Why Techies Should Crawl Back into Their Geek-icles and Let Writers Create Web Copy?

This Copy Stinks, Who Wrote It, Donald Trump's Barber?

I have noticed a disturbing trend lately. Many small business websites are using their techies to write sales copy. Writing, like music requires some talent, and some folks are just tone deaf. I should know, I'm an amateur guitarist whose inherent musical talent lies somewhere between Mozart and Roseanne Barr, singing the National Anthem.

Recently, I joined a certain linked website in order to promote my writing. Having no big business experience, I was lonelier there, than a hermit with body odor. So, I joined a certain E Marketing Club.

Postings on this club's website consist of a lot of gobbledygook jargon, and big words, combined with shameless hustling that would put Fast Eddie Felson to shame. In the member profiles are pretentious titles for people who sit at computer monitors. On the club's bulletin board was a woeful tale. It went something like this: " I just launched my campaign for an oldies cruise, in the midst of all this Wall St. turmoil, the timing couldn't be worse, blah, blah, boo, who, what am I going to do?"

I decided to cruise over to this oldies cruise website. At the top of the page above the lead headline was a message like this, "Due to all the turmoil on Wall St. and the economy, we are extending our refund period, blah, blah, blah. " There's nothing like reminding people that their retirement nest egg is in the toilet when you're trying to sell them a cruise. Further down the homepage were warnings that, travel insurance was extra. There were warnings that, "if you don't book through such and such travel agency you won't be admitted to the concerts. This is for cheapskates, who would book the cruise cheaper elsewhere, and then crash the concerts.

I then fired off an email that went something like this. "Don't worry about Wall St. It will recover eventually, and I don't believe it will effect the demand for this Doo Wop Oldies Cruise, too much, etc. Now the bad news: The copy sucks. Who wrote it, Donald Trump's barber? Take out the stuff about Wall St. etc. etc."