In the freelance writing world it would appear that we’re still struggling with the same sexist attitudes we snort at when watching Mad Men. This has been the experience of James Chartrand, anyway, who revealed on Copyblogger this week that he’s actually a woman, and felt forced to promote herself as a man to attract […]
Why You Should Redefine Your Services to Attract More Clients (and Better Pay)
[This week’s post is a familiar theme for regular Crucible readers. But as I seem to have attracted a few new subscribers in the last couple of weeks I thought I’d show them what The Copywriter’s Crucible is all about] With summer behind us it’s time to pack away the sun lounger and get down […]
Why Copywriters Shouldn’t Rush to Go Digital Because 60% Prefer Print
It appears as though the printed word is on its deathbed. The Yellow Pages is now more widely used as a doorstop, whilst many newspapers are wheezing their final breaths. Many expect direct mail to go the same way. So is learning how to write direct mail, brochures and sales letters a waste of time for aspiring copywriters? Are people so plugged into the digital […]
Should Your Website’s Copywriting be Informative or Persuasive?
“For six months I read all the car ads in search of information. All I found was fatuous slogans and flatulent generalities…If their engineering was as incompetent as their advertising, their cars would not run ten miles without a breakdown.†– David Ogilvy With magazines and TV struggling to cope with haemorrhaging ad revenue (and […]
Are You Ignoring Your Offline Marketing?
Like many people, when I first started getting into internet marketing (blogging in particular) I got sucked into all the hype on the millions that could be made from digital products and how, after a few months work, you could look forward to sipping cocktails on a beach whilst the sales poured in. Whilst it […]
Grow Your Subscribers with this Unblockable Pop-up WordPress Plugin
My persuasive writing eBook is currently in the operating room undergoing surgery. The different parts didn’t assemble as neatly as I’d hoped. I started off discussing business writing in general but by chapter seven I’d started focusing on sales letter and landing page copywriting. So I’m now in the process of cutting unwanted material with […]
Copywriter, PR Writer or Brand Journalist? You Decide
If you’ve arrived here looking for a PR writer please browse through my portfolio of press releases, case studies and brochures. You can also email me for a prompt response matt@copywriterscrucible.com Matthew Stibbe of bad language fame recently blogged about the difficulty of defining what he does at dinner parties. Should he say he’s a […]
One-to-one marketing and its implications for copywriters
In recent weeks, I’ve discussed why you need to adjust your copywriting’s personality to appeal to different audiences. It just comes with the territory. Well, the rise of one-to-one marketing means the ability to mould your language and style to match your target market could soon be in greater demand. What is one-to-one marketing? With […]
10 Sticky Website Copywriting Tips for Keeping Visitors Glued to Your Website
Brochure websites need to be consigned to a museum as relics of the internet’s evolutionary history. There I’ve said it. Websites, and the thinking behind them, has evolved a lot over the last few years. If you just want to recreate your company brochure into pixel form then, please, go ahead. But the longer you […]
An Underused, Full Proof Way to Sell More in Less Time that’s FREE
[photo courtesy of monamigreetings] Even if you compose the most concise copywriting to ever grace a page, the most persuasive words aren’t always written by you. There’s an ingredient you can add to your copy that can help you sell more in less time. It’s an underused tactic. But one that can rapidly satisfy a […]