Is copywritting dying??

"copywriting" is a relatively narrow definition of what effective
copywriters do. Actually we think. Then we express those thoughts
with language. Video is a powerful medium. I use it a lot myself -
it's fast and cheap compared to slaving over a sales letter.

Just like in the movies, however, the script really matters. Winging
it on video or being half-assed with any part of your sales process
is a recipe for half-assed results. It doesn't matter if you are using
salesletters or infomercials, success with this stuff is all about
working with subtle details.

All the "gurus" who make selling look "easy" with their courses
have a vested interest in making it look effortless - because if
they owned up to the talent, hard work, and hard-won skill that
goes into any form of salesmanship their sales would go down the
toilet.

Just my opinion. Just because some people make it look easy
doesn't mean it is.

You have to first ask yourself 2 questions:

1. Will print ever die?

2. Will consumers stop reading print?

The answers to both should probably be no - even in the next 50 years.

If so, copywriting - salesmanship in print - will never die.

Talking about video, the script behind the video is copy.

I don't see video replacing copy fully. Not at least under all
circumstances. You still need to test on this.


You also have to consider the following when it comes to video:

1. Not all prospects have the patience to sit through a video.

2. Some may rather go straight to the point, browse through
the benefits and check out the price point.

3. For those with slow internet connection, the videos will
take ages to load.

Therefore, under these conditions, clearly, video may not
be the best option.

I do want to say that video is an extremely powerful
sales tool. I use videos in my selling before, and will
continue to use them in future.

I see it as a compliment to sales copy. But
as a direct replacement.

Jag

Good question, Ashley. My answer is "No."

Unless the video talks are all improvised, someone needs to write a script for the presentation. Even if the videos are improvised, someone needs to list the topics to cover.

Some people simply prefer to learn by reading, rather than watching a video. If these people can get a transcript, or better yet an article, letter, or page to read, they'd much rather prefer this option. They might even just silently disappear when video is the only choice.

At some point there's a need to collect money and deliver products and services. This means the use of words, either on a page or screen, or on a phone script.

The Internet isn't the only type of communications media. Some companies still make money mailing out letters and running print ads. If not for copywriters, who will write that copy?

I predict that within a year, the IM trend will be that whenever there's a sales video, there will also be a transcript to download or an alternative page or pdf for people who prefer to read. Since the IM world is a year ahead of the rest of the world, we'll probably see unpausable, play-once videos hit the general public around the end of the year.

Great copywriters are really overall marketing consultants who help develop the offers. This service is useful even if the pitch is made on video. Gary Halbert figured that the audience or list plus the offer are 80% of success, even his level of copy the last 20%. People who can provide that will have a valuable service for businesses no matter what the communications tool of the day.

Halbert mentioned that his generation successfully transitioned from mail order to web and email. He said they could use the same principles of human nature and business to deal with whatever transition is next. He was right.

The best selling movies of all time use scripts, from writers that are pretty well paid. If online marketing is going to become more like Hollywood, that's an essential part of the model to include. It's controversial that some "reality TV" shows are said to include uncredited writers who "punch up" the story lines.

The best video marketers are going to have someone helping them with their lines, just as Leno and Letterman and Howard Stern have writers feeding them clever bits.

I think copywriters don't need to fear video, and video marketers don't need to think copywriting doesn't count in the brave new world.

Chris

P.S. Editing won't die either. Kind of ironic that you misspelled "copywriting" in your subject line.

Videos require words...

They don't replace copy, they ARE copy.

The visual expression of an idea.

Andy's videos don't represent what you think they
do - they represent the opposite.

Multi-media and motion graphics don't eliminate
the need for a good copywriter - they demand it.

So, no - copywriting is not dying. Far from it...

It's a very good time to be skilled at storyboarding
a good video script.

It's a very good time to know how to create totally
bad-ass presentations.

A good copywriter will never starve.

Brian

Hey,

Copywriting isn't dying. The video script big marketers use is copy. It is a good idea to test using video with your sales pages. The beauty of a webpage is that you can put as much marketing material as you want.

So why limit yourself to only using video to sell?

If you're going to use video I suggest including some sales copy with it. That way you're not leaving money on the table.

- Sam

Copywriting is more powerful than ever. Every year there are more copywriters (good and bad) and the internet will only grow copywriting as an industry further. Videos are just another example of copy.

As long as people use words to communicate there will be a need for people like us.

No I know, I meant offscreen a lot of these folks just say the darndest things. (TMV...It's hard not to cringe sometimes)

I love Criminal Minds. And my family has way too many show we watch. But now you've made me want to watch Numbers.

Some great points here,

So truth be told video won't take over copywriting because at the end of the day to put a video and script together, it does take believe it or not "copywriting" skills. Truth is the big Guru's do make it look easy, and I think it will become more transparent when more people start to create video sales pages, and you start to see and notice the quality of not just the video, but also the skills used to sell the product at hand...

NEVER! The written word will not die. Even good video scripts are written first. Writing is a craft, it is the core of all communication media, and it will never die. We'll just keep finding easier ways to do it - we've come a long way from the quill and ink!

If we see copywriting as PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATION (and that's how I see it), then there will always be a demand for it... because videos require persuasive communication almost as much as the written word.

Copywriting WILL never die. Good ol' copywriting with persuasive words are a lot better than videos with bad voice acting. But I still love to see live demonstration of how a sales was made.

A lot of these videos are just salesletters being read aloud to take advantage of the audio side of things too.

And they're killing it.

So no... can't say I think copywriting is dead.

And nor does my schedule.

-Dan

Copywriting is alive and well!

Copy isn't dying. However, what you're seeing now is a new bunch of internet marketers entering the game and the price that they are budgeting for copy is going down--way down, even laughable.

The few who really understand the value of copy still pay the big bucks for it because they know the end result, but as a whole, the majority of people are looking to get good long copy for little of nothing. I don't like it, but that's the reality.

Jonbell.....you're right that there is still a chunk of "writing" to be done. However, the question is copywriting dying. SEO articles, blog posting, books, etc. is totally different from what we in this forum refer to as copywriting, such as sales letters.

Any kind of sales video requires the copywriter to create the script/salesletter for it.

Don't believe that?

Try doing one without a strong close and see how many sales you get.

Try doing one without all of the essential elements of the selling process.

So now matter how any one wiggles or squirms, there's always going to be copywriting.

Yep it's right. In my opinion Copy writing is here to stay! Though lot of people confuse articles writing and other stuff with copy writing, it does not doom it altogether.

Regards

My view is no. Copywriting as in long form sales letters may be lose out to more video/text combinations going forward but text will be around for a long time to come. As others have said, video still needs to be scripted. At the end of the day, you're using words to convert whether it's spoken or printed out and someone has to come up with that. No matter how appealing, throwing up a video of the product won't sell it just as slapping a picture of it on your web page won't.

Video is important in web 2.0 marketing strategies, but the idea that ad copy is dying is a pretty far fetched one to sell. You have to consider the implications regarding a world without ad copy.

Does every single prospect mind watching a long video or do people prefer to skip to whatever section or information suits them?

Does every prospect mind going without detailed lists of value when considering a purchase?

People are looking for quick answers to their questions, and in most cases, reading a few brief sentences can do more to answer something quickly than can a long video. Most of the time I just hit the pause button and read through the ad copy because the video takes too long to get to the point. But really, copywriting isn't dying. I think it's just going through puberty or something.

The future of ad copy will just be one more integrated with video, like some of the more popular products we've seen in recent days. You'll see a video, read a few paragraphs, look at some charts and figures, then continue onward with another video. People have to be engaged at multiple levels. This just means fewer rich jerk ebooks and more quality content balanced out by various media.

So, to summarize, no copywriting is not dying. But it is most certainly getting scooched to the side quite a bit.

Is copywriting dying, you ask?

No. And it won't die... as long as people want to sell stuff. As Loren so astutely pointed out, copywriting isn't necessarily about writing -- it's about thinking.

So, whether you're using print or video, copy will never die... unless staring blankly into a video camera somehow catches on.

Johnny

I'm not a writer but based on the above deliberations, I agree that copywriting will not die. It's here to stay. I guess a great movie is made out of good scripts not otherwise.