Direct response copywriter kicks writing rules out the window without mercy

I want to talk about adjectives for a second.

But not the way you might think.

The common writing advice says to delete your adverbs and adjectives because they are the ‘lazy writers’ tools and use other, more potent words that move your readers.

I agree with this rule.

Hell, I even wrote multiple emails and tweets about it up to this point.

But no rule would be a rule if you wouldn’t be able to find a way or two to break its spine… go absolutely against its sayings… and still win big.

You see, today I finished a talk I started a while ago.

(Am I do only one who starts a podcast… Pauses it in the middle, and returns a month later? Ah… Why do I make my job harder?)

Anywho… the talk was given by advertising genius Eugene Schwartz.

And during the talk, he said something that hit my ear in the wrong way. Not that he was wrong… It was just different from the “default”.

He said that adjectives are good.

Surprised?

Don’t be.

The reason writers say that other writers should delete most of their adjectives is because adjectives do no good… in the wrong hands.

If they are misused, or the wrong adjective is used, it will probably only downgrade your writing.

So just in case… delete them.

But the ultimate goal isn’t to eliminate adjectives from your writing. If they were so bad, they wouldn’t be part of the language.

The goal is to learn to use them.

Once you do that, they will stop hurting your writing quality and will make your sentences pop.

That’s why Schwartz said that adjectives are good.

They really are.

If you know how to use them and use them sparingly.

Because the power of adjectives lies in their surprise factor. The more you use them the weaker they become.

That’s also something you want to do with your emails. The bigger the surprise the better. And if you need help implementing it… You can get to me here:

https://kristofnemeth.vercel.app/contact

Kristof Nemeth