“But the power of science lies in open publication, which, with the rise of the Internet, is no longer constrained by the price of paper.” – Michael Shermer, Born Sep. 8, 1954. This technological fact of publication has changed the face of advertising, too. No more paying for printing prep. No more collating. No more […]
Modern Tech Makes Many of Your Perceived Limits Into Bullshittery Read More »
“If you write one story, it may be bad; if you write a hundred, you have the odds in your favor.” – Edgar Rice Burroughs, Born Sep. 1, 1875. Until you are a copywriter… Stop buying copy books. Stop collecting swipes. Stop hand-copying old ads. Stop it. Instead… Start writing some copy. Start publishing it.
What Holds You Back From Being a Copywriter is Not Writing Any Copy Read More »
“I decided that I would be one of the biggest new names; and I actually had some little fancy business cards printed up to announce it, ‘Count Basie. Beware, the Count is Here.’” – William James “Count” Basie, Born Aug. 21, 1904. When you’ve got the goods… And you’re here to give the goods to
Warn The World of Your Awesomeness – BEWARE! Read More »
“Anything that isn’t opposed by about 40 percent of humanity is either an evil business or so unimportant that it simply doesn’t matter.” – Russell Baker, Born Aug, 14, 1925. Whenever you’re formulating a product, or even just trying to market an existing product, it’s important to think about who will oppose it, and how
The Law of Rejection (Works Almost As Well, TBH) Read More »
“We have always said that advertising is just the icing on the cake. It is not the cake.” – Meg Whitman, Born Aug. 4, 1956. I love this metaphor. The product experience itself is the cake. It needs to be delicious even without icing. The icing just makes it that much more appealing, and when
No One Compliments the Icing on a Dirty Dog Poo Flavored Cake Read More »
“Joys divided are increased.” – Josiah Gilbert Holland, Born Jul. 24, 1819. If you want to make any offer of anything seem more appealing to whoever it is you’re offering it to… Start slicing it up. Every distinct piece of it is a separate component with its own intrinsic and inherent value. If you were
How to Pull Apart Any Product to Describe it Desirably Read More »
“Without promotion, something terrible happens… nothing!” – P. T. Barnum, Born Jul. 5, 1810. This is true in all fields, but I mostly talk to marketing and writing freelancers who have this bizarre expectation that simply hanging up your shingle is going to get you customers and clients. Nope! The best product or service in
Waiting For Clients and Customers To Come To You Is Dumb As Hell Read More »
“Great advertising, in and of itself, becomes a benefit of the product.” – George Lois, Born Jun. 26, 1932. What old George is saying here is that objects (like products, for example) all have a story. They just do. Someone invented those products, for some purpose, to solve some problem, to sell to some person,
If They Don’t Buy Into the Story, They Won’t Pay For the Product Read More »
“There are two ways of meeting difficulties: you alter the difficulties or you alter yourself meeting them.” – Phyllis Bottome, Born May 31, 1884. There is a sales lesson here. Whatever you sell, you need to think of it as a solution to a problem. What difficulties does it help the lucky buyer to overcome?
Two Ways to Position Any Solution for Easy Sale Read More »
“If your mind is empty, it is ready for anything. In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are few.” – Shunryu Suzuki, Born May 18, 1904. One of the big mistakes a lot of new consultants and beginning freelance service providers make is to overplay their hand. The prospect
Expertise Is Knowing What To Leave Out, Instead Of What Is Possible To Add In Read More »
