A swipe file is a box or a folder where you keep the headlines that stopped you, the opening paragraphs that pulled you in, the promotional emails that stood out from a hundred others. Dave Dubrawsky argues that building one is the single most useful habit available to anybody writing their own copy, and he explains how to begin today.
He works as a copywriter and it shows in the posts on what separates good from great, on content basics, on high touch marketing, and on how not to spam the people who trusted you with an address. There is also a thoroughly unimpressed piece arguing that social media wrecked marketing.
Then comes the commentary, much of it in capital letters. Job security gets described as a sword hanging over a desk. Unemployment figures get accused of being reported creatively. Christmas receives a straightforward complaint.
Some of it is deliberately uncomfortable, including a two part piece that uses a very dark word to talk about starting over.
Begin with the swipe file post and actually build one. Then read the copywriting pieces.