Oh, no! Were we wrong about exclamation marks?
Psst! I know your little secret. Come closer. Ready? You use exclamation marks. There! I said it. And in case you’re feeling embarrassed, let me state for the record: I use them too. We all do. In our social media posts. In …
Why being a ‘curator’ is a lame choice for reputation-building
In a moment I’d like to tear into the Curatorial Myth that collecting links to other people’s work like a trainspotter with an iPhone is somehow valuable work. But first, I’d like you to take this short, ten-question quiz. And make a …
Ten Types of Copywriter – Which One Are You
Saying you’re a copywriter is all very well. But it’s a bit like saying you’re a craftsman. What kind? is what we want to know. So, to help you define yourself more precisely and spark more interesting cocktail party conversations (especially with …
Twas The Deadline Before Christmas
Twas the night before Christmas, when at her pine desk The writer still strove for lines Ogilvy-esque. O’er keyboard her hands hovered, limp in the air, While she waited for insight that just wasn’t there. Her colleagues had long since …
The Future of Copywriting by Gemma Stride
Looking Back Before Looking Forward The craft of copywriting begins with a love of words from an early age. Being a keen reader, I can remember having my nose stuck in a book for a lot of the time. I would always …
Results of our 2014 blogging competition
The results are in. But before I reveal the winner and runners-up in our blogging competition on The Future of Copywriting – here are a few thoughts on how the event turned out. The first thing that surprised me was the apparent …
Seven (more) reasons why copywriters should blog
Some time ago, I read a blog post by my friend and fellow copywriter, Tom Albrighton, titled, “7 reasons copywriters should blog“. It’s a great post, and in an attempt at provocation (which, I have to say, succeeded all too well) I …
18 free copywriting ebooks
Here is a list of 18 sites offering free or almost free copywriting ebooks and PDFs to help budding copywriters find their feet. I have linked directly to the download/signup pages so you don’t need to hunt around once you’re there. I …
10 Controversial Truths About Content That Will have You Spitting With Rage Or Smiling Contentedly Over Your Keyboard
Now I know how Daniel felt. Me – Mr If-you-can’t-count-the-money-it-isn’t-worth-doing – and 30 or so content specialists getting ready to debate how content marketing might evolve to survive as a marketing discipline. After my pugnacious performance at the panel session of #pcn2013 …
Ten copywriting ‘rules’ you should break before you die
Rules, eh? Doncha just hate ’em? Do this. Don’t do that. Show me a rule and I’ll show you a baseball bat. Copywriting is plagued with rules. You know, you buy a book by someone who says they’re going to teach you …
Christmas Tweets from Santa
It seems even Santa uses social media these days. But what would the jolly old soul tweet about? As a recovering tweeter I left it to our Creative Director, Jo, to speculate… * Santa_Claus – Saint, advertising man, sleigh driver, reindeer wrangler; …
Where old skool meets new skool – how to integrate content marketing into your sales machine
I woke up the Saturday after PCN2013 prey to a mixture of emotions, one of which I can only describe as a hubris hangover. Did I really say all those things about content marketing? Without qualifying my opinions? I must have come …
The 7 telltale signs you’re reading “zombie copy”
She stands, screaming. Her feet refuse to move. She is rooted to the spot with terror. Slowly, inevitably, the bloody, walking corpse approaches. Arms outstretched, snarling, it reaches for her. It is hungry. Actually, that’s a metaphor. It’s not going to eat …
The Copywriter’s Prayer
Oh Word, Let me compose sentences providing both meaning and pleasure. Guide me towards clarity, simplicity and truthfulness, And away from the seductive path of waffle, and the words whereof the weasel availeth himself. Teach me to care about punctuation without sharing …
Marching to the Tweet of a different drum
He is one of only a handful of full-time professional freelance Tweeters. #whoishe He spoke at Who Needs Copywriters? on Friday 19 April 2013. #wnc2013 He’s a drummer. Which is massively relevant to this guest post. He is David Levin @davidlevin123. Here’s his …
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