When I talk about the conversational approach to copywriting, some of my peers think I’m doing writers and marketers a disservice. They believe the direct sales approach will always be more effective, and that my “softer”, conversational approach is somehow just a feel-good compromise. I’m happy to report they are wrong! When done well, conversational copywriting can be way more effective than hard-selling, pushy sales copy. To support my position, I recently asked ChatGPT to analyse dozens of testimonials and case studies from alumni of my course, Conversational Copywriting. GPT-4 is really ..read more

I created this image with the midjourney AI tool, using the prompt: 1950s style robot, sitting at desk, writing with pen and paper. nostalgic look and setting, in color You’ve almost certainly heard the buzz about ChatGPT, the AI writer and copywriter. Maybe you’ve tried it out a few times. It’s amazing, and scary too. A lot of writers and copywriters are worried that tools like this will steal their jobs. I get it. At first sight, I had the same worries. I asked it to write me an email, a blog post and a simple sales page. It did a pretty good job with each. Ouch! And yes, the vocabulary and ..read more

Social media has the potential to be incredibly powerful. Through platforms like Twitter you really can engage with an audience in real time. You can be truly social and conversational. Sadly, this isn’t how most companies and individuals use social media. Most companies send out tweets or publish Facebook posts as a way to promote their own products or services. They buy a lot of social media ads. They use automated tools to schedule tweets and posts days, weeks or even months in advance. And they barely engage at all. In other words, most companies use social media platforms simply as one m ..read more

Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Mari Smith, a renowned expert in social media marketing and technology, and someone who embodies positivity! I’ve been following Mari’s career for over a decade now. We never crossed paths until very recently, when we were both speaking at the same virtual event. I jumped at the chance to ask if I could interview her. And, being the gracious, generous and positive person she is… she said yes. If you’re not already familiar with her career, Mari Smith is one of the foremost and original experts in Facebook marketing and is often referred to as the Queen ..read more

People holding musical icons Talking to each other is the most fundamental of all means of communication. Go back a few tens of thousands of years, and you won’t find any communications technologies beyond simply talking to each other. This is why audio is so deep-rooted in our psyches. Studies suggest that when we hear someone’s voice, the brain releases oxytocin – the hormone of love, trust, and empathy. We love to listen, and we want to be heard. Even more, we love to be part of a community where we can both listen and be heard. And if we revisit that community on a regular basis, we can nu ..read more

Truth be told, sometimes being a great communicator isn’t about writing at all. You can be in the presence of a great communicator while listening to an amazing TED talk, or in a classroom. The same could happen while in conversation with a colleague or friend over coffee or a drink. It’s not just professional writers and speakers who have this gift. What does it take to be a great communicator? Four qualities jump to mind. First – Be a good listener and ask plenty of questions. To be a great communicator you need to connect with your audience at a deep and emotional level. And you can’t esta ..read more

If you think about traditional digital marketing, almost all the marketing materials and content are created by the company or organization. Copywriters are hired to write Facebook ads and Google ads, email sequences, landing pages, sales pages, shopping carts, and more. On the content side, writers are tasked with writing articles, blog posts, newsletter issues, social media posts, and so on. A typical launch package comprises many thousands of words of professionally written copy and content. As for the customers or audience… in the traditional marketing model, they are rarely required to w ..read more

People have different takes on what it means to be a “copywriter”. Back when I started, long before the web came along, the definition was pretty simple. We were the writers who wrote print ads, TV commercials, radio spots, billboards, and point-of-sale materials. That was pretty much it. In the online world, things are a little more complicated. Copywriters still write ads and video scripts. But they also write online sales pages, promotional email sequences, landing pages, e-newsletters, entire websites, apps, social media updates, chatbot scripts, blog posts… and a whole lot more. If you w ..read more

First, let me define what I mean by Web 3. Web 3 is the next step in the evolution of the Internet. It is a new iteration of the Internet that resides on decentralized blockchains. At its heart, the culture of Web 3 is all about decentralization and privacy. Web 2 is highly centralized, around huge companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft. They control almost everything, including your personal identity and information. Web 3 is the opposite of that. With blockchains like Ethereum there is no central company. No boss. No shareholders. Only participants. Everything is decentralize ..read more

On the left is a Patek Philippe Aquanaut. This is a beautiful, high-end mechanical watch. You can pick one up for about $60,000. More or less. On your right is Bored Ape #4108. Last time this Ape changed hands, the buyer paid about the same… $60,000. Bored Ape #4108 is an NFT… a Non-Fungible Token, or unique digital asset. If you have no idea what NFTs are, or have never heard of Cryptokitties, Cryptopunks, Art Blocks, or the Bored Ape Yacht Club, here is some reading for you. Anyway… A few days ago I was on Twitter and someone there was asking whether he should sell his Patek Philippe watch ..read more