On 5/15/09, Susanna K. Hutcheson said on this blog that copywriting is a skill that takes many decades of learning and doing before one is truly a master at it.

On the other hand, many of the superstars in Internet marketing — a key skill of which is writing (of both copy and content) — are barely out of diapers.

Which would lead one to conclude that copywriting is fairly easy and can be learned rather quickly.

I am increasingly ambivalent about this question.

At times, I read copy by the top pros (Clayton Makepeace, Frank Joseph) that dazzles me and turns me green with envy — and I conclude that copywriting is a skill that, after 3 decades, I am just starting to get the hang of (and that I have so long to go in my training!).

On the other hand, I have also seen writing from younger folks that has me pretty damned impressed (and also some that makes me cringe, which I almost never see from the masters).

So what’s the truth here?

A–Susanna is right: it takes decades to master the skill of copywriting.

B–Copywriting is easy. Any idiot can do it.

C–Copywriting is a skill that can be learned. Yes, it takes practice. But it’s not brain surgery.

D–Other (fill in your answer here):__________________________________________

My view is that writing in general and copywriting in particular is like learning to play the piano: easy to do poorly; exceedingly difficult to do well.

A motivational speaker just sent me a free review copy of his new book, published earlier this month.

A banner on the front cover proclaims the book is an “international best-seller.”

Yet when I check it online, the book is ranked #292,514 on Amazon.

Surely, if this just-published book were in fact an international bestseller, it would be at least in the top 100,000 on Amazon right now, no?

Does the author realize how silly, or at least unbelievable, his claim to bestsellerdom looks to the intelligent reader who bothers to check?

Or is his assumption that people today are so naive they will believe anything correct?

My experience, by the way, is the opposite: people are more skeptical than ever today, and their B.S. detectors have never been more accurate.

What is a “quality” sales lead?

For me, a high quality sales lead is someone who:

A–Already knows who I am.

B–Is predisposed to hiring me.

C–Does not shop for copywriting services looking for the low bid.

Of course, not all self-promotion and marketing generates sales leads of equal quality.

For my freelance copywriting services, the best sources of quality sales leads, in order, are:

1–Referrals from clients and others.

2–Marketers who know and read my books or articles (a lot of them say they also read my blog, but it is the books and articles that prompt them to call me).

3–My e-newsletter subscribers.

4–People who have attended one of my seminars or talks.

5–Direct mail-generated leads.

Of these, the referrals and book readers are nearly neck and neck for the top spot.

The marketing channels that generate the LOWEST quality sales leads for me (price shoppers or those unschooled in the value of copy) are in order):

1–Organic search (means they are shopping for copywriters and therefore not predisposed to hire me vs. anyone else).

2–Classified or space ads in marketing publications.

3–Directories (e.g., Who’s Charging What) — they attract shoppers.

Would you rate the sources of your best and worst quality sales leads similar to me?

Or is your experience different?

Note: I did not rank PPC because I do not advertise my copywriting services online. And I don’t include social networking because I really don’t use it much, though I have started Twittering.

The problem with SEO copywriting is that the mandate to use keywords according to various rules set forth by SEO experts can result in awkward, ineffective, suboptimal copy.

“It is essential to attempt to optimize online copy for relevant keywords to achieve a better search engine placement,” writes Don Libey, a multi-channel marketing expert.

“However,” LIbey continues, “keywords aren’t necessarily the most important part of copywriting.”

He warns against keyword stuffing, the practice of cramming too many keywords into a web page.

“Your customers are the readers,” says Libey. “Never place the search engine’s needs about theirs.”

My guess is that those of you who are copywriters — even SEO copywriters — will agree with Libey, while those of you who are SEO consultants might not.

Am I right or am I wrong? What say you?

Source: Libey Multichannel Advisor, May 2009, page 8.

During a recession, many businesses experience a decrease in revenues.

Amazingly, a number are implementing what has to be the stupidest recession-fighting business strategy ever devised: charging customers MORE to make up for the lost revenue.

An article in the Daily News (4/27/09, p. 4) reports that Bobo, a Manhattan restaurant, now charges patrons a dollar for a glass of water.

They justify this by saying that the water is filtered, and the charge is for the cost of the filtering.

The same article also reports that Morton’s, a steak house, has added a $2.50 charge if you want ice in your cocktail.

Another NYC eatery has added a $5 charge for bread and butter, justifying the move by noting they have a famous baker baking their bread.

If you have heard recession-fighting business strategies stupider than these, I’d like to know what they are.

And what would you tell these restaurants if you went to eat there and found these charges on your bill (some post the charges on menus but do not have waiters warn patrons about them)?

CH, a downsized banker, asked me about the feasibility of changing careers and becoming a freelance copywriter. He is 52.

Starting as a freelance copywriter after 50 is something I can’t advise him on with personal authority, since I started as a full-time freelance copywriter when I was 22.

“Is it harder or easier to establish a successful career as a freelance copywriter at my age, 52?” he asked me. “Is my age an advantage (more life experience) or disadvantage (too old, competing with people half my age)?”

I’d love to hear from you if you are a freelance copywriter who started at age 50 or later (and also if you started recently at a younger age, too).

Should CH pursue freelance copywriting as a means of paying the mortgage — or is it too late for him and the rest of us who have passed the half-century mark?

What say you?

In an episode of the Odd Couple TV show, Felix Unger once said: “When you ASSUME, you make an ASS of U and ME!”

I agree wrong assumptions can make you look like an ass … not sure it does that to the other guy.

Example: cowardly RT left a voice mail message (but not his phone #) calling me an Internet fake.

Apparently, he looked up my address at 22 E. Quackenbush Avenue, Dumont, NJ 07628 on that Google satellite service.

“You’re not RICH!” he said contemptuosly (never said I was). “Your place is a dump!”

One little problem, RT: 22 E. Quackenbush is the building where I rent an office — NOT where I live.

So you can’t tell ANYTHING about me or my success or net worth by looking at it.

See what happens when you ASSUME, and think you’re a smartie because you used Google to spy cam me?

You come off looking like an ASS … and I don’t.

The Internet is where it’s at in marketing today, and online video is exploding.

But a study from the Council for Research Excellence concludes that “TV is still by far the most popular medium for all consumers, both young and old.”

The study found that the average consumer spends only 2 minutes a day watching free TV via the Internet.

But those same consumers are exposed to “roughly an hour a day of advertising and promotions” on regular TV.

Conclusion: the death of TV as an advertising medium, even with Tivo, is greatly exaggerated.

Source: The Talon Newsletter, 4/09, p. 3.