Playing the name game 2 days ago
Names keep coming up in conversation at the moment. From brilliant baby names for a friend’s new grandchild to the best business name for another friend’s new venture. But does a name really mean that much? It’s only words isn’t it? Not at all. A name matters as much as a logo and a strapline (I’m talking about the business now, not the grandchild…). Like copywriting for a business, a name needs to be memorable, distinctive and designed to grow with a company. Getting it right can make great things happen. Getting a name wrong can cause all kinds of problems. And we’re not talking about being teased in the playground.
Most well placed words of the week 6 days ago
Talk about the right words in the right place. It’s just a small thing, the sign on the second floor. But every time I see it as I puff up the stairs towards my yoga class on the fourth floor (interesting old industrial building, no lift), it gives me a little boost. Whoever organises the Salsa understands the power of using the writing on the wall for motivation!
Am I the next Stephen King? 9 days ago
Does my blog on copy really read as if it were written by one of the world’s best known horror writers? According to the ingenious I Write Like analysis tool it does! The ‘analyzer’ is actually designed for creative writing. But with style such an important part of the copywriting process, I was interested to find out which writer came up when I added some content from my blog. See what your style is. I’m off to write a bestselling horror novel now…
Most traffic stopping spelling of the week 13 days ago
Mistakes happen. They’re part of life. But spelling errors like this really are suprising. The misspelling is a reminder of revelations earlier this year about the money local councils have spent on correcting sign bloopers.
Change - best friend or worst enemy? 14 days ago
Change. It’s the one constant. So how do you respond? In the many years I’ve been copywriting, I’ve noticed some common errors made by companies in times of changing priorities. Three of these are:
Copy change mistake 1: Reacting not responding
“There’s a new idea or a novel way of promoting our services. Quick, get on board!” It’s great to seize an opportunity, but these companies often end up with a fragmented message which doesn’t fit with the overall message of their copy. You only have to see this week’s Gillian McKeith on Twitter
saga for an example of what happens when you get on board without a guidebook.
Copy change mistake 2: A sudden stop
“We need to focus our spending – now.” This is totally understandable, but bringing a publication or a blog to an end to cut costs needs to be managed carefully. What will you tell your existing audience? How will you keep them up to date afterwards? With a sudden stop, first your customers lose out, then your business does.
Copy change mistake 3: Information overload
“We need to tell all our customers about all our services…all at once!”.
Information overload doesn’t generally win people over. They just switch off. This approach is usually a short-term, full throttle deluge of data instead of a long-term strategy with consistent copy.
