AI has already replaced people in so many industries, like agricultural and automotive industry. But will they replace us in more creative industries like marketing and advertising? And will I soon be out of a job? 

Many copywriters don't seem too concerned about robots taking their jobs. After all, copywriting requires thinking and creativity, which are things that robots have not yet evolved to do. Or have they? 

Recently, the Chinese company Alibaba revealed it's AI-powered copywriting tool. This software can generate up to 20,000 lines of copy per second. It's already being used by major brands to write their product descriptions.

The AI copywriter uses deep learning and natural language, processing technologies gleaned from millions of examples on the Alibaba website. Brands and advertisers can insert a link from any product page, and click the 'Produce Smart Copy' button to immediately see dozens of copy ideas.

And Persado, the American marketing company has said that their AI-generated content has outperformed a human copywriter, time and time again. The platform works with more than one billion words, sentences, and images that have their highest click-through rate recorded after over one billion impressions.

So, will AI replace human copywriters? Will I soon be out of a job? Well, I don't think so, and here's why.

Copywriting is so much more than just structuring sentences and data. A skilled copywriter is someone that takes the time to understand their audience on a deep, emotional level. And then uses creativity and empathy to relate to their audience through words. 

I don't believe that even with all of their sophistication and deep learning, I don't think that robots are at the stage yet. Where they can think, use creativity, and also empathy in the words that they write.

Even Persado's Marketing Director, Julia Spano said herself, "We're never going to replace a creative agency that creates something like the Nike slogan, 'Just do it!'."

If you've enjoyed reading this blog post, please give it a thumbs-up, like it, and share it with other people. And if you would like to work with a team of real human writers to help you with your website content, blog, or marketing copy, then feel free to reach out to us. 

In today's blog post, I'm going to answer the question, what comes first, content or design? 

Whether you're building a new website from scratch or revamping an existing website, you might be wondering what comes first, content or design? 

Now, at the end of the day both are important. You can't have one without the other. Your website needs both, content and design. But in this blog post, I'm going to cover what should you prioritize, what should you focus on first? 

I've personally worked on countless websites, both for my own business and also for client's projects. And I'm sure some web designers are going to disagree with me when I say that I firmly believe, content should come first. Now to prove it to you, let me give you four reasons why. 

1. Your website is a communication tool.

The purpose of your website is to communicate with you visitors. And only words can effectively communicate your unique message, the benefits of your products and services, and why people should choose you over the competition. Words can do that, design cannot. 

2. Google ranks content, not design.

Did you know that there are over 200 factors that Google looks at when deciding on who it should rank in it's search engine. And the most important factor, still today, is unique and quality content. And that's why you need to focus on content first when you're building or rebuilding your website. Because it's such an important factor in your success as a website.

3. People come for the content, not for the design.

There's a variety of reasons why people visit websites. They're in search of information. They want answers to their questions, or solutions to their problems. And only content can really convey that to them. They might enjoy the design, but they come for the content. 

4. It's much easier to write your content first.

It's so much easier to write and edit your content, even share your content with other people in programs like Microsoft Word or Google Docs, than it is to in Adobe Photoshop or Adobe InDesign. And that's what makes so much more sense and is a far more efficient work process, is if you write your content in those programs, Microsoft Word, Google Docs first. Write, edit and finalize your content, so everyone's happy with it, before you then move it onto the design process. It's not so easy to really collaborate and work on content when it's in Adobe Photoshop or InDesign.

I want to end this blog post with a quote from a famous web designer who says that, 

"Design in the absence of content is not design, it's just decoration." 

And I think that really seals the deal on all of the reasons why I believe as a copywriter, who is probably biased, that content should come first before design does. 

But what about you, what do you think? If you enjoyed reading this blog post, then please like it, give it a thumbs up and share with other people. 

And if you would like some help with writing content or copy for your website, your blog, or marketing and advertising campaigns, send us a message at support@copywritingcrew.com.

Should you write drunk and edit sober? 

Could drinking really help you overcome writer's block and become a better writer, and have I ever been drunk while writing? 

Write drunk, edit sober was at quite first attributed to the great Ernest Hemingway. But according to his granddaughter, he never wrote while under the influence. He preferred to write sober usually in the early hours of the morning. But that hasn't stopped Hollywood from portraying artists and writers as tortured souls who rely heavily on alcohol and drugs to produce great work. 

Just look at the hit TV drama Mad Men. It's a show about a New York advertising agency set in the 1960's. Much of the show glorifies a drinking culture amongst the team of copywriters and executives including Don Draper. We can regularly see the cast drinking before, during, and after office hours.

Even David Ogilvy who is considered the godfather of advertising is guilty of promoting the idea of writing drunk, editing sober. Listen to what he wrote to a friend when asked to describe his writing process.

"I am terrified of producing a lousy advertisement. If all else fails, I drink half a bottle of rum and play the gramophone. This generally produces an uncontrollable gush of copy. The next morning I can get up early and edit the gush."

So is write drunk, edit sober actually good advice? 

No, it's terrible advice. Just look at Brooklyn based writer Crissy Van Meter who documented in a blog post her week of writing drunk, editing sober. What she noticed was she did write more words than usual but the output was actually unusable gibberish and she had more hangovers than usual. The idea of write drunk and editing sober really just glorifies addiction and alcoholism.

There are no shortcuts to becoming a better writer and drinking doesn't improve your creativity or your writing output. In fact, it's only procrastination and escapism from doing the difficult work of sitting down and writing. 

Now if you feel like writing is difficult, time consuming, and even driving you to drink, then why not outsource it to a team of professional and sober writers? My team and I would love to help you with any of your writing needs such as websites, marketing, or advertising materials. 

Looking for inspiration and ideas for your next Facebook Ad campaign? Want to uncover winning Facebook ad examples from your industry? If so, then you’re going to love this! 

Facebook ads recently launched a 100% FREE tool that will help you spy on your competitor's campaigns and ad creatives. Why would you want to do that?

• Get inspiration and insights on how to create your own effective Facebook advertising campaigns
• Learn ideas on how to promote your own services and products
• Discover the current trends and what's happening in the marketplace

Facebook Ad Library Step-By-Step Tutorial

First, make sure you’re logged in your Facebook account and then go to Facebook Ad Library.

Now, you can start spying your competitor’s Facebook ads.

1. Select ‘ALL’ on the country to know where are they advertising on this social media platform.
2. Go to the search field and type your chosen competitor’s page.

Tip: Make sure to choose the legitimate page that has the most amount of likes and often has a blue check on it.

Once you click on the Facebook Page, you can start scanning the results where you will see all the activities and paid campaigns.

You’ll get to uncover all of the past and present ad sets your competitors are running. Take advantage of these insights and generate ideas on how to create your own high-converting Facebook ad campaigns and creatives.

Tip: Hover the mouse pointer on the ‘information’ icon, you’ll see which ad is the most effective and the best performing.

Every ad will show you their ad copy, image, call to action and the link that will lead you straight to the landing page or sales page. This is where you can take a look at how they promote their business such as the headline, video, call to action, etc.

Spying on your competitors Facebook Ads is just the first step. The second step is to actually create your own original and compelling Facebook Ad copy (don’t just copy someone else's campaign!) If you’re busy and would like some help, we’ve got your back!

Need Help Creating Facebook Ad Copy? We can help!

​Click here to find out more about our Facebook Ad Copywriting services.

In today's blog post I'm answering the frequently asked question, "Long copy versus short copy. What works better?" 

Look, this debate has been going on forever, between marketers and copywriters. Some people say that long copy definitely works better than short copy. Other people say that no one has time to read long copy, therefore, shorter copy will work better too. So, what's my opinion? 

Well, my opinion as a professional copywriter with over 15 years experience, is it really depends. It depends on many factors. There is a time to use long copy and there is a time to use short copy. In this blog post I'm going to help you understand when you should use both.

When to use short copy

When your brand is already established, when it's already well-known in the marketplace. 

If you look companies like apple.com when they came out with the iPad or even the iPhone, they didn't need to use long copy. And that's because consumers are already aware of apple.com. They trust the brand. And therefore if you look at their landing page for either the iPhone or the iPad, you'll notice that they don't use a lot of copy. They don't need to, because consumers already know, like, and trust the brand.

When what you're offering is free.

If you're offering a free gym membership, or maybe a free digital lead magnet, such as a video course or white paper, an eBook, or even a checklist, then you don't need a lot of copy to justify, and to sell, something that's free. In that instance, I think short copy can work really well.

When your product or service, or whatever it is that you're offering, is simple and straightforward to explain.

When you don't require a lot of copy because it's so easy to understand​ what you're selling, the benefits and the problems that it solves, you don't need a lot of copy to sell it.

When to use long copy

When you're new in the marketplace, and you need to establish your brand, your products and services. 

See, when people don't know who you are, then you have more explaining to do. And that's going to justify using longer copy, because you need to build trust, you need to build rapport, you need to gain people's trust in the marketplace, and long copy allows you to do that because you have more room to say what you need to say to build your trust.

When what you're selling is complicated, difficult to understand, or even expensive.

Just look at some of the products or gadgets for sale on kickstarter.com. These are completely new products. Often they haven't been created yet, they just have a concept or a blueprint for the product. And what they do is they use a lot of copy on the product page on Kickstarter, in order to what the product is, how it works, the manufacturing process, and all that information, and questions that potential buyers might have.

There you have it. Long copy versus short copy, the debate rages on. But at least now you have an idea of when you should use short copy and when you should use long copy in your marketing.

If you enjoyed reading this blog post, then please like it and share it with other people. And if you'd like some help with either writing short copy or long copy, in your blog website, business, or online marketing campaigns, then definitely reach out and get in touch with us over at copywritingcrew.com.