19 Lifestyle Inspirations for Copywriting — You don’t need a hyped-up book or a course to learn this skill.

Copywriting is a way of life. It’s basically as compulsory as other things in your lifestyle. You don’t necessarily need to read books or complete courses when you can learn this skill by paying attention to the details around. What was the text written on that packet of oatmeal? What is the copy on the advertising billboard in your neighbourhood? What would have been alternate titles to the book you just read?

You obviously don’t remember any of this if you aren’t passionate for copywriting. The problem with books and courses is that there are hundreds of them around the internet but they are just experiences that worked for some people.

You can learn from these experiences but you can’t live those experiences.

It would have taken a lot of practice before Blair Warren wrote this 27-word persuasion sentence highlighted below.

The problem with ‘If you want to learn copywriting, start with these 10 books’ and ‘Spend $1000 and learn the basic laws of copywriting’ is the gap between their awareness level and yours.

For example, everything written in these books depends on the awareness level of the writer in terms of copywriting. Suppose, his/her awareness level was 7/10, you won’t understand a single word if you are still a 2/10.

Same goes with all these hyped courses around. You can pay a few bucks, grab the solutions and apply them in your strategy. But, the harsh truth is — it always doesn’t work. What worked for them might not work for you and it brings you back to zero again.

You pay a few bucks again, get the solutions handy and apply them. This time, from a different copywriter. Again, they might work once or twice and then there is going to be a saturation point.

What do you do then? You practice it. Literally, every day without investing extra time.

Have a look:

1. Read the tagline

Have a look at this one from Drip:

I won’t say this is a genius copy. It’s more than that. If you look closely, the words used by the writer help you imagine drip. It’s a mix of creativity and emotions. The copywriter didn’t write this line to earn more money. It was written with extreme patience to make you feel the essence of every single word.

Grab your notepad and list down all the things you learn from this copy. I’ll start...

• Write down the 5 main characteristics of your product. For this one, it’ll be — colour, texture, shape, taste and use.
• Then, start writing a long paragraph defining each of these characteristics in detail.
• Next, edit it to make it crisp and do it till you reach less than 50 words.
• After this point, it’s all about reading it aloud to analyse if it makes sense.

Trust me, you won’t get glossy lines in the first go. You’ll have to edit until you find it relatable and interesting.

Show it to your teammates, ask for feedback and work on it.

This idea is 100% DG approved. Check for yourself.

2. Billboard advertisements

Let’s not talk about the ones you’ve already seen a million times in your marketing groups.

Let’s talk about the one you ignored.

I am not going to fluff this up with bullshit.

The rule is simple — The first word of your sentence should lead to another with increasing curiosity. By the time they reach the end, suspense breaks and they laugh.

I intentionally used this advertisement because there are no visuals. Just words.

3. Email newsletters

The thing about learning copy from emails is simple — Subscribe the best writers. There you go — HoneyCopy, Copyhackers, Talia Wolf, Henneke, Lianna Patch, CXL and

You need to find the ones who inspire you and teach you new stuff every day. These newsletters are my comfortable space because I relate with the writers. So, warning, again, subscribe to 10 newsletters, analyse the first 2–3 emails and keep the ones who inspire you.

For example, I have created different folders for my favourite newsletters.

Just a glimpse of the subject lines and the opening line gives me 100 different ideas while working on a new product.

4. Notifications (CRED, Zomato..)

You must have seen the way Zomato plays with our cravings. It’s all a strategy. Sometimes, they also follow reverse psychology by telling you to make something at home.

CRED, on the other hand, literally hooks me up to the most boring product upgrade with its copy.

This:

And this:

All these are the notifications you otherwise clear and ignore. They have a few seconds to grab your attention here.

5. Article/Book Titles

Every title tells a story.

It gives you a glimpse of what’s inside without summarising everything. It’s tricky.

You have to write 4–5 words on your cover page without distracting from the theme. I love how Seth does it. ‘Linchpin’, ‘All Marketers are Liars’, ‘The Dip’ and many more.

6. Homepage of a website

Homepage or the main landing page of a website decides whether or not a user will stay there for more than 10 seconds.

You win the game here if your copy is as badass as this one:

Try finding all such websites, set a timer for 10–15 minutes and try writing down the first words.

I changed the landing page/homepage text of these 8 time management tools in 5 minutes. And I got this feedback from Justin Blackman (I really admire his copy).

I practise all these exercises personally and they have worked for me.

7. Newspaper headlines

Have you ever noticed the first five headlines you read after opening a newspaper?

I am not talking about your favourite section here.

Example, you always read the sports section. But, have you ever read something from the glamour/lifestyle section because of a crazy headline?

Note it down, take a picture and try to find the ‘why’ here.

Why did that headline grab your attention? Was it about the words or the news? Try to find all these answers and question your actions here.

You’ll ultimately find that one copywriting strategy they used in this headline.

8. Local sellers

You must have noticed the desperation shown by a local seller on the streets.

The words he uses and keeps on repeating them.

In India, first, compliment your attire and then suggest some accessory which is missing. For example, a tie or a scarf. And, they’ll always greet you with a smile until you go to their competitor.

Out of all the noise in these streets, how do you decide your stall?

Sometimes, you like the products being displayed and other times it’s about the affection they show you.

But, still, the pitch that they speak continuously for hours has a huge impact on your decision.

9. Product taglines

You don’t need any details about the iconic ‘We did it Joe’ moment Nike enjoyed recently. All credits to Kamala Harris.

Again, I am not a big fan of the taglines of products that are already popular.

But the one that sticks is this,

Dollar Shave Club: “Shave Time. Shave Money.”

Through this slogan, they wanted to tell people that they could save almost $100–292/year on blades. Also, they would get a monthly supply delivered to them at their places.

The best part about this slogan is its relatability with an ongoing campaign. Not only this, but it also resonates with the voice of the brand.

Now, try thinking of alternate slogans you would have written for the same campaign.

Stop here for 5 minutes, think and list down atleast 1 slogan.

Here’s mine

• Save Shave the pain.

10. Branding videos/ Commercials

Have a look at this ad — “Get Rid Of Cable”

I am a part of a private marketing group and somebody shared it there.

I started watching it and then I got hooked up. Genius copy!

Mostly, advertisements are hyped up because they are already selling a Rolls Royce or a Mercedes-Benz.

But, you’ll find a superb script in underrated commercials like this one.

The principles remain the same. A good script can always get converted into an amazing email and you can also use it on your homepage.

Because it speaks to the consumer.

11. Call To Action

I have seen the most creative bits of copy in a small CTA.

Have a look,

Even when we can write something better than ‘Give Basecamp a Try’, my focus still remains on the below line.

It gives me a sense of authority and pushes me to click on the yellow CTA.

‘4,249 companies signed up in the last week alone’ is another way of saying ‘You need this solution and 4,249 others approve of it. Go, grab it quickly’.

12. Text written on frames in a cafe

Ever notice the walls in a cafe or the entrances?

Apart from the ambience, if there’s something that attracts a user, it’s this.

The witty lines on the walls making it even harder for them to avoid taking a picture.

Now, compare the way these lines change from local cafes to the bigger chains. And then how they drastically become even more sophisticated at a Starbucks.

These boards/frames represent the voice of the customers who visit a Mcdonald’s or a Starbucks.

13. Fictions

‘Atlas Shrugged’ is the best example here.

This book is filled with examples of words which make you feel a thing or two.

They won’t use cliches like ‘What kills you makes you stronger’.

But rather stick to something as deep as this,

If you read ‘The Fountainhead’ and ‘Atlas Shrugged’, I don’t think you’ll need any other book to find new words.

14. Notes from your loved ones

Just received this from the love of my life. No fancy words, no exclamations used and still I can feel the warmth.

This is the best copywriting example because your lover, family, friends know you better than anyone else.

So, they use some gestures in the message that hit you in the right chords.

Now, Look at this letter,

I found this when I was reading something on VeryGoodCopy.

And I couldn’t help myself from immediately noting down all the points which make it brilliant.

No connectors (not even ‘And’), short sentences, brilliant pauses, that ‘haha’, candid and the last o.k.

Damn, this is so real.

15. Twitter

Harry dry shared the most appropriate copy example inspired by Rihanna’s Twitter feed.

Have a look,

Not only this, I find influencers mostly just typing out as they speak on Twitter.

16. Classic Campaign Posters

‘This is a poster’ by Angus Hyland. He was Fabian Herrmann for this one.

Read it. Word by word. Not only is this idea a classic, but it also proves that you don’t need images when your words are so precise.

And the irony is that it is still called a ‘design’.

Next, look at this masterpiece by Alexandre Bettler(Btw he is a baker now at a cafe).

I took this image from a book I was reading called ‘Poster-art’ by Charlotte Rivers.

Alexandre made this poster while he was studying at the Royal College of Art in London.

He explains it like “making a connection between the different moments of Nothing we can experience, while speaking, writing, or reading. It is expressed visually here as a text containing a river, the nice name for a blank line running through a text that graphic designers should avoid. On the poster, the river goes from top left to bottom right.”

Every single line has a deep hidden meaning which is both simple and complex at the same time.

You feel the true meaning of a ‘blank’ through this text.

I can assure you that you didn’t just scroll through this image after reading the first line. The first line leads to the second, then third and you read the whole thing just to find out the hidden meaning here.

It creates curiosity, nothingness and leaves a meaning for you to pursue.

17. T-shirts

Have you seen T-shirts that depict your state of mind?

Well, don’t you ask the person immediately ‘Hey! Where did you get this? I want one too’

And then you google it immediately or maybe later. But, it is still on top of your mind.

That’s how copywriting works.

Sometimes, when you can’t tell people how you feel, you can simply wear a T-shirt saying ‘No coding changes on Friday’.

It’s the most basic and the coolest application of a badass copy.

18. Screenplays

I still remember this one from Bojack,

‘It gets easier. Every day it gets a little easier. But you gotta do it every day. That’s the hard part. But it does get easier.’

Simple words with a deep meaning.

It makes you feel a thing or two. This is the reason people love this show where even the main character is just a horse. The story keeps them hooked up. Dialogues help them express their own feelings through a show. It’s just like putting words to emotions.

And that’s what real copywriting must do.

19. Food Menu

Found this written in a menu at a cafe recently,

Sometimes, I also find weird names given to basic food items just to give the user a feeling that they are ordering something exclusive.

Subconsciously, you get attracted to this concept and end up ordering more than you planned.

So, that’s it!

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Also, feel free to add any lifestyle inspiration which worked for you.