“I’m not here for your amusement. You’re here for mine.” – John Lydon, Born Jan. 31, 1956. It’s a very important attitude to have toward your audience and your chosen topic as a writer. Though most people would get this backwards. “You’re here for the customer! The customer is always right! The customer is king!” […]
If You Don’t Care About Your Thing The MOST, No One Else Will Care At All. Read More »
“Life is a corrupting process from the time a child learns to play his mother off against his father in the politics of when to go to bed; he who fears corruption fears life.” – Saul Alinsky, Born Jan. 30, 1909. A lot of advertising writers talk some bullshit like “I use persuasion, not manipulation”
Come Get Corrupted With Me And Let’s Get Rich (While Helping People) Read More »
“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” – Anton Chekhov, Born Jan. 29, 1860. Show, don’t tell. It’s an old adage among screenwriters, who incidentally love Chekhov. So, it behooves us to remember that demonstration is the highest possible form of proving the effectiveness of a
Make Metaphors That Cut Like a Razor to the Throat Read More »
“I am for the art of ice cream cones dropped on concrete.” – Claes Oldenburg, Born Jan. 28, 1929. This is our shared art also. The art of concise, visual imagery that evokes a reaction formed of personal emotions dredged from inside the audience, rather than from our words. These reactions are more powerful than
Emotional Manipulation Through Shared Imagery (It’s Easy!) Read More »
“Fundamentally, all writing is about the same thing; it’s about dying, about the brief flicker of time we have here, and the frustration that it creates.” – Mordecai Richler, Born. Jan. 27, 1931. We sellers of stuff, our products and services all directly or indirectly relate to death. Evading it. Escaping it. Thwarting it. Making
Copywriting isn’t “Life or Death” Except When It Is. (And It Always Is.) Read More »
“Impatience translates itself into a desire to have something immediate done about it all, and, as is generally the case with impatience, resolves itself in the easiest way that lies ready to hand.” – Edward Sapir, Born Jan. 26, 1884. Patience may be a virtue – but the patient are always very difficult to entice
You Want It Now? Too Bad. You Have to Wait… Read More »
“Bias and prejudice are attitudes to be kept in hand, not attitudes to be avoided.” – Charles Curtis, Born Jan. 25, 1860. BIAS! PREJUDICE! Those are bad words, right? In general, in one’s personal interactions with other people you don’t necessarily want to APPLY bias and prejudices if you aim to be a fair and
Bias and Prejudice are the Persuader’s Friend Read More »
“When people ask for time, it’s always for time to say no. Yes has one more letter in it, but it doesn’t take half as long to say.” – Edith Wharton, Born Jan. 24, 1862. When it comes to making sales, if a prospect says they want to think about it, it means they aren’t
They Can’t Walk Away From the Sale if You Trap Them in a Super Fun Maze. Read More »
“Any serious attempt to try to do something worthwhile is ritualistic.” – Derek Walcott, Born Jan. 23, 1930. Are you serious about what you’re doing or what you want to do? I once heard a talk by late copywriter Eugene Schwartz where he talked about how he keeps his desk and surroundings when he writes.
Coffee? Whiskey? Weed? Noise? Tea? Silence? What Do You Need to Sit Down and Write? Read More »
“A new gadget that lasts only five minutes is worth more than an immortal work that bores everyone.” – Francis Picabia, Born Jan. 22, 1878. Quit being so artsy fartsy and publish. Publish now. And later. Again. Constantly. Continuously. Not necessarily regularly. Nor predictably. Not completely, anyway. Especially here, online. Specifically here, on social media.
The Bar is Set at Only Slightly Better than Boring. Read More »
