Author Archives: Leif Kendall
Good copy is communicative, and good communication happens when there’s a rapport between the communicators. You can build rapport with your readers by creating a cordial atmosphere. Here’s how you can write copy and make friends: – Have respect. Friends respect each other. Don’t patronise your reader, or try to hoodwink them. Give it to [...]
Drivvel.com, the website that gathers the best copy from around the world, needs your help. Are you… – a copywriter, a designer or someone who works with words? – interested in creating a community? – able to give a little time to the Drivvel project? Drivvel needs: – a few regular posters to add great [...]
Easy is an important word for copywriters. It’s a word we can use and it’s a word we can heed. Be easy Your readers are more likely to follow your instructions, or be tempted to buy or vote, if you make it easy for people to respond. Your copy must be easy to read, easy [...]
People are busy. So get to the point. This advice is so obvious and so commonplace that I hesitated to include it in this series of blog posts. BUT… I realised that people often lose sight of what is really meant by this advice, so here’s my view: Great copy gets to the point [...]
I felt a need. A need to share copy and find inspiration. And my blog post on that subject generated enough positive comments to spur me to action. An lo, Drivvel was born. Visit drivvel.com to see what I’m talking about. How / what / why ? Drivvel exists for a few reasons: 1: [...]
Copywriters easily get wrapped up in rules, and lose sight of a fundamental part of good writing: being interesting. It’s no good offering benefits, writing actively and compellingly, addressing the reader directly and appealing to their deep-seated desires if your words are boring. ‘Being interesting’ is a vague challenge. What is ‘interesting’ anyway? There’s no [...]
This is a quick follow-up on my blog post, “Where do copywriters go for inspiration?“… The website I had in mind when I wrote that post is up and running, and a few keen copywriters have been adding examples of copy.In a few weeks, once the big wrinkles have been ironed out, we’ll go public! [...]
In this blog post series I consider some of the finer points of copywriting – the little things that make a big difference; the tricks and touches that lift copy and make it more persuasive, better at selling and more likely to create a good impression. How to write active copy Great copy is active, [...]
Love this talk from Gerry McGovern at Content Strategy Forum 2011. Gerry advocates focussing on our user’s tasks rather than thinking about content. Gerry gives good examples of websites bulging with unnecessary content that doesn’t help users achieve goals. Gerry’s suggestion is worth noting, partly because there’s a danger that writers see words as the [...]
Groupon has a distinctive way of communicating. Their copy is often discussed in favourable terms and the business seems to be doing well. However, I think their copy could be better. Here’s an email I received recently: My main objection with Groupon’s attempts at humour is that (in addition to being lame) they get in [...]
