Archive for June, 2007

One Reason to Blog. And One Why You Can’t Rely on It. »

One benefit of blogging is visibility. In my case, that visibility translated into a client or two, though even clients who find me via my “static” copywriting site mention my copywriting and engagement marketing blogs.
After all, credibility and visibility are critical elements of the sales process. Blogging helps with both.
It’s how Chief Marketer magazine found [...]

An Interesting Meme: I Think, Therefore I’m “It” »

Roberta Rosenberg of the Copywriting Maven tagged me as one of the five blogs that make her think (if only a little).
I got a little rush from that; I read Roberta’s posts religiously (at her own blog and her guest posts on the Copyblogger site). We’ve both been around a long time, and frankly, she [...]

A Monster Word Processor Review: The Underground Geeks Out »

I admit it. I’m a word processor geek. My keyboard might as well wear a pocket protector.
So when I find a comprehensive review of word processors, I sit up, re-tape my eyeglasses, and start reading.
Fourteen word processor reviews later, it’s clear that Windows/Linux users have more choices than I thought (Mac versions available in some [...]

eMail Growing Unreliable? Is “Chat” the New Client Contact Medium? »

I remember freelancing prior to the advent of email. You needed something? You called your client. You drove to a meeting. Or sent a fax.

Now we’ve got email. It’s fast. It’s easy. It’s better.
But over the last six months, several of my client emails simply disappeared. Gone without a trace.
Spam filters? My ISP? Mail server? [...]

The Post Where I Single-Handedly Save Copywriting »

Face it. Advertising pros and copywriters need an image makeover.
Public “trustworthiness” surveys suggest we rank somewhere below toxic waste, and guess what — the killer in the last Bruce Willis movie was an advertising executive.
Even in Hollywood which is not exactly awash in Ghandi-class human beings, writers are considered only the first drafts of people.
We’re [...]

Can a Comic Strip Teach You to Be a Better Writer in a Day? »

Were you expecting a comic strip? This is better.

Scott Adams spells out the lessons he learned in a one-day business writing class. And just so you don’t waste a day learning it, he gives us the short course:

I went from being a bad writer to a good writer after taking a one-day course in “business [...]

What’s a Good Copywriter Worth? How About $12 Million? »

The freelance copywriting market is in a odd state. Fees to copywriters at the low end have never been less tenable, yet demand for copywriters is at an alltime high.
This snippet from the end of Anne Holland’s Chief Marketer article suggests what awaits copywriters who can prove their value, especially in revenue-generating fields (direct response [...]

Useful Tools for OpenOffice.org Fanatics »

The leading open-source challenger to MS Office (especially Word), OpenOffice Writer is a viable (and free) alternative to writers tired of big-dollar upgrades for little useful functionality.

I’ve got my copy set to automatically save all files in Word format, and I have yet to experience file compatibility problems with my clients (though I haven’t tried [...]

The Evolving Copywriter’s Web Site: The Death of the Home Page? »

Is the Home Page dead? Are copywriters wasting their time writing them?
That’s the question posed by Matt Ambrose of the Copywriter’s Crucible (to be fair, plenty of others are asking the same thing).
The idea that every page is now potentially a landing page is generating some heavy, Russian-novel-level brooding in the marketing world, and certainly [...]

Wanna Be an Outdoor Blogger? Got a Little Attitude? »

The GetOutdoors blog (a Top 10 blog in the outdoor niche) is looking for a couple bloggers.
The faint of heart need not apply.

They’re looking for good writers with a little attitude, and they’re even willing to pay for it. I’m too busy making millions off my own outdoor blog to single-handedly turn them into a [...]