Writing copy is not to attract attention, but to occupy your time!

Many people say that modern people like reading less and less, and like looking at text less and less.

They say they like looking at pictures, watching videos, and watching GIFs… No one wants to read an article with a bunch of words.

So don’t make the copy too long and don’t write too much content. It’s enough to make people click on the title.

Those who say these things probably don't understand what the value of users is in this era.

The two most important abilities in this era are the first is the ability to grab attention, and the second is the ability to occupy time.

The two are ultimately one line, grabbing your attention and occupying your time.

This is why we write copy, and if possible, we hope to write longer ones - as long as you can keep users reading, your long copy will be more effective than short copy.

Last time our company recruited, I thought of two ways .

The first step is to go to some discussion forums and post recruitment information, saying what company we are, what we are in need of copywriters, how much the salary is, what the requirements are, and if you are interested, please send your resume and we can arrange an interview.

This method is what most startups do. We don’t have the resources to post information on some big websites. Even if we do, not many people will look up to our company.

The second is that I wrote a long article of about 1,600 words and posted it on my wall.

In less than a day, I received 20 resumes, 50 in three days, and 70 resumes in total until we finalized the candidate. And they were not standard resumes. Almost all of them were designed by them and met my requirements.

It took me quite some time to sort and reply.

It’s not that people don’t read long copy nowadays, it’s that people don’t read your long copy.

Every sentence and every article I write is to occupy your time and keep your attention on me.

Why are good novels so valuable and good movies so highly praised? Because they grab your time for two hours or two days.

In this era, the amount of information is increasing, the channels for receiving information are increasing, and more and more people are learning to create various contents to attract everyone's attention.

But human time remains the same, there are 24 hours in a day, the time we open our eyes is 16 hours, and the time we receive information is about 6-10 hours. For people with severe cases, it is almost 12 hours.

Our time remains the same, but more and more people are sharing it.

Therefore, how much time you can occupy the user is a reflection of your ability.

The most valuable thing in this era is time, and the least valuable thing is also time because everyone has it.

The more time you can occupy, the more you can communicate with them what you want to say.

Rather than simply attracting attention and then walking away, copywriting can help you convey what you want to communicate.

The purpose of writing copy is to gain as much user time as possible, communicate what we want to convey, and achieve the conversion goal.

The key is to achieve the ultimate goal, no matter what that goal is. The more time we can occupy the user's communication, the greater the chance of achieving it.

Maybe you will also say, why can't it be achieved quickly? A good salesperson doesn’t spend three days selling a car, but sells three cars a day, right?

It is certainly better to be able to achieve the goal faster, without having to take up so much of the user's real time.

But what we occupy is not only time, but also more valuable things that we communicate through this time.

Behind this is a series of persuasion processes, but the prerequisite is that you have to let the user stand in front of you long enough.

There is a well-known trick in sales skills: gradual persuasion.

First borrow 3 minutes from the customer, then slowly increase it to 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and continue to communicate the goals and content during the process until the deal is closed.

The same is true for copywriting. It starts with the title, then the first opening paragraph, followed by the testimony, display, and comparison of the persuasive content... until the goal is achieved.

In this complex and diverse information environment, we need to occupy the user's time and allow him to receive what we have to say in our own world.

The longer the copy can keep users, the greater your chances.

On the other hand, as readers and listeners, we should also be careful.

Don't let your time be eaten up accidentally.

Time is our asset. In today's era, protecting time assets has become an important ability.

We need to acquire other people's assets and protect our own assets.

Only with sufficient assets can you create value.

Not only attract people, but also capture their time and make them dependent on you.

·END·