This may seem an odd observation from someone who just published a 190-page, 28,654-word book. But sometimes, the best, most memorable advice on copywriting, messaging and persuasion is expressed in just a short sentence or two.
I collect them all the time – a mix of timeless quotes from legendary copywriters and more contemporary observations. In today’s post, here are 20 of my favorites. They are in no special order save the last five.
“People don’t give because your copy is clever. They give because something in it feels true. They give because it sounds like a real person talking about something that matters.” — Roger Craver
“AI can generate standard stuff, but it can’t create standout stuff – stuff that’s going to really mean something to someone.” — Vikki Ross
“The modern information environment rewards actors who communicate continuously, emotionally, and locally – and it punishes those who show up late, speak abstractly, and rely on episodic campaigns.” — Will Robinson
“Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.” — Leo Burnett
“Good advertising is written from one person to another. When it is aimed at millions it rarely moves anyone.” — Fairfax M. Cone
“Your job is to know your visitors, customers and prospects so well, you understand the situation they’re in right now, where they’d like to be, and exactly how your solution can and will get them to their ideal self.” – Joanna Wiebe
“There is your audience. There is the language. There are the words that they use.” – Eugene Schwartz
“Decide the effect you want to produce in your reader.” — Robert Collier
“If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.” – Elmore Leonard
“Write with emotion and back it up with facts, not vice versa.” – Kay Lautman
“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
“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” — Mark Twain
“Rewriting is where the game is won or lost.” — William Zinsser
“Try not to write the stuff people tend to skip.” — Elmore Leonard
“Knowing your audience doesn’t require clairvoyance. It’s more like detective work.”
— Erin K. Larson-Burnett
“Think less about what you want to say and more about what your audience needs to hear.”
“In today’s media climate, you have to be an architect of attention, not just a distributor of information.”
“With visual storytelling, you don’t just hear the words; you see what you’re being told come to life right before your eyes.”
“If you want to make the stories you tell more persuasive, make them less predictable.”
“Don’t use AI to write for you. Use it as a junior editor to react to your writing. Don’t use AI to think for you. Use it to stress test your thinking.”
As you may have noticed, those last five quotes are unattributed. They are from me – statements drawn from various chapters in my new book. The 4 Pillars of Persuasion: how smart nonprofits attract attention, build trust, and drive impact will be released on June 23rd. But if interested, you can pre-order it now. Just search the book’s title on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Bookshop.org or your favorite online book-buying outlet.
