Entries by Anna Goldsmith

How Great Customer Service Can Keep You Out Of Court

I had just sent my husband a text reading, “This place in incredible,” when I heard my son, Leo, crying. Not just the whiny cry of a six-year-old who wants Cheerios instead of scrambled eggs, but a real, something-is-seriously-wrong cry. Like most accidents, it all happened so fast: One minute, he was jumping happily on […]

Soup for Summer? The Power of Effective Signage.

Remember how hot it was this August? Crazy hot, right? So hot you went around saying things like, “Man is it crazy hot or what?” So hot you’d rather go hungry than do something as crazy as … eat soup. So what do you do if you’re The Soupery? Just walking by their sign made […]

Staying Relevant: Two Major Hurdles for Facebook

In just over 10 years, Facebook has changed how we live, work and think, becoming the primary way many of us stay in touch with friends, share family photos and keep up on news. And of course, waste time. When I went on a digital fast last fall, Facebook was the hardest thing to give […]

Naming Disasters: Three Pitfalls to Avoid

Is “Milton” more likely to get beat up on the playground than “Jake”? (Absolutely.) Should we spell “sneakers” with a “z” at the end? (Absolutely not.) Is it trademark infringement if there’s a company with the same name, but they’re on the other side of the country? (You’d better check.) Whether we’re talking about a […]

The Sizzle and the Steak: The Art of Writing Great Product Copy

I used to work as a copywriter for Brookstone, a company made famous by its vibrating massage chairs, often seen in airport lounges, nail salons and your parents’ basement. If waitressing was the job that taught me about time management, Brookstone is where I learned to sell just about anything. Because that’s what I had […]

No Success Online Dating? Change Your Font, Not Your Photo.

Want to find love, ace that test or lie online? Then you better choose the right font. Below you’ll find three of the craziest studies I came across when I was trapped in the font research vortex for my last blog. Enjoy. 1. If you want people to believe you, use Baskerville. Turns out font […]

The Grammar Cop Weighs in on Presidents’ Day

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Grammar Cop — a forum for tips and reminders about the frequently confusing and often-illogical communications platform known as English. It’s our job at The Hired Pens to pay attention to this stuff. (Truth be told, we’re kind of obsessive-compulsive about it, so this is actually fun for […]