The Gavin Letters - Part 3

From: Caffeine Stimulated Nick Location: A Coffee Shop Date: 10/9/25 Gavin, After listening to your voice memo, I was happy to hear some of your insights and observations being on point. I want to make damn sure you REALLY get it. So I'm going to break down my notes for you. First Off, You Said Copywriting Is An Artistic Artform... YES! It absolutely is! And it's about using your imagination more than anything else. Look, anybody can string together a bunch of features and benefits. But it takes an artist to paint a picture in someone's mind. It takes imagination to make them FEEL something. Don't ever let anyone tell you this is just "business writing." This is art that pays the bills, very few will ever get this. WE are the ones in demand, without us NOBODY cares about your business. We make the ordinary appear extraordinary. A sample of writing from a post I threw up on the social interwebs today about a new update that is rolling out on Facebook Ads removing a lot of the technical aspects of advertising… “The new Meta Ads Andromeda update just made the game 10x more difficult for the majority of marketers. This is because the emphasis is now, more than ever before, going to be focused on THE CREATIVE. Media Buying will be non-existent in 5 years, you will just be uploading creatives to the platform. And unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of folks have become way too dependent on AI for their thinking and writing. You want ads that will turn $1 into $5 or more... You want ads that you can spend thousands on every single day profitably... You want to be able to know WHY the ad actually worked, so when it inevitably fizzles out, you can make a newer & better version... Sadly, you have been led to believe that some magic tool can help you do this. Ads do not work because you hit the right demographic or set up the right series of words that open 24 NLP loops written like Gary Halbert because you told GPT to do that with your master prompt. Ads work because you touched a nerve, scratched an itch, or answered a question which was causing someone to worry. The best ads use specific, concrete language that creates mental images so vivid that the reader can't help but see themselves in the scene. Can Artificial Intelligence help you create this? Yes, but only if you have Authentic Intelligence. Because nothing will ever replace the ability to explain the human experience, especially not a clanker in some data center. To be able to take the mental theatre in your mind, infuse it with the feelings in your heart, and then solidify it into concrete words has always been and always will be the most valuable skill in marketing. All this algo update is doing is just purging the industry even more. Good riddance, glue eaters be gone.” You Said Copy Is Everywhere... Damn right it is! Astute observation, my friend. Once you see it, you can't unsee it. It's in every email, every text message, every conversation where someone's trying to get someone else to do something. Hell, the way I'm writing to you right now? This is copy too. I'm trying to get you to understand something, to change how you think. That's what we do, we are shifters of beliefs and planters of mental seeds. You Were Spot On About Sub Headlines... We use subheadlines to create intrigue with people who just scan copy first and decide whether or not they're going to read. Most people are lazy readers. They'll look at your headline, then their eyes will dart around the page looking for reasons to either keep reading or bail out. Your sub-headlines are your chance to grab them and say "Wait! Don't go! This next part is really good!" Big Black BULBOUS “Penis Demons” Invading Los Angeles’ Gay Mexican Food Truck Scene At An Unprecedented Rate! That subheadline is a perfect example of doing too much, but my point is to show you… If someone was scrolling through and saw that, there is a 100% chance they read every single word to figure out what the hell we’re talking about. Now, I’m not saying to just make shit up… And definitely don’t be grotesque or vulgar for the sake of it… Rather, what I am saying is that subheadlines serve as a quick scan, in fact you should be able to get the jist of the entire set of copy just from reading subheadlines. Now, About This "Guessing" Thing You Mentioned... You said, "People are paying you and then you're just going to guess? You have to be scientific." Here's the truth: In large part, we ARE paid to give our BEST GUESS/INFORMED GUESS as to what will work by utilizing data. But what separates us from a lot of the other shit munchers out there is that they are so dishonest about it. I tell people straight up: "Hey, we are starting out TESTING what will work, and I only start your test after I feel like I understand your customer." We're not fortune tellers. We're detectives who make educated guesses based on evidence, not a cute creative idea we came up with during a brainstorm. It’s a lot like Jay Dyer asking, “What’s your argument?” Most creatives do not have an argument for their creative, they are the equivalent of the protestant saying, “Well, that’s just how I feel about it.” Jay would likely say, “Okay, that’s not an argument. Dude, I’m not trying to be rude, but why did you come on to debate if you don’t even have a basic understanding of an argument.” This is how I feel as well when I look at people’s attempts at writing copy. I tell the client (we call them partners), “I reviewed all 12 of the sales calls you sent me, every single one of your customer expressed a frustration around X, Y, and Z so I believe we should test ad angles that touch on these specific topics.” You Said, "It's Hard To See Any Formal Writing In Gary’s Newsletter"... YES!!!!! That is what we want! We do not want to write formally. We want all of our writing to be super casual, like we're writing to a friend. And yes, I absolutely do get influence from Gary. The man knew that formal writing kills sales. People don't buy from professors. They buy from friends. Imagine we’re selling a Point-Of-Sale Check Out System to local businesses. What is going to intrigue a business owner more… “Our Point-of-Sale (POS) system integrates seamlessly with existing retail infrastructures to optimize transaction throughput, minimize input error rates, and provide real-time synchronization across inventory, accounting, and CRM databases. Using adaptive machine learning algorithms, the system analyzes purchasing behavior, forecasts stock requirements, and automates reporting workflows to reduce administrative overhead. The interface is fully compliant with PCI-DSS standards and supports multi-device deployment, ensuring scalability and security across all operational endpoints.” Second-person, conversational version: “Feeling like it’s time for a new Point-Of-Sale Checkout System? Most business owners in the market for one find that it’s kind of like buying a car. You could buy the super fancy brand new super car with 16 bells and whistles that breaks 4-6x a year…Or you could buy the dependable and trusty new sedan that always starts and that was designed in a way where you never need to take it in for maintenance. Our checkout system runs fast, never crashes, and automatically keeps your inventory and sales synced. You don’t have to count receipts at the end of the day or worry about double-charging anyone. It’s simple: plug it in, turn it on, and it just works. No tech headaches, no waiting on some IT guy. You get paid faster, your staff spends less time fiddling with screens, and you can finally see what’s selling without digging through spreadsheets.” Think about the difference between the two… It’s akin to the Mac vs. PC commercials…nobody wants to buy from the PC. You Also Said "It's Like You're Reading A Novel"... Exactly! You cannot bore people into buying. Human and personal writing makes people buy. People want to be entertained. They want to be taken on a journey. They want to feel like they're part of a story, not reading a damn Ikea instruction manual. And Finally, About Using Questions... Yes, we love questions! Questions immediately beget an internal answer which we use in our attempt to pull the reader in. My most successful ad in the marriage niche starts with, "Want your wife to finally be grateful for the life you provide?" See what happens in your head when you read that? You can't help but think about it. That's the power of a good question. You're getting this faster than most people ever will. Keep copying out those letters by hand. Keep your eyes open. And for the love of all that's holy, keep writing like a human being talking to another human being. The world has enough boring business writing. What it needs is more people who can write words that make people feel something. Back to work, Nick