Anyone for Serial?

I have to confess that I have finally become a fan of the serial comma. OK, so that sounds a little strange. But I grew up in South Africa where we weren’t taught to use the serial comma. After living and working in Israel for more than a decade, I am now an official convert. It really is a useful device which clarifies what could otherwise be confusing or misleading. What made me come to this conclusion? I had to write some Web copy recently where the company style did not include use of the serial comma. After backspacing, deleting, and agonizing over sentence structure, I realized that I like my copy with serial commas, not without.  Here’s a post about serial comma killers which proves my point. I am also a fan of another kind of cereal—the kind that goes snap, crackle, and pop.

Freelance Job Versus Freelance Business

If you run your own freelance writing business, as I do, you might be interested in Nick Usborne’s take on the difference  between a freelance job and a freelance business.  It’s all a lead-in to a course he’s plugging, but he makes some relevant points. It’s also a good example of how to draw your reader in before plugging your product or service.

Landing Pages That Work

Copyblogger has many useful landing page tutorials and makeovers, providing really helpful tips and suggestions. Whether you’re new to the world of landing pages or need to improve traffic, these articles will put you on track.

Blargon Demystified

If you’re boggled (or is that bloggled?) by all the new terminology that has sprung up in the blogosphere, perhaps this guide to blogging terms will help.

What We Say Versus What Others Hear

I recently wrote a corporate brochure for a client who is great to work with. Her comments are always useful and improve the quality of the finished product. We had a really interesting discussion about one section of the brochure which was talking about the company’s long-term relationships with their distributors, many of whom have been working with the company for more than 20 years. That’s quite an accomplishment. I wrote a sentence talking about the company forging long-term relationships, because in my mind, forging is something that creates a long-lasting bond. Her response was that since forging also means faking something, shouldn’t we use another word? Now, I knew the secondary meaning.  But until she pointed it out, it hadn’t bothered me. That particular verbiage is in common usage, but it struck a bad note with her.

What interested me was how we both read the same sentence, yet interpreted it differently. Perhaps it’s cultural, perhaps it’s a question of context, but it was great to be reminded that we have to be careful and sensitive in our word choices. What’s obvious to us isn’t obvious to others. And what we mean isn’t necessarily what others hear.

Evolution and the Em Dash

I’ve been working on some copywriting workshops I’m giving in September and I got to thinking about how my writing has changed over the years. At one time, I was really enamoured of the em dash. I used that sucker everywhere. And I had no problem writing reams of copy, happily using my repetoire of adjectives and adverbs to spice things up. 

But the older I get, the shorter my attention span gets. (With all the media bombardment on a daily basis, it’s not surprising that I’m showing signs of ADD.) All this has meant that I’m writing shorter. Less fluff. More tachlis. And I’ve almost cured myself of my addiction to the em dash—almost.

Doing It Better

I just ordered a used book from Better World Books.  The first email I received from them was pretty standard, thanking me for my order. But the second made me laugh out loud.  The subject line read “Your order has shipped,” so I expected to see the details and that’s about it. Instead, I received this:

“Dear Liane,

(Your book(s) asked to write you a personal note – it seemed unusual, but who are we to say no?)
 
Holy canasta! It’s me… it’s me! I can’t believe it is actually me! You could have picked any of over 2 million books but you picked me! I’ve got to get packed! How is the weather where you live? Will I need a dust jacket? I can’t believe I’m leaving Mishawaka, Indiana already – the friendly people, the Hummer plant, the Linebacker Lounge – so many memories. I don’t have much time to say goodbye to everyone, but it’s time to see the world!
 
I can’t wait to meet you! You sound like such a well read person. Although, I have to say, it sure has taken you a while! I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but how would you like to spend five months sandwiched between Jane Eyre (drama queen)and Fundamentals of Thermodynamics (pyromaniac)? At least Jane was an upgrade from that stupid book on brewing beer. How many times did the ol’ brewmaster have one too many and topple off our shelf at 2am?
 
I know the trip to meet you will be long and fraught with peril, but after the close calls I’ve had, I’m ready for anything (besides, some of my best friends are suspense novels). Just five months ago, I thought I was a goner. My owner was moving and couldn’t take me with her. I was sure I was landfill bait until I ended up in a Better World Books book drive bin. Thanks to your socially conscious book shopping, I’ve found a new home. Even better, your book buying dollars are helping kids read from Brazil to Botswana.
 
But hey, enough about me, I’ve been asked to brief you on a few things…”
 
Now I like Better World Books because they promote literacy, so I can buy books and feel like I’m contributing just by virtue of the fact that I ordered from them and not someone else. But I loved this confirmation email.  As a copywriter, I think it rocks. As a consumer, I totally appreciate them stepping beyond the conventional and sending me something that made me smile. 

Unexpected. Enjoyable. What more can I say?

P.S. The orders arrive promptly, the postage is much cheaper, and even the secondhand books aren’t ashamed to sit on my bookshelf alongside their glossy new companions.

Beyond Bullet Points

Giving a technical presentation? Check out Beyond Bullet Points by Cliff Atkinson, which presents a different approach to the traditional PPT template.

Blind Dates and Brochures

I really enjoyed this old post by Phil Dunn who writes a Marketing Writing blog.  He says: ”Quite a few marketing documents make the mistake of introducing feature lists too early. In boxing this would be called leading with your chin. In the dating world, I’d describe this as trying make out with a blind date when you first pick her up.”

His point is that when you’re on a blind date, you make a connection first, then you close with the goods. Dunn says that the same goes for business writing. First, connect with the prospect’s dream.  Then, slam-dunk the sale with a feature list.  It’s worth reading the whole post, which I discovered while googling. 

Check out the blog’s archives (it’s currently not active) at:  http://www.qualitywriter.com/blog/

Sound Bytes

I like short blog posts. (A blog has to be great to entice me to keep on reading and scrolling.) I really like Seth Godin’s sound bytes — his short, to-the-point posts that say very little and yet say a lot.