I must be stupid. I know, I know. You were thinking that anyway. But I reckon we can confirm it now. Having always been a pretty sensitive guy who doesn’t like criticism, you’ve got to wonder why I’ve spent the last twenty years doing something where I receive criticism every day. Sure, sometimes the criticism […]
An exciting bit of news here. You see, I can finally invite you to become a part of the secret project I’ve been working on with my good friend and copywriting expert, Nick O’Connor. Like me, Nick is a former Agora man. He’s written direct response copy that has made millions over the years. Despite […]
As a copywriter, you’re not going to be on the money every time. Sometimes you’re going to get it wrong, and your ideas will fall slightly wide of the mark. That’s just the way it is. If you think any copywriter gets it right 100% of the time, you’re mad. And if you think you […]
There’s a piece of copywriting advice that gets thrown around a lot. I think it’s about as helpful as being represented in court by a hysterical, drunken crab in a case where you’ve been accused of employing crustaceans in inappropriate positions and intoxicating said crustaceans, particularly decapods, against their will. To be clear: it is […]
Hello you. It’s been a while. I hope you’re doing good, and things are going well? I know what you’re thinking… It’s either: A) What are you doing contacting me like this? You said we’d meet at the back of the warehouse. B) Do you remember Harold Bishop from Neighbours? Or… C) Glenn, where have you been, you crazy, […]
Who is your customer? What precisely do you want them to do? And what would make them do it? To write any piece of copy you need to ask these three questions of your customer. If you don’t, you’ll struggle to persuade anyone to do anything. You probably agree. They seem pretty obvious, pretty sensible […]
Reviewing a piece of copy I’d been working on, the great American copywriter, John Forde, made a brief note in the margin that read: I know you love this bit, and it’s very good. But you need to delete it. Of course, I was outraged. I knew the line he was referring to immediately. It […]
Karl Marx money pot. Receipts. Trio biscuit bar. Bust of Marcus Aurelias. Fluffy mic. Small painting of Apollinaire. Dog biscuits. Ceramic ghost. Rickenbacker bass guitar. Glass of peach squash (yes, peach). Pen. Hello… Don’t worry, I’ve not gone mad. No madder than usual, anyway. It’s just I’m just sat in my office and those are […]
Before we get into today’s email… You’ve no doubt opened an email that starts with a line like this before. But by that point, you’re technically in the email already, aren’t you? So that’s nonsense. It’s too late to say Before we get into today’s email. But people do this in email marketing all the time […]
“What you working on, Phil?” asks Barbara as she brings a cup of lapsang to her husband. He doesn’t look up, seemingly absorbed by the image of a large chicken egg he’s drawn in the middle of the A3 sheet of paper in front of him. “What is it, Philip?” She sees him jump as he […]