7 Copywriting Questions For Famed Copywriter Roberta Rosenberg
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I was so excited when Roberta agreed to do our interview!
She was so gracious and said she actually enjoy answering the questions 
For those of you who don’t know who Roberta is (for shame!), she is a direct-response copywriter and consultant with years of successful practice in the copywriting field…
She is President and CEO of MGP Direct. INC.
What’s more, she also runs a blog under the identity the Copywriting Maven and has re-worked and critiqued many a website landing page over at Copyblogger.
Ok. Now that you know Roberta, let’s begin!
Lawton Chiles: How did you get your start writing copy?
Roberta: I started as a junior copywriter for a medical/healthcare book and media publisher in the late 70s. I had planned to do copywriting while finishing my graduate degree in Broadcast Management at the University of Maryland, College Park. After 6 or so months, I knew I was going to remain in direct response marketing. I just loved it … and I still do. (I bagged graduate school soon after.)
Lawton Chiles: Do you think it’s better to market yourself as good at
one area or be a jack of all trades?
Roberta: I think when you’re starting out, whether it’s on your own or working for someone else, you need to paddle around in many different puddles to figure out what you like/dislike and where your strengths are strongest.
Ultimately you’ll figure it out and that’s when you can begin to develop a depth of expertise in a few rather than many areas. I tell my copywriting students that they should find the smallest, most profitable ponds and work ‘em hard.
Lawton Chiles : Do you think it’s better for a regular business to have a landing page or a regular website when the user first lands on their site?
Roberta: First impressions do count. I think a full-featured website - doesn’t have to be fancy or jam-packed - makes a more professional initial statement to a prospective client. Prospects will make all sorts of value judgements in 1-3 seconds when first landing on your site. No need to look cheesy or half-baked. Having said that, I think a blog format can be very effective, as well.
Lawton Chiles: What are the biggest mistakes you see in website copy?
Roberta: From a purely content standpoint? I think the mistakes are in the extremes. Some companies, because they think their website is all about them and not all about the visitor experience, wax long, hard and boring about themselves. Too much I, I, I and not enough You. (That’s the direct marketer in me talking.)
On the other hand, some sites are so visually intensive that the content is viewed as a necessary evil. When that happens you get way-too-light copy in mouse (super teeny) type size.
My personal approach to website copy is to first define what the visitors want to do (or what we want them to do) once they arrive. Usually it boils down to - find something, learn something, get something, buy something. Sometimes it’s one of these actions, sometimes it’s several.
The key is to make sure the copy provides information that will guide the visitor to what he/she is looking to do and keep them feeling good about the experience throughout.
Lawton Chiles: Is the left hand sidebar the most effective place to put
high-value content?
Roberta: We know from eye-tracking studies that visitors visually scan/skim a webpage in a rough F pattern. With that in mind, I tend to like to have the primary navigation in this spot.
I believe in keeping the mechanics of a web page as invisible to the visitor as possible. If they expect left-hand navigation, then I put it there. Why? Because if I’m not annoying them with unexpected/unorthodox usage conventions, then maybe they’re actually engaging in the message … and I’m all for that.
Thanks Roberta-
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