If you're having trouble getting your ad started -- of if your ad is sort of lagging in numbers, and you want to revise it -- then here's a tip you can never go wrong following.

Check this out:

One of the best all-time quotes I ever heard was from a guy named Earl Nightingale (Of Nightingale Conant fame) in his video The Strangest Secret.

And the quote went something like this:

If you want to get ahead and succeed in life, just look around at what everyone else is doing, and do the exact opposite.

And guess what?

This is even more true when it comes to copywriting. Especially if your numbers are low and you're in a crowded market.

In other words, if you see everyone writing their ads in a certain "style" -- like, for example, the super-hyped up "how to get rich" ads use -- then the best thing you can do is go in the exact opposite direction and tone everything down.

On the other hand, if everyone else is toning down their claims and rhetoric, then all you have to do is rev yours up.

The idea is to stand out from the crowd and get noticed. Believe it or not, many times an ad's problems are more a matter of not being noticed than anything else.

Bottom line: Whenever you're stuck and not sure what the best way is to approach writing an ad, just look at what all your competition is doing and do the opposite.

Ben Settle is an expert copywriter and direct marketer. If you liked this article then check out Ben's website at http://bensettle.com -- and get your hands on over 500 pages of advertising ideas, strategies and tactics just like this one -- as well as rare swipe file ads and hot marketing information not easily found anywhere else.