Copywriting Blog
Dear Ford Motor Company: Please Stop Advertising Your ‘Ford Freedom Sales Event’
/in Advertising, Kvetching/by Dan O'SullivanI’ve written before about the downside of my love for listening to Red Sox games on the radio: the dreaded overplayed ad. Every year, there’s an ad or two that emerges as an unavoidable irritation. The problem could be a failed attempt at humor, an overly enthusiastic spokesperson or an obnoxious jingle. Whatever the case, […]
Meet Virginia, Our Newest Pen
/in Hired Pens, News/by Anna GoldsmithFor 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. […]
A Belated Happy Anniversary to Us
/in Hired Pens/by Dan O'SullivanA few weeks ago, we at The Hired Pens marked 15 years in business. It’s a nice milestone, though admittedly not as sexy as a 10th or 20th anniversary. Something about the number 15 just seems kind of blah. Nonetheless, it’s a good opportunity to sit back and reflect on the past 15 years. Anna […]
Getting to Know the Target Customer When Your Client Has No Money for Research
/2 Comments/in Branding/by Anna GoldsmithIn 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 […]
The #1 Mistake Copywriters Make — Especially the Really Great Copywriters
/in Branding/by Anna GoldsmithWhat’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 […]
Are You Being Re-purposeful with Your Content?
/in Content Marketing/by Dan O'SullivanThe best of your organization’s content should be like a cat — it should have nine lives. Okay, maybe nine lives is stretching it. But when you work hard to write something remarkably clever/insightful/useful/etc., there’s no reason why it should be doomed for a one-and-done existence. Reincarnation should be in the cards. I’ve heard this […]
‘You Smell Amazing; Is That Windex?’ (Said Nobody Ever.)
/in Uncategorized/by Anna GoldsmithLooking 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 […]
How to Sell Technology to Old People
/in Writing Tips/by Anna GoldsmithThe 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 […]
Tackiness, Thy Name Is Peyton Manning
/in Branding, Kvetching/by Dan O'SullivanUrban Dictionary defines a corporate shill as “A person engaged in covert advertising. The shill attempts to spread buzz by personally endorsing the product in public forums with the pretense of sincerity, when in fact he is being paid for his services.” Well said, Urban Dictionary. Now is it possible to add a photo of […]
Writing Fundraising Appeals: Our Top 10 Tips
/2 Comments/in Other/by Karen DempseyAt The Hired Pens, some of our most rewarding work involves supporting the fundraising efforts of nonprofit organizations we admire — from a few of the country’s top hospitals to small, local agencies with whom we work on a pro bono basis. We’ve written enough fundraising appeals over the years to know what resonates with […]
