Auto Copywriter

I’d like to consider myself as someone who embraces digital technology. Yes, even as a copywriter – dabbling in a skill that is probably as old as the first cave drawings.

Oh and I like caves too. Not the bat-infested kind but the mental cave of solitude from where I draw inspiration and shut out the world.

Hmmm… I’m not sounding much like the embracer-of-modernity as implied above.

Nevertheless, I’m sure you will agree that it is noisy out there. There are all sorts of digital apps, platforms and tools; all screaming for attention and promising a quick fix upon an even quicker sign-up.

And don’t worry, it’s free to start. But you can unlock amazing features to make your work/passion/life a breeze for a small monthly subscription for the rest of your indecisive life.

A familiar pitch these days inundating every other scroll-of-thumb in social media.

Unsurprisingly, I have also lately noticed ads for copywriting apps and templates that claim you can master the art of written persuasion in a few taps – an auto copywriter in your pocket of sorts.

Trust Your Copywriter

Pretty cool if you think about it. Why endure years of being under-appreciated and underpaid honing a critical marketing skill when you can just tap-tap and its done?

Being a copywriter is part art, part science, part depression and part mental anguish. And if you’re a freelance copywriter – add ‘part broke’ to that equation.

I would reckon over the last 20 over years of slinging copy, I would have sold products and services worth tens, or perhaps hundreds of millions for my clients.

And now, at a time when I am supposed to be at the peak of my prowess – combining my sales, business and strategic expertise – have come to know that I can be replaced by an app.

Hey, I’m a big believer in the democratisation that technology brings. Yes, jobs will be replaced but new ones are being created as well.

Actually, you don’t really need an app or template to be a copywriter. Social media has allowed anyone to string a caption together for their business and publish it to the world. Ta-da!

Mastery of the language, grammar proficiency and proofing skills are al old-school prerequisites that don’t really matter anymore, especially if you are selling exclusively on social media.

And that’s the caveat – these wonderous apps are probably only suited to social media marketing efforts – and some even claim sales letters – and even that primarily for the B2C segment.

But if you need copy written for any of these things:

  1. Website, portals or apps
  2. Videos or motion graphics
  3. Profiles – digital or otherwise
  4. CRM communications
  5. All B2B marketing touchpoints

Then going Canva with your copywriting is surely a formula for disaster.

Any serious business truly needs that one person to make the words work, and then build a personal relationship with the audience in view of generating a positive response. Then have the ability to put a creative spin on things with wordplay and uncommon insights for lasting appeal.

Not to mention having the acumen to uncover pain points and deliver solutions in an engaging manner. Plus, this person needs to be able to monitor results and optimise for greater impact.

That’s what copywriters do, which no app can emulate. And frankly, I am barely scratching the surface.

Good luck with the app!

What the Tech!

You know, I started in the advertising business as a copywriter in 1998 – that was my first job fresh out of college.

I graduated right smack in the middle of the Asian Financial Crisis and jobs were few and far in between. Out of sheer persistence and a hefty dose of luck, I landed a job as a copywriter for a small independent advertising agency.

I remember having to work without a computer, perhaps it was deemed unnecessary for me although I was the only writer in the agency at that time. I wrote copy by hand on A4 pieces of paper, and once approved, personally keyed directly into the layout on the designers’ gleaming Macs. Yeah, thug life.

This was a time before spell check and autocorrect, which meant I carried around an Oxford dictionary and thesaurus like how one would carry a smart phone now.

Research was with whatever printed journals and publications I could get my hands on. Doing some ‘internet’ research meant I had to wait for an open Mac, which usually happens when the designers were out for lunch.

There was no Google – actually there was but it was pretty crappy then. Yahoo! and Alta Vista were all the rage. Files were transferred using 1.44MB floppy disks, I know, cutting-edge shit. Purchasing stock images meant browsing a printed catalogue, placing the order via fax and someone would physically deliver the hi-res image on a disk a day or two later.

Floppy Tech
Tech can make your content flop

I could go on, but you get the gist, right?

The business of advertising back then was very analog, time-consuming and painstaking. The studio – where we creatives work – was a wonderous world where a lot of effort would go into creating a piece of marketing communication. It was hard, often manual, brain-crunching work – yet very fulfilling.

Then technology happened. Now, just one person can ideate, conceptualise, write, design and disseminate a piece of communication. What took weeks with a team of 5 back then can probably be done in hours today – we’ll leave the quality out of the equation for today yeah.

The entire process has been condensed and simplified – with apps, websites and software. But has it become simple for a person to multitask and create a well-crafted piece of marketing communication? Not by a long shot.

The overload in technology has resulted in overload of communication channels, which has resulted in overloading marketing plans with strategies to cover the constantly evolving and growing list of media must-haves.

It used to be just a website and Facebook page. Now, a marketer must think about separate strategies for Instagram, TikTok, Linked-In, Pinterest, YouTube Channel and every other social media trend to reach a fickle, devoid-of-attention and triggered audience.

And a lot of so-called digital agencies are churning out the same garbage churned for one channel and ramming them down disinterested audiences across other channels, including social media. All this is being done with blatant disregard for suitability of the media for the brand or business, or at the very least proper versioning and tweaking of the message.

Just content after mindless content generated for the sake of adhering to the marketing calendar. It has truly become a cesspool of words, images and videos that hardly means anything nor compels any kind of response.

Digital Evolution

Look, I for one am overwhelmed as well with the volatility, dynamics and continuous mutation of the marketing communication landscape. And there’s no sign of stopping really with AI and VR set to hit the marketing mainstream next.

But having been in the industry for over 2 decades and experienced its progression, I can tell you that the fundamentals are still the same. Strategies may differ and tactics will need to be upgraded to the times, but essentially its all about compelling content that generates leads and thereafter converts to a purchase.

Essentially, it’s about the idea and the objective first, and then take advantage of the type of media that can generate the most results. It’s not just about getting likes or comments or shares – if it doesn’t convert, its just more marketing Ringgit down the loo.

Marketing work during my rookie years was a multi-step, multi-person process, all thoughtfully crafted to the end objective of eliciting response. That seems to still be the idea these days, but technology – be it in terms of marketing tools or the media itself – has not made anything simpler.

So take a step back and look at the big picture as you ideate and strategise. The tech is just to enable, and is not the idea itself.

Evolve or Die

Remember the time when you knew at least a couple of bootleg DVD sellers in your neigbourhood and thought you were getting a bargain?

Remember the time when the trendiest of us used to wear our mobile phones around our necks?

Remember the time when compact discs were supposed to make our lives easier for being able to store up to roughly 20 tracks?

Evolution
Looks like the only difference between man and ape is technology...

Remember the time when you had to actually dial-up to connect to the internet and pay like 3 Ringgits per hour for it?

Remember the time when keeping in-touch meant calling someone maybe once or twice a month?

Remember the time when we read newspapers or magazines and played solitaire or minesweeper to keep ourselves occupied in the office?

Remember the time when we kept our thoughts to ourselves and wished others would understand us?

Remember the time when I was just a copywriter?

Some things evolve for the better, so have I to a certain extent. And I sure hope this is an evolution for the better as I have already stared death in its face… the slow death of aimless employment.

The result of this evolution? Only time will tell.

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