Well, let me echo some of the sentiments already expressed.

Often, I love a product by itself. Sometimes, I don't. But my enthusiasm is not generated by the product itself but in finding something unique about the product. A "hook." An angle. An interesting twist. A USP (a unique selling position as well as a unique selling PROposition).

Sometimes it can take days for me to find one -- or to create one, if there are none. This is what gets me going. I'm a big fan of positioning, and trying to position an offering in my copy is what really inspires me.

Why? Because doing so helps me to: 1) be different so that the prospect feels there's something unique and of value, 2) communicate to the prospect at a personal level where the USP ties with what the prospect is looking for, and 3) serve the prospect like no other product has.

The idea is not to be better than the competition. It's to be different.

This morning, copywriter Nelson Mendez sent me a quote that sums it all.
<blockquote>
A good copywriter isn't in love with words (or products).

He is in love with people. All kinds of people, everywhere and anywhere. He is intensely interested in people. Watches them closely, listens when they talk, lives their bad moments with them, and rejoices in their victories.

He is so interested in other people he forgets all about himself, his own needs and wants, and after a time he knows why they think as they do. And he recognizes himself in them and knows what they do he is capable of doing whether is good or bad.

The way to write believable copy is to love people. Know what every living person fears, hates, loves, and rejoices just as you do. Let everything you write say to your reader, "I understand you. I have been in your shoes, I can help you, please let me try."

— Paul Bringe
</blockquote>