Where to find what you need to build a strong marketing message.
Carnegie-Mellon, says the book “Made to Stick,” did a study. They invited participants in to take a survey. The topic wasn’t important — something about tech products — but what mattered was the small payout. Each participant got paid with five… Continue Reading
Interviewers will tell you, they hire based on qualifications… experience… results… and so on and so forth, blah blah, etc. Says Richard Wiseman, in his book “59 Seconds…” they’re mostly kidding themselves. And he’s got 30 years of psychological research… Continue Reading
The better you get at writing good copy, the more clients will want access to your time. In the beginning, you’ll want to give it to them. But as time goes by, you won’t be able to. Then what happens? You’ll simply learn how to write faster. Here are a few ideas, specifically for copywriters… Continue Reading
It’s always a great idea to throw lots of testimonials into your copy. Except when it isn’t. Here are some times when you might not want to run a testimonial past your audience… When it’s emotionally unsatisfying and vague: “I found… Continue Reading
Alex Osborn, a founder of a super-successful New York ad Agency and of the Creative Education Foundation, came up with a list of brainstorming “rules” in 1963: No judgment in early stages: Collect as many ideas as possible without imposing… Continue Reading
It’s embarrassing the number of I’ve times had to explain: “copywriting” and “copyrights” have next to nothing to do with each other. Not embarrassing for me, mind you, but for the guy who asks me how to protect the draft… Continue Reading
What’s the parallel between writers? No matter how different their writing routines, each of these writers — and thousands of others who actually produce — had just that: a routine… Continue Reading
What’s it mean to be “creative?” Says the great John Cleese, that’s an almost impossible question to answer. Easier is to ask yourself, “What doesn’t it mean?” Watch here… Continue Reading
Dumping a gut full of “want to tell” copy onto the page can feel cathartic. It can make you feel smart. It can make you sound funny or witty or clever. But it’s no way to sell… Continue Reading
Somebody once asked David Ogilvy for a list of traits that matter most when hiring copywriters. Above all, he said, they have to have an unwavering, overpowering, enormous sense of curiosity. I can’t help but think that has to be right. Why? Continue Reading