My very short participation in this forum has revealed that, (i) Compared to the other categories here in DP, the Copywriting section has a very limited number of participants (ii) A majority of the participants are beginner/intermediate level content writers (iii) There are only three copywriters here (are there more that I've missed, or not present at this moment of time?) (iv) The same set of beginner questions (or variations of it are being asked) This brings me to the second part of the post. (i) Why are there no stickies, as is common in every other writing forum, with a list of basic how tos, where tos, who tos or what tos that will eliminate the repetitive questions, and where necessary, be highlighted to forum noobs (excluding yours truly, of course)? This will ensure each thread started here will be a fresh one, and will excite and draw the participation of everyone watching. (ii) Are there moderators present here? I'm asking because I see no action being taken on threads that do not belong here, irrelevant postings or merging/deletion of duplicate threads? (iii) Finally, is this a forum that is worth spending my hours in, in your most honest opinion, my esteemed fellow copywriters, content writers and webmasters (post hunters need not respond, unless you're short of a single post to open a thread)?
Hours? Well, no. That said, there are some very good clients on DP that do not advertise their content needs, but choose to contact writers directly. So investing SOME time here and creating a presence can pay off, yes.
Thank you, Senobia. Supposing we take the clients out of the equation (as my clientele comes exclusively from referrals), how would you answer the question? Sidenote: Truth be told, this might turn out to be a rather short excursion, by the looks of things...
Contentboss already answered the other questions in his/her response. Since the answer to (ii) is no, that answer would be the reason for (i).
The previous moderator started her own forum and many of the writers followed her. It seems to be doing fairly well. In her absense, a self-proclaimed guru came claiming all sorts of things and convinced another group of newer writers to follow him to another forum. It seems to have lost some steam. What remains are those writers who are not into hero worship or playing follow the leader. Unfortunately, with no moderator, this area does not get as much traffic as it once did. Much of the BST section of the forum is migrating this way and more and more folks come here looking for free editing services. However, conversations, once they get going, are generally more thoughtful and friendly than they have been. There are exceptions to that, like a recent attempt by a "professional" who thought he could trick folks into migrating to his new forum. It seems for the most part, the people who want to start crap don't come around that often or aren't writers who seem to troll around DP looking for something to take offense at. I'd love to see the forum develop a tight core of folks who can use these forums as a place to share info and ideas. I think the talent and interest is here, it's just waiting for something to change.
There's always the warrior forum. Ugh. I said their name. ... Now I have to go take a shower. Don't peek! Okay, maybe just a little.
@YMC Thank you for the thoughtful and instructive response. I am going to take the liberty of reporting your post in an attempt to elicit a comment from the moderators.
@Showering Rose I frequent the WF occasionally, but truth be told, I feel a little out of place there. I currently spend a proportionately longer amount of time in a writer's (read: novelist) forum, but copywriting is not taken quite as seriously as I like, although the literary and stylistic guidance on offer is formidable. *peeking*
Um, you can at least close the shower curtain after leaving. How rude! It's sad, but I don't think there is a board where REAL (copy)writers can hang out to chat, and to exchange ideas. Call me a nerd, but I love to just sit down and talk (shoot the shit) with other writers. At one time I thought about asking the owner of this place if he would rent me this copywriting forum. I know I could bring a lot of good copywriters here. But, then...all my brain cells started functioning again. If I hear of anything, I'll let you know.
It's unfortunate but it seems writers all too often take advantage of newbies with special offers, ebooks and other "educational materials". The few times that I thought I found a good copywriting forum, further digging unearthed what seemed to be an organized game of fleece the newbies. The few times I've seen any serious conversations about copywriting it's either been primarily focused on direct-response/paper marketing methods rather than web-based sales copy or a self-proclaimed guru and their groupies. And, the few with stuff about web copy was almost exclusively related to writing those obnoxiously long sales letters. Perry, please. Put on a towel or something. Sheesh. That's gonna give me nightmares.
Moderation in most categories is handled by general purpose moderators. If you see threads, posts that violate DP guidelines, use the bad post report and we will be happy to take a look. Members interested in copywriting should take it on themselves to help police their own back yard.
@Exhibitionist Rose Sorry, I don't do curtains. And thanks for keeping me in mind @YMC I would like to think that any SEO/Sales Letters/Affiliate 'Guru' should be bold enough to display a link to their own PR1 sites. Otherwise, why on earth should anyone take them seriously? In addition, logic dictates that a successful domain will generate much, much more income than selling a compendium of self help articles and/or tools. Though I must admit, in a time long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I did fell for the charm of a 'guru', and spent $97 for a whole load of shyte. That was a reasonably well priced lesson for me. @Smyrl Interesting. Hmmm.... (grey cells at work) Perry King and YMC, being old hands here, may I suggest that either one or the both of you take a lead in reviving this forum? A good place to start might be in a thread detailing the do's and dont's here, a resource kit and a short Q&A. Interested parties could contributed to the thread (count me in), which should be edited and perfected, following which, perhaps Smyrl could put the thread into a sticky. We could move on from there with the self-policing concept, which I think Mr.King might find particularly exciting. Down boy! Put it this way guys. I would love to have a place to go to after 10 hours of writing, a place where I could read, post and at times, vent, among my peers, in peace and without aggravation. Thoughts?
Sorry, but no amount of good content added here will help. Others need to be told about it. Other than that, you might as well try spitting against a hail storm. Not that I've tried... I'm going to go take a nap now. Wake me if I start to snore, drool or touch myself.
Once upon a time this forum was interesting and well moderated. Now it seems like there are newbies posting questions almost every minute. I love this forum, but something is missing from it now. I am not sure what. Anyway, just spend an hour or so a day here. Otherwise concentrate your efforts on forums where you will make real business contacts.
The moderation dropped off on the back of the troubles shaun was having (lawsuits, adsense bans etc). It may pick up in future - who knows. As for Perry offering to shower for us - jeez that image will haunt me for ever.
Wake up. It begs the question whether that hour is better spent on this Lawsuits, eh? The thick plottens... Perry has an open curtain policy on matters such as these, I suspect.
Well, it wouldn't hurt to drop in here every now and then, but not worth spending a lot of time here. The lack of good moderation (Since Jhmattern left) has caused this forum to regress with all the off topic posts that find their way here. Many quality contributors have gone away or been turned away (Probably) by the spam, noobness, lack of intellectual stimulation and periodic proliferation of aggressive self serving bullies, prophets and self promoters. Amen. Wonder when the next prophet or rabble rouser will show up?