The God Particle of Copywriting

I’m not religious.

At least not anymore.

I grew up Christian, but left the faith many years ago.

I left for many reasons. But one in particular (that is pertinent to copywriting … you’ll see why in a sec) has to do with the origin of the universe.

The big question that was always on my mind — and still is, along with many others I’m sure — is simple.

Has the universe always been here?

Or did someone else create it?

I have no evidence that could point in either direction.

But … that’s not really what this story is about.

I’ll say this.

One thing I do find interesting is the discovery of the “god particle,” or the Higgs boson.

The theory around the Higgs boson is that the discovery of it, in the summer of 2012, contained major implications for the universe and its origins.

To researchers, the particle’s existence is the “physical proof” of a non-visible force.

A force, across the universe, that gave mass to everything after the Big Bang.

Stars, planets, space dust — all of this exists, according to researchers — because of this tiny little subatomic particle.

I can’t say I understand the science behind it. I’m a writer, not a particle physicist.

And who knows?

Maybe matter has always existed. Maybe something created it.

But either way, the debate between “something created this” and “this always existed” is fascinating to me.

Especially when the idea is applied to the context of copywriting.

Because regardless of what you believe about the origin of the universe, there’s an irrefutable truth in copywriting that you can’t ignore.

Desire cannot be created. It can only be channeled.

This line is directly from the old master himself, Gene Schwartz.

It means that the desire your prospects have — for solving their problems, overcoming their obstacles, and achieving their dreams — existed before you ever wrote a single line of copy targeting them.

But weirdly, this is an area where I see many copywriters and businesses fall flat on their face.

I know, because I did it too in my early days of marketing.

Trying to convince and persuade readers that they absolutely needed the thing I was selling, even if the product had never been validated before.

Trying to write copy like this is a nightmare, but there is an easier way.

Instead of trying to convince your reader why they need to take action and respond to your copy, it’s much easier to meet them where they are at.

Desires, emotions and all.

This is why I constantly harp on the idea of traffic and product fit being such an important component to copywriting.

I even talk about it on my landing page, because without understanding this idea, I wouldn’t be able to write such high performing copy.

This mindset shift was one of the most important things I discovered in my copywriting career.

And, lucky for you, taking advantage of it is incredibly easy.

If you want to stop convincing — and start guiding — with your copy, do these 3 things immediately:

1. Research your market and understand the desires and pain points they already have

2. Work ONLY with products that solve those paint points (and make sure the products are high-quality)

3. Make sure the traffic that runs to your copy is the RIGHT traffic for that pain point and product

Obviously, it takes time to build these skills.

It took me years.

And one email or blog post isn’t enough space to expand on how to do all of these things in depth.

But I’m considering developing a short course that could help you get started solving this issue in your own copy immediately, so you never have to “second guess” whether your copy will perform.

More on that another time.

For now, I’m gonna go grab a coffee.

A coffee I didn’t make … but always existed (in the coffee shop near my apartment). Lol.

David Patrick

P.S. — I have a *very* special offer running right now for copywriters who sign up to my email list. I won’t tell you what it is here … but you’ve probably never seen anything like it.

It’ll help you become a better copywriter in just 20 minutes, and you don’t even have to pay me for it if you don’t want to. Sign up below.