If you’re still buying into the 1960’s Mad Men definition of what copywriting is…
Witty one-liners, clever slogans and a cut-throat “anything it takes” approach to sales and marketing…
Then I’m sorry, but you’ve got it all WRONG.
Thanks to digital marketing, the explosion of social media, AI, and, well, automated everything…
The answer to the question “What is copywriting?” has massively changed over the past few years alone…
In this blog, I’m 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! What’s up? It’s Alex. Coming at ya this week with a blog that is LONG OVERDUE.
Turns out –– a lot of people are still asking “What is copywriting?” In fact that search term got over 38,000 hits this month ALONE. So, let’s talk about it…
But first here is the definition, according to Wikipedia…
“Copywriting 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.”
Mmmmm… Okay…now, to be clear, this definition is NOT WRONG. It’s just leaving out a lot – like a lot, a lot – of stuff. It’s pretty outdated in my opinion.
At the end of this blog, I’m going to share MY modern definition of what copywriting is, but first – let’s talk about how and WHY it’s 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 – very direct.
And advertising didn’t much change for a while. That is, until the “Mad Men” 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 audience’s attention.
That is why ATTENTION has always been the #1 most valuable currency in marketing.
But unlike before, ATTENTION is no longer enough…
Because after you get their attention, you then need to get their TRUST. And that is getting harder and harder to do…
Now you might be thinking – yeah, obviously trust is important and it always has been… ok sure, but here’s what things have changed.
When I started in the online marketing world back in 2008, customer trust was more or less the “baseline” default – 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 “fake personality”, 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, it’s pretty impressive if you think about it – and really highlights the power of great copywriting…
But think about it for a second. TODAY – no matter HOW good the copy is – would you buy ANY product online that didn’t have believable and REAL customer reviews or social proof?
Or wasn’t 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 we’re 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 online…
And it’s really no wonder that skepticism and DISTRUST are the NEW default.
Which means “winning the marketing game” today is no longer as simple as gaining and keeping your prospect’s attention…
After you do that, you then need to GAIN and KEEP their trust…
And that means that our job – as copywriters, marketers and business owners – 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 “buy now”.
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 skills…
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 – 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 – checklists, guides, e-books, quizzes – and things like that.
Your content strategy might not generate much, if any, direct revenue, but it’s 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 “micro” conversions as possible as these are leading indicators of how likely this person is to buy from you later…
To help you build out your content strategy – or a content strategy for your clients – I recommend following a 3-tier approach…
Where you have top of the funnel posts, middle of the funnel posts and bottom of the funnel posts.
It’ll look slightly different for every brand, but here’s a general guideline to get you started:
#1 – Pull Them Into Your World
This is your top-of-the-funnel content. It should be a bit more broad to appeal to your “nonfollowers” – 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 – you want them to follow you for more!
#2 – 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 it’s time to show them what you’re made of and build trust…
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 – Offer & Nurture
This is your bottom-of-the-funnel content – 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 – the purpose of your content strategy is NOT to sell.
It’s 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 don’t need to work so hard at selling on social media.
But with that said, it’s totally okay to present an offer every now and then.
You just don’t want to do this too much or you’re going to throw a massive wrench into all the work you’ve been doing to build trust with your top and middle-of-the-funnel peeps.
And a word of caution… “Creating content faster” is not the answer here.
It’s 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 aren’t yet ready to buy – 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 to…
Copywriting Skill #2: Marketing
So now that we’ve started to bring leads in and get them on your email list, it’s time for the next phase of a copywriter’s job to kick in…
This is the more “traditional” stuff that we typically associate with the former definition of copywriting. And YES it’s still important!!
I’m 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.
You’re STILL working on connecting with your audience.
You’re STILL building trust and delivering value.
You can’t just stop doing that when it comes time to sell something.
In fact, I’d 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 you’ll learn my step-by-step process for writing a compelling and persuasive sales page that connects and converts.
Alright – now we need to talk about the last and arguably most important copywriting skill today…
Copywriting Skill #3: Branding
The key to any successful business is not just knowing how to bring new leads in and convert them, it’s knowing how to KEEP them around long-term.
It’s 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 – I’m 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 uses…
And while that is certainly PART of it — It’s 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 strategy…
Copywriting is customer psychology…
Copywriting is brand messaging…
Copywriting is building trust…
Copywriting is getting into the hearts and minds of your customers…
Copywriting is crafting a cohesive buying journey…
Copywriting is getting (and keeping) attention…
Copywriting is overcoming objections…
Copywriting is solving problems…
Copywriting is understanding your customers’ pain…
Copywriting is strategizing offers…
Copywriting is planning sales funnels and launches…
Copywriting is testing new hooks, headlines and CTAs…
Copywriting is crafting a brand voice…
Copywriting is writing stories…
Copywriting is identifying the right case studies and testimonials to use and where to use them…
Copywriting is translating scientific, technical or academic language into relatable messaging…
Copywriting is sales…
Copywriting is communication…
Copywriting is meaningful marketing.
And that’s 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 – where I outline my exact strategies and formulas – then go check out my website www.copyposse.com/programs
I’ve 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, I’m Alex. Ciao for now!
