Hi All,
When I first started out as a freelance copywriter I was writing sales letters and sending them through the postal service. That usually meant it would take 2 days for the letter to get delivered. Can you believe that? Two whole days... 48 valuable hours, and then you would wait and hope that someone would fill out the order from, enclose their cheque and send it all back to you. A total turnaround of anything up to 7 days on average.
Compared to today it boggles the mind as to how anyone could make a living out of mail order. However, they did and some marketers went on to make millions from mail order. I know a couple of them and I know exactly how they did it. Alas! Today those mail order marketing methods would not work, or certainly not work anywhere near as effectively. The simple reason for this is because we have all come to accept, adopt and embrace the new technologies that have driven us forward and far away from the marketing methods of yesteryear.
Where once it was commonplace to write or type letters, put them in envelopes, stick stamps on them and then post them, it is now common practice to send and receive emails instantly. It's far easier and much faster to log onto Facebook or Twitter and let all your friends know what you're up to, and from a marketer's point of view it's just as easy to get your marketing message across in the same way.
Now all is not equal when it comes to online communication and the dissemination of information. If you send a marketing email to someone explaining what your product or service is about and how you can help them for a price, or whether you use the various social media channels for the same purpose, you are just sending out text. In all cases you are sending the recipients bunches of words arranged in a way that hopefully will interest them, inform them, amuse, them or charm them out of parting with some of their hard-earned cash for your products or services.
This is the way it has been done for years. Just like the old snail mail before it was religiously done for years. So how much longer before we move on yet again? Well, it's not long... in fact we're almost there. Many marketers can now see the real value in the latest marketing communication methods. Quite a few businesses can see that this new method easily beats the old methods of email and social media, and many website owners are beginning to understand that the best content of all is... VIDEO.
Video is the perfect medium for getting your message out there, whatever you want to say and to whomever you want to say it. With video you don't have to expect people to read your message, instead they can listen to it. With video you don't have to try and paint a picture with words, you can use real pictures, which eliminates any possibility of your message being misconstrued or misunderstood.
Video is very engaging... it appeals to the senses (vision and hearing)... a video can manipulate people's feelings and actions... it can better educate, inform and... sell products and services. Products and services can be demonstrated with video. Real people can give real video testimonials. Video can better capture the imagination, it can be entertaining, amusing and visually stunning. Video can do more for a marketing campaign than any amount of email marketing, web page content or social media communication could ever do.
However, from a writer's point of view video still need scripts. Screenplays, voice over scripts and storyboards need to be written. And many an email still works as a courier for video. So copywriters will still be required, but copywriters who make videos are surely worth their weight...
That's why I do both. I could see where it was all going with video many years ago and so I set up BusyVids. So my message in this post is... no matter what you want to sell and to whom... get involved with video. Never under-estimate how powerful video can be. It's the only tool that can make you an overnight sensation... just ask Justin Bieber. :)
All for now.
Bill
www.topcopywriter.co.uk
www.busyvids.co.uk
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