Principles

"The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

These are not copywriting principles alone. Although they work for copywriting, they also work for all writing. They are more powerful, foundational.

Principles will always trump tactics, but they're fuzzier things to make concrete. Sometimes they're disguised by their simplicity. None of them will surprise you but that's why people overlook them.

I've been able to apply these principles by fixing them in my mind with metaphor. Hopefully they get fixed in your mind too.

The principles are my foundations of writing, parents of the methods you'll read about later. They’re states of mind you must consciously engage.

If you embed these principles in all your writing, you'll be a better writer than most.