October 2008 Copy Cub's Archives
Don’t Bother with Copywriting‚ No One Reads Anymore
Thursday, October 30th, 2008
Nearly 6 in 10 Americans never read another book after high school
For college graduates, the number drops to 42%
Average Canadian reads 1.5 books a year (blind people “read” more books!)
Now, as copywriters we can don our “worry hats” and collectively lament the death of our profession…
“Nobody’s going to read our copy! Wah [...]
Three Thousand Dollars… a Drop In The Bucket?
Tuesday, October 28th, 2008
I’m going to make a few assumptions in this e-column…
You got into the sales copywriting game to make a lot of money because you don’t have much of it right now.
So while your brain sees six to seven figures in your copywriting future, your real world bank account contains maybe four or five digits [...]
Think and Grow Poor: How to Become a Starving (Yet “Brilliant”) Copywriter
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008
In school, I sat up front and answered all the questions –even when no one asked. I slept through classes and still scored A’s.
Yes, I was the Hermione Granger-type, annoyingly smart.
For the last seven years, however, I’ve been working earnestly to erase everything I learned. Here’s why…
Skipping Past the Amateur Mistakes‚ It Can Be Done!
Tuesday, October 21st, 2008
Colin here, writing from Downtown, Seattle…
This vacation marks Cedrik’s first foray into America and abroad… and he’s going nuts. I chased him through all of Nordstrom this afternoon.
I also attended my first call of Shaune Clarke’s “Copywriting Client Marketing System” the Saturday prior. Shaune’s protégé, Terri Dumont reworked the course to a whole new [...]
How to Attract Cheapskates, Flakes and Whiners for Your Copywriting Clients
Friday, October 17th, 2008
“Why do you write so many darn words?”
We direct response copywriters tend to avoid small business owner who don’t “get” what we do.
It’s a lot of work explaining headlines, testimonials, USPs, AIDA, indirect-persuasion, long copy, blind bullets, guarantees…
After all, most people have only been exposed to image ads on TV and in magazines…
“Isn’t a [...]
Protect Your Copy from the Uncanny X-Men
Wednesday, October 15th, 2008
So many sales letters tell their readers exactly what to think instead of gently suggesting and prodding. Allow me to use a geeky story to illustrate…
Five years ago, I bid $101.59 on a stack of reprinted “Uncanny X-Men” comic books. These hundred plus issues covered some of the most renowned plotlines written by the [...]
Why I’m No Longer Pursuing a “Copywriting” Career
Thursday, October 9th, 2008
Over the last two days, I burned through 87 pages & 237 minutes of recording from Shaune Clarke’s Client Marketing System. (Not because of copywriting content addiction relapse, but because I need to submit the “homework” next Wednesday!)
I can’t give away too much, obviously‚ but I think Shaune won’t mind if I share one [...]
A Copywriting Lesson from Knife-Happy Directors
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008
Riffing off of John’s e-column last Monday, I must say I thoroughly enjoy watching DVD extra features as well. My favourites tend to be the deleted scenes with director commentary. Or extended director cuts.
The hardcore fans love them too… for example, the eleven and half hour version of the “Lord of the Rings”. Obviously, [...]
Why I Chose The Hermit Life…
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008
Early on in my contact centre career, I worked the “swing shift” between 3 and 11:30 P.M.
Now, while the graves shift abridged your lifespan, the swing shift forced you into a hermit’s life.
You got up in the middle of the day, ran errands, worked and unless you frequented nightclubs, you went home. I watched [...]