Copywriting

Wordsmithing is both an art and a craft. Copy that engages audiences is built on the nuts ‘n’ bolts basics of good writing: correct grammar, spelling and punctuation; proper word usage; and consistent style. In our digital age of LOL text-speak and 140-character microblogging, precise writing still matters. Most seasoned writers have at least a…

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…

Writing for a living may sound romantic to those who’ve chosen a different career path. Non-writers think we spend our days drinking coffee (true), banging out quirky prose (maybe), contemplating brilliant ideas (…), all while working in bunny slippers and waiting for magic writing fairies to flitter down and kiss the page (we wish!). But…

Working a great deal of the time with startups and tech giants alike as we do at Wordsmithie, it’s exciting to be in on the ground floor of new ideas. Creating buzz around a new product or service and crafting the words and phrases that will connect it to people is one of the most…

If you’re old enough to remember writing on a heavy, anvil-shaped thing called a “typewriter” — well here’s to you, my fellow editorial veteran. Back in the ’80s, at my first newspaper job, we banged out stories on thin yellow typing paper, using Liquid Paper and correction tape to fix our mistakes. “Cut ‘n’ paste”…

It’s really endearing to hear the English-language foibles made by my Spanish husband, the charm of which sometimes keeps me from correcting him. “Meryl Eh-streep went to jail,” he said to our friends one evening at a dinner party. “What? She went to jail??” We native English speakers dropped our forks in disbelief . (He…

Once your email hits a subscriber’s inbox, you have to let your content do all the talking. If you’ve done your job, that should be a cinch, right? Think again. HTML clipping Email clients such as Google’s Gmail have started clipping HTML emails larger than 102 KB. Instead of seeing the entire text of your…

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…

These days, we’re a culture obsessed with instant gratification. Unfortunately, copywriters are finding this out the hard way. No one has time to read copy in its entirety anymore. But give them a five-second video sound bite—or, even better, an easy-to-digest, vibrant-looking infographic—and you’re good to go. So, these days, when copywriting one needs to think carefully…

There’s an old saying among writers and editors: The best writing is rewriting. At Wordsmithie, we aim to nail our clients’ copy in the very first draft. We spend time up front getting to know your needs, wishes and expectations, so by the time we sit down to write, we understand your audience and message.…