A post on the Brian Clark’s Copyblogger site got me thinking. His warning was that so much in marketing today is hype. And that copywriting hasn’t changed.
I agreed. To a point.
I think the craft of copywriting hasn’t changed – but its goals have. The technology surrounding “Web 2.0″ has opened doors that were formerly closed to marketers, and copywriters had better be aware of the effects.
The Good News
The good news is that today’s copywriter often has a chance to sit down and chat with his audience – assuming he’s done his job well enough to attract attention in the first place.
I believe engagement marketing is very real. And that one of the holy grails of marketing is finally sailing into view – the ability to truly engage customers instead of simply marketing at them.
The Difference
As copywriters, we invest most of our energy acquiring customers. That hasn’t changed (though the media channels have).
What’s new is what happens post-acquisition. Instead of throwing away the momentum we’d built up acquiring the customers, we can afford to keep it.
Blogs, communities, and new media channels have made it possible (and cost-effective).
Suddenly, good companies – those that truly share the passions of their customers – can connect with their customers as much as several times a day.
In the past, that level of contact simply cost too much. Now the barriers are gone.
What’s this mean to you?
Newer media channels offer us the promised land. Because now your conversation with your customers can last weeks, months – even years (assuming you’re doing it right).
In that time, killer headlines and great bullet lists will be just as important as they used to be – provided your readers believe you’re being authentic. And the copy you write can flow to a connection-hungry audience as quickly as it comes off the keyboard.
Are we witness to the rise of the copywriter as serial commercial novelist? Possibly.
So yeah, Buzzwords and hype are still buzzwords and hype. And the basic craft of copywriting hasn’t really changed.
But it has. Or at least the goals seem to be.
[tags]copy, copyblogger, blogs, communities[/tags]
Comments 2
I think that’s an interesting label, “serial-commercial novelist.” Here’s my concern, and it’s hardly a new one.
Among the biggest advantages of blogging is its authenticity and the connection it can create between business and consumer.
I wonder how effective we’ll be, as copywriters, in forging meaningful relationships because, although hired by or working on behalf of the blogging company, most of us are “outsiders” and aren’t really part of the entity.
In some respects, it’s like trying to have a meaningful relationship with an actor who is playing the role of your love interest. At some point, no matter how good the actor or actress is, the relationship won’t be maintained. In the meantime, there is some dishonesty.
Obviously, the Edelman thing with the Wal-Mart blogs is an example of this problem. There are and will be others.
I come at this as a freelancer, not on anyone’s regular payroll. Maybe I’d feel differently if a company was using specifically-hired writers who were part of their operational structure. I’m not sure.
I could yammer on endlessly, but I’m sure you get the point…
CDB
Thanks for the reasoned comments. And certainly, fakery poses a problem, but in one sense, a self-correcting one.
I’m not going to deal with the blogs like those in the Wal-Mart fiasco. That’s simply dishonest stealth marketing, and it’s not part of engagement marketing.
And blogs written by those without knowledge of the subject will simply fail.
The biz blogs I’ve pitched are in areas where I’m wholly qualified to blog.
Plus, I’ve learned enough about even monstrously complex high-tech products to successfully sell those. For a yearlong blog contract, I can learn a lot.
Third, being a “blogmaster” includes (in my head anyway) seeking and editing content from other stakeholders.
(I don’t buy into the notion that a company blog has to be written by one person. Instead, featuring several people in the company puts a more human face on the enterprise.)
Finally, my original post wasn’t wholly focused on blogs. They’re an obvious example, but what I meant was that the good old days – when you wrote a four-page sales letter and quit the account until the next letter – might be ending.
The sales and retention process will likely be broken down into miniature sales conversations, and the copywriter could be participating in that conversation for a long time.
Frankly, I like the idea.
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