Maybe you've noticed it. You can hardly open your in-box or get on Facebook without being bombarded with ads about how to “make a million dollars” in a ridiculously short time from home. Working part-time. In your pajamas.
Here’s the big problem with those ads: in many cases, they’re true!
There are thousands of people making boatloads of money every day on the Internet. Many of those people make their money by teaching others how to make money themselves. And if you're wondering how you might get some of that money for yourself, there are hundreds of programs teaching you how to develop a product, build a Web site, and attract traffic to it. Some are really good. Most aren’t worth the hard drives they’re printed on.
There’s one key element that most of those teachers are missing, however…
- One element that will make your online venture a huge success or a crashing failure.
- One element that most people ignore, or take for granted, or think that they don’t need to learn.
- One element that has consistently remained the most important sales factor in the marketing realm for over a century.
That element is: copywriting.
So What Is Copywriting?
In 1904, an unknown copywriter named Joseph E. Kennedy was sitting in a saloon.
He scribbled a note and sent it upstairs to Albert Lasker, one of the most powerful men in the advertising world at that time.
The note said, “I can tell you what advertising is. I know that you don’t know.” He had no idea that Lasker had been searching for the answer to this question for seven years.
Lasker’s curiosity was sparked, so he met with Kennedy, who told him the three-word definition of advertising: “salesmanship in print.”
This meeting changed Kennedy’s fortune—within four years, he was making well over six figures as Lasker’s chief copywriter. The nature of advertising was also forever changed.
I believe the same definition applies to copywriting.
Copywriting is simply salesmanship in print.
It's vitally important to your success, whether you realize it or not.
In the coming days, I have a few posts planned to help you understand and implement good copywriting practices. If you take my advice to heart, these practices could make a big difference to your bottom line.
Meanwhile… here's a question for you: what has been your level of experience with copywriting up until this point?