#362 | Dave sits down with Eddie Shleyner, founder of VeryGoodCopy.com, to talk about why great marketing copy can't be generated — it has to be written. They get into why AI writing feels flat, what separates copy that moves people from copy that just fills space, and why the process of writing is where the real work happens. Eddie also shares how he accidentally built one of the most-read copywriting newsletters on the internet and what he's learned about writing for humans after years of studying what makes people take action.


Timestamps

  • (00:00) - - - How Eddie accidentally discovered copywriting while writing job ads
  • (02:58) - - - Why marketers are starting to push back on AI-generated content
  • (02:59) - - - Why the best copy gives readers less — and makes them feel more
  • (03:04) - - - Marketing is a human profession because empathy can't be prompted
  • (03:13) - - - Where AI actually helps: research, not writing
  • (03:17) - - - How VeryGoodCopy started as a private Google Doc no one was supposed to see
  • (03:22) - - - Why AI writing tells you how to feel instead of letting you feel it
  • (03:23) - - - The experiment: Eddie wrote the same story as AI, word for word, to prove a point
  • (03:25) - - - What inspired writing has that AI writing doesn't
  • (03:31) - - - Why shortcuts in the writing process produce worse work, not faster work


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