Descriptive-Over-Adverbs Copywriting
Show a picture the reader can see instead of telling them a blur.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 2
- Confidence
- 82%
Fechter's copywriting method is deceptively simple: strip adverbs and blanket words, and replace vague adjectives with concrete, picturable detail. 'I was tired this morning' can't be pictured; 'I could barely roll out of bed this morning' can. When the reader can imagine the scene, emotion follows; when you leave them to imagine everything, reading becomes hard work and emotion evaporates. He credits the entire method to applying The Elements of Style, a book most people last opened in high school.
Origin
After a $12/hour copywriting job forced Fechter to practice writing for years, he realized his 'secret' was simply applying the basic grammar principles in The Elements of Style — a head-of-growth friend confirmed it, saying Fechter 'just does everything in that grammar book.'
Core principles
- 01Adverbs and blanket words like 'very' and 'really' always make a story worse.
- 02Descriptive, specific language lets the reader picture the scene and feel emotion.
- 03Vague statements force the reader to imagine everything, which is hard work and kills emotion.
- 04The rules live in a short book — The Elements of Style — and simply need applying.
How to run it
- 1
Cut the adverbs and blanket words
Remove words like 'very' and 'really' and adverbs generally, since they weaken the sentence without adding a picture.
Watch out Everyone thinks they're the exception; there are no exceptions.
- 2
Replace vague with picturable
Swap abstract statements for concrete detail the reader can visualize, so the sentence carries emotion.
Pro tip 'I could barely roll out of bed' beats 'I was tired' because the reader can see it.
Watch out Leaving too much to the reader's imagination makes content hard to read and drains the emotion.
In the wild
Fechter contrasts 'I was really tired when I woke up this morning' with 'I could barely roll out of bed this morning' to show how concrete language creates a mental picture.
→ The descriptive version lets the reader imagine the scene and feel the emotion, making the writing land.
Common mistakes
Believing you're the exception
Writers cling to adverbs as personal style, but adverbs make the story worse every time with no exceptions.
Is it for you?
Best for
Anyone writing social content, stories, or marketing copy who wants readers to feel emotion and keep reading.
Not ideal for
Writers who believe they are the exception to grammar and refuse to cut their favorite adverbs.
From the transcript
“adverbs will always make your story worse yeah there's no exceptions”
“when you hear I can barely roll out of bed you can actually picture it but if I say I was tired this morning you…”
From the episode
Josh Fechter: Growth Hacker Marketing Secrets
Josh Fechter