Fresh

Why does copywriting for the web, which is so important, get so looked down upon by a lot of writers out there?

Well, there’s no denying that writing for the web is different than writing for print, TV or radio. And sure, we all know that what’s different is often looked down upon and shied away from. Is it because of some sort of misunderstanding? Is it just a lack of interest? Nope, it’s FEAR.

I say FEAR because there are no easy victories when writing copy for the web.

But WHY are there no easy victories? Because when copywriting for the web, you can’t ace the project just by writing a great slogan or tagline. There’s a lot of “click here, dummy” type stuff that needs to be written, and generally there way more copy than you have to write for broadcast or print projects. (Side thought, could a copywriting OG like James J. Jordan survive if he was just now coming up in the game?)

The writers out there who FEAR web copy are the same ones who never liked, or couldn’t adapt, to this new reality. I’ve heard people say they hate to write for the web, and that they don’t consider it part of the brand to write a website’s instructional copy, a captcha interface, terms and conditions (check out this one), or other parts of a site that aren’t blatantly front and center. I know, isn’t that ridiculous? With any type of web content we’re talking about voice, and voice is brand, right?

Then there’s the length issue when dealing with web copy. FEAR is everywhere when it comes to this. Whether it’s researching and developing massive custom content, or truncating the hell out of a client’s “finalized” web copy, managing length is always a tougher chore on the web than it is in print, and it’s definitely a constant.

Throwing yourself at this ongoing challenge can turn the sometimes dirty job of writing web copy into a chance to create an on-brand work of art. So copywriters, take advantage of those chances to make something beautiful on the web, because I’m sure a lot of you out there suck at drawing.