Working in the world of direct response is great. Why? Because it’s cold, hard and emotionless. Wait. That doesn’t sound good. But it is. Trust me. Of course, we copywriters spend the majority of our time desperately trying to inject emotion into our writing and into our readers… But in the true light of day, the market is […]
Tag Archives: Sales Letter
In Oliver Stone’s 1991 film, JFK, Joe Pesci plays Dave Ferrie, an American pilot alleged to have been involved in Kennedy’s unfortunate assassination. Dave Ferrie: Was his crime plotting to kill JFK or simply those ridiculous eyebrows?” The first thing you notice about Ferrie are his eyebrows. They’re ridiculous. A quick search on Google images and you […]
17
Jun
Jun
A long copy sales letter can run to around 10,000 words… Writing so much copy takes a while. So, it figures you’re going to have moments deep into the writing process when fresh inspiration comes. I had this recently with a letter I’ve been working on for a financial newsletter in the US. The idea […]
Do you ever think you might be going mad? Maybe it’s just me. My fiancée would certainly attest to that. It’s usually a relief for her to leave the house in the morning after suffering a breakfast spent listening to my rambling nonsense. But I don’t think I’m the only one, right? We copywriters are all a […]
A quick reminder before I get into this piece… My fiancée Ruth and I…otherwise known as ‘Gluth’…are running the Great Grimsby 10k this year and raising money for the British Heart Foundation. For the many readers outside the UK who are wondering what on earth ‘Great Grimsby’ is…it’s where I’m from. Grimsby is a small fishing port on […]
Do you have a couple of copywriting friends in your contacts you can ask to review your writing? In fact, they don’t even have to by copywriters… Your partner…your friend from school…your Dad or Grandma? The key is you have a couple of people who you trust to be open with criticism and won’t be […]
Copywriting can sometimes be like a lonely game… There you are, hidden away in your office, staring out over the rooftops, to the pavilion across the way… You see a man walking his dog and consider the fact that a few hours ago it would have been you walking your dog on that same pavilion. You wonder […]
Do you have a swipe file? You hopefully do. And if that is the case, rather than read this email, go read this interesting interview with post-punk legend Ian MacKaye instead. But if you don’t already have a swipe file, or you do have one and you’d like to discover some of my own swipe file secrets… Well, I guess you should keep […]
I’m on the bus back to my London flat in Dalston reading the first draft of a new sales letter a copywriter has just sent me to review. In the time it takes me to get from Leicester Square to the Balls Pond Road, I’ve read it. It flows well, really well. I’m excited to see how […]
16
Oct
Oct
Hurrah! I’ve finally got a chance to relax and take the time to say hello. More than that, I want to share some thoughts that I’ve been having since I attended a writing retreat in France last month. But before I do anything… I should apologise: I’ve been out of action for a little while. […]