Letters To A Young Copywriter

Dear Susie,

I was pleased to receive your letter. I can see why you might be attracted to Copywriting and I will share with you how and why I got into the business.

First, I am passionate about language. Second, it is fun to use big words that your "normal" friends don't know. Saying words like "vicissitude" sends your normie friends into a fury because they feel dumber than you. Copywriters, as a rule, are superior to those around them. Remember that.

If you are not incredibly good looking, give up your dream now. I mean, model good-looking.

We tend to be deeper than most. Start feeling your feelings if you haven't already.

Now about this business of breaking into Copywriting. How do you do it? You fight. You knock on doors. No, kick down doors. You call up strangers. Be everywhere. Have "Eye Of The Tiger" playing in your mind always.

My final (and unoriginal - check out Writing Down The Bones) thought is this: when you get to second grade start telling people that's what you do. You write. You are a writer. Be a stubborn little bastard about it. That is what you do, that is your profession. They will doubt you, Susie. They will say, "Emily, stop robbing convenient stores..." Er, wait. They will say, "You're only 7 years old, you can't be a writer and here's why your short story sucks." Then you kick them in sweet spot and run. Run like lightning, grab your pen, and write like you got somethin' to prove.

I hope this helps, young one. Keep it real.

Yours In Pen,

Emily, the Philly Wordsmith

How Facebook Has Made Me A Better Copywriter

When you write on your personal Facebook Wall it is like writing a personal headline for that day (or week, or minute.) Your friends seem to respond to some more than others. Ever notice that? So, I set out to see if there are some common themes in the Wall posts or "headlines" that get the most attention. Because if I can figure out which headlines cause people to take action by responding to my post, then that will help me figure out what headlines will cause customers to take action in general - which is the goal of copywriting.

Four common themes:

1 - Something sexy. Not too sexy because we don't want to get into T.M.I. territory here, but an interesting substory to my personal story is my romantic life.

2 - Things that make people jealous. I posted that I was going to the beach on a Monday and people really responded.

3 - Humorous things. This is probably #1. Any time I write something funny, I get sooo many responses. Either people saying a simple 'ha!' or people trying to be even funnier or add to the funny.

4 - Mention love for something others already know about. This includes bands, celebrities, coffee drinks, etc. If they also like that product (or if they hate it) they respond.

If you've noticed some common take action themes, please leave them as a comment. I'm sure there are many more!

Project H.O.M.E. Writing Group's First Meeting

Thanks to Richard, Julie, Shirley, Renee, and Troy for making our first meeting a great success.

We talked about what we wanted to do with the group. Then we did some writing exercises and shared our work. In the spirit of Joe Brainard, the first exercise was beginning each sentence with the phrase, "I remember." Then, for fun, we played with alliteration.

Unfortunately, due to the residents' schedule consistency will be a challenge, but I think we can meet it.

Anybody have any ideas for writing exercises we could use next time?

I think next week I'll post our writings and we will receive Julie's first submission for group feedback. So stay tuned!

Music To Write By

Hey you writers - are you stuck?

Here's a trick I love. Listening to music. Especially if I'm writing for a company. It helps to listen to music that speaks to the industry I'm writing for. If I'm writing for the Board of Tourism for a Tropical Island, I'm listening to Calypso music. If I'm writing for a company that has lots of machinery and conveyor belts, I listen to techno. If I'm writing for an Italian restaurant, I listen to old school Italian music. Put on some Frank Sinatra and the words just flow out of me.

Some industries don't have an obvious soundtrack, but use your imagination and you'll be able to find a suitable genre that will get the gears going.

10 Ways To Become An Expert In Anything

As a writer, I have to be a bit of an expert on whatever I'm writing about. If there's no knowledge and fact, then the writing comes out as vague generalities that don't get anything sold. So for me, writing begins and ends with research. Here are my methods...

1. Read the book.

2. Read the blogs.

3. Attend the events.

4. Meet the people.

5. Meet the teachers.

6. Attend a class.

7. Follow the Tweets.

8. Read the NY Times articles.

9. Ask other experts.

10. Write about it.

5 Tips on How to Thrive in a Bad Economy

This copywriter has absolutely no authority on the subject, but seems to be doing well. Here's what I'm doing:

1) Take advantage of all the special programs that the local and federal governments are offering. The Philadelphia Business Journal just did an article about free college courses for laid off workers. http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2009/03/16/focus1.html

2) Stop reading articles and watching news programs that tell you about how f*cked we all are. You'll just be feeding into the fear and paranoia that is contributing to MOST of the economic problem and the fear will paralyze you.

3) Volunteer somewhere. Anywhere. Teach a homeless person or underprivileged kid your trade. Doing this has made me feel so good and hopeful that if the Ramen noodles are just around the corner, so be it!

4) Read some books. Get on the front lines of your industry. Or start a project in a whole new industry. Learning new things builds passion and if you're passionate people will respond. I love being around people who are inspired because it's contagious. The root of "inspire" is "in spirit." It's like having a cheerleader follow you everywhere you go.

5) Better yet, write some books. I'm writing a novel about a Mexican immigrant. It is keeping the creative juices flowing and my interest in the beautiful and intriguing world around me.

The Advantage of a Local Freelance Writer

The writing process is an interactive one. The writer is able to sit in a restaurant and let smells, sounds, and sights over take her. She is able to watch the waiters and the customers talk and laugh. Let your copywriter see, feel, and hear the heavy machinery that makes your factories loud. The job of your copy writer is to translate the smells and sights into words that create the holographic entity your customers can feel when they read your brochure or web page copy. Invite the writer to come and experience what you have to offer your customers because it will show in more vivid descriptions and better understanding of your product and company. As a writer, if I just have to imagine a flower and describe it with words, there tends to be vague adjectives or fuzzy general language. No one wants to read that. When I see a flower right in front of me, the power of smell, color, vibrancy is easy to get down on paper. Your product then becomes not just a product, but a story and an experience. Don't make your patrons have to read a boring list of adjectives for your product or service. People like stories and they like to experience so let your writer give them both.

Classy Writer Broad

Susanna Moore was in town today interviewing for a Professor position in the graduate creative writing program at Temple University (My Alma Mater - Go Owls!). She was positive and held an intense stare. Ms. Moore was more than happy to talk with me after her reading even though she was being whisked off like some harassed celebrity. She had a dry sense of humor and never laughed at her own effortless jokes. Long gray hair fell lightly around her shoulders as she talked about writing sex scenes and her "research" for such scenes. In a word: she was elegant.