An interesting debate is currently raging among copywriters, web designers and content developers about the differences, if any, between writing copy for the web versus writing content.

"Melissa" invaded our computers in late 1999, then "I Love You" in 2000. A year later, the "homepage.htm" attachment virus is wreaking havoc online. And now, in 2002, we have not been spared. A fury of Klez.Gen worms as they spread like wildfire has brought the web to a crawl at times.

My wife and I recently bought a house. It's currently being built and moving day is slated for December. So we decided to buy some furniture in order to fill some of the "extra space." (Our new home is double the size of our current one.) Now, something really interesting happened. The story is a little long, and almost unbelievable, but let me cut to the heart of the matter. (I'll tell you the whole story some other time. You'll cringe!)

Knowing how to write, and write well, is a skill that will come in handy in all sorts of situations. And if you combine good writing skills with the persuasive selling tactics found in, say, copywriting, you'll be that much more ahead of your competition. Of all the different types of writing I've done in my life (and believe me, I've tried practically all of them) writing radio has made one of the bigger impacts on my writing style.

Most of the sales pieces people ask me to rewrite seem to offer great products and services. In fact, some of their offers are so good, prospects would be crazy to turn them down. But they do. And these sales pieces end up falling in my lap because they're desperately unproductive. One of the biggest problems I see in these pieces is the fact that the copy is stale, limp and anemic.Copywriting is "Salesmanship in Print"

I like to use power phrases when writing sales material. These power phrases add punch to a line or a paragraph and I usually use them to start off a sentence. You can generally find alot of "power phrases" when reading good sales copy. I usually keep a notebook nearby so that whenever I come across a line or a phrase that I Iike in sales material, I write it down for possible future use.

When writing direct response copy, there are a few things that can maximize the responsiveness of your message. The first and most important element that can turn any website, salesletter or ad into an action-generating mechanism is the headline. A headline is meant to do two vital things.

When I critique, edit or rewrite sales copy, I discover that many clients commit common errors. Granted, not all of them are writers. But most of them fail to drive customer actions not because they lack writing skills but because they fail to look at their copy from their readers' perspective.

In the competitive marketplace of the new millennium, the demand for specialized products or services will increase. If your site sells everything or to everyone, chances are that your audience will not perceive a value in shopping from you any greater than from anyone else. Keep in mind that price is *never* an issue -- it is the value behind the price that is.

Copy is all about words. Or is it? Copy is about using words to describe the benefits of your offer. About using words to paint vivid mental imagery. About using words to stir the senses, press all the "hot buttons" and push the reader to take some kind of action. But is it really ALL about words? I mean, just words? No.