I’m not saying those are the only choices.
But these are the choices I face. Pretty much.
An event like the spread of Covid-19 has the capacity to beat me into a major depression.
Which is why, when bad things happen, I look for ways to step up and get creative.
Preferably at speed.
I’ve added a chatbot to my Facebook page.
We had a conversation…
Chatbot: I’m confused. Where am I? Come to think of it, who or what am I?
Nick: You’re a chatbot. I created you to help me connect with people who might be interested in conversational copywriting.
Chatbot: Ok. Still confused. But… quick question… does this mean I’m like an AI? Am I super-intelligent?
Nick: Afraid not. No AI. No machine learning. Dumb as a post.
For several years now I’ve been raising my hand and saying…
“Hey, the future of marketing online is conversational!”
And then… this last weekend…
Wow.
TOTAL confirmation of that vision of a conversational future.
When they read my writing on conversational copywriting, some marketers think I’m talking about a soft, nice-to-have skill.
They see the conversational approach is being attractive, but optional.
I think they’re totally wrong.
From what I’m seeing, conversational copywriting is fast becoming an essential marketing skill. Not an option, but a necessity.
And the need for conversational copywriting isn’t being driven by me or any other individual. It’s being driven by some massive technology trends that show no signs of slowing down any time soon.
Let’s take a look at these trends one by one.
Yes, I really am working on the creation of my own chatbot.
And it’s a fascinating process.
Chatbots are driven by AI, or Machine Learning.
But this doesn’t mean a chatbot thinks like a human. It doesn’t. It doesn’t make up stuff on the fly either.
As the creator of the chatbot you have to anticipate and set up a whole bunch of possible interactions and “if/then” decision trees.
For example, imagine you’re trying to buy some hiking boots on a wilderness sports website.