Nutra operators and their playbooks
Paulo Sanches: how a young Brazilian copywriter writes VSLs for health offers
Paulo Sanches started studying direct response as a teenager and now writes VSLs for health offers. Here is how he has described his method in public: structure separated from argument, named mechanisms, emotion before logic, the choice of authority figure, and a daily swipe-file habit.
On this page
- How Paulo Sanches became a VSL copywriter
- Structure first, argument second
- Named mechanisms and why the name matters
- Emotion leads, logic follows
- Choosing the authority figure
- Demonstrative proof
- How he researches and reads fatigue
- His advice to copywriters
- Compliance in health VSLs
- How to apply his method
- Frequently asked questions
Paulo Sanches is a Brazilian direct-response copywriter who writes video sales letters for health offers. His first big hit was a men's health offer, and he describes working in a squad that sells into the US and Europe. Self-taught from his early teens, he went through lean freelance years before joining an operation. His method separates a VSL's structure from its argument, leads with emotion and backs it with logic and proof.
This profile is based on a podcast interview published in March 2026, whose published transcript is partial. Commission and sales figures mentioned in it are left out.
How Paulo Sanches became a VSL copywriter
By his account, Sanches began studying digital marketing at 14, watching early-morning live streams from Brazilian marketers, and went all-in at 16. The next two years brought little money. He freelanced on landing pages, traffic and copy for small fees, and wrote dozens of VSLs that didn't convert.
The turning point, he said, was discipline: reading three or four swipe files a day, studying classic copywriters, and then joining an operation where his VSLs met real traffic. For a while he wrote for three operations at once, around three VSL versions a week, before focusing on one. In the interview he described writing the offer and copy for a squad that sells into the US and Europe.
Here are those years in order:
His path into VSL copywriting
By his account, in a podcast interview (March 2026)
- At 14Starts studying digital marketingWatching early-morning live streams from Brazilian marketers.
- At 16Goes all-in
- The next two yearsLean freelance yearsLittle money: landing pages, traffic and copy for small fees, and dozens of VSLs that didn't convert.
- The turning pointDisciplineReading three or four swipe files a day, studying classic copywriters, and then joining an operation where his VSLs met real traffic.
- For a whileThree operations at onceAround three VSL versions a week, before focusing on one.
- In the interviewOffer and copy for a squadHe described writing the offer and copy for a squad that sells into the US and Europe.
The markets he discussed in the interview, from men's health to weight loss, nerve pain, joints and memory, are some of the hardest in direct response: large markets with strong emotions and strict legal limits on what an ad may claim, which is why the compliance section below matters for anyone copying his approach.
Structure first, argument second
The core of his method is a separation most copywriters blur. The structure is the skeleton: the big idea, the mechanism, the story and the logical points the viewer must accept. The argument is how you carry the viewer from one point to the next: the transitions, the objections answered, the emotional beats.
He builds the structure from elements that have already been validated in the market and links them into a new narrative, rather than inventing every piece. A worked outline for a fictional joint-support supplement shows the split:
Two layers of one VSL
A worked outline for a fictional joint-support supplement
The skeletonStructure
- Big idea: morning stiffness is a signal most people ignore until it limits them.
- Mechanism: a named process the formula is designed to support, explained simply.
- Story: a retired carpenter who wanted to keep working with his hands.
- Logical points: why common approaches disappoint; what the ingredients are studied for; why the dose matters.
How you carry the viewerArgument
- Transitions and objections: "If that were true, why hasn't my doctor mentioned it?" answered with evidence.
- Emotional beats: fear of losing independence, then relief, then a clear decision.
Writing the structure first lets you check the logic before you polish a single line. If the logical points don't hold together on one page, no amount of style will save the VSL. The VSL script guide covers the full sequence.
Named mechanisms and why the name matters
Sanches works with named mechanisms and puts weight on giving each one a sticky, memorable name; his examples included a pink salt angle and a horse trick angle. In the same conversation the host laid out three kinds of mechanism, crediting the framing to Clayton Makepeace: the mechanism of the problem (why it happens), how the solution works, and the mechanism of the solution itself.
A name works because it makes a complex idea repeatable: the viewer can remember it and tell someone else. It also makes the offer distinct from competitors selling similar ingredients. The unique mechanism guide explains how to build one, and the big idea guide covers the concept that frames it.
The caution for health offers: a mechanism is an explanation, not a license to promise. The mechanism has to be supported by evidence, and it can't turn into a claim that the product treats a disease.
Emotion leads, logic follows
He went as far as saying copy is all emotion, and explained it with the two-system model from Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow: a fast, intuitive System 1 and a slower, deliberate System 2 (the book). In his view the emotional system decides first and the logical one looks for reasons, so a VSL that only argues loses the viewer, and one that only stirs emotion loses the buyer at the order page.
He described the emotional line of a VSL as a rollercoaster: highs and lows, fear and relief, so the viewer keeps feeling something new. A practical test of a draft:
- Mark each scene with the emotion it should create.
- Look for long stretches with the same emotion; that is where retention drops.
- Check that every emotional peak is followed by a logical point that justifies it.
- Make sure the last emotion before the offer is relief or resolve, not fear.
Your retention graph shows whether the rollercoaster works: flat emotional stretches tend to show up as slopes.
Choosing the authority figure
Sanches chooses the authority in a VSL for the emotion that person creates, not just for credibility: a doctor and a journalist, he said, create completely different emotions. The tabs below are our own map of what each type of authority tends to bring, and what it requires.
Four kinds of authority
Our own map: the emotion each tends to create, and what it requires
Doctor or researcher
Emotion it creates: safety, expertise.
What it requires: real credentials that match the claims.
Journalist or investigator
Emotion it creates: curiosity, revelation.
What it requires: a real story, honestly sourced.
Customer
Emotion it creates: identification, hope.
What it requires: a real customer and typical results, honestly framed.
Founder
Emotion it creates: conviction, accountability.
What it requires: a founder willing to stand behind the claims.
Every one of those requirements is a legal requirement as much as a creative one. Under the FTC's Endorsement Guides, an endorser presented as an expert must have that expertise, and a person presented as a customer must be one (16 CFR Part 255). The VSL presenter guide covers the casting choice.
Demonstrative proof
He pointed to Gary Bencivenga's use of demonstrative proof as a model: showing rather than asserting. A demonstration lets the viewer see the point for themselves, which persuades more than any adjective and survives skeptical viewers.
For a supplement, honest demonstrations are limited. They include showing the actual ingredients and doses, explaining a study on screen with its citation, or showing how the product is made and tested. Before-and-after imagery and dramatic "experiments" on camera are where health VSLs get into trouble, because they imply results the product can't guarantee. In RevvyScales, a scientific references block lists the sources under the VSL, so the proof you cite on camera is checkable on the page (comments and references).
How he researches and reads fatigue
Sanches said he spends much of each day watching VSLs, and he maps patterns in the top performers: their structure, their proof and the emotions they work. He uses an ad-intelligence tool's filters to see which big ideas, mechanisms and authorities are rising, falling or holding steady.
He judges fatigue by two signals: how long a big idea, authority or mechanism has been running in the market, and how narrowly its ads are now being delivered. A fresh test, he said, should show signals within days. He also pointed to a step he thinks most copywriters skip: studying the audience's demographics and emotions before choosing an angle.
His advice to copywriters
His advice was consistent: learn the principles behind copy, not just the formats and trends of the moment, because principles let you adapt when the market shifts. The writers he named include David Ogilvy, Gary Bencivenga, Stefan Georgi and Jon Benson (see who invented the VSL for Benson's role, and the RMBC method for Georgi's).
Beyond that: read many swipe files, write a lot, study the audience's beliefs before you pick an angle, and innovate by recombining validated elements instead of copying whatever is trending.
A swipe-file routine you can copy
Reading swipe files only helps if you read them the way a copywriter would, not the way a viewer would. A routine that turns his habit into a method:
Reading one swipe file
Six steps for each VSL you study
- Pick a VSL that is scalingPick one VSL that is clearly scaling in your category, ideally one that has run for months.
- Write its structure on one pageThe big idea, the mechanism and its name, the story, the logical points, the offer.
- Note the authority and the proofNote the authority figure and the kinds of proof it uses, and mark which claims have no proof at all.
- Mark the emotional beatsMark the emotional beats with timestamps and compare them to where you would expect viewers to drop off.
- Write why it worksWrite one paragraph on why you think it works, and one on what you would never copy.
- Write a new lead every weekOnce a week, write a new lead for your own product using one principle you found, in your own words.
After a month you will have a library of structures, which is what he means by recombining validated elements: you borrow principles and patterns, not sentences.
Compliance in health VSLs
The categories he writes for sit close to disease territory, so the legal line is narrow. This isn't legal advice, but these rules apply to any supplement VSL sold in the US:
- A supplement can make structure/function statements with the FDA disclaimer, but a claim that it diagnoses, treats, cures, mitigates or prevents a disease is a disease claim, and implied claims count (21 CFR 101.93).
- Health claims need competent and reliable scientific evidence (FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance).
- Experts must be real experts and customers real customers.
A strong mechanism, real emotion and real proof can sell inside those limits. The nutra marketing guide covers the full checklist.
How to apply his method
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Apply his method
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Frequently asked questions
Who is Paulo Sanches?
Paulo Sanches is a young Brazilian direct-response copywriter who writes video sales letters for health offers; his first big hit was a men's health offer. He began studying marketing at 14, freelanced through lean years, and joined an operation where he writes offers and copy for a squad selling into the US and Europe.
What is the difference between structure and argument in a VSL?
The structure is the skeleton: the big idea, the mechanism, the story and the logical points the viewer must accept. The argument is how you carry the viewer between those points, with transitions, answered objections and emotional beats. Sanches writes the structure first so the logic can be checked before any line is polished.
Why does Paulo Sanches say emotion comes before logic?
He uses Daniel Kahneman's two-system model: a fast, intuitive system decides first and a slower, deliberate one looks for reasons. A VSL that only argues loses attention, and one that only stirs emotion loses the sale at the order page. So each emotional peak in his scripts is followed by a logical point that justifies it.
How do you choose the authority figure in a VSL?
His point is that a doctor and a journalist create completely different emotions, so choose the authority for the emotion you need. As a rough guide, a doctor brings safety and expertise, a journalist discovery, a customer identification. Whichever you choose, it has to be real: FTC rules require experts to have the expertise they are presented with and customers to be actual customers.
Can a supplement VSL talk about erectile dysfunction or neuropathy?
It can't claim to treat, cure, mitigate or prevent a disease, and implied claims count, including product names and imagery. Supplements may make structure/function statements, such as supporting normal function, with the FDA disclaimer and a notification to FDA. Any health claim also needs competent and reliable scientific evidence. Get a regulatory review before launch.