2 Questions I Start With on Every Project
I ask a lot of questions when I start a copywriting project. I think that the key to working with someone else’s baby brand is to listen to what they have to say. I’ve been told that sometimes the questions I ask are unconventional. But that’s OK. I just want to know as much as I can possible know when it comes to delivering something we can both be proud to show off. The questions usually change depending on the project or the client, but there are two questions I tend to ask about every project. Here they are: Who are we talking to? Why should they care? The reason these questions...
Read More4 Signs It’s Time to Update Your Copy
Copy isn’t forever. You may want to leave well enough alone when you figure out something that works but that’s not always possible. As you and your audience grows, your copy should, too. You don’t go on your website or read your brochures each day so it’s difficult to know when your copy is getting stale. Here are a few signs that scream it’s time for a copy re-do: Your company has made some changes. Things move fast and you’re growing everyday. But no one outside of your office knows that. If you have new products, new services, or new staff, you need some new copy to go with...
Read MoreA Salesperson Behind a Typewriter
“A copywriter is a salesperson behind a typewriter.” When I first came across that quote, Bob Bly was attributing it to Judith Charles of Judith K Charles Creative Communication in The Copywriter’s Handbook. Since then, I’ve seen in many variations of the quote with many different attributions. Either way, the sentiment sticks because it’s true. Every writer has a point. Bloggers, novelists, kids writing book reports–they all have a final thought they’re trying to get across to the reader. Copywriters persuade readers to take action. They want you to click “Buy...
Read MoreWhen a Copywriter Takes the Subway
For the past few years, I’ve been a straphanger. I’ve never enjoyed driving and moving to metropolitan areas (first Chicago, then NYC) meant I rarely had to drive again. While many people find public transportation frustrating, I enjoy it. I don’t have to pay for gas, I can read the whole trip and I don’t have to spend 20 minutes attempting to parallel park. It’s also the perfect opportunity to catch up on what’s new in ad copy. For you drivers out there who don’t know, buses and subway trains have ad copy all over the inside of them. For the companies and...
Read MoreGreat Expectations
I love a good resolution–New Years or otherwise. Although I call them “expectations,” the idea of deciding to make a change for the better is intoxicating. I know that New Years Resolutions get a bad rap but that’s mostly from people who say that it’s not worth trying at all. I say that’s like claiming condoms don’t work because you don’t open them. It’s illogical at best. This week my piece on New Years Resolutions, Great Expectations, is on Moxy Magazine. If you have a moment, go over and read...
Read MoreInvisible Friends Are For Kids and Crazy People
When I was kid, I discovered that if you put an envelope in the mail without a stamp, the mailman brought it back to your house with the rest of the mail for that day. So I would write letters to myself from famous people (Princess Diana, Salt N Pepa, the guy from Reading Rainbow), put them in the envelope without a stamp. Then I would get the mail a couple of days later and brag that Princess Diana wanted to hang out with me because we had so much in common. (I didn’t realize that my scam was super obvious because of the envelope was addressed from me to those people. As a freelancer, I...
Read More
Connections