Tag Archives: IDEAS

It’s good to be weird

I’m a weird person. But I don’t mind. Being weird means I’m free to say weird things and come up with weird ideas. As a copywriter, I see that as my job. It’s my responsibility to question the norm and wonder if there might be a different way of doing things. But here’s the problem… […]

Take a run-up and inject your copy with energy

You’ve got your idea… You’ve been floating it around your head to make sure it plays… And you’ve been figuring out how you’re going to express it in your copy. Now you need to sit down and start writing. Before you do… Here’s my advice: Take a run-up. Huh? I mean, literally. Open the word document, […]

Form follows function

In 1919 Walter Gropius was appointed head honcho at the Grand-Ducal Saxon School of Arts and Crafts in Weimar. Hardly the catchiest name for a school, is it? It’s one reason you’ve probably never heard of the Grand-Ducal Saxon School of Arts and Crafts in Weimar. But you’ve heard of the Bauhaus, right? That’s because […]

Nuggets of knowledge to get you thinking

It’s nearly Christmas. You’re busy. There’s a man looking at me funny across the café. So let’s not muck about. Here are five fast things to get your brain moving and quite possibly help with your copywriting. Ready? Track your time Your time is your most important asset. And ultimately, as a copywriter, it’s what […]

The Internet is rife with bad copy and it’s a good thing

There are roughly 30 trillion words on the Internet… This is worked out at roughly 300 words a page spread across approximately 100 billion pages. It’s a tough calculation. Even tougher would be to work out how many of those words are either ‘solution’ or ‘passion’. I imagine it’s far higher than either of us […]

Ideas are irritating

Sometimes ideas are right there in your face, shouting at you like an arrogant teenage kid who thinks they know best. Other times they’re nowhere to be seen, like your broke mate Steve who’s always in the toilet when it’s his round at the bar. I’ll tell you what… From now on, let’s boycott ideas. […]

Five concise copy thoughts to get you thinking

Here’s the plan… I’m going to hit you with five fast chunks of concise copy thought. Ready? Some Ideas Suck Some of your ideas will suck.⁣ ⁣ And that’s OK.⁣ ⁣ No one hits gold every time.⁣ ⁣ To get the good ideas out of your head you need to let the bad ones out […]

The art of self-doubt

That old Greek thinking guy, Socrates Johnson, is reported to have said something like: If I know anything, it’s that I know nothing. No one quite knows exactly what he said as it was all jotted down by that Phil Plato guy. He could have been making it up himself. No one knows. And that’s […]

Your favourite idea isn’t always the one your audience likes best

In 1963 things were really beginning to take off for Rowlf. After a false start recording several commercials for Purina Dog Food, he was put in the cupboard and almost forgotten. But when his owner was invited to do a skit on The Jimmy Dean Show, Rowlf was brought back in for a second shot at stardom. […]

Crazy ideas are cool, but only good ideas work

Before you write any piece of copy, you need to figure out if the idea you’re writing about is any good. If your idea sucks ass, your copy will suck ass too. On the flipside: if your idea is good, writing the copy will be much easier, and faster. And chances are, your copy will be […]