Whew!! I just got back from one of the most INTENSE three-day conferences I've ever attended, the AWAI Bootcamp in Delray Beach, Florida.

Absolutely NO tan to show for it (just a little midnight sand in my shoes), but I'm still so excited that I think I'll explode!

First off--there was an incredible array of speakers and presenters--some of the best writers and designers in the business. These are my copywriting IDOLS, like Bob Bly (my hero), Carline Anglade Cole (my shero), Michael Masterson (founder of AWAI and Copy-God-of-the-World), Hersell Gordon Lewis (THE catalogue copy genius) and many, many others.

They didn't just get up in front of us and recite the same ole rah-rah, either. This was real meat-and-potatoes stuff. Relevant, timely, and razor sharp.

It was awe-inspiring, to say the least--and I really have to hand it to the AWAI folks. The way they set up the conferences with bits of down-time in between gave me a chance to actually meet these copywriting icons after years of studying them and admiring from afar, and you know what? They're really nice people! They all made themselves available for questions, advice, small-talk, you name it. It was really a hands-on experience.

Secondly--there were over 300 people in attendance at this Bootcamp, from raw beginners to copy veterans, and we worked our butts off!

We learned, and we learned, and we learned some more...and the BEST part of that was, I came away with a group of at least seven other copywriters who have agreed to form a "peer review" group, which will help us get better at writing winning copy in a hurry. You can't beat that with a stick!

I have to say that the whole "peer review" idea was really a light-bulb moment for me. Michael Masterson introduced it to us on the first day...but it wasn't until the day we left (Saturday) that we really got a chance to put it to the test. 

Now here's the fun part--after working with a mini-group for about an hour, and getting their feedback on my copy (we all roughed out a headline and lead and reviewed each other's work), Michael asked for a volunteer to come forward and have his or her work peer reviewed by the WHOLE CLASS of conference attendees.

I found myself with my hand in the air (from the back of the room), and you guessed it--he picked me! GULP. And there were cameras!

Michael had me come up to the stage with him and read my headline and lead copy to the group  (with an overhead of the piece showing on the screens behind us), and the entire conference voted their numerical opinion of its worthiness. Yikes!

Talk about jelly knees...and did I have butterflies in my stomach? Nope--they were full-sized pidgeons! But I wasn't about to pass up a chance to get critiqued by not just ONE master, but a whole room full of copywriters.

The result? Drumroll please....a 3 out of 4! WOW! That's about the same number the copy received at our little table of 6--which drove home how statistically relevant this system of peer review can be. It works for a universe of 6 or 600--and is a pretty clear indication of how that copy will do in the mail.

Before leaving the stage I got to choose another "victim" in the audience. Now she had a totally different style, but the process worked exactly the same way--the larger audience came up with the same numbers as her mini-group.

SHAZAM! This peer review thing really works!

That was truly a mega-watt lightbulb moment for me--since I spend all my time writing copy alone in my basement. And the coolest thing is--I've been using the peer review system ever since I got home on Saturday to hone my skills on a daily basis with other copywriters I met at the conference. How cool is that?

You see, we're not competitors in this business so much as we're colleagues. That's what I absolutely love about being a copywriter--besides the fun of creativity and using my talent to make my clients a LOT of money, it's so easy to make friends in the biz!

Now that I'm home, I can't WAIT to find out what I'll learn (and who I'll meet) at the next AWAI Bootcamp.