The CopyPros Ask: Is Internet Advertising A Lost Cause?

At The American Society of Professional Copywriters we know that CopyPros find a wide range of knowledge helps them with their work.

If you aren’t already watching, you’ll find that a great way of broadening your knowledge is by following TEDTalks videos. There is a particularly good one on YouTube about internet life without advertising. With the slightly ungrammatical title of “What if there was not advertising,” the video, with George Nimeh on TEDxVienna, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01PUSrLCvcM) makes some great points.

Currently in the United States, almost equal amounts of money are invested in advertising on traditional television media as on social media – nearly 80 billion annually on each. Yet any internet user’s individual chances of clicking on a banner ad are about the same as their risk of being struck by lightning: about .04 percent. Nimeh calls this a business model that developed by chance and is unsustainable.

Offering up some interesting questions to think about, Nimeh gives examples of some pathfinders leading the way for new methods of promoting products using content without advertising. It is a case of the message being conveyed through the use of stories that are interesting to the target audience. The video is less than 15 minutes long and it is certainly worth any CopyPros time.

At the American Society of Professional Copywriters we are always on the lookout for information that is of value to our CopyPros and are happy to pass along quality content. Enjoy, and think about the opportunities for you in your own work.