Now I’m bummed.

Take my advice, don’t listen to me….

Cheers
Andy

What you’re talking about is application. People haven’t truly changed deep down, even if they are less inclined to swallow hype.

As for blogging, most of what I teach here I learned from publishing ezines. Same relationship methodology, but with the added benefit of the blogosphere conversation, plus social media bookmarking and voting sites.

Again, the environment has changed, but the fundamentals of relationship marketing have not.

But you’re absolutely right about the way copywriting is applied being different. People who try to take a typical direct response style will crash and burn in the blogosphere.

For example, as brilliant a copywriter as Clayton Makepeace is, he doesn’t seem to get blogging at all. He did finally put all his newsletters online so we could link to them, so I think he’s coming around.

Meanwhile, Bob Bly is writing a book about blogging, but his own blog is not very engaging. He went so far in the opposite direction from direct response and tried to turn it into a discussion forum instead of really sharing his knowledge.

I think Michel Fortin gets it from a content standpoint.

So… I’m not saying application is not hard… cuz it is, even for pros. Everything really comes down to execution, and just as with everything, you’ve got to understand your audience and the environment they dwell in.

I guess what I’m really saying is… application is hard enough, without some bozo telling you the fundamentals have changed too!

But I disagree that nothing’s changed.

The technology surrounding “Web 2.0″ has opened doors that were formerly closed to marketers.

Suddenly, today’s copywriter has a chance to sit down and chat with his audience – assuming he’s done his job well enough to attract their attention in the first place.

Is the holy grail of marketing finally sailing into view – the ability to truly engage customers instead of simply marketing at them?

Perhaps. In the past, the cost of “engaging” a reader over time was often too high. Now those cost barriers are fading, and the copy can flow to a connection-hungry audience as quickly as it’s written.

What this means to the modern copywriter is that it’s time to get real. Because it’s one thing to persuade a reader over the course of a single conversation.

But newer media channels mean your conversation with readers 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 authentic.

If they sense bullshit, you’re toast.

Are we witness to the rise of the copywriter as serial commercial novelist? Possibly. Probably even.

So yeah, Buzzwords are buzzwords. And the basic craft of copywriting hasn’t really changed.

But it has. Or at least the goals seem to be.

Regards
buck

I remember reading about an ecommerce site called “Violet.com” that had generated about $500,000 in VC. I looked at the site and thought, “Pretty site, but who is this store targeted to and why buy here?” I didn’t have a clue.

6 months later, they were belly-up. 7 years later, my little corner of the cyber universe continues to chug nicely along.

Know your market, what makes them tick, respect the inflow/outflow of running your biz, and you have a pretty good chance of doing okay, or better.