Andy Maslen is sick to the back teeth with kids and their smart phones…
“Why doesn’t anyone read books anymore,” he laments. “Or just observe the bloody world go by? Everyone has their head in a smart phone these days.”
We’re talking about one of the key skills you need as a copywriter…
The ability to observe.
Andy worries people are losing this skill.
Worse, he worries copywriters aren’t spending enough time studying people and what makes them tick.
He definitely thinks copywriters need to spend more time reading things you can’t find on your smart phone.
Naturally, he admits having his own love/hate relationship with social media and acknowledges, in his 50s now, he is at risk of sounding like a grumpy old man.
But he has a point…
In fact, he has many points and they’re all covered in the open and interesting conversation I had with copywriter and author, Andy Maslen this week.
Andy has been running a copywriting agency – Sunfish (interestingly named after a passage in a Garrison Keillor novel) with his wife for over 20 years now and, as well as some best-selling books on copy under his belt, he’s more recently moved into writing thrillers, self-publishing eight new page-turners in just the last three years.
We discuss his ‘prolific’ output, why he thinks copywriters need to read more and why understanding the business of copywriting is just as important as the writing itself.
And as usual, please do share it around with your fellow copywriters, if you find it useful.
The interviews keep coming and you’ll be pleased to know next week I’ll be talking to a very special guest… Hayley Redman.
She’s the copywriter behind the company Innocent – of healthy smoothie fame. Promises to be an interesting one.
I’ll be back next week with that interview in full.
In the meantime, enjoy listening to the insights Andy has to share: