It’s right there. Right over there. You have to see it! For criminy sakes, it’s an elephant! A huge elephant! Am I the only one who sees it? No, I’m the only one who’s willing to admit that it’s there. You’ve heard the “elephant in the room” expression, most often when the family is gathered […]
From an early age, we’re taught to put on a happy face, no matter what happens. So when I reference something in copy that could be perceived as negative, many clients are quick to request its replacement by something with a bigger smile. Generally, that’s not a good idea. Sometimes, what’s negative is actually far […]
I’ve spent many years in the advertising industry, and from time to time, people ask me if there are any books about the craft of creating advertising I’ve found particularly valuable. I’ve read many, but the single most influential upon my work is a tattered 1972 paperback that still occupies a prominent place on my […]
What do you want people to do? If your marketing communications materials fail to tell them, how are they supposed to know? The standard term for those instructions … whatever they may be … is the “call to action.” A call to action tells the reader, viewer, or listener what action you want them to […]
Honored to be the guest on the current edition of Roundpeg’s “More Than a Few Words” podcast, talking with host Lorraine Ball about the importance of conversational copy. It’s about a 10-minute interview. Content Begins with a Conversation
From time to time, I get requests to write something that clarifies a client’s existing instructions or procedures. When I ask the reason, I’m nearly always told that the customers or other audience just doesn’t understand. They aren’t doing what we want them to do or following the steps in the order we prefer. My […]
Frequently, copy contains words that don’t really need to be there. A great example is “appropriate,” as in sentences such as “once we review the information, we’ll take appropriate action.” That’s because saying “once we review the information, we’ll take action” is every bit as meaningful and effective. Since it says the exact same thing […]
Have you ever attended a spouse’s office party and not been sure how to react when someone’s comment sends the room into gales of laughter? Someone says something like, “Yeah, but don’t ever hand Karen a glass of milk,” and everyone but you collapses into convulsions of hysterical laughter. You glance at your spouse, who […]
Most of us are well-acquainted with the concept (if not the term) of “death by PowerPoint.” It’s a reference to any number of excruciating presentation types. To me, the worst offender is the presenter who subjects you to copy-heavy slide after copy-heavy slide, and must assume you’re illiterate, so he finds it necessary to read […]
Imagine the average math professor being asked to lecture to kindergartners. As he described chaos theory, the group would become so baffled and bored that it would revert to real chaos. Now imagine that one of your company’s engineers is sitting across the table from one of your product’s end-users. Would they have a mutually […]
