Copywriting Blog

Want To Talk Like TED? We Can Help.

  Hey, did you know that Anna runs one of the largest, most successful TEDx events in the world? It’s true. And it’s also about time we capitalized on these skills. After all, a powerful talk can inspire teams, launch careers and supercharge book sales. But first, you have to write it. (That’s where we […]

The Hired Pens Celebrates Its 20th Anniversary

Twenty years ago today, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts approved our application for incorporation, marking the official birth of The Hired Pens. We know milestones like this don’t mean much to anyone outside of the business. Fair enough. However, we do want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has enabled us to stick around […]

New BusiWork App Disrupts Productivity

Today’s hyperactive business climate is all about omnichannel focus. That’s why you need the new BusiWork app from Xtrinsic Technology Solutions! Today’s hyperactive business climate is all about omnichannel focus. You’re tasked with flexing user engagement while also aggregating storytelling influencers at the top of the funnel. You don’t have time to figure out what […]

Storytelling: Sparking Imagination in Your Business Writing

Thank you to Hired Pen Manya Chylinski for sharing this post. Take it away, Manya …  Storytelling is one of the big buzzwords in content marketing and thought leadership these days. For good reason. Rather than just stating facts or advertising your product or service, why not use words and images to simplify concepts, evoke […]

How Do I Love Thee, Em Dash? Let Me Count the Ways.

I love you, em dash. There, I said it. Is it wrong to have feelings for a punctuation mark? Not when it is as versatile and graceful — and dare I say, attractive? — as you, em dash. Only a heartless anti-grammarian would claim otherwise. I remember the first time I noticed you. I must […]

4 Common Errors (Almost) Every Writer Makes

I read a lot. A lot of bad copy, that is. It’s my job to fix it. My boss and mentor at my first job post-college described what editors do in the most perfect way. She said we were like midwives, helping writers to produce their best work and offering guidance and encouragement along the […]

8 Tips to Write Life-Changing Health Content

Successful health content motivates people to do things that are good for them, like cutting back on salt or having a colonoscopy. But writing about health can be tough, especially when you’re asking readers to do things they’d rather not do. Like cutting back on salt or having a colonoscopy. Good health writing has the […]

How to Work Remotely … Really, REALLY Remotely

In spring 2015, my husband texted me a spreadsheet with the names of a bunch of Army officers and locations of their next assignments. His name was highlighted next to “Germany.” Germany. Germany? I was shocked. True, this was much preferable to many of the alternatives. But it did raise a major question: Where did […]

Confessions of a Newbie Podcaster

Question: What do you call two middle-aged white guys talking? Answer: A podcast. About a year ago, I decided that if there’s one thing the world is lacking, it’s middle-aged white guys hosting podcasts. So I decided to get in on the action — and the fame and fortune that inevitably would follow. Choosing a […]

3 Ways to Beat Writer’s Block

1. Write Now. Revise Later. Here’s a secret: Even award-winning writers hate their first drafts. Just accept that your original takes will always need finessing. Bestselling author Anne Lamott calls these her “shitty first drafts.” And so can you, by using the “write now, revise later” approach, coined by English teacher Harry Bauld. Whenever you’re […]