Blogging has revolutionised the way organisations communicate with their clients and peers.
CEOs are blogging about their work. Organisations are opening up, creating greater transparency in their dealings with customers.
Anyone in business that wants to blog must understand that the key to a blog’s appeal is honesty.
Readers accept that the CEO may need an editor, but [...]
“Instead of stretching minds, worlds - including the world of words - are being shrunk to fit them.”
So writes Lynsey Hanley in the Guardian.
Lynsey’s article discusses society’s growing inarticulacy, and the way in which our education system is designed to suit capabilities rather than challenge them.
This got me thinking because copywriters are taught to use [...]
Be positive.
Always say what is, rather than what is not.
So instead of “We will never be beaten on price,” you could say “Unbeatable on price.”
The second version turns a very negative statement into a positive one. Positive messages are better because it makes you sound more optimistic. The second version is an altogether sunnier statement.
Bookmark [...]
I’m a big fan of the Steve Krug approach to web design.
His popular book - Don’t Make Me Think - espouses the view that web users do not want websites that make them think. He goes so far as to say that users will be actively turned off difficult websites, clicking away without a second [...]
“If you buy my product but don’t read the instructions, that’s not your fault, it’s mine.
If you read a blog post and misinterpret what I said, that’s my choice, not your error.”
- from Seth Godin’s recent blog post - The posture of a communicator.
I like Seth’s approach to marketing. He doesn’t go looking for chances [...]
Welcome to the revitalised home of Leif Kendall’s copywriting blog!
After finding my blogging feet at Wordpress.com, I decided it was important to step into the fast-flowing river of the internet and get my own domain.
With the help of Madhava and Premasagar of Dharmafly - social web development - I have been able to hop over [...]
SEO - Making Sense of Optimization
One of the most interesting and potentially confusing aspects of web copywriting is Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Since entering the world of copywriting I’ve done a great deal of reading and spent a long time making sense of all the different opinions on this subject.
Pure Evil
It’s understandable, given the [...]
Strange Practices
Copywriters exist to help you sell. But you will find that one unexpected bonus of employing an outside copywriter is often great ideas.
When you explain your enterprise to an outsider you will often highlight strange practices, things taken for granted or accepted as the norm.
A New Brain
A freelance copywriter will look at [...]
You may have wondered: who needs a copywriter?
The question arises because people think that anyone can write the words for a web site. Many people imagine that writing for the Internet is a simple process of adapting business literature to suit the web.
Often, the task of writing a company’s corporate copy, the text that [...]
Do you enjoy wasting your customers’ time?
No?
Then remember that the best way to say something is generally the shortest. People are busy, and they don’t want to waste time while you gradually get to the point.
I recently worked on a treatment for a film with Charlie Southall of Dragonfly Productions , and one of [...]