Attention.

I stated:

You can make a lot of money writing if can get and hold your reader's attention.

There is no clear cut demarcation between these ideas. If you can't hold their attention you never get to IDA.

I chose this definition of Attention from Dictionary.com :
a concentration of the mind on a single object or thought, especially one preferentially selected from a complex, with a view to limiting or clarifying receptivity by narrowing the range of stimuli.

Because it is the most accurate of what a copywriter needs to do.

My premise is/was. You lose the prospect the second you lose their attention. IF you use formulas or checklists then by all means cover your bases and check off your transition points, which eye tracking and heat map studies have shown to be exit ramps on the attentionOmeter.

NO, you don't need to convert it to any of those things, Desire oft comes with the problem, same with Interest...if you don't have these in whatever attention getting device you are using, you weaken your promotion OR you haven't chosen your target very well.

GordonJ

What does this mean? Marketing awareness of what?
Keeping attention requires little to no writing skills in some cases, graphics and pics do the talking. Billboards work on this premise, very short attention given to them, so the words are oft less important than the graphic.

As for requiring writing skills of a specialized nature with awareness of the USER (reader/viewer/listener) ... isn't that a copy writer's job to begin with?

I have no idea of what you mean by "marketing awareness".

GordonJ

Can't argue Rick, because I said the same thing.

Get and HOLD attention. AND lets get away from MARKET for a minute to TARGET (a PERSON)

Sure, happy satisfied customers all always great to have.

Mostly, copywriters are addressing a person within a niche or market. In fact, many teachers and copy gurus instruct their mentees with the suggestion to write your promotion to a single person, and yea, of course there are always exceptions.

The answer to the long vs short copy argument, almost always comes down to keeping attention. Get boring, go down tangents, lose focus, and BAM they're gone.

So, within the context of a post in a copywriting forum, and with so many newbs and wannabees being nothing more than PARROTHEADS, reciting some formula in a book or something...how about some thoughtful consideration of what copy does.

Effective copy, copy that converts, copy that works, copy we get paid to write...must not only GET attention but HOLD IT TOO. NO?

GordonJ

Yea? Then there has been a mismatch or disconnect between the writer and the target. I can't fathom a copywriter who doesn't know and understand the importance of believability.

Who teaches to write to get attention without it? You?

But even then, it could fall to the reader. Just cause I don't believe a certain ad, doesn't mean others won't and it could be a big success for some.

What is your point Alex?

GordonJ

Exactly. Thanks Alex. There's more to the Art and Science of Copywriting than just "attention."

Jonathan

WARNING, this may be mostly rant, but hope to give a couple of keepers.

First, I am not a freelance copywriter, never have been, never called myself one. I have written a fair amount of copy, and for the most part businesses came to me and asked me to write copy.

I have a long history of being ANTI Copywriting as a Biz-OP. But things have changed. Let some stats tell a story:

Warrior Forum 1,219,002 members as of today, at this time.
FACEBOOK groups:
Cult of Copy: 25,208 members
Traffic and Copy : 21,206 members
Gary Halbert Copy Club 5690
Dan Kennedy Students 3443

These are just FACEBOOK groups and you can find scores of blogs on the subject too.

The interest in Internet Marketing continues to explode world wide. One of the first "universal premises" of IM is: you have to learn how to sell, which translates into:

copywriting is very important. And, of course, it IS a commodity, which can be cheaply (relatively) bought.

But it has been expertly sold as an easy to begin BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY if you can string a few coherent sentences together. When I visited AWAI headquarters a few years ago, I left unimpressed with their content, however, I did marvel at their growth by guru marketing method.

LONG ago, Writer's Digest was one of the two big playas in selling tools to writers. Or maybe better put: selling DREAMS to writers. AWAI has done a fantastic job with that.

OK, OK...today, AWAI is one of scores of copywriting HOW TO sources, we see by the sticky above, one can invest years and tens of thousands of dollars into their copywriting education.

Usually, the choice of guru (teacher) comes from first resonating contact. If you stumble across Halbert first, and his teachings strike a chord, you become a devotee and a customer, and he is one of maybe 30 guys who can offer you a course of instruction.

The PROBLEM is: too many gurus, too much anecdotal success, and not much in the way of cold, hard facts. The industry has come down to:

do what I did, you get the same results I got.

Biggest myth in all of self-help, self improvement and in mentoring or education is the
"FORMULA"
method.

MLM and Network marketing is built on this misconception.

Before I run out of characters, take note of a post made today at the Cult of Copy Group on Facebook, it clearly summarizes where this industry is today:

TWO GROUPS.
1) You can make a lot of money without all the copywriting knowledge and HOW TO
2) TRADITIONAL or old school, and

both groups have stuff to sell you.

The choice you make is right for you.

AS you can see by this post, the idea of a one word "formula" gets traditionalists' panties in a knot, as they fight to maintain their position that copywriting is mysterious and like the night "full of terrors" if you don't follow old and oft long dead gurus.

It comes down to what you want.

What do you want? If you want to make money writing copy, fastest way is for your own products, and if you want a grind, then go find other people to pay you.

If you want to be able to spout off rules and formulas, and quote self elevated gurus, then by all means, do what you want to do.

My background is numbers and results. When I did accept writing assignments, for direct response copy, I always had a piece of the action, and I never had to solicit anyone for a job. 0

Get results from your writing, word gets around.

GordonJ

PS. Probably more of a ramble than a rant, eh?

How belly fat cowered and FLED before the confident NEW ME!

How I GRABBED belly fat by the wobbly cellulite throat an' SHOOK IT HARD till it FELL OFF MY BONES!

How I KICKED the FAT RAT with my WILLPOWER BOOTS and slimmed to the size I WANTED -- as HORRIFIC EXCESS FLESH flew from my SLENDER NEW FRAME in an haze of BLOOD.

Gotta say, the personal pronoun lends itself to a certain empowerment.

A successful headline in Schwartz' time was a very small percentage of the readers. Fortunes were made with a 2 and 3% response.

The thing, probably the least talked about factor in all copywriting circles is:

TIMING.

I call it the INTERSECTION, where the promotion meets the prospect. You could have great copy, offer, highly targeted traffic, BUT, the timing is off, which negates the great copy.

For the most part, Gene had a static platform, using mostly print and mainly magazines for his ads, he could get to his prospect's "state of awareness" much easier. The reader was identified by the type of reading.

Guys reading GOLF or Golf Digest were not good for selling fishing equipment in. So all of those old guys had an advantage.

Today, the TIMING, could be (probably is) the most important part of your campaign, yet, it is seldom talked about or taught BECAUSE,

MOST don't know how to apply and use all that wonderful data about surfing/buying behavior we have today.

Gene was my personal fav, BACK IN THE DAY...

but there are many people bustin it today. And some because of their TIMING.

GordonJ