This author has not written his bio yet.
But we are proud to say that Anna Goldsmith contributed 176 entries already.
After 15 years in business, Dan and I have gotten pretty good at screening for clients who don’t seem like a good fit. Sometimes it’s a personality or subject-matter mismatch, but more often it’s because they have an unrealistic idea of budget. When there’s a financial disconnect, we respectfully explain why we can’t write their […]
5 Questions to Ask Before You Commit to a Name Like almost nothing else, coming up with the right name can give your company or product a real boost. As anyone who has tried it knows, however, it’s really hard to do well. That’s why big brands pay naming companies upwards of $100K to do […]
Today we’re reposting a blog by The Hired Pens’ very own Tracy Quinn McLennan, copyeditor extraordinaire. Her story is a familiar one for many of our Pens who have also chosen to leave the inflexible world of corporate America for a work life that works for their life. We hope you find it inspiring. And if […]
Writing is hard work — even for professional writers. You know what makes it a lot easier? Putting it off. No, not indefinitely, but until you first answer these five “prewriting” questions. 1. Who is going to be reading what I’m writing? No one! Haven’t you heard? People don’t read anymore. Let’s be optimistic, however, […]
“Don’t dialogue with someone you can talk to.” Rob Sneddon, the latest writer to join our team, didn’t say this, but the fact that he can quote William Zinsser just makes us love him even more. Read on to learn Rob’s no-fail trick for combating writer’s block, the one book that can improve everyone’s writing […]
For every 100 writers who contact us, just dying for a chance to be a Pen, only a handful makes it through our rigorous screening process. Meet one of the qualified few. As you’ll see from our Q&A below, Virginia has the right mix of experience, brains and wit. We’re pretty sure she’s a keeper. […]
In our last blog, we talked about the often overlooked audience you really need to please with your copy: the one who’s paying your invoice. In this blog we’ll turn our attention to the audience they care about: the customer. Their customer. Myth: At the start of any content project, a client will give you […]
What’s the biggest, most common, most job-eliminating mistake copywriters make? It’s not bad writing. In fact, the better the copywriter, the more likely he or she is to make this mistake. Answer: It’s not getting to know the audience. But wait, you’re thinking: In this age of content marketing, doesn’t everyone know how critical it […]
Looking through The New York Times style section last week, an ad caught my eye. It was a giant bottle of Windex … except it wasn’t. It was Fresh Couture, the latest fragrance from Moschino, which is bottled to look like Windex, red spray top and all. The ad copy describes Fresh Couture as an […]
The last three calls I’ve gotten for new projects all went something like this: “We want to reposition our product/service because we’ve realized after doing some/absolutely zero research that our website/marketing collateral/packaging is not resonating with … [wait for it] … MILLENNIALS!” Quick, but important rant here: Companies really need to stop grouping Millennials all […]
