Yesterday’s essay stirred up a lively debate…
A reader posted to a private Facebook group (thank you Bobby) and the punches began flying…
I said copywriting is dead.
A bunch of commenters agreed with the more nuanced point I made.
A bunch — especially those who listed “copywriter” as their occupation — flipped their lid and called me crazy.
One even decided to react with a whole pile of animated gifs, basically saying that I was a punk kid that didn’t know anything. That was amusing.
I stayed silent, and probably will stay out of that particular thread.
Mudslinging on Facebook is pointless. And I’m not going to change anyone’s mind.
(And frankly, I don’t REALLY disagree with most of the people, even the ones who disagreed with what they thought I was saying. Copywriting can be nice “inside baseball” language that you use with insiders. It’s shorthand for what someone does when they put together sales messages to be reproduced in media. And yet, if you’re speaking to an audience that doesn’t know your language but still needs your services? You better stop using that language if you want to get anywhere. And the same thing applies no matter what you’re selling.)
But it speaks to something interesting.
Controversy sells…
Take a lesson from Eminem…
“Now this looks like a job for me / So everybody, just follow me! / ‘Cause we need a little controversy / ‘Cause it feels so empty without me.”
That was at the ultimate peak of his cultural popularity.
Em knew exactly what he was doing.
Start fights, sell records. Start fights, sell records.
The entertainment industry is full of examples.
Wanna sell music to kids? Make something their parents will flip out over. Marilyn Manson, The Beatles, and Elvis are all shining examples of the same, in various eras.
Or how about an ultra-modern example from this year?
Ever heard of James Altucher?
Or what if I say, have you seen those bitcoin ads with the frizzy-haired guy? Well, not anymore — because ad networks are dropping crypto ads like crazy, because it’s a wild west market full of fraud.
Simply by showing up all over the internet, James Altucher became the controversial face of crypto. Heck, his ads were so ubiquitous for a minute, that the mainstream media was doing investigative journalism into them!
(Hint, they thought they were controversial!)
Here’s how haters actually do you a favor…
Being talked about at all is more powerful than not being talked about.
When you do things that get talked about, not all of it will be good.
In fact, when you do ANYTHING worth anything, you will be talked about — and there will absolutely be people who trash what you’re doing, even if you’re making a huge positive impact on the world.
The bigger an impact you’re making, the more flak you’ll catch.
It’s inevitable.
It’s a freaking rule of the universe.
And with the internet making feedback easy — in both public and private — it happens a whole lot more.
If what you’re doing is fundamentally good, and it fundamentally benefits your constituency, this doesn’t hurt — it helps.
Even when people trash you, what you’ll experience is a polarization. The people who weren’t a fit will only pull further away. But the people who were a fit, or who were considering getting behind you, will likely rally behind you.
Again, this is all based on you actually doing GOOD.
Getting hated on because you are doing bad things does not lead anywhere you want to be, and rightly so…
But if you stir up controversy and you actually have a point…
You’ll develop raving fans!
And, in fact, they’ll often go to bat for you, without you ever having to move a muscle…
How to use this principle proactively…
One more example.
When I started diving into the fundraising space, I discovered nobody there charges royalties, commissions, or performance fees based on creating fundraising results for nonprofits.
I also realized that many of the innovations we’ve seen in online direct response marketing simply haven’t been implemented in the fundraising space.
Then, I went digging.
Turns out the main professional organization that dictates the code of ethics for fundraisers has basically called copywriting royalties an unethical practice in the nonprofit space.
Short term, that may make sense. An organization may be perceived to get more of their fundraising dollars if they don’t have to pay a royalty or commissions to fundraisers.
But, from my perspective, I see countless highly-skilled and kind-hearted marketers who are simply applying their skills and abilities in the commercial realm because it’s so much easier to make a great living there — for themselves, and for their families.
And so I’m actually putting together a marketing campaign designed to confront this issue head-on.
Embracing the controversy.
I know I’ll alienate a large segment of the fundraising world. But those who are simpatico with my message will be all the more attracted to my work.
Bring on the haters…
Knowing who you’re a fit for is important.
Knowing who you’re NOT a fit for is probably more so.
Deliver great value to who you’re a fit for.
And don’t be afraid to explicitly repel those who you’re not a fit for — even if it’s controversial to do so.
Yours for bigger breakthroughs,
Roy Furr
