Working with Your Wordsmithie Creative Team
Wordsmithie has been a wonderful partner, working alongside us on everything from content planning and strategy to white-paper, case-study and tip-sheet writing. They really ‘get’ us, and know how to shape and share information that resonates with event organizers. – Megan Buell, manager, lead generation, Eventbrite Your direct connection to top talent Some agencies create […]
Voice and Tone
Start work with an agency or copywriter, and you’ll soon be asked about your organization’s “voice and tone.” What language do you speak? By that, we mean the language we’ll use in creating your website, case study or blogpost. Every client should have a distinctive voice and tone, as identifiable in its own way as […]
What’s a Copywriter, and Why Your Business Needs One
You hire a content agency like Wordsmithie to create a brochure, datasheet or website. The agency promptly assigns you a copywriter. Who is this person, and what should you expect when working with him or her? (Here’s an interesting post on the origins of the word copywriter.) The background of a copywriter Often, your copywriter […]
Here’s the Thing…
Any experienced copywriter will tell you, usually with a sad shake of the head, that most clients think they can write, and that nearly all of them are wrong. Oh, sure, they got through college or university okay. And they can bang out a decent marketing report. But writing for professors or colleagues isn’t the […]
Write What They Mean…
As you prepare to write a case study, white paper or data sheet, you’ll gather as much information and background material as you can. Next, you’ll probably record an interview with one or more of the stakeholders. It’s always useful, too, to have transcripts of your interviews, especially if you plan to quote people directly. […]
Step Away from the Keyboard
I’ve been looking back over various lists of copywriting tips published online over the past several years. They provide lots of good advice. Write a great headline Gail Goodwin advised in Entrepreneur Focus on “you,” not “we” Susan Gunelius wrote in 2009, also for Entrepreneur Pick one message and one message only Kimberly McCall recommended […]
How Reliable Are Writing Tools? ‘Trust, but Verify.’
You might remember President Ronald Reagan’s maxim, “Trust, but verify.” It comes from a Russian proverb, “Doveryai, no proveryai,” which is why he quoted it to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev during the signing of a nuclear treaty in 1987. “You repeat that every meeting,” Gorbachev said, winning laugher. “I like it,” Reagan replied, drawing even […]
How Much Info Should I Give My Agency? No Such Thing as TMI.
Say that you’re launching a new product and need your agency to create sales and marketing materials. Or say that you’ve signed with a new agency and need to bring them up to speed on your company. How much information do you provide? At Wordsmithie, we generally say, “Send us whatever you have.” There’s no […]
Good Content Means More than SEO
Content marketing comes in for a good dealing of bashing, often deservedly. The Content Marketing Institute defines the concept as a “strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.” But in practice, as J. R. […]
5 Tips for Perfect Copywriting
We’ve shared with you ways of working with your copywriter and writing in the client’s voice. Now, here are five ways to help your copywriter capture your editorial style—that is, to express your message exactly the way you want it. These tips will help streamline the copywriting process. Quoting vs. paraphrasing Without specific instructions, a copywriter will […]