Do you know what it is your customers need? Or more to the point what they want? If you’ve got a steady stream of work you might think you have this pretty well wrapped up, why else would they be coming back right? But what if you were missing out on opportunities to offer something […]
How your competitors boost business by turning customers away
Turning customers away in a recession – insane no? Well, yes and no. Take two fictitious characters, Focused Fred and Pleasing Polly. They’ve both decided to start up their own businesses making tailored clothes. (I have no experience tailoring clothes so I may be rusty with some of the terminology – but should still work) […]
Published in The People's Friend Story Magazine
Just a quick update to say that my short story for the People’s Friend magazine can be found in the 31st of October edition (in W H Smith’s from today I think). The title is “One of The Lads”. For anyone who catches it, I hope you enjoy!
Why Copyblogger's marketing is like finding "Good Vibrations" on a compilation of jingles…
My father is every pushy salesperson’s nightmare…I’ve experienced it firsthand, cringing from the next aisle as my dad verbally slays anyone trying to sell him something he doesn’t want. Growing up I learned to be suspicious of gimmicks, brightly coloured labels, and promises. As well as a love for George Jones, my father gave me […]
Article Writing Inspiration from Charles Bukowski (and My Brother)
One of the websites that influenced me to become a freelance writer at the end of last year was Lateral Action. I can’t remember how I stumbled upon the site, but found it to be a wealth of practical and inspirational advice for not just creative people, but creative professionals. The articles questioned conventional creative […]
How Country Music Makes Me A Better Copywriter
I love country music. As a kid growing up in East Yorkshire such a passion was a rarity and despite the concerns for my social development my dad kept feeding me country music till that fateful day that I started buying my own. He sat back in his armchair with a sigh of contentment; his […]
Why I Love Being A Copywriter Using The English Language
We act as a host family to language students which has been and still is a brilliant and very amusing experience for all of us. Over dinner the other night one of the students was exasperated by the number of synonyms there were in the English language for most words.It meant that learning vocabulary was […]
"Don't Try, Can't Fail"…But Nor Will You Succeed
I once knew someone whose motto was to never put himself forward for anything. He would half complete courses but never take the exam, his belief being that if they never took a test he could never “fail” at anything. He admitted his motto was “Don’t Try, Can’t Fail.” It’s an interesting philosophy and whilst […]
Jack Bauer Would Love Twitter Search – It's The Real Time Updates
Jack Bauer loves information, he knows where to find it, how to get it from people using maverick interrogation techniques, but most of all, he likes a steady stream of updates (preferably to his PDA) in “real time.” He would love Twitter search. This week I was trying to purchase tickets for the much loved […]
Funny How Time Slips Away – Making The Seconds Count
It’s Sunday, a regular Sunday, nothing out of the ordinary. I know people out there are sleeping off the night before and relaxing, so that should be okay for me right? Yet there’s something that’s making me restless, and it’s the thought that I should always be working harder and longer than I am. When […]
