5 New Trends That Spell Opportunity
for Digital Copywriters
By Nick Usborne

I love this about the web …

It’s a dynamic space. Everything is changing.

Old media never changed much. Writing a print ad for a magazine is the same today as it was 20 years ago.

Same with writing a radio commercial. Or writing copy for a billboard.

Same old, same old.

But online … Wow.

The landscape is changing all the time.

And to me … and every digital copywriter … that rapid rate of change spells opportunity.

Here are just five of the fast-developing trends I’m tracking right now.

Trend #1 — The rise of short-form copywriting

It used to be that copywriters were prized for their ability to write long copy.

Sometimes that copy was for a print ad or a piece of direct mail.

Online, long copy is still used effectively on sales pages.

And don’t get me wrong, there is still a demand for long-form copywriting. It’s an amazing skill.

But if you’re asking me about trends, and about the future, I’d encourage you to at least take a look at the demand for short-form copy.

What do I mean by that?

Look at the amount of copy on a Facebook ad. Or an Instagram ad.

Count the words on display ads on some of your favorite news or sports websites.

Look at the amount of copy on one of those annoying pop-ups.

Or on one of those small ads that appear on your smartphone.

And count the characters in the average email subject line.

These are all places where you have very few words to play with. BUT … these are also key drivers of business online.

The copy may be short, but these short bursts of copy are an incredibly important component of any digital marketing sequence.

Master short-form copywriting, and you’ll be in massive demand.

Trend #2 — It’s still a thing … Quality content, everywhere

Maybe writing sales copy or video scripts isn’t your thing.

Maybe you’d be more comfortable writing editorial content … like blog posts and buyer’s guides.

You’re in luck.

While content writing may not be “new,” it’s still an area of huge growth and demand.

The demand is particularly high for QUALITY content.

How come?

Because quality web content engages prospects, and engaged prospects are more likely to buy.

That’s why companies pay so much attention to their content, and why they are always looking for new and fresh writers to try.

Trend #3 — Increasing demand for video scripts

Here’s another area of huge and rapid growth.

Video.

In particular … and to continue with the “brevity” theme … short-form promotional videos.

I’m sure you’ve seen them … on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and X.

And that doesn’t even take into account the 1 BILLION people who use TikTok each month!

These are super-short videos. But they’re an incredibly powerful way to attract attention, generate leads, and drive sales.

And someone has to write those video scripts!

Am I right about the level of demand?

I think so!

• 91% of businesses use video as a marketing tool.
• 96% of video marketers say video marketing has increased user understanding of their product or service.
• 91% say video marketing has helped them increase traffic.

Like I said … a huge opportunity!

Trend #4 — The rise of AI models like ChatGPT

You knew this topic was coming … right?

If you’re a copywriter, content writer, or digital marketer, it’s impossible to ignore the impact of AI on our work.

Some writers see AI as a threat to their futures as writers. And it can be, if you stick your head in the sand and try to ignore it

But if you lean into AI, you can discover powerful new ways to improve the depth and quality of your writing. You can become a great deal more productive as well.

As for research and brainstorming, AI can be a fast and knowledgeable assistant, working at your side.

Best of all, AI is opening up whole new opportunities. Client companies are looking for writers who have the expertise to use AI to create more copy and content, at greater volume.

Big opportunities here!

Trend #5 — The changing world of SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) has been an essential part of online marketing for over 20 years now.

It’s all about writing and “optimizing” a webpage so it appears in the search results on Google.

But … this whole space is being disrupted by AI as well.

Google in particular is facing competition from AI startups like Perplexity.ai and SearchGPT.

Google search even has home grown competition from Google’s own AI model, Gemini!

This kind of disruption always creates new opportunities. Writers who know how to use AI to enhance search are already in big demand.

Wrapping this up …

Like I said at the outset, I love the online copywriting space because it’s fast moving.

There are always new trends to identify.

And when I see an area that is growing fast, I like to ride that wave and use its momentum to propel my career forward!

Whatever kind of writer you are, I bet one of these five trends could do the same for you.

Jump on and use it to accelerate your own success as a writer!

Did reading about any of these trends create a spark in you?