A lot of my work involves reading and sometimes collating other people’s words. I’ve become very picky about the weak spots in most people’s copywriting. And you should too. You’re paying, after all. One of the most effective ways to beef up a written presentation is to use lists,...
copywriting
Content Marketing: generating ideas
Content marketing is not a new concept, per se. For decades copywriters have been feeding off material produced internally by companies. But it has taken on a life of its own now for a number of good reasons. it is a great way to give a precise and rounded...
Whose site is this anyway? Hint: not yours
There usually comes a time in the development of a website when the owner suddenly realises it’s not their website at all. Or to be more precise, it’s not about them – it’s actually about the reader. But wait, who’s paying for this? Why can’t I talk about the...
Content marketing: show don’t tell
In a previous article about content marketing, I recommended that when looking for material to use, your company’s mission statement can act as a frame of reference. But talking about values can be as numbing as talking about your own kids. Many people have kids and are less interested...
Look inside for content marketing ideas
Content marketing is still high on everyone’s agenda. The trick is to generate content that actually means something to readers and potential customers. There is always a temptation to look outside the company for content marketing ideas. But there are also great sources for ideas right inside your daily...
Press release distribution
For a few months, I have been including press release distribution alongside the more usual services of copywriting, product naming and concept development. Combining the copywriting of press releases with the distribution makes sense, as there are editorial guidelines that need to be respected at the writing stage of...
Make Facebook reflect your values, not the other way round
Now that a huge number of companies are on Facebook, a whole generation of marketing departments, copywriters and social media practitioners are discovering the joys of creating content. When it comes to Facebook, of course, it is probably just as important to relay existing content as it is to...
The process of irritation by imitation
Anyone that runs a website knows how irritating spam can be. Since the early days of just posting links, the systems that spammers use have gotten increasingly sophisticated, aiming to imitate human speech (or writing) as closely as they can. Without having to write the actual garbage themselves, of...