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Author Archives Tom Chandler

I’ve written copy for 22+ years. And learned a good copywriter delivers more than vowels, consonants and punctuation.

I’m Tom Chandler. And welcome to the Underground – an exploration of copywriting beyond the words.

Writing the Perfect Comment? After The Deadline Offers Grammar Checking Right In Your Firefox Browser

It’s every writer’s “gotcha” moment. You’re in a hurry, yet you’ve written a comment/review/post so brilliant, it’s likely you’ll win the Pulitzer – assuming you’re not made absolute ruler of the planet first.
Except you edited it like you were on crack, mucked it up, and didn’t notice until after you hit “post.”
Damn.
Now it sits for [...]

Posted 05 February 2010 § Copywriting § Writer tools ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , , , ,

Weekly Tweetfest

Congratulations – you landed the BIG writing project. Here's how to avoid getting screwed: http://tinyurl.com/y96xreo #
The open-air office every writer should own: http://www.baumraum.de/index.php?pid=5 #
Things You Learn When You Have a Kid: I am powerless to resist Cheddar Bunnies #

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Posted 04 February 2010 § Tweets ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,

We Know All About Social Media’s Strengths. What About Its Pitfalls?

Social Media is the subject of a great deal of hype, though less-explored are its downsides.
These include employee oversharing, the need to “Feed the Monster” – and an increased risk of malware and spam attacks (the new social disease?).
From the Good Morning Silicon Valley site:
More businesses may be incorporating social networking into their internal and [...]

Posted 02 February 2010 § Business of Freelancing § Social Media § Social Media Marketing ‡ Comments (3) ° Tagged: ,

The Secret To Success (or, Why You Never Set Foot In The Same Copywriting Market Twice)

A couple weeks ago we experienced what the local paper termed “The Storm of a Lifetime” – which left six feet of snow on the ground, many of the trees on my wooded three-acre lot broken and toppled over, and the power out for the better part of a week.
That it happened while I was [...]

Posted 02 February 2010 § Business of Freelancing § Personal ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , ,

Weekly Tweetfest

My Web host is down… yet again. All these short outages are irritating, especially when I have to explain it to my hosted clients… #
Perfect for the copywriter on the go – the Digital Food Printer: http://bit.ly/4P7y9v #

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Posted 28 January 2010 § Tweets ‡ Comments (4) ° Tagged: ,

Weekly Tweetfest

Free Skype Call Recorder and Copywriting Telephone Interview Tips | The Copywriter's Crucible http://bit.ly/4V4kVE #
Gumby's back! (I lost my Gumby five years ago – but now I'm getting him back) http://tinyurl.com/yck8usj #
Google finally reveals how it ranks your Tweets: http://bit.ly/7njjTx #
Avoid corporatespeak – and add a year to your life… http://tinyurl.com/yb566pw #

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Posted 21 January 2010 § Tweets ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,

Weekly Tweetfest

Magnitude 6.5 #earthquake off the Northern California coast just before 4:30pm. California: the Rock & Roll state: http://bit.ly/4TVSMw #
Ten Ways to Beat Procrastination (to a pulp) | The Copywriter's Crucible http://bit.ly/7287II #
Big client check arrived today. A hallowed moment indeed. Drinks are on me, and everybody gets the afternoon off… #

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Posted 14 January 2010 § Tweets ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,

Weekly Tweetfest

Cool vintage letterhead designs at Letterheady blog (including Marvel Comics, the Doors, etc) http://bit.ly/6mT9J2 #
Pentagram Design's "online" psych evaluation pins a typeface on you based on four questions. Me? I'm Courier?? http://bit.ly/6nKb7E #
Writing your own copy still the hardest job for a copywriter… #
Narrative literary site hosts a "Six-Word Story" contest (so your entry is [...]

Posted 07 January 2010 § Tweets ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,

Weekly Tweetfest

Writer's OS watch: Ubuntu Linux more popular than Britney Spears In 2009 http://bit.ly/8wTKJg #
Visuwords: online graphic dictionary and thesaurus (a little fresh, hot fun for word geeks) http://bit.ly/8ps2Hb #
Think you're having a bad day at the keyboard? Outside picks the 10 worst crashes of all time. http://ow.ly/Qt4r @PaleMorningPR #
From the "State Legislators Not Busy [...]

Posted 31 December 2009 § Tweets ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,

Waste Less Time on Social Media With the Web 2.0 Suicide Machine

Social media’s the hot marketing topic right now (and this despite the reality that search and email remain the ROI leaders, and by a sizable margin).
Still, there’s no underestimating the amount of time most slackers freelancers waste on Facebook and Twitter, so if your New Years resolutions include “I will focus on my business and [...]

Posted 31 December 2009 § Underground Entertainment ‡ Comments (2) ° Tagged: , , , , ,