Last night, I registered for a charity walk that raises money to support research on blood cancer. It’s an issue that’s important to me. After I registered, I noticed the charity had posted stories on their website written by people affected by blood cancer. Some of the stories were written by survivors, while others were written in memory of loved ones. Reading the words and imagining the experiences of the people who wrote the stories brought me to tears — in only a matter of seconds. I know I’m not alone. I’m sure you’ve had a similar experience where you’ve come across a story that’s moved ..read more

Whether you’re writing your web copy from scratch or looking to update the copy you currently have, this checklist will help you improve your website using core copywriting principles. 1. Know Your Audience Who does your product or service help? What itch are you scratching? What do your customers care about? And what will make them click “buy”? Knowing who you’re speaking to will help you answer many questions as you move forward, so always start here. 2. Check Your Analytics Do you have a high bounce rate? Is no one clicking through to your sales page? Knowing what is currently working vs ..read more

Learn everything you need to know about how to stand out from the crowd on the social networking giant. From interns to executives everyone seems to be on LinkedIn. With well over half a billion users, LinkedIn dominates as the social network for the business world. But: Is simply having a profile enough? Too many of us—perhaps at the insistence of a manager, or when we were last looking for a job—throw together a LinkedIn profile in 30 minutes and then call it a day. Sound familiar? Approaching your LinkedIn profile like a marketing opportunity—with the mindset of a copywriter—can help ..read more

Over the past several months, I’ve had the pleasure of working with a wonderful client named Jennifer. Jennifer is a therapist who runs her own business helping women heal emotionally after they’ve had difficult childbirth experiences. She hired me to write copy to support the launch of an online group therapy program she developed. When Jennifer showed me her existing website and email marketing campaigns, I was blown away by something unique: her incredible natural ability to connect with her audience. Jennifer’s voice shone through so powerfully — and resonated so deeply — that I ..read more

Imagine it’s the holiday season. Many are consumed with thoughts about what they’ll buy, and plans are busily coming together for festive dinners. And then, we are hit with this picture: a child has created himself a home out of a discarded computer box – presumably, the remains of a luckier child’s gift. Image credit: Covenant House Toronto What’s happened to viewers in the few seconds they are viewing this ad? Hearts have been captured and viewers feel a sense of loss; many likely want to do something to fix this situation. Hence, a direct connection has been built with Covenant House ..read more

Learn everything you need to know about how to stand out from the crowd on the social networking giant. From interns to executives everyone seems to be on LinkedIn. With well over half a billion users, LinkedIn dominates as the social network for the business world. But: Is simply having a profile enough? Too many of us—perhaps at the insistence of a manager, or when we were last looking for a job—throw together a LinkedIn profile in 30 minutes and then call it a day. Sound familiar? Approaching your LinkedIn profile like a marketing opportunity—with the mindset of a copywriter—can help ..read more

It’s cold outside right now. Really cold. Toronto is in a deep freeze and I can hear the bitter wind whipping outside my window as I type this. In fact, it’s so cold that after only 7 minutes of walking outside last night, my partner got frostbite on his left ear! 7 minutes. Less than 4 blocks. I narrowly escaped, but only because I was wearing a wool hat that was warmer. The hat kept me cozy, avoiding my ears from (literally) freezing thanks to the cold, bitter air. So, let’s get down to the point here….FEATURES VERSUS BENEFITS! Using this example, what was the important feature of the h ..read more

Imagine it’s the holiday season. Many are consumed with thoughts about what they’ll buy, and plans are busily coming together for festive dinners. And then, we are hit with this picture: a child has created himself a home out of a discarded computer box – presumably, the remains of a luckier child’s gift. Image credit: Covenant House Toronto What’s happened to viewers in the few seconds they are viewing this ad? Hearts have been captured and viewers feel a sense of loss; many likely want to do something to fix this situation. Hence, a direct connection has been built with Covenant House ..read more

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