If youāre still buying into the 1960ās Mad Men definition of what copywriting isā¦
Witty one-liners, clever slogans and a cut-throat āanything it takesā approach to sales and marketingā¦
Then Iām sorry, but youāve got it all WRONG.
Thanks to digital marketing, the explosion of social media, AI, and, well, automated everythingā¦
The answer to the question āWhat is copywriting?ā has massively changed over the past few years aloneā¦
In this blog, Iām going to talk about what the job of a copywriter REALLY looks like today and the 3 copywriting skills you should be investing in pronto.
Hey, Posse! Whatās up? Itās Alex. Coming at ya this week with a blog that is LONG OVERDUE.
Turns out āā a lot of people are still asking āWhat is copywriting?ā In fact that search term got over 38,000 hits this month ALONE. So, letās talk about itā¦

But first here is the definition, according toĀ Wikipediaā¦Ā
āCopywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. Copywriting is aimed at selling products or services.ā
Mmmmm⦠Okayā¦now, to be clear, this definition is NOT WRONG. Itās just leaving out a lot ā like a lot, a lot ā of stuff. Itās pretty outdated in my opinion.
At the end of this blog, Iām going to share MY modern definition of what copywriting is, but first ā letās talk about how and WHY itās changed, I mean⦠what the heck happened?
Well to really understand how copywriting has changed over the years, we need to go all the way back to the 15th century.
When the printing press was industrialized, it paved the way for the first form of mass-produced, widespread copywriting: the newspaper.
Back then, newspaper ad copy was clear, short, focused simply on problem/solution and in many cases ā very direct.



And advertising didnāt much change for a while. That is, until the āMad Menā era of copywriting and marketing revolutionized the industry and formed the definition of copywriting that many still use today…
As the market grew more sophisticated and options became more plentiful, writing attention-grabbing hooks became WAY more important.
It was during this time that copywriting started utilizing psychology, storytelling, status, ego and emotion.
Copywriters needed to know how to capture attention, keep attention and how to persuade a person to buy THIS product over the growing number of OTHER alternatives that were quickly becoming available.
Of course, this is EVEN MORE relevant today.
Thanks to the rise of the internet, digital marketing and social media, there has NEVER been more noise competing for our audienceās attention.
That is why ATTENTION has always been the #1 most valuable currency in marketing.
But unlike before, ATTENTION is no longer enoughā¦
Because after you get their attention, you then need to get their TRUST. And that is getting harder and harder to doā¦
Now you might be thinking ā yeah, obviously trust is important and it always has been⦠ok sure, but hereās what things have changed.
When I started in the online marketing world back in 2008, customer trust was more or less the ābaselineā default ā it was almost as if people just trusted ANYTHING if it was published online without asking too many questions.
You didn’t have to work TOO hard to earn that trust.
For example, back then, I saw SO many businesses make MILLIONS of dollars by selling a product with barely ANY social proof, using a āfake personalityā, stock photos and pen name, and never creating a single piece of content or video.
It was just ALL ads directing to a REALLY ugly sales page, usually with black text, on a white background, HUGE RED LETTERS and YELLOW UNDERLINE⦠and ZERO images.
I mean, itās pretty impressive if you think about it ā and really highlights the power of great copywritingā¦
But think about it for a second. TODAY ā no matter HOW good the copy is ā would you buy ANY product online that didnāt have believable and REAL customer reviews or social proof?
Or wasnāt backed by a brand or person who had at least some credibility, authority or at the very least, you could verify was a REAL person?
No! Why? Because weāre smarter than ever before, and unfortunately, many of us have been scammed one too many times before.
Combine that with the FLOOD of regurgitated, hypey, boring, watered-down content that all sounds the same being published onlineā¦
And itās really no wonder that skepticism and DISTRUST are the NEW default.
Which means āwinning the marketing gameā today is no longer as simple as gaining and keeping your prospectās attentionā¦
After you do that, you then need to GAIN and KEEP their trustā¦
And that means that our job ā as copywriters, marketers and business owners ā just got a massive job description update.
Copywriting and marketing today is NOT just about knowing how to write catchy hooks and persuade a person to click ābuy nowā.
Sure, while you DO still need those skills, they alone are not enough. So what does copywriting ACTUALLY look like in 2025?
Well a great copywriter has these 3 skillsā¦
Copywriting Skill #1: Content Strategizing
A content strategy is intentionally created to PULL your ideal audience into your world and build trust.
For YEARS content and copy were looked at as two totally separate things ā and I even did a video wayyyyy back when where I broke down the differences.
But TODAY, that is no longer the case. They are very much intertwined because of the HUGE WEB of touchpoints that the average person takes interacting with your content and marketing before they EVER buy from you.
As a copywriter and marketer, being able to create valuable and memorable content has never been a more important part of the overall marketing picture.
Through blog posts, YouTube videos, social media posts, free lead magnets that deliver real value ā checklists, guides, e-books, quizzes ā and things like that.
Your content strategy might not generate much, if any, direct revenue, but itās INVALUABLE because this is what will feed your sales LATER.
The main focus of your content strategy is to attract new leads and build trust. You want to create as many touchpoints and āmicroā conversions as possible as these are leading indicators of how likely this person is to buy from you laterā¦
To help you build out your content strategy ā or a content strategy for your clients ā I recommend following a 3-tier approachā¦
Where you have top of the funnel posts, middle of the funnel posts and bottom of the funnel posts.
Itāll look slightly different for every brand, but hereās a general guideline to get you started:
#1 ā Pull Them Into Your World
This is your top-of-the-funnel content. It should be a bit more broad to appeal to your ānonfollowersā ā but STILL related to what your ideal audience is looking for.
These are where you share funny memes, opinions, quotes, anecdotes, stats, relatable stories, polls with the goal of pulling new people into your world.
Your CTAs here should be dead simple ā you want them to follow you for more!
#2 ā Educate & Build Trust
This is your middle-of-the-funnel content. Once a new lead comes into your world and decides they want to get to know you better, NOW itās time to show them what youāre made of and build trustā¦
Focus on delivering free value that will GENIUNELY help them. Stuff like tools, specific strategies, tips and frameworks.
This content should showcase how you can help your audience achieve their goals or solve their problems.
And the perfect CTA here should be to download a lead magnet or some other FREE resource that helps them. And that is how you get your followers on your email list.
And then finally, you have…
#3 ā Offer & Nurture
This is your bottom-of-the-funnel content ā the people who have been following you for a while and trust you.
These are the posts where you can present an offer to those who are READY. These types of posts should be FEW and far between.
Remember ā the purpose of your content strategy is NOT to sell.
Itās to grow an engaged audience and build a relationship with them.
If you do a good job at #1 and #2 then most of your bottom-of-the-funnel followers will ALREADY be on your email list which means they will ALREADY be seeing your offers and promotions.
So we donāt need to work so hard at selling on social media.
But with that said, itās totally okay to present an offer every now and then.
You just donāt want to do this too much or youāre going to throw a massive wrench into all the work youāve been doing to build trust with your top and middle-of-the-funnel peeps.
And a word of caution⦠āCreating content fasterā is not the answer here.
Itās about connecting with the RIGHT people, deep. So be careful about now creating content for the sake of it, or using AI to generate cheap and fast content.
You content needs to SAY something and make people FEEL something.
You need to be using your HEARTS and BRAINS to connect with your audience and to nurture your relationship with them if they arenāt yet ready to buy ā which is totally ok.
Can AI help you generate ideas and get started? Sure⦠But trying to over-automate or shortcut this step entirely is a big, BIG mistake.
If you want to dive DEEPER into building out a content strategy, then definitely grab a copy of my Social Media Cheatsheet and check out my social media lead generation tutorial to read next.
Alright now moving on toā¦
Copywriting Skill #2: Marketing
So now that weāve started to bring leads in and get them on your email list, itās time for the next phase of a copywriterās job to kick inā¦
This is the more “traditional” stuff that we typically associate with the former definition of copywriting. And YES itās still important!!
Iām talking about ads, landing pages, sales pages and emails. This is where strategy, problem-solving, sequencing, formulas, psychology, funnels and sharing real, specific RESULTS come in.
Where leads are taken through a FUNNEL and are presented with an offer.
But the KEY here is that this is a continuation of your content strategy.
Youāre STILL working on connecting with your audience.
Youāre STILL building trust and delivering value.
You canāt just stop doing that when it comes time to sell something.
In fact, Iād argue that you want to do even MORE of it.
You need to show your audience that you deeply understand them, their problems and that you care about their results.
Knowing how to write punchy headlines and persuasive copy is important, yes.
But even more important is knowing how to write conversationally, knowing how to write a great story that evokes EMOTION in the reader and empathizes with their pains, fears, and desires.
Knowing how to effectively research WHAT those pains, fears and desires are.
Knowing how to use psychological triggers and storytelling.
Knowing how to identify and address objections.
And knowing how to sell without being forceful or pushy.
That is what makes marketing effective.
And if you want to learn how to write copy like that, check out my Write & Ignite Challenge.
Where youāll learn my step-by-step process for writing a compelling and persuasive sales page that connects and converts.
Alright ā now we need to talk about the last and arguably most important copywriting skill todayā¦
Copywriting Skill #3: Branding
The key to any successful business is not just knowing how to bring new leads in and convert them, itās knowing how to KEEP them around long-term.
Itās knowing how to create a place people WANT to be.
A community they feel like they BELONG in.
So even if there is a cheaper offer somewhere else⦠they would never DREAM of leaving.
The goal of ANY copywriter, marketer or business owner should be to keep your best customers coming BACK.
This is where branding plays SUCH a critical role ā Iām talking messaging, belonging, identity, values, and creating long-term loyalty.
This is WHY you do what you do, HOW you communicate with your customers, the vibe you set inside your programs and offers, the sense of community you cultivate.
This should all be INTENTIONAL based on the impact you want to create.
Soooooo often branding is thought of as the color scheme, font and the lingo or phrases a brand usesā¦
And while that is certainly PART of it ā Itās nowhere near the full picture.
If you want to dig deeper into branding and learn how to create a FULL PICTURE brand experience.
Make sure to download my FREE Brand Voice Checklist.
So, you heard it here, Posse in 2025, we are redefining what REAL copywriting is!
You ready for this???? This is the MODERN definition of copywriting:
Copywriting is content strategyā¦
Copywriting is customer psychologyā¦
Copywriting is brand messagingā¦
Copywriting is building trustā¦
Copywriting is getting into the hearts and minds of your customersā¦
Copywriting is crafting a cohesive buying journeyā¦
Copywriting is getting (and keeping) attentionā¦
Copywriting is overcoming objectionsā¦
Copywriting is solving problemsā¦
Copywriting is understanding your customersā painā¦
Copywriting is strategizing offersā¦
Copywriting is planning sales funnels and launchesā¦
Copywriting is testing new hooks, headlines and CTAsā¦
Copywriting is crafting a brand voiceā¦
Copywriting is writing storiesā¦
Copywriting is identifying the right case studies and testimonials to use and where to use themā¦
Copywriting is translating scientific, technical or academic language into relatable messagingā¦
Copywriting is salesā¦
Copywriting is communicationā¦
Copywriting is meaningful marketing.
And thatās exactly what I teach here at the Copy Posse.
So be sure to get on my email list for MORE articles and lessons like this one.
And if you want to check out my step-by-step video programs ā where I outline my exact strategies and formulas ā then go check out my website www.copyposse.com/programs
Iāve got something to help you with everything from writing a sales page to email sequences to building out a brand voice that resonates.
I hope you found this helpful.
Which part of the copywriter job do you want to learn more about? Content strategy, marketing or branding?
Comment below and let me know! Until next time, Iām Alex. Ciao for now!