The 90% Rule:

90% of the impact of copy is subconscious.

I made up the number above. But see how definitive it sounds? The short and commanding declaration to start it all off, proclaiming it as a solid rule. Making it more definite with the use of a numeral.

While you cannot pinpoint an exact number, most of the power in a message comes through in the form of the messenger itself. To communicate a message, focus as much on how you say it as on what you are saying.

Copywriting is Psy-Ops

A successful copywriter can sell you on something without you even realizing you have been sold to.

Act strategically. Analyse the readers’ emotions, their psychological triggers. Use your words intelligently and subtly. A page of well-written copy is an intricately woven strategy – the copywriter has an important reason for each word used, how it is placed, the sounds of the word, the meaning of the word, the punctuation around it, the length of the word, length of the sentence, length of the paragraph, the word’s relation to the word five lines above it and the word five lines after it.

If you have created masterful copy, the only person who will notice how brilliant and intricate the strategy is will be another expert copywriter – or perhaps a highly skilled marketer or a Ph.D. in Linguistics. Of course, the true test of success is the results the copy generates. So while the client may not realize the depth of effort and talent that went into shaping the writing, the results will speak for themselves.