter wilderness of guesswork, confusion, incompetence, failure, excuses, and self-doubt.

Years later, I came to realize that the same formula holds true in all areas of life and provides a dependable path to success…

First, learn from the masters the most powerful core principles that leverage your probability of success to the highest level in whatever area of life you wish to conquer.

Second, keep repeating those core principles to yourself until they become your dominant thoughts and influence all your actions. Rinse and repeat until those actions become your automatic habits. In time, this process will bring you exceptional success.

In your next issue, I will tell you the name of the person my intimidating copy chief considered the greatest advertising master of all time, and the most important core principle this master taught.

It’s the single most important advertising maxim you’ll ever read. Every copywriter should remember and apply it every day of their career. Tattoo it on your forearm if you must, but never forget it!

For now, please remember today’s guiding principle, courtesy of my tough-as-nails copy chief: