As I wrote in a previous post, the Internet was conversational before the web as we know it even existed.
Since then many writers, myself included, have worked hard to persuade companies and organizations that writing for the web should, above all else, be conversational in tone.
Have we been successful in turning the tide against old-school promotional copywriting, and boring, stiff corporate writing?
I’d say our success rate has been spotty at best.
If you remember the Internet from way back in the 1980s and 90s, you’ll doubtless recall there was no buying or selling stuff online back then.
No web browsers. No web.
But a lot of text-only discussion lists and bulletin boards.
That’s where we all got into conversation. Lots of conversations.
That why I say conversation is the native language of the web.
I get this kind of pushback all the time.
Traditional copywriters and marketers suggest that conversational copywriting is somehow a compromise.
That it pulls its punches.
That’s it’s just copywriting lite.
They say that work at its best, copywriting HAS to include traditional, hard-selling tricks and techniques.
I think they’re wrong.
If you’re involved in marketing online, you’re doubtless aware of the power and benefits of automation.
Modern online tools allow you to target your future customers, entice them with the best offers, pull them into a powerful sales funnel, send out a series automated emails and then land them as customers.
The better your landing pages, sales funnels and email sequences… the higher your conversion rates.
The process truly is a marvel of modern technology. It really is.
And yet…
When someone tries to sell us something, we prepare ourselves for the onslaught.
We raise our defenses. We hide behind filters. We prepare our rebuttals and get ready to say NO.
Why such an extreme response? Because we are used to the sale process being adversarial.
And we know that an experienced salesperson has a hundred tricks and schemes in his playbook. He’s been doing this for years. He has been trained to win, to demolish objections, and to close the sale.
It’s little wonder we go on the defensive.
Of course we do. We’re under attack.
At least, this is the way things used to be.
I was talking with a couple of very experienced and successful copywriters recently.
The three of us were at an industry event and catching up. Talking about work, clients and so on. The usual stuff.
Then one guy says something that really grabbed my attention.
I don’t remember his exact words, but here’s the gist what he shared with us…