Who Are You Writing For? (Really?)
I was giving a guest masterclass at SCA recently. It’s one of the top advertising schools in the world. Vikki Ross is a tutor there so I guess that speaks volumes. During the session, which was all about the power of storytelling, …
The shocking truth about copywriters, content marketers and exclamation marks!
Good heavens! Copywriters turn out to be big fat liars! My newsletter yesterday was on the (thorny) subject of exclamation marks. I tested, as I always do, two subject lines: [A] OMG!!! This month’s newsletter!!! versus [B] This month’s newsletter I had …
A confession: I was wrong about copywriters who ‘love words’
I admit it. I’m a sham. Until a week ago, if anyone asked me what I did, I always said I was a copywriter. The end. A tradesman, not an artist. And definitely not a ‘writer’. I was wrong. And I was …
Towards a transformative hermeneutics of linguistic periphrasticism, or, why do people love jargon?
In authoring this thought-leadership white paper my strategic roadmap was to build a key deliverable for continuous professional development and learnings. Er, what now? I said, I wrote this article to help you be a better writer. Only now, the Harvard Business …
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 …
The Periodic Table of Corporate Writing
Sunfish scientists have been studying the elements of corporate writing for decades and have now identified the 16 most dangerous. Goggles and rubber gloves on please. …
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 …
Annals of dimwitted public signs #76,671
There’s a park where I walk Merlin, my Whippet. Here we are posing for our picture on www.mydogandme.me. Sometimes, horses kept by travellers stray onto the park. This eventually got too much for the council, who posted this sign in an effort …
When copywriters start showing off
Anyone who has children – or has spent time with the little bl… I mean angels – will have uttered or heard that deathless phrase, “Stop showing off”. Usually as said offspring is disrupting a family lunch. Little angel then sticks tongue …
Fish cookery for copywriters
When I worked and lived in London there was a particular restaurant we used to eat at for the fish. It always tasted like it had jumped from the sea straight onto the grill and then onto our plates. (Well, it couldn’t …
Do you suffer from these three copywriting ailments?
Picture the scene. I am sitting at my desk in The Quill, trying to come up with a worthy article for you. As I wait for the muse to visit, the post arrives. Half-hidden among the direct mail, takeaway menus and letters …
I was wrong (about punctuation)
If you’ve taken part in a copywriting or business writing workshop I’ve run over the last 10 years or so, or read Write to Sell, you might have been (un)lucky enough to catch one of my rants about punctuation and its main function. …
O.M.G. – impress your copywriting pals with your fluent manipulation of tone of voice
I was at the PPA annual conference at the end of April. If there was one topic that dominated the day, both in plenary sessions and during the breaks, it was this: “how do we monetise social media?”More generally, the discussions that …
21 rules for good writing*
It’s Christmas. Or nearly. What with all that gift shopping, turkey stuffing and holly wreath making, I’m guessing you don’t have a lot of time for reading e-zines. So this month, I thought I’d keep it short with a few thoughts on …
Better renewals copywriting (Please read this article now. Put it aside and you may forget.)
We all know the theory of effective renewals copywriting. But what does it mean in practice? Here, subscriptions copywriter Andy Maslen provides a few real-world examples. There’s been a lot written about renewals, much in this magazine, and it’s all good stuff. …
Why I hate teams
Do you remember your fifth birthday? You, know, the one when your parents bought you that really great toy you’d wanted all year. And there was a card with it. Who signed it? Did it say, “Happy Birthday Darling. Lots of Love, …
Do you make these 7 mistakes in your copy?
Many publishers say that their titles “include…”. They should say “give you”. Some use humour when they should be selling. Still others refuse to use copy on outers. They’re making mistakes, says Andy Maslen, that could be avoided. I’m lazy. I like …
“Darling, you seem different somehow”
Husbands and wives get used to each other’s voice. Your subscribers feel the same way about you, says Andy Maslen, which is why it pays to use appropriate language. Selling subscriptions is a long game. And to play the long game well, …
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