I recently wrote a book to attract the super upscale. It is 270 pages showcasing a resort in Utah with original photographs, elegant design, poetry by a CEO, and title, text and captions by me. Let’s talk about this audience. The upscale resent being “sold” to –– much more so than a mainstream audience. They demand special treatment and they want it served up in every sentence. So rather than saying an ‘amazing’ view, you might say, The Uintas and Wasatch Mountains reach for the sky, some climbing above 9,000 feet. These ancient works of nature are laden with dense green forests, craggy c ..read more

Copy can have a sense of humor ..read more

By and large. When all is said and done. In the final analysis. And the end of the day. These are clichés that we see and hear all the time. What’s wrong with them? They are overused and therefore have lost communication power. Even worse, they don’t really mean what they say. “By and large”? I have no idea where this came from or how it was first used. It means basically, “in summary” or “in most cases” or something like that. There are better ways to write and leave fresh footprints ..read more

You may think the top of the search results is the most important destination in a prospect’s journey. While search results are important, they are just the first mile in a marathon. When prospects click on a search result, they are dropped into a sales funnel. That’s where expert writing can take them to the finish line. Plain content is often too slow and filled with empty sales calories. En route to 2500 words, the appetizers are several paragraphs of information that search engines may love, but which generally understood. it’s like teaching first grade math to a fourth grader. They will g ..read more

In my experience, the most effective way to launch a creative project is to write a creative brief. It’s a one-page description of the project that includes a consensus of client leadership about what should be included. Too often I have seen a CEO or other executive return from vacation, take a first look at the project, and hate it. That’s really fun for the creatives that made it. Here are some of the important things to include in a creative brief. Description of the product or service. What does it do? What does it do better than the competition? How does it solve a problem and be ..read more

You might know already. But you will still enjoy this article. Look at Amazon. Consider how easily you can do almost anything on their site. Shop. Compare. Purchase. Return. Review. Does that make things easier for prospective buyers, repeat buyers and loyal customers? Is it easy to like Amazon? Will you come back again? Will you tell your friends? Were those rhetorical questions, like this one? Amazon has great UX. You probably know this acronym stands for user experience. It's essential for building a brand. Knowing how to engage is so important. If you don't show empathy, you will probably ..read more

I once worked at an ad agency where one of the writers took his headlines and copy to the art director and left them on her desk. Any talented art director would be offended by this way of working. The best ideas and executions come from a collaboration of art direction, design and copy, so at least two people are involved in the process. Still, there are situations in which writing can inspire visuals. In scriptwriting for technology, I am often called on to develop the audio side before the video side is worked out in detail. This is just the way things are done in order to meet deadlines. I ..read more

The verbal infrastructure is how a brand’s marketing, messages and mediums can be connected in a holistic fashion. Words become the energy that flows through the brand infrastructure, often paired with design images to create powerful and connected communications. How it helps The advantages of a verbal infrastructure are far reaching for a brand and its audiences. The brand benefits from delivering a consistent message that clearly communicates its values, benefits and advantages. It also caters to specific audiences and their wants, needs and interests. Prospects benefit by hearing a consis ..read more

The long and short of paragraphs In years past it was common to see lengthy paragraphs and blocks of text of 150 words or more. And we still see this type of writing in certain publications. But it doesn't work so well anymore. Why? Distraction defines action If people drove cars the way they read, we would see even more accidents on the road. The world is faster now. People have many more options, less patience and plenty of reasons to be distracted. Like butterflies, they jump from one paragraph, page, site or device to another. Think user experience (UX) Think about how you read. You proba ..read more

Note:  This is an updated version of my original article that continues to attract high readership. The English language is constantly evolving. Often there is no right or wrong way to do things. That said, rules can be found that define the use of those horizontal lines we call hyphens. Here are guidelines, followed by some personal observations.   Hyphens are used for clarity. If adjoining words have the potential for ambiguity, a hyphen can confirm the intended meaning. Hyphens are used to join two or more words that function as an adjective in front of a noun. Example: b ..read more