Posts

How to give your direct mail piece a fighting chance

There’s so much talk about digital these days, you might think traditional (paper) direct mail just crawled away into a corner and died. But, like radio after TV came along, paper DM is still here. If my letterbox and workload are anything to go by, there’s still plenty of DM landing on Britain’s doormats. I […]

Life’s too complicated. Simplify it.

Over the past few decades, I’ve noticed a lot of the products, services and offers I write about have become have become increasingly complicated. Take, for example, the average smartphone. If you’re looking to buy one, you need to consider all sorts of things, like speed, screen size, camera and which network tariff to get. […]

Improve your marketing in 60 seconds

Imagine you have to stand up in front of a crowd and tell them about your business. You have 60 seconds to explain what you do. And why people should buy your product or use your service. You need to be persuasive. And make your audience remember you. So what are you going to say? […]

Choosing a name for your brand

A long time ago a businessman came to me for advice. He was starting a men’s clothing store and wanted to know what to call it. I asked him his surname. “George.” “That’s a great name,” I said. “George. The name of kings.” I didn’t tell him it was also my dog’s name. He shook […]

Is Groupon’s copy driving its multi-billion dollar success?

According to Mashable, Groupon are preparing for an initial public offering that would value the deal-of-the-day website at $15–$20 billion. It was only last December when Google tried to buy Groupon for $6 billion. So how did this company, just over two years old, become so successful so fast? Well I don’t know. If I […]

Negative copy can sell

What advertiser in their right mind would knock their own product? Volkswagen, that’s who. The ad on the left is over 40 years old, yet it’s far more daring than most of the ads you see today. Customers expect advertisers to boast about their products, not to say something negative, as this ad does. When […]

Should copy length be based on what you’re selling?

Some copywriters think that if you’re advertising a low-value item, like a chocolate bar, you should use short copy. Then for a big-ticket item, say a luxury car, you need long copy. I think this makes sense as a general rule. But sometimes it pays to break it. In the UK, Cadbury’s captivated newspaper readers […]

Which is better, long or short copy?

There’s a never-ending debate amongst copywriters about short versus long copy. Some of the things I’ve read have prompted me to jump in and add my bit. So how much copy will make your communication effective? I think that depends. The important thing is to engage your readers. Then keep them interested until they want […]