Tag Archives: Direct Response

Time management tips for direct response copywriters

Copywriting should be fun. It should be challenging too. But if you’re finding it too challenging, it’s wearing you down or it’s taking up too much of your time… You’re probably doing something wrong. So here I want to give you some tips on how to better manage your time as a copywriter. Most of […]

Forget your fancy ideas, they’re nothing without value

The local shop in my village has finally figured out the perfect marriage of impulse purchase and value. There I am… Waiting for the assistant to pack my stuff and ring it through the register… And I notice them… Four Kit Kats for £1. I know I shouldn’t. But four… FOUR… for just £1. That’s […]

Why you should sit on your arse and read more

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. […]

“I don’t want to have to use this gun”

Imagine you’re living a roguish life as a bank robber in the Wild West… You drift from town to town ‘sticking-up’ the local bank… You’re damn good at it too. Just yesterday you moseyed on in, stuck your gun in the bank teller’s face and delivered your usual “this is a stick-up” line. The teller knew the […]

Helpful advice for copywriters: an interview with Glenn Fisher

I was recently asked to do an interview by a young guy in Germany who’s looking to start his own online Internet marketing business. Me: Catching some sun on the Seine in Paris. As I’m grateful to the many people who accept my own interview requests, I happily agreed to spare an hour to take […]

An interview with bestselling author and copywriter, Bob Bly

If you work in copywriting, there’s probably a copy of The Copywriter’s Handbook somewhere near you… Maybe it’s in that drawer you’ve not checked for a while… or hidden on the shelf between the Ogilvy, Hopkins and Schwartz… heck, it might be right next to you, acting as a coaster. Point is: this book is everywhere. And so it should be. You see, its author […]

Copywriters: Are you writing truly enough?

“And the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them.” These days it’s almost cliché to say so… But, as a copywriter, I find the writing of Ernest Hemingway such a useful resource. If you’re not regularly reading his work, you […]

See ‘the Four Us’ put into practice LIVE (well, almost live)

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 […]

Free Copywriting eBook: Five Easy Ways to Write Better Copy

I recently put together a free copywriting ebook that reveals five easy ways to write better copy. I think it’s a cracking little download and it’s all been very nicely laid out by my @rhinett. But best of all, it is completely and utterly free. HOORAH! It’s aptly titled Five Easy Ways to Write Better Copy, which […]

Let me tell you a story: the importance of narrative in copywriting

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 […]