The Copywriter Underground

You read the headline correctly; at one point in the recent past, Dell Computers employed as many as 800 separate marketing agencies.
And here I wondered why their marketing had gone so bland.
Imagine the turf battles. Imagine the complexity. Imagine the egos.
Now imagine the difficulty you’d have pushing even a brilliant idea through that mess.

Valleywag offers [...]

[Update: Amusingly, Twitter's been very unhappy since I posted this, and suggesting it's in the midst of a meltdown wouldn't be out of line...]
You can’t help but hear the drumbeats about Twitter. Depending on who’s talking, it’s either a colossal waste of time, or humanity’s last, greatest hope.
I’ve used Twitter for months now as a [...]

Prior to my family emergency, I promised you the results of my recent new client pitch — the culmination of several posts about picking and pitching the clients you want to work for (instead of letting clients pick you).
We started back here — the post where I suggested getting your foot in the door of [...]

I’m at my parent’s home in Central California, my brothers and I converging on our home because of the death of my father.
Those of you who’ve gotten The Call know the jarring mix of emotions that come with it, and right now we’re digging through the accumulated belongings of a man who — like many [...]

I’ve repeatedly said you should pick the clients and projects that interest you, get your foot in the door (via lumpy mailers), and get the business.
But how do you pitch prospects — and make them buy what you’re proposing?
I’m working on a pitch right now. (And yes, I  generated the meeting via a [...]

Michael Stelzner of Writing White Papers blog fame has garnered a barrage of bloggy notice for his recent (and ongoing) free video releases. He offers you an interesting glimpse into his lead-generation white paper strategy, and it’s worth a few minutes of your time (you can read the blog entry here).

Even if you [...]