Copy
what do you meme?
Ever notice how meme-able Nicolas Cage is? Yesterday I played hooky. I went and saw The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, starring the one and only Nic Cage. If you’re wondering if you should see it, the answer is yes. He and Pedro Pascal had incredible chemistry in this weird buddy comedy/spy movie/action-adventure saga with…
Read Morecopy… what now?
I was talking a friend of mine recently who was working on a new client proposal. She was trying to work out what to offer and kept getting stuck, so she reached out and asked me what the difference was between copyediting, copy coaching, and copy chiefing. I answered her privately and she was able…
Read Moreadvice to new copywriters, from someone who hires copywriters
Today I had an ambitious up-and-coming copywriter reach out to me via private message. Normally I would leave this kind of convo unread and not engage – life is much saner for me that way. But his approach caught my attention and I felt inspired to try and help him out by sharing some advice…
Read Morestepping into someone’s head as a copywriter
This week I got a question: When you’re writing copy, how do you find the balance between being true to the company’s voice but also bringing your own ideas/slant? Had this challenge before when I was hired based on very ‘me’ samples specifically written for that company, but when it actually came to writing a…
Read Morewhat’s in a name?
I’m here to talk about names and taglines. Short writing is probably THE hardest, most time consuming writing there is. How are you gonna compress a complex idea into just three words? By writing a LOT of other words and doing a LOT of cutting until you arrive at the right ones. So today I’m…
Read MoreBeating Back Writer’s Block
One time, I was on a freaking gorgeous hike through a redwood forest, on my way to see my first real in-person waterfall. This was in Northern California, and after years of drought, the rains had finally come. The falls promised to be roaring and spectacular, well worth the 12-ish miles out and back. Somewhere…
Read MoreWhy stand when you could wear kneepads?
Mo’ money, mo’ problems. RIP Biggie… those are probably some of the wisest words ever said on life and business. The funny thing about starting a business or making more money is, to me, this notion we get in our heads of “if only”. “If only I could make X, I’d be happy.” “If only…
Read Morebeing your own hype man
Have you ever wondered about this one? Is it possible to go in-house if you haven’t had a copy job before? The short answer is yes. The slightly longer answer is… that’s exactly what I did. And the good news? I didn’t have any kind of magical formula to follow… I was pretty much making…
Read Morehow to know which mentor is right for you
So in my last post I talked about shortcuts and magic pills, and how they’re rarely the instant boost they claim to be. And then I shared my personal shortcut – mentorship. Now, mentorship doesn’t negate actually showing up and doing the work… but a good mentor can help DRASTICALLY shorten the learning curve (and…
Read Moretaking shortcuts
People love a good shortcut – that’s part of what makes the job of a marketer a lot easier. Unethical? Promising a magic pill? You’ll probably get a lot of sales… followed by a lot of [best case] disappointed/angry customers and [worst case] law suits or even injuries/deaths. Yikes. Not the legacy I want to…
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