When It Pays to Praise
I’ve gotten a few copy critiques in my day. I’ve given a few, too. And I’ve discovered there’s one essential element to making them effective: “ego butter.” Let me back up a bit, so I can explain by way of example…
The Copywriter's Roundtable
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A Painful Lesson in Supreme Service
With a pivot and a leap, I landed back on another moving walkway ready for another full tilt run… when something went “pop” in my left leg. Like a bullet, like a hammer, like something your leg is not supposed to do… especially when you’ve got a flight to catch… but it went ahead and did it anyway.
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Which Sells Best, Stories or Stats?
Sponsors: How to Start Selling Yourself as a Copy Expert 17 Ways to Make $17,000 From Your Desk Chair ************************************************ “Simplicity is the peak of civilization.” – Jessie Sampter Do this: Write down the...
How “Free” Really Works
Colleagues of mine call it the “Krishna Principle.” I’ve also heard it called the “Rule of Reciprocity.” The idea is that, by giving something or offering to give something, you open up the customer to give you something in return. Does it work? All the time. Take these examples from Robert Cialdini’s famous must-read marketing book…
The Boomer’s NEXT Marketing Mega-Wave
When Kathleen retired recently, it was national news. Why? Precisely because, at the moment I write this, Kathleen is exactly 62 years, one month, 25 days, 17 hours, and 42 minutes old. That makes Kathleen the absolute very first born of… the “Baby Boomers.”
What Marketers Do When Recession Looms
I’ve written before about what marketers and business owners can do in rough markets. Looking at what’s going on right now, maybe I should trot out that piece and run it again. Meanwhile, I came across someone else’s ideas on the same. I liked it so much, I just want to share a little of it here…
The Secret to Selling to Seniors
To lump together the “older generation” is to include every race; every economic, religious, and political background; every level of income… you name it. Almost every marketing niche in existence somehow overlaps with the post-50 set. And it’s about to get even more diverse…
Are YOU Creative?
In the last post, we asked why some people are creative and others aren’t. This time around, let’s put it even more plain: Are YOU creative? Even though I.Q. tests supposedly measure your brain...
Five Punctuation “Mistakes” You Should Make
Naturally, you don’t want to use these recklessly. They’re garnish on a piece of prose, spice to make it interesting. And a little something to give all those over-zealous copyeditors something to sweat about…
What This Past “Black Friday” Can Teach You
After reading all the rosy reports about this past “Black Friday” post-Thanksgiving shopping excitement… along with the rush of buying online buying frenzy that’s just been dubbed “Cyber Monday”… why do I think we should all feel, well, a little torn?
What Keeps Your Customer Up at Night?
But in each case, what makes the headline work is not just empathy for a reader’s concerns. That’s only the hook. Where the copy works is in offering a final, credible solution. If you can manage that… well then… you’ve nothing to be afraid of, right?
Advice to a Young Writer
“If I had to give young writers advice, I would say don’t listen to writers talking about writing or themselves.” – Lillian Hellman Via an old friend, a young writer sent me an email:...
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