Entries from January 2008 ↓

As a copywriter, I usually ask a client to give me as much information as possible. If I have to write something for them about a product or service, I want to know everything.

Of course, that usually brings an information dump. It’s not just what they tell you. In this day and age, they don’t sift the information, they just email you every document they can find. PDFs, Word files, PowerPoint presentations, even spreadsheets. And they refer you to websites, with comments such as: “You’ll find more information here.”

Yes, but where, exactly? Continue reading →

One of the great things about being a writer is that you don’t need any formal qualifications.

On the other hand, getting help in developing our writing skills can’t really hurt.

If you’re interested in some kind of formal training without the expense and time commitment of a college course, then check out some of these free online university writing courses.

I know nothing about any of the courses, so I can’t make any recommendations or endorsements. They all appear to be respectable educational institutions, however.

Yesterday I looked at how the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition might apply to copywriting.

And now, the conclusion… Today, let’s look at how they might apply to blogging: Continue reading →

The Ferengi would make excellent copywriters. Because they know how to sell the benefits, and how to close a deal.

For those that don’t watch much TV sci-fi, the Ferengi are a fictional race from Star Trek, a people obsessed with trade and profit.

They spend their whole lives doing deals. Or, as Wikipedia, puts it, the Ferengi are:

characterized by a mercantile obsession with profit and trade and their constant efforts to swindle people into bad deals.

Of course, as virtuous copywriters, we don’t want to ’swindle people into bad deals.’ But we do need to sell the products and services of our clients. So maybe we can learn something from these Ferengi, and their Rules of Acquisition.

The rules are numbered guidelines and aphorisms that govern business, and serve as the religious canon of Ferengi society.

So, just for fun, I decided to look through the list and see which ones might apply to copywriting: Continue reading →

Today’s sermon on writing in a modern, conversational style comes from William Hazlitt (1778 - 1830):

“It is not easy to write a familiar style. Many people mistake a familiar for a vulgar style and suppose that to write without affectation is to write at random. On the contrary, there is nothing that requires more precision, and if I may so so, purity of expression, than the style I am speaking of. It utterly rejects not only all unmeaning pomp, but all low, cant phrases, and loose unconnected, slipshod allusions. It is not to take the first word that offers, but the best word in common use; it is not to throw words together in any combinations we please, but to follow and avail ourselves of the true idiom of the language.

To write a genuine familiar or truly English style, is to write as any one would speak in common conversation, who had a thorough command and choice of words, or who could discourse with ease, force and perspicuity, setting aside all pedantic and oratorical flourishes.”

(From the essay ‘On Familiar Style‘, published 1821).

English is a mongrel language, one that has evolved over a long period of time, and continues to change. It’s also a language that has no standardised version. There is no single ‘correct’ version of English.

The obvious comparison is between US and UK English. We spell and use words differently. Often the same word can have a completely different meaning in one country to the other.

The French language, on the other hand, is strictly controlled by L’Académie Francaise, an institution that ‘protects’ the language by fixing an accepted standard of pronunciation, syntax and sentence construction.

But the sheer variety of English, the speed at which it changes and the way it gets changed by different people to suit their purposes, all go to make it a more vital and dynamic language. Continue reading →

Fewer or less? This is a grammatical mistake that really gets my goat. The problem is, it’s only my dad and I that seem to care.

When I was younger, my father always reprimanded me if I used ‘less’ when I really meant ‘fewer’. Every time I hear someone make this mistake, I hear my dad’s voice in my head, offering the correction.

Some would say he’s a stickler for old fashioned grammar because the word ‘fewer’ seems to be dying out completely. No one seems to use it any more. When I watch BBBC News 24, their highly paid and very professional journalists seem to have no idea that the word ‘fewer’ even exists.

Yet to my ears, they always sound a little bit ignorant. They lose authority, because they are making what to me is a basic and glaring grammatical mistake. Continue reading →

When writing isn’t clear, it becomes a double waste of time.

It wastes the time of your reader, who has to puzzle out what you mean.

And it wastes the time of the writer, who will either not be read (so what was the point); or he will have to write it again, to explain what he means.

Writing properly means communicating clearly. It doesn’t necessarily mean obeying the rules correctly. It means getting your point across so the reader clearly understands you.

To get your meaning across clearly, you need to choose the right words and set them in the right order. After that, style will take care of itself. As Matthew Arnold (An English Victorian poet) said:

Have something to say and say it as clearly as you can. That is the only secret of style.

Choosing the right words to use is not always easy, however. Often it requires a little work and a fair bit of thought.

Clear writing, like clear thinking, is hard work. But it is work that is worth doing, because without it, you waste not only your own time but also that of your reader. And that is a rudeness which is inexcusable.

Some people think repetition is a sign of bad writing.
Some people think it’s poor style.
Some people think it doesn’t work.
But some people think it’s a key weapon in the copywriter’s toolbox.
What do you think?

Photo by ponanwi (CC on Flickr)

When you blog and people link to your site your blogging software lets you know. So you can go and check out what people are saying. You might not always like what you find of course….

A while back on this site I fired off a quick little piece about writing how you talk. It got picked up by StumbleUpon and brought in thousands of visitors. It is far-and-away the most popular article that’s appeared on this site.

However, from the start it has generated a lot of misunderstanding. (It must be the way I wrote it. The fault is all mine.)

One of the latest links to the site is from someone who appears to be rethinking their education based on what I wrote. This has alarmed me, to say the list.

I was going to link to the page but have decided not to, to respect their privacy. (Yes, I know that sounds daft when they published something on the web, but it’s not really on a blog. It seems to be more of a ‘keep track of your thoughts’ kind of site).But this is what the person says:

So, I’ve decided not to pursue a minor in English. I guess somewhere along the line, I lost my interest and I feel that it really isn’t my thing. I mean, I can speak it just fine, so people tell me, but I figure once I have the minor, I’ll not have a use for it. Well, I’m decided in not pursuing, so I won’t be taking advanced composition next semester or any other English class for that matter. Anyway, here’s a nice little article I found on the web. It’s really one of those ‘what you were taught in grade school was all wrong’ kinds of pieces, but I found it interesting. (Here they link back to my original article).

Let’s get something straight here. I’m not saying that you don’t need a formal education in order to be a good writer. I’m not saying that everything you learnt in school about writing is wrong. (It’s also not the English classes that are to blame. It’s the history essays, the French essays, the science reports). Continue reading →

Photo by fuzzbabble (CC on Flickr)

Being a full-time freelance writer isn’t so different to being a self-employed plumber. Both need control of their tools, be it words and phrases or a wrench and socket set.

But that’s not enough. Not nearly enough. If you want to a be a freelance writer, you’ll need a lot more than just writing skills. Making a living from writing (or blogging, or graphic design, or whatever) means you’re running a business.

Making it as a freelance means getting regular work that pays well enough that you can live on it, year after year.

If you neglect the business side of things, then you’re heading for trouble. But by looking after your business, it’s perfectly possible to make a good living as a freelance writer. I’ve done so now for over 12 years, without ever needing to take a part-time job or earn any money outside of writing. (And without making any money from online writing or blogging).

But to make it as a freelance there are some important things you’re going to need along the way. If you don’t have them all right now, don’t panic. But until you have some of this stuff in place, it isn’t time to leave the day job. After the jump, the 20 things you need most to be a freelance: Continue reading →

Photo by monterd (CC on Flickr)

One of the readers of this blog (hi Petya) contacted me recently to ask how I first became a freelance writer. She was looking for advice about getting started as a freelance herself.

Becoming a freelance writer is not easy, but it is possible. The bad news is that it doesn’t really depend on how good a writer you are (and, yes, I’m the living proof).

There’s a lot of luck involved, you need to know people who can help you, and you need business skills.

In an upcoming post (warning, it’s a long one) I’m going to look at some of the things you need to be a successful freelance writer.

But first I’m going to explain how I came to be a full-time freelance writer. This might seem a little self-indulgent, but I’m hoping it may help readers like Petya with ideas they can use in their own careers.

Do I make a decent living? Yes
I have worked as freelance writer for around 12 years. In that time, I’ve never had to take any form of employment. And all my income has come from freelance writing. Continue reading →

The use of the snarky tone of voice is very popular in blogging and online generally. Is that because readers respond well to it? I don’t think so.

People snark because its easy to do, and it has a built in self-defence mechanism. It says: “Don’t bother disagreeing, ‘cos I don’t care.”

It’s the punk rock of writing, and for that reason alone I’m willing to forgive it. To an extent. Because I’m old enough to remember the heyday of punk, and I thought it was great.

Just as punk is better than bland pop, snark is better than boring writing or lame blog posts any day.

But the problem is that most snarkers don’t sound like Johnny Rotten. They sound more like a postpunk, grown-old tribute band, apeing the sound of their heroes, but creating nothing original. Not being themselves. Pretending, believing the daydream. Copying someone else’s attitude.

What’s so punk about that?

No, snarky blogging is too easy. Too predictable, and usually not funny. Just like sarcasm.

And ultimately it will repel readers, because it becomes tiresome. The joke goes stale. And the attitude wears thin.

It’s much better in the long run to find your own tone of voice, not copy a received snarkiness.

Of course, if you don’t agree, you can always go snark me to bits in the comments (although I have the power of deletion…)

Do you know the most important word in any piece of copywriting?

You probably use this word all the time anyway, perhaps without even realising it. In which case, you can make your writing all the more effective by using it more, and using it with purpose.

Do you know what the word is yet?

You do?

Good, because it really is a magical kind of word for a copywriter, one that you really can’t use too often. The really wonderful thing about the word ‘you’ is the way it makes you change the way you write. And it changes what you write about.

Instead of writing “I” this, “we” that, with the focus on yourself, your company, your product or service, it forces you to start writing about the reader, about the customer and what they might be interested in.

It makes you write about the benefits of a product or service (”this is what it can do for you,”) rather then the features. (”Our company does this. Our product does that.”)

As a blogger, it makes you focus on what your readership can take from a piece, the value you can give them. It makes you think about how your readers can act on the information you are giving them.

So next time you’re struggling with how to write something, try using the word ‘you’ as often as possible. It really does sprinkle a little magic on everything you write.