Comments on: Copywriting Is Not the Most Important Skill

By: Online Business Freedom › My Mom Taught Me the Most Valuable Marketing Lesson of All

Mon, 12 May 2008 03:08:57 +0000

[...] The inspiration from this post came from a blog entry I read from Ryan Healy’s blog, who coincidentally, had a very similar experience with his [...]

By: Art of Persuasion : Internet Business Coaching by Terry Dean

Art of Persuasion : Internet Business Coaching by Terry Dean — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:51:23 +0000

[...] Ryan Healy picked up on that statement and wrote a very interesting post over on his blog at: http://www.ryanhealy.com/skill-of-copywriting/ [...]

By: Shel Horowitz

Shel Horowitz — Mon, 05 May 2008 01:13:05 +0000

Good point, Ryan. I like looking at communication, because that covers copywriting, sales, consulting, family dynamics, and much more. But theres one subset of communication that I don’t think anyone mentioned yet:
L I S T E N I N G !

The more I listen, the better I am at all the persuasive communication–and maybe that’s why my business has shifted from straight copywriting to a lot more strategic marketing consulting.

_____
Shel Horowitz, copywriter and award-winning author of five marketing books Blogging on the intersections of ethics, marketing, media, sustainability, and politics: http://www.principledprofit.com/good-business-blog/

By: Eric

Eric — Sun, 04 May 2008 16:26:03 +0000

I don’t know if this is infinite monkey theorem or what, but my dad actually said the same thing to me…

Actually, I suppose it isn’t. My name is Eric.

By: Start A Blog, and Get Off The Fence | Keith Goodrum

Start A Blog, and Get Off The Fence | Keith Goodrum — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:32:34 +0000

[...] You can use a blog as a direct line of communication – Ryan Healy in his post titled Copywriting Is Not the Most Important Skill said: “It’s my belief that communication is the most important skill you could ever [...]

By: Advice Network Founders Blog» Blog archives » The Most Necessary Traits for Internet Entrepreneurs

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 07:19:44 +0000

[...] As with almost anything in life…communication is key. [...]

By: Ryan M. Healy

Ryan M. Healy — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:39:04 +0000

Tim – Thanks for sharing your story. Sometimes it’s the ugly ads that get the best response.

By: Tim Gross

Tim Gross — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:06:34 +0000

Good points Ryan, especially because I think some people trying to write copy need to get out of their “copywriting box”…

I once wrote a sales letter so “good” that people actually emailed me congratulations on the great ad. The only problem was that no one actually BOUGHT from the sales letter.

Another time I achieved an 8-10% buy rate, and while it was definitely a sales letter, I think readers thought of it more as communication than a pitch. Nobody emailed me any compliments about the sales letter… they just bought in droves. :-)

With the increasing transparency and two-way communication that’s continuing to grow online, this is a perfect time to be discussing getting rid of some of the self-imposed rules copywriters have about what constitutes a sales letter. It’s ALL about communication :-)

By: Ryan M. Healy

Ryan M. Healy — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:55:13 +0000

Joe – Giving directions for how to use a product wouldn’t need to be persuasive, only clear and concise. (Although it might help to “resell” the customer to help ensure they use the product.)

Just an example of a point where communication wouldn’t necessarily need to be persuasive.

By: Joseph Ratliff

Joseph Ratliff — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:46:30 +0000

Obviously, communication would have to be persuasive at some points, but at all points?