Copywriting for the Web: Do You Have What It Takes?


In the world of web copywriters, many will try, but few will succeed. What category will you be classified as? Hopeless failure, or smashing success?

Well, that's a foolish question, right? You want to be successful, of course! You know that you can razzle-dazzle 'em with your knock-'em-out, drag-'em-down copywriting skills. You even have a power-packed portfolio to prove it. So: what's the problem then?

The problem is that the web is overflowing with copywriting talent. A copywriter on the web is a little like being at a Friday night concert at Madison Square Garden for some big headliner. In that vast audience, you're just a teeny speck.

Likewise, in the elbow-to-elbow web copywriting arena, you're not much of a standout, even if you've got that copywriting lighter raised high and you're singing your heart out. Why? Because that's what everybody else is doing!

Let's take this analogy one step further. If you wanted to get noticed at a jam-packed concert stadium, what would you do? You could sneak through the audience, get naked and then bum-rush the stage. Think of the news headlines! "Crazed Naked Fan Mauls Bono Onstage at MSG." That would get you some attention, yes? (Although I don't recommend you actually do this, as you may find yourself in prison).

So then, if one thinks of the naked stage rush prank as the attention GRABBER, what might you do to HOLD people's attention? You could start attending five concerts a week all over the country and pulling that same stunt at every one! You could build a rep for yourself as the Notorious Naked Concert Crusader.

What does this analogy have to do with being a web copywriter?

You're going to have to do something unique, outlandish or outrageous, to get people on the web talking about you. That means thinking up a gutsy theme for your website.

Once you've thought up and executed your theme, much like our concert crusader, you'll have to keep feeding new material to your following. You will do this by way of article marketing.

Start submitting articles on the web. Write them according to your signature theme, whatever that might be. Are you the Wordfarmer? The Word Wrangler? The Copy Cowboy? Create an outstanding and unusual persona and then spread the word about your services and signature style, in hundreds of articles that you submit on the web for distribution.

Don't believe it? Try it and see for yourself what having a brand with a personality and a unique message does for your copywriting business. Or, you can always just get naked.

Copyright 2005 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.

Dina Giolitto is the author of ARTICLE POWER: Create Dynamite Web Articles and Watch Your Sales Explode... a 49-page manual covering every aspect of article marketing on the web. Learn about article marketing, copywriting and more at http://www.wordfeeder.com