guys i have this rather weird(as it may seem to some) belief or rather, conviction, that reading copywriting tutorials or copywriting-DIY books actually cramps your style, diminishes your creativity, and is actually detrimental to your ultimate success as a copywriter. i think copywriters have a unique innate style that must be developed and built upon in order for that particular person to be successful and genuinely appreciated. you've gotta write, write and write, and read yourself over and over...and, more importantly, read newspapers, magazines, popular literature, but NOT copywriting tutorials... if you're a good reader, you'll be a good writer.
Ummmmm, no... I'm an excellent writer, I wrote and continue to write for a living (which earns me an almost 6 figure salary a year) but that doesn't make me a good copywriter. Copywriting is a different kettle of fish, you need to understand how it works, what hot button words to use, etc... Reading a good copywriting book will help out 99% of all people out there.
i think reading successful copywriting examples from the public domain is way more important than reading any tutorial or book..but that's just me...
That's right... being a good writer and being a good copywriter are two entirely different things. If you want to be a good copywriter, take the time to learn more about psychology and marketing than actual writing skills. And looking at samples never hurts... as long as you know they were well-converting, and not just random.
true! Let's suppose we have a bestselling author creating copy for the web. Do you thing that he'll be that successful in it? Nah. This is a different kettle of fish as the dude above my post have said. That is why writers need such literature in order to obtain the required skills. writing for the web is different than writing books or other stuff.
If you want to be a solid copywriter, you should spend time familiarizing yourself with how people work and why people do what they do. This would include studying advertising, sociology, psychology, etc. Writing like a 5th grader, because that's your style, won't get you very far. Also, we need to distinguish between the "buy my new pet rock" sales letter copywriting style and the more formal stuff, such as an ad or brochure for a medical company. Most copywriters can't handle both ends of the spectrum well (they might think they can though). Find what you're good at, what you love, and go to town with it. It's a faulty assumption by many people that simply writing over and over makes you better. If your foundation isn't correct, all you are doing is cementing yourself as a failure. You need a two-pronged strategy. The first is to educate yourself continually. The second is to practice what you are learning. Writing over and over only helps if your basing that writing on the proper things to begin with.
marketjunction, wait a minute, are you seriously saying that I write like a 5th grader? i'd appreciate it if you could give me some genuine comments in my review thread..
I never said any such thing. I was speaking to style and at a general audience. I don't know your work, so it would be foolish for me to say such a thing. And even if I did, I wouldn't use that language since it wouldn't be helpful to anyone.
marketingjunction.. i have another thread titled "please review my article"... i'd appreciate it if you could gimme a few comments on my writing...thanks,...
I pointed out a couple items. Since you're referring to article writing in this thread, one book you might start with is "Elements of Style," which is a classic. It will get you on the path towards cleaner writing.
the answer to the topic question is YES. I understand that the two things you are discussing here are completely different. I would like to discuss another thing though. First we have to understand the difference between content and copy. Content informs. Copy invites. In other words, content educates its readers, while copy elicits a response from them, in some way. Can they commingle? Of course. You can make your text to be both informative and response-driven. You can blend the two and create a text that will appeal to search engines and users at the same time.
Actually I find that reading copywriting books and whatnot can be helpful. Most often these days I find myself referencing things like the SEO book, and online forums for find the up-to-the-minute stuff that I need. Then again, most of my writing (lately) is for the net and part of a SEO friendly marketing campaign so I find that SEO material is more important for what I'm writing currently. I have found that knowing SEO practices has benefited my web writing immensely and would recommend it to any aspiring web/copywriter. Christian Creative Copywriting
Well, I'm confused... So first you're saying that reading tutorials and the such is a waste of time and that you need to "write, write and write" to get better and now you're stating that you need to educate yourself (hence reading copywriting tutorials and the such) and that writing over and over only helps if you have a strong foundation. So what is your stance? The stance from the first post or the stance from this one?
I could be completely wrong, but here's what I think he's saying: Doing nothing but writing over and over again won't do anything to make you a better writer, if your fundamentals are wrong to begin with. Then you're just cementing your process without learning how to do it right in the first place. At the same time, reading alone won't make you a good writer. You need to understand the fundamentals, and then keep on writing constantly in order to get better.
Obviously, if you browse back marketjunction's old posts you will notice that he tries to abound in technicisms and elaborate ideas rather than simply opine on what is being asked, though his intention in the bottom is always good. Agree with Jenn, looks like his idea is around quantity in writing makes not necessarily a good writer if there is not a solid knowledge foundation, whether acquired at school or built in the long run
Maybe I'll stop drinking coffee, which I went back to recently. Here it is again in simple format: 1. You need a solid foundation. 2. If you write write write without one, you're not getting better. You're just cementing bad habits/work. 3. Once you have a solid foundation, writing often will help. So, get #1 then write. Simple enough I hope. I was merely pointing out that some people--wrongly--think that just writing more will make you better. It's like if you wanted to hit a baseball. You could try 1,000,000 times and still suck if your foundation (technique) is wrong. This brings up a good point of qualifying any books/tutorials you read. If they teach something wrong and you just blindly accept it, you're going to get hurt in the long run.
You are absolutely right, but specially at the above point in particular. After writing a lot people should stop for a moment and get some opinions, review or feedback on their work, improving if needed, changing ongoing bad habits or a mistakenly developed writing style.
It's pretty simple. If you want to create something new and valuable then you will have to do some reading first. Why? Because you won't be able to create a new thing if you don't know the old ones, otherwise it won't be new, right? Read as many articles, tutorials and books. Learn from the achievements of others and from their mistakes. This is the way to follow if you want to be on the top spot.