A few weeks ago I sat down to speak with expert copywriter, Vikki Ross (of Sky, The Body Shop and Hotels.com fame). The feedback I received was great and I’m glad so many people found it useful. You’ll be pleased to know I’ve got a lot more interesting interviews planned… In fact, next week, I’ll be sharing an interview I just recorded with the legendary Drayton Bird. But after our interview Vikki decided it would…
There you are in the grandly decorated lounge of Agora owner Bill Bonner’s 18-century chateau… Gathered with you are what you’ve been told are some of the best copywriters in the world… You’re excited. In fact, you’re only just starting to figure out what this copywriting lark is all about, so to spend time with real experts and insiders… brilliant. And there you are, split off into a group of three or four writers, one…
I’m just coming to the end of a long week of meetings and presentations here in Baltimore. It’s been great to catch up with so many friends on this side of the pond and meet so many new people. I’ve met marketing experts, copywriting legends and best-selling authors… And, as ever when I make the trip over here, I’ve been able to learn a ton of new stuff about the cutting edge ideas that are…
It’s been a while… But I’m glad to be back in touch today with a very exciting opportunity for you. As you may know, for many years now I’ve worked with a company called Agora. For those who don’t know about Agora – it’s an international publishing business that was built out of the direct mail days of old by a very clever chap called Bill Bonner. If you don’t know the name Agora or Bill Bonner…
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. Sadly I had some bad news on a personal front, which meant I haven’t really had chance to think much…
The North of England is a wonderful place… I write to you today from a pleasant pub on the Heaton Moor Road just outside of Manchester. The taxi from the station cost less than the minimum fare in a London cab… The beer is brought to my table with plenty of change from a fiver… And people have just as bad teeth as me. It’s refreshing. Alas, I’m here on band-related work, finishing off an album I’ve…
One of my mentors, the American entrepreneur and writer Mark Ford, once taught me a simple way to improve problematic headlines using ‘the Four Us’. I’ve written about the idea many times before, but today I thought I’d put it to the test LIVE. Or rather, as I write this article. Why not, eh? Indeed, I’m going to pluck three promotions at random from the Clickbank marketplace and see if we can’t use this old school…
For some strange reason, a lot of people seem to think the business world should be a grey, lifeless place that exists between 8.30am and 5pm (if you’re lucky). People assume that you’re not allowed to be interesting, that you have to talk in facts, figures and graphs; the boring stuff, basically. You only need to scroll through the average inbox these days to see so much copy that is dry and void of life,…
Let’s take a field trip… Indeed, I’m editing this following a field trip of my own to Delray Beach, Florida. I was there for the annual copywriting conference held by @AWAI_online. As it’s the home of many Agora affiliates, I’ve been visiting Delray for many years to regularly catch up with some of the top writers in the direct response industry. But that’s not why I’m suggesting we take a field trip today. The thought…
Hello! Just wanted to post a quick note from my travels, which I’ll hopefully follow with some extended thoughts soon. Indeed, I’m working on a new piece at the moment all about understanding the importance of emotions in copy. Ironically, this seems to be the main focus for many of the speakers at this year’s AWAI Copywriting Bootcamp, which I’m here in Delray Beach, Florida to attend. In the past two days I’ve seen direct…
