Hi Terita,

You’re absolutely right that long form copy *can* be very effective—when done well. But, yes, focusing on just writing online sales letters is definitely going to put people in a narrow niche that won’t serve them well when they try to get work.

Thanks for commenting!
Nicki

I appreciate your comments here. Enlightening. I do fall into category #2 inasmuch as my particular focus is for the long sales letter due to my primary intention not being an employee for an ad agency – I can’t stomach being another employee for anyone else – I know I can freelance for an agency, and from that perspective, I’ll certainly learn from this site beyond my own intentions to write primarily to for the digital only info-marketing sector. But, yes, my main focus is copywriting for web digital info products, however, it is clear that with the information you provide here, I can even be a better writer for that copy. I do believe long copy can be less of a headache to read if written well, and the writer is compelling on taking the reader on a journey of demonstrating how to solve problems.

Hi Jim,

I’m glad it was helpful! I’m sure there are a *few* writers making big money…but it’s not really a growth industry. If you ask me, it’s better to learn to write the kinds of projects most clients are looking for (emails, web pages, banner ads, direct mail, print ads, etc.).

Thanks for commenting!
Nicki

Hi Rashida,

I’m sure there are some copywriters that still make good livings writing them…but they’re not really the way of the future, you know? 🙂 If you want to get work in ad agencies and in-house agencies and with other types of clients, you might be limiting yourself a bit too much by focusing just on online sales letters. That said, though, (as long as she’s not charging you) get what info you can from her and see if there’s anything useful you can learn for use in other media!

Thanks for commenting!
Nicki

Hi John,

I agree; they’re kind of antiquated at this point. There are so many better ways to convey and display copy and content than in one, long, neverending page! 🙂

Thanks for commenting!
Nicki

I don’t like those long online sales letters at all. As you pointed out, you can usually identify them from a mile away. While I used to actually read them a few years ago, these days I simply think, “yeah, yeah, how much does it cost,” and scroll to the bottom of the page. Who has time to read all that? I would not be surprised if a large portion of web users think like I do.

I do agree with you that they can have some value when you analyze some of the elements to learn something as a copywriter.