Back when I was an auditor, people assumed I was good with numbers. But I’m secretly bad at them. Mental sums take me forever.
And yet, I scraped through audit life just fine.
That’s because being good at numbers is maybe 5% of the job. (Okay, don’t quote me on that figure 😂)
The rest of it came down to other things: people skills, time management, the ability to spot what the numbers aren’t saying.
You had to look at the financials and piece together a bigger picture of how the business really worked.
Now that I’m in copywriting and lifecycle marketing, I’ve noticed something similar.
Being “good with words” is only a small part of the job.
Which might sound weird coming from someone who writes for a living. But hear me out.
Good copy usually rides on the back of five things:
A strong offer
The right segment
A timely message
Authenticity
Consistency
When these are in place, the copy often writes itself. The words are just the expression of something that’s already working.
Of course, there is still a need to study the art of copywriting itself. And I think everyone should at least have a basic study of it, just don’t assume it’s a magic pill that can revive a business overnight.
So if your emails aren’t performing the way you want, it’s probably not because you’re bad at writing.
More likely, one of those five pillars isn’t quite right yet.
If you want help figuring out which one, head here:
