BAD ADVICE: “Give people what they want.”
Richard Usually, that is perfectly sound advice for marketers to follow. But customers often understand their desired destination better than the route. They may know exactly what they want, yet misunderstand…
Richard
The Emperor’s Thirty-Seven Keys (A Copywriting Fable)
In the Moon Market, a notice-writer named Brindle wrote an advertisement that sold more than anyone could remember. It began with a widow and a locked chest. It contained thirty-seven…
The Road Less Edited
In a 1996 interview, Robert Smith of The Cure complained about the disappearance of vinyl albums: “They’re so big they actually meant something and the artwork looked good.” The obvious…
7 Ways To Make Invisible Losses Visible
One of the easiest ways to strengthen copy is to show prospects what an unsolved problem is already costing them. The loss may be real, but until you make it…
Before AI Came For Copywriters, The Internet Came For Travel Agents
In the 1994 X-Files episode “Duane Barry,” a man takes people hostage in a travel agency. Back then, the setting was a mundane backdrop for a sci-fi thriller. Watching it…