Ever since I started studying marketing, one of my favorite subsections was grocery marketing. I find it fascinating how we buy more stuff if we move counterclockwise through the store, that Coke passed Pepsi in sales by changing the shape of its bottle, or why milk is always in the back corner of the store. So when I decided to tackle a huge question on voice, I decided to go to marketing central, my local grocery store for the answer. How do you learn voice if there’s not a single … [Read more...]
What we get wrong about “wins”
I was in El Peñol, Colombia on Easter Sunday. Peñol is a city of rebirth. In 1978 the government flooded the region to create the El Peñol-Guatapé Reservoir. They relocated the roughly 6,000 residents of El Peñol to a “new” town, submerging their original home 30 meters below the water. We climbed 700 steps to the top of the “The Rock” that overlooked the entire reservoir. As a memorial to their old town, the citizens of Peñol erected this statue -- a phoenix rising not from ash, … [Read more...]
Do we really need deadlines?
It is a beautiful day today in central New York. It's one of those days where it's really difficult to kind of stick to the stuff that I wanted to get done. It's interesting because I'm helping a client build out their copywriting team and they're having a very specific problem-- their writers are not getting things done in a timely fashion. And they were confused because they have “flexible deadlines.” As in, their copywriters are free to fit in the work on their schedule. This … [Read more...]
How do you quote freelance projects? VIDEO Q&A
Most freelancers make up their rates based on some elusive "industry standard" or what "feels right"? I've often encouraged freelance copywriters to make sure they understand their overhead and project costs before creating a proposal. In our group, Actual Working Copywriters, Christian posed this question: I'd like to ask a seemingly dumb question but I think would extremely valuable for everyone. My question: How do you INCLUDE the 2.9% Stripe fee in your quote without pissing … [Read more...]
Nerd trophies
It’s all hands on deck. For my husband and business partner KC, we mean that quite literally. Right this very minute, he is building a new deck at my parents’ house. I was given the choice between holding the wood while he cut it or writing today… so here I am. Last week, I emailed you about my parents Woodcock Woodstock Milestone party. It’s the biannual event my parents hold to replace all the graduations, anniversaries, etc. This past weekend, we were all at the house doing a … [Read more...]
How to get more clients using lotion and whiskey
I get clients one of just two ways-- at live events and through referrals. And there's a rarely-used trick to making sure that referral pipeline never runs dry. I reveal the secret in this video: My favorite gifting sites: Goldbely.com Cloud 9 Living Dancing Deer Night Owl Paper Goods P.S. Finding clients as a solo freelancer doesn’t have to be a constant struggle. My friend Matt Inglot is a great example of this. His tiny agency (him and a few … [Read more...]
Glass ceilings leave cuts when they break
January 23, 2015. 1 a.m., Mountains of Southern California. I’m sitting on a cooler, sobbing. For the first time, I’ve used my copywriting for evil. I tricked someone. Someone important. They believed everything I said. And now, in a classic be-careful-what-you-wish-for-type scenario, I’m paying for it. Next to me is one of my best friends, a logger named Jesse. Twenty feet in front of me a half-a-dozen drunk military veterans gathered around a fire, laughing and swapping war … [Read more...]
The Copywriter’s Postgame Super Bowl Report
I always watch the Super Bowl with a notebook in hand. The pregame show, the interviews, and yes, of course the commercials… are a masterclass in storytelling. In fact, one of my first blog posts at On Life and Writing was about a Super Bowl ad. And while Tom Brady and the Patriots have created a dynasty on the field, they have failed miserably over the years at storytelling. (Just check out this map that shows unless you live in New England, you likely were thrilled with the outcome … [Read more...]
The dumbest kid in Kindergarten
2013, Early September. He stares at the white linoleum as we walk down the long hallway from his kindergarten classroom to the parking lot. His feet shuffle like ice skates, occasionally letting out a squeak as he leaves bits of his sole along the path. “Calvin, are you ok?” He nods, but nothing else. He hates to cry (and even worse to be seen crying) so I don’t push him. I can tell by his eyes that if he starts to talk, he won’t be able to hold back. It’s moments like this that I … [Read more...]
6 Live Event Faux Pas that cost you the client
WARNING: Today I get a little ranty about the bad form I see all the time at live events. It's not really their fault. The vast majority of people learn about live events in one of three ways: Conventional wisdom Following the crowd Trial and error The problem is... Conventional advice is largely outdated or just plain wrong. The crowd you're following is working off said bad advice. And embarrassing yourself sucks. So, let’s dispel some myths about forming … [Read more...]