The Copywriter Underground

If I convince my readers of anything, it’s that the copywriters who add value beyond the words set themselves apart from the herd.
Part of adding value means staying current, and intelligently applying new marketing developments to your clients’ situation.
For example, John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing posted a note about a hosted “click-to-call” service for [...]

Last Friday I posted about feeling tired and ready for a break from writing, and what form that break might take.
Well, here it is Friday again, and I feel like I’ve been gently massaged by a dozen baseball bat-wielding youth. And I think it’s time to kill off all this “head off, recharge my batteries [...]

Chief Marketer magazine just published an article predicting the hottest trends in brand marketing for 2007 . (I blogged it on my Engagement Principles marketing blog.)
The #1 trend? The growth of Engagement Marketing. That’s great news for smart, value-added copywriters.
What’s engagement marketing? The current definition is “…turning on a prospect to a brand idea enhanced [...]

I spend a lot of hours at the keyboard, so it’s a happy moment when “big think” time rolls around and I can put pen to paper.
The notebookism blog seems to appreciate that fact, focusing almost entirely on interesting notebooks.
I particularly like their listing of a year’s worth of notebooks in one sweet bundle.
Worth a [...]

Michael Stelzner’s Writing White Papers blog is craftily holding a “Top 10 Writer’s Blogs” contest, a brilliant maneuver in terms of traffic and recognition, but a little akin to picking your favorite child.
And yes, I’ve been nominated by Carson at Content Done Better, but if you feel so moved to add a little love to [...]

Over the last couple months, two of my steadiest clients were acquired by larger competitors, spelling doom for the freelance talent.
It typically plays out this way, and I can’t say I was wholly surprised. But now I find myself in business development mode - the part of the freelance gig I like the least.
The silver [...]

Blog schizophrenia. It’s nasty business, and I’m just saying no.

The Copywriter Underground was orginally fashioned to be my contact with other copywriters (none of whom live in my particular chunk of nowhere - 14,162′ Mt. Shasta).
But my interest in Engagement Marketing kept cropping up. Half the time I was talking to copywriters. The other half [...]

I’m staring at three half-written blog posts about Important Copywriter Topics, but can’t quite bring myself to finish them.
It’s been a tough couple of weeks, the brain feels like it’s stuffed with cotton balls, and I’m yawning uncontrollably.
It’s time for the Friday Face Plant.
Ironically, the concept of writer’s block has generated more words than all [...]

I’ve been in the business since typewriters were the tool of choice. And I’m pretty damned happy those days are gone.
But a few habits have hung on from the good old days.
For example, I’m on my fourth copy of The Elements of Style. What a book. I don’t look to it for instant inspiration, but [...]

Stick your fingers in the left hand pocket of any of my jackets, and you’ll notice a gritty feeling.
It’s not dirt. It’s not sand.
Instead, it’s a reminder that you’re better off using a carrot than a stick.
I carry dog biscuits for Wally the Wonderdog in my left pocket.
He’s our Lab/Basset mix (that’s not a typo), [...]