--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The trouble with many copywriters in…" description: "\"The trouble with many copywriters in general agencies are that they don't really think in terms of selling. They have never written direct-response; th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/205/david-ogilvy-1326_agency_the-trouble-with-many-copywriters-in-gen_413452.png" --- # The trouble with many copywriters in general agencies are… ![“The trouble with many copywriters in general agencies are that they don't really think in terms of selling. They have never written direct-response; they have never tasted blood” quote by David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/205/david-ogilvy-1326_agency_the-trouble-with-many-copywriters-in-gen_413452.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/205/david-ogilvy-1326_agency_the-trouble-with-many-copywriters-in-gen_413452.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/205/david-ogilvy-1326_agency_the-trouble-with-many-copywriters-in-gen_413452.png) > “The trouble with many copywriters in general agencies are that they don't really think in terms of selling. They have never written direct-response; they have never tasted blood” [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Copywriters in agencies often lack direct‑response experience, leading to weak persuasive focus and missed sales opportunities. **In simple terms:** Copywriters need sales‑focused mindset. Key Takeaway Study direct‑response techniques. Themes advertising copywriting direct response sales agency culture Mood analytical pragmatic Type instructional strategic When to use this quote - Product launch - email campaigns - landing page creation - sales copy reviews Key Concepts Persuasion psychology consumer behavior writing discipline Questions to Reflect On - Can you blend brand storytelling with sales focus? - When is direct‑response appropriate? A Different Perspective Not all copy benefits from direct‑response style. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Selling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selling/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [In most agencies, account executives outnumber the copywriters two to one. If you were a dairy farmer, would you employ twice as many milkers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/in-most-agencies-account-executives-outnumber-the-copywriters-two-to/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [This is the copywriters task: not to create mass desire — but to channel and direct it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-schwartz/this-is-the-copywriters-task-not-to-create-mass-desire-but-to-channel/) [Eugene Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-schwartz/) > [“Copywriters are salespeople whose job is to convince people to buy products.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-w-bly/copywriters-are-salespeople-whose-job-is-to-convince-people-to-buy/) [Robert W. Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-w-bly/) > [Bob Bly is among the most accomplished self-employed copywriters in recent years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-slaunwhite/bob-bly-is-among-the-most-accomplished-self-employed-copywriters-in/) Steve Slaunwhite > [“almost all copywriters these days write in a conversational manner.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-goldberg/almost-all-copywriters-these-days-write-in-a-conversational-manner/) Jason Goldberg > [Copywriters, journalists, mainstream authors, ghostwriters, bloggers and advertising creatives have as much right to think of themselves as good writers as academics, poets, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/copywriters-journalists-mainstream-authors-ghostwriters-bloggers-and/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Copywriters on Madison Avenue constantly grapple with the question of where their work sits on the totem pole of 'real' writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-droga/copywriters-on-madison-avenue-constantly-grapple-with-the-question-of/) [David Droga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-droga/) > [Most copywriters are like engines. They take a while to warm up to get to the point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drayton-bird/most-copywriters-are-like-engines-they-take-a-while-to-warm-up-to-get/) [Drayton Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drayton-bird/) > [Most agencies run scared, most of the time. . . .Frightened people are powerless to produce good advertising. . . . If I were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/most-agencies-run-scared-most-of-the-time-frightened-people-are/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [If you ever have the good fortune to create a great advertising campaign, you will soon see another agency steal it. This is irritating,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/if-you-ever-have-the-good-fortune-to-create-a-great-advertising/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Training should not be confined to trainees. It should be a continuous process, and should include the entire professional staff of the agency. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/training-should-not-be-confined-to-trainees-it-should-be-a-continuous/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Experience has taught me that advertisers get the best results when they pay their agency a flat fee. It is unrealistic to expect your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/experience-has-taught-me-that-advertisers-get-the-best-results-when/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [ We have no clear ideas of the agency of \[demonic\] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of-demonic-spirits-nor-is-it/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [Anyone who's read my 'Terror in the Skies' series knows that I have not been writing with an eye toward approval from any government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-jacobsen/anyone-who-s-read-my-terror-in-the-skies-series-knows-that-i-have-not/) [Annie Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-jacobsen/) > [The work, the work, the work. This is what the business is all about. This is the fun, the glory, the pleasure. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-dusenberry/the-work-the-work-the-work-this-is-what-the-business-is-all-about/) [Phil Dusenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-dusenberry/) ## More by David Ogilvy > [I figure that my staff will be less reluctant to work overtime if I work longer hours than they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/i-figure-that-my-staff-will-be-less-reluctant-to-work-overtime-if-i/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [In most agencies, account executives outnumber the copywriters two to one. If you were a dairy farmer, would you employ twice as many milkers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/in-most-agencies-account-executives-outnumber-the-copywriters-two-to/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [“Your alcoholics may include some of your brightest stars. The problem is to identify them, protected as they always are by their secretaries and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/your-alcoholics-may-include-some-of-your-brightest-stars-the-problem/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [It takes a big idea to attract the attention of consumers and get them to buy your product. Unless your advertising contains a big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/it-takes-a-big-idea-to-attract-the-attention-of-consumers-and-get/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Many manufacturers secretly question whether advertising really sells their product, but are vaguely afraid that their competitors might steal a march on them if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/many-manufacturers-secretly-question-whether-advertising-really-sells/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Once upon a time I was riding on the top of a First Avenue bus, when I heard a mythical housewife say to another,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/once-upon-a-time-i-was-riding-on-the-top-of-a-first-avenue-bus-when-i/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [You can't save souls in an empty church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/you-can-t-save-souls-in-an-empty-church/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative, original thinker unless you can also sell what you create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/in-the-modern-world-of-business-it-is-useless-to-be-a-creative/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Consumers don't think how they feel. They don't say what they think and they don't do what they say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/consumers-don-t-think-how-they-feel-they-don-t-say-what-they-think/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Compete with the immortals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/compete-with-the-immortals/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [You will never win fame and fortune unless you invent big ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/you-will-never-win-fame-and-fortune-unless-you-invent-big-ideas/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [The worst fault a salesman can commit is to be a bore. Foster any attempt to talk about other things; the longer you stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/the-worst-fault-a-salesman-can-commit-is-to-be-a-bore-foster-any/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [I don't believe in tricky advertising, I don't believe in cute advertising, I don't believe in comic advertising. The people who perpetrate that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/i-don-t-believe-in-tricky-advertising-i-don-t-believe-in-cute/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [I never assign a product to a writer unless I know that he is personally interested in it. Every time I have written a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/i-never-assign-a-product-to-a-writer-unless-i-know-that-he-is/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Talent, I believe, is most likely to be found among nonconformists, dissenters, and rebels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/talent-i-believe-is-most-likely-to-be-found-among-nonconformists/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) [Explore all 255 David Ogilvy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) ## More Agency quotes > [The work, the work, the work. This is what the business is all about. This is the fun, the glory, the pleasure. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-dusenberry/the-work-the-work-the-work-this-is-what-the-business-is-all-about/) [Phil Dusenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-dusenberry/) > [Anyone who's read my 'Terror in the Skies' series knows that I have not been writing with an eye toward approval from any government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-jacobsen/anyone-who-s-read-my-terror-in-the-skies-series-knows-that-i-have-not/) [Annie Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-jacobsen/) > [ We have no clear ideas of the agency of \[demonic\] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of-demonic-spirits-nor-is-it/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [In 1949 there was a new thing called Television, to which my agency and advisers opposed as a performance medium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-young/in-1949-there-was-a-new-thing-called-television-to-which-my-agency/) [Loretta Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-young/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [I know that God loves us. He allows us to exercise our moral agency even when we misuse it. He permits us to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/i-know-that-god-loves-us-he-allows-us-to-exercise-our-moral-agency/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [I was taking all prints and I brought them to the Magnum meetings, trying the old Josef Koudelka trick: Give them to photographers, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-van-agtmael/i-was-taking-all-prints-and-i-brought-them-to-the-magnum-meetings/) [Peter van Agtmael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-van-agtmael/) > [The WPA was one of the most productive elements of FDR's alphabet soup of agencies because it put people to work building roads, bridges,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-wpa-was-one-of-the-most-productive-elements-of-fdr-s-alphabet/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [In most agencies, account executives outnumber the copywriters two to one. If you were a dairy farmer, would you employ twice as many milkers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/in-most-agencies-account-executives-outnumber-the-copywriters-two-to/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Free agency is a gift of God…The world does not comprehend the significance of that divine gift to the individual. It is as inherent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-mckay/free-agency-is-a-gift-of-god-the-world-does-not-comprehend-the/) [David O. McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-mckay/) > [You are also asked to take an oath, and that's the oath of service. The oath of service is not to secrecy, but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/you-are-also-asked-to-take-an-oath-and-that-s-the-oath-of-service-the/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [You cannot have 300-some million Americans - and really, right, the global citizenry be at risk of having their phone conversations intercepted with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/you-cannot-have-300-some-million-americans-and-really-right-the/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) > [I do a lot of writing in my capacity as the creative director for a marketing agency. These days, though, I'm trying to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-doescher/i-do-a-lot-of-writing-in-my-capacity-as-the-creative-director-for-a/) [Ian Doescher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-doescher/) > [Unfortunately, corruption is widespread in government agencies and public enterprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-papandreou/unfortunately-corruption-is-widespread-in-government-agencies-and/) [George Papandreou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-papandreou/) Browse all 1,225 Agency quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The trouble with many copywriters in general agencies are that they don't really think in terms of selling. They have never written direct-response; they have never tasted blood", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Ogilvy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/the-trouble-with-many-copywriters-in-general-agencies-are-that-they/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Agency" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/the-trouble-with-many-copywriters-in-general-agencies-are-that-they/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/205/david-ogilvy-1326_agency_the-trouble-with-many-copywriters-in-gen_413452.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/205/david-ogilvy-1326_agency_the-trouble-with-many-copywriters-in-gen_413452.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/205/david-ogilvy-1326_agency_the-trouble-with-many-copywriters-in-gen_413452.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The trouble with many copywriters in general agencies are that they don't really think in terms of selling…” — David Ogilvy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Ogilvy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The trouble with many copywriters in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/the-trouble-with-many-copywriters-in-general-agencies-are-that-they/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/the-trouble-with-many-copywriters-in-general-agencies-are-that-they/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```