I am slowly, ever so slowly, pulling together my "marketing is like dating book." The irony of being a freelance copywriter is you spend all your time writing for other people and don't seem to find time to do your own writing! 

But I've said enough in this copywriter blog about marketing is like dating to have, of all things, dating websites find it and post comments to it trying to get links back to their own sites. OK, this makes me laugh, but also draw two lessons from it:

My freelance work often involves website copywriting using keywords for SEO, but I know that's only one part of getting your website indexed and ranked by search engines. Links into your site are the other. So going out looking for blogs to post comments on to link back to your website is one way to do that. But, and this is a big but, you have to make sure you're posting in an appropriate place! 

Obviously anyone who things a link to a dating website is appropriate for this professional copywriter's blog didn't read the blog. Dumb.

The other lesson, well, it's not really a lesson, is something I hadn't considered: Here I've come up with 9 ways to improve your copywriting based on the idea that marketing is like dating, and people are coming to me via my freelance copywriter blog saying dating is like marketing. LOL! Yep. It sure is! 

I'll make sure to make that part of the book...when I get enough free time away from web copywriting and email copywriting to work on it...

Revising my own keywords as a professional copywriter who writes a blog, I was struck by how easy it might be to use keywords that don't attract your target audience...quite the opposite.

As I revised my freelance copywriter blog keywords this past week, there were several suggested to me that I knew wouldn't work. Anything with "wanted" in the term was another freelance copywriter looking for work, not a potential client. And search terms that used simply "writer" and not "copywriter" meant people with smaller budgets. (Clients that can afford to hire a professional copywriter will search using the term copywriter, not writer. Anyone who found my blog and therefore Website using the search term "writer" is therefore not a good lead for me, in my experience.) 

Better yet are specific terms like web copywriters, blog copywriter, content copywriter, email copywriting...even if those are competitive search terms that I'll have trouble winning through blogging for SEO, I'd rather fight harder for search terms that I know will help qualified copywriting prospects to find me, rather than use search terms that I could easily win...but then instead of making money as a professional copywriter, I'd be spending time trying to explain to someone why I'm not the kind of writer they are trying to hire. And I definitely don't want to spend time fielding emails and phone calls from freelance writers looking for work, those using words like "wanted" in their searches.

Just because a search term uses a word you want to be found for doesn't mean it's a search term you should focus on in your blog. Be clear who is using those terms and why, rather than investing precious time in blogging using keywords that might generate traffic but won't generate clients or sales! 

I just got an email from a client annoyed because I didn't ask him for the results of my last email copywriting project (the opens and click throughs). I realized I'm so used to my copywriting work getting done far in advance of any end product that I don't think to ask, it's true.

For example, I was the ad copywriter for IG Creative on two ads they did for Washington Federal, to appear in the Puget Sound Business Journal 2010 Book of Lists. I enjoyed being the Seattle copywriter for them and was proud of my work...but two months went by before the Book of Lists was published so I completely forgot about it until yesterday.

One ad was for the back cover, one was a full page ad inside. As the copywriter, I was to work within strict guidelines that were part of a rebrand. I love challenges like that! So for example as ad copywriter for these, I had to have one, single strong compelling word (like solid in one ad and proven in the other) but then a sentence before it that the word actually belonged so. So the word becomes a graphical element, but still makes sense as a word too. (Does that make sense?)

It was also a fun challenge because the ads had to be somewhat similar but still different. At first I tried too hard to make them the same, but IG Creative straightened me out and I like the "just similar enough" result.

And believe it or not, it was a challenge to do copywriting for a bank because so many banks make so many false claims and I was working against that cynicism!

These ads are also huge. It was funny as the Seattle copywriter to have all that space...but to know the words had to be few...and exactly right. It's easier to be a verbose copywriter using lots of words to convince! Harder to be a concise one. :-)

Thank you to IG Creative for hiring me as the copywriter for these ads, I'm proud of them. And thank you to my client not happy with me for being honest about it so I can do a better job of follow up on my copywriting projects, whether email or websites or ads or whitepapers or whatever... :-)

As a freelance copywriter who helps out clients with small business marketing, I am constantly on the lookout for new information to pass along to copywriting clients, especially as social media takes center stage.

I'm already pushing blogs as marketing tools, but these days I'm looking out for nuggets on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, trying to wrap my head around how these tools can be put to use for small business marketing.

So this article of using Facebook for your small business caught my eye when someone retweeted it, but it's more of the same: talking about the how, but not the why, and definitely not about the "how to make money" part of the how.

I'm a copywriter, yes. Words are my business. Web writing is my business. Email copywriting is my business. But I also owe it to my copywriting clients to be up to speed on other marketing channels, so I can make sure my work as freelance copywriter fits with their other marketing efforts.

What small business folks lack more than anything are time and money. What they need more than anything is sound advice.

And that doesn't mean telling them how to set up a Facebook page, and to make sure they have lots of friends and family to get to follow them. That means telling them how to make money, how to market their business and convert prospects to customers using Facebook.

But sadly that means looking beneath the surface of the shiny new thing that is Facebook. And articles like this only encourage more small business folks to jump on the Facebook bandwagon, wasting precious time on a tool they don't know how to use let alone necessarily need.

Am I simply grumpy because I didn't get to ride my horse today? Or am I grumpy because I too am a small business owner and I wants facts, not Facebook.
 

Your subject line can make or break your email. It's a small but critical part of your email copywriting. "Small" because it's only a few words. Critical because it either gets people to open your email or doesn't.

Some copywriters say write your email subject line first. The make the body of the copywriting carry through the promise of the subject line. Another freelance copywriter might tell you to write teh body of the email, then go back and write the subject line, spending just as much time on the 5 words in your subject line as the 105 in the body of your email.

This Seattle copywriter falls somewhere in the middle. I first work with the copywriting client, of course, to learn about the customer (in order to stay true to my "talk to them, not at them" copywriting approach), the email strategy, etc. We come up with the goal of the email, then I suggest possible email messages.

I then start copywriting the body of the email, then I check my subject line "cheat sheet" for inspiration. Although the core message of the email won't change, the subject line can determine the hook or catch for the message in the body of the email. For example, if I write a subject line like "3 ways to something something," I will tweak the body of the email to fit into three steps or ways.

At the same time, I brainstorm 4 or 5 possible email subject lines.

Then I go back and forth between the email subject line, headline and body of the email, copywriting all at the same time.

At this point, I've lost you, right? Because really now you don't care about my approach to email copywriting and subject lines. Right now you're only interested in the aforementioned "cheat sheet," aren't you! 

It's not really a cheat sheet, it was an article in MarketingProfs.com way back when, a list of the 100 best performing subject lines for their newsletter. It helps me as the freelance copywriter to read through them when working on email copywriting, inspiring me and encouraging me to think differently about my approach to email subject lines. And hey, the article was titled "Steal this..." so I did! 

I hope if you're in charge of writing email subject lines and email copywriting, you find similar inspiration! 

Find the MarketingProfs.com article at http://www.marketingprofs.com/rb/1/?rbid=2854&file=&adref=pfnl1.

Today's MarketingProfs email newsletter has a quick read on the best and worst company names of the past decade. As a freelance copywriter who is occassionally hired to help with naming and who works daily with words, I enjoyed the read through of the best and the worst. I don't just know words, I love words! 

Never underestimate the power of a word. One word can change the power of a tagline, a handful of words can change the power of a Website, a sentence can change the power of an email. (And in your personal life, one word can change everything.)

Hindsight is, of course, 20/20, and the success of some of the winners likely has to do with other marketing factors, luck and trends as much as with the name itself. As the Seattle copywriter who considers herself a marketer first, a word person second, I really believe that to be the case. Is Twitter a success because of its company name? Or because it was first to market, or so new, or whatever it was that made Twitter a household name (if not a household technology). Ditto for Flickr, and Wikipedia, and the other winners named in the article.

Marketing is a mixture of art and science, I think. And there are certain factors one has no control over, those kinds of factors that make something go viral...or make it flop. If you've read Malcolm Gladwell's "Tipping Point," you know what I mean. If you haven't, put it on your reading list for 2010.

I really feel this mixture of what I can control, what I can't. Sure as a copywriter there are certain rules that apply and factors I rule over. How I approach Web writing differs from my approach to blogs as marketing tools differs from my approach to email copywriting and so on. But all I can do is study the target market, work with the copywriting client to determine a message, do the copywriting...and then wait to see what the client does with my work. And it has been butchered many a time, trust me, either by change, or by being used in a totally ineffective way.

So it is with marketing in general. There are some things we can control--like the name of a company--but there are others we can't--like why something becomes a trend overnight. That's why I don't want to read too much into why these company names are winners. I think it has more to do with outside factors and inside marketing prowess than the name itself, although a good name definitely helps! But it's more like one more ingredient that makes your recipe for success even more tasty than the key ingredient itself.

My thoughts anyway.

 

Here’s another analogy for proving marketing is like dating: Think of personal ads. Why? Because words can woo.

 

Even with online dating sites like Match.com, you don’t rely solely on the photos. Heck, plenty of people (mostly men for some reason) don’t even put up photos. The words still matter. You read someone’s profile and decide if it resonates with you or not.

 

Let’s take search engines and search results as an example…

 

Like your personal ad, you can write these to say anything you want, as long as they also have the search terms you want to get found for. The goal of this search result is first, to get found, and second, to get someone to click through and go to your site, for this copy to resonate with the prospect. You don’t get to use any pictures, so it’s like the personal ads of old, when people put their ads in newspapers.

 

Now think of the search result someone gets when searching on Google, using the We Know Words copywriting Website as our example. Type Seattle copywriter into Google and sure enough, We Know Words is on the first page (under that horrid local search map, gads I hate those things!).

 

What people get for a search result is the title tag and description I’ve written for a particular page on the We Know Words Website. In my case, this is really bad, I don’t know that it would resonate with anyone, honestly…  

 

Marketing writer - Seattle copywriter portfolio of web writing and ...

Copywriting portfolio of ads, brochures, case studies, datasheets, emails, Web content and more showcases the singular talents of the marketing writers at ...

 

But besides the fact that this Seattle copywriter is maybe acting like the cobbler whose children have no shoes, my advice is still sound. J Have your copywriter, whether freelance or in-house, write your website copy, brochure copy, email copywriting, whatever it is, as if she were copywriting a personal ad.

 

If I were to rewrite my title tag and description as a personal ad, keeping in mind that I have to achieve both search engine optimization (SEO) and conversion (getting people to click on the link and go to my site), I could do it as:

 

Marketing writer - Seattle copywriter portfolio of web writing and ...

Searching for a stellar freelance Seattle copywriter? See complete portfolio of print copywriting, email copywriting, Web copywriting and more.

 

I want to keep marketing writer in the Title tag, because it ranks well in Google, but I’m pushing Seattle copywriter as a keyword a bit more so it’s in there twice now. That’s my SEO. But I also made it more action oriented.

 

OK, maybe not the best example of having your copywriter write marketing ads, but like the cobbler, this copywriter has to get some client work done! No more indulging in blogging for now!

 

On March 11, the Seattle Direct Marketing Association hosts Market to the Max, a full day of top notch speakers and panelists presenting on topics from paid search to email marketing to blogging and more.

 

This Seattle copywriter will be there to make sure I’m up to speed on all the latest and greatest marketing trends. If you’re a marketer in the Northwest, anywhere from Seattle to Portland to BC, you’d better be there too! My plan is to soak up all I can on blogs as marketing tools and email marketing and search engine optimization, so I can do a better job on email copywriting and ghost blogging and SEO copywriting. I also look forward to spending the day hanging out with a bunch of smart marketers! And the end of the day networking is always a blast as everyone winds down and relaxes with a drink.

Don't think this is just for big companies. There's lots that applies to small business marketing and small business blogging!

And don't think I'm going just because I was the copywriter for the core messaging either, although that was fun. MRM Seattle did such an awesome job on the concept! A game board, with real playing pieces! What a great agency to work with!

 

Speakers will be from industry leaders like Google, Microsoft, Alaska Airlines and Virgin Airlines. For a complete agenda, go to http://www.markettothemax.com/agenda.htm.

 

Hope to see you there!!

I hate The Ram. When Kent Station opened a couple of years ago, people were so excited to get a chain restaurant in downtown Kent. Meaning they were happy to get The Ram. My first experience there was awful, and after three more tries, I finally gave up on the place. Besides I like the food and the bar at Zephyrs better, it’s more my style, and now I have a martini bar as an option too.

 

But the other night a friend wanted to go to The Ram, because it would be new to him, and I’d drug him to Zephyrs and Shindig Martini Bar a few times already. Now he knows why I was reluctant to go there. The service was atrocious, the food awful and the prices high.

 

Hang on, hang on, this isn’t copywriter PMS. This ties into my copywriter theory that marketing is like dating: the customer expecting one thing and getting another.

 

When you are marketing to potential customers, you are wooing them, trying to get them to date you. You woo them with promises in your copywriting: good beer, good food, friendly service. But if you don’t follow through on your promise, your marketing and copywriting are for naught. Your marketing is a lie and trickery meant to get them in the door to spend their money. And then your marketing goes after the next prospect, just like a serial dater who seems intent only on getting someone to say “yes” to a date so he can start on his next potential date, to win her over.

 

Great marketing isn’t just great copywriting, killer taglines, awesome email copywriting, fabulous Web sites, kickass direct mail, etc. Great marketing is the whole enchilada. It means a business promises something to me as a customer, then delivers on it. That’s how you win a repeat customer.

 

If your company is a serial dater, then keep plowing away at marketing that gets them in the door but disappoints. Because you’re only aiming for the next customer anyway, not aiming to keep the one you just got. But if you’re company wants to be in a committed relationship, follow through on the promises your marketing makes. If you can’t, hold off on your marketing until you can, or make your marketing fit what you can really deliver.

 

And if you go to The Ram and order the calamari? Don’t be hungry or picky. So sayeth one disappointed freelance copywriter!

Why do so many companies shy away from being real? I honestly don’t know. Maybe it’s like my dad used to say, that people are rude drivers because it’s anonymous, they are sheltered by their cars. They’d never cut in front of you in line at the bank, but they’ll do it on the highway. Do companies want the anonymity so they don’t have to behave as well as they otherwise would?

 

Being real is something I as a freelance copywriter preach and preach and preach. But just the other day working as a Web site copywriter for a new client, I found myself trying to persuade them to include photos of the founders on the Web site…and they flat out refused. As a copywriter, I see the power in words that are real, whether in blogs as marketing tools, small business marketing, email copywriting, wherever. Words are powerful. But only more so when real.

 

People, you are missing the boat here. Customers want to do business with, well, people. Not nameless corporations. Being real means making a connection to that customer, developing a relationship with her. One that will deepen her loyalty to your customer and brand.

 

Think about it: Isn’t there a company you stick with mostly because you like it or them? Like the farrier I had who wasn’t very good but was a delight to visit with while he shod my horse, or the drycleaners that’s a little farther from home but you keep going back because you like the owners, or the coffee shop that charges more but you like the welcome feeling you get when you walk through the door…we all have allegiances that don’t make economic sense, but then we shop with our minds and we buy with our hearts.

 

So how delighted is my little copywriter heart to have two great examples of being real to share with you.

 

My first example comes from a company I partner with. I do copywriting for their email marketing clients. They hired a new salesperson, no biggie, but the email this guy sent out to introduce himself to clients was a gem. It wasn’t about all this professional experience; it was about him as a person, a real person, who lives in an interesting town, met his wife via online dating, and has an interesting background, born in Europe and raised on the east coast. The tone was conversational and chatty. It made him real. If I were a customer receiving that email, I’d like that guy right off. And we buy from people we like. With our hearts, remember?

 

My second example comes from Basecamp, aka 37 Signals, a company I love not just because I love their Web-based project management software which I use for our copywriting projects, but because they excel at being real. Yesterday when I logged onto Basecamp, at the top of my screen it announced “Basecamp's birthday! Basecamp turns five!” and then went on to explain they started on Feb. 4, 2004 with a link to their story. This is brilliant because it’s promotion but sincere. When you read the story, you are that much more attached to this company. And what does that mean? Well, I recommend Basecamp to all the freelance copywriters I know, and to clients as well.

 

Both of these examples gave this copywriter warm fuzzies. And note that they both achieved their goals with words, nothing fancy, just words, real words.

I’ve been thinking on my listening skills lately. Or lack thereof, due to some communications issues that have come up. I think I’m a really good listener, in my personal life, but turns out I’m not as good as I could be. I want to jump in and fix things for people sometimes. Or I get tired of hearing the same old story, so I jump in then too. Or I think my idea is so brilliant, I have trouble keeping my mouth shut. Or… you get the idea! Hey my business is We Know Words. I'm sometimes ready to overwhelm with mine!

 

But good listening skills are paramount in my career as a freelance copywriter. Every project with a first-time client starts with a kickoff call during which we go through a long list of questions, whether they hired me as Website copywriter or a print project. The goal is for me to learn about the copywriting client’s customers: what are their pain points, what do they want to do better, etc. And listening is primarily what I do during those calls. That’s how I’m able to help my copywriting clients talk to their customers, not at them.

 

But there’s another level of listening, beyond personal, beyond being a conscientious copywriter. And that’s asking customers to interact with us as businesses, whether we’re in small business marketing or big.

 

Customers want to have their say! That’s why we have an explosion of Web sites like Yelp and YouTube. Customers don’t want to just be fed content, no matter how great the copywriting. They want to contribute it too!

 

Is your business a good listener? You’d probably say yes, thinking if someone calls customer service, they get listened to. But there are multiple ways to engage your customers and solicit their input:

 

• Ask for feedback in your email newsletters, or use a survey tool to ask customers to vote
• Ask for comments on your blog
• When you ship an order, entice the customer to comment on your Web site, about their experience or the product
• In your email copywriting, when you send out transactional emails like order confirmations, ask for input or comments that way
• If you use blogs as marketing tools, put their comments in your blog
• Set up a wiki so customers can contribute content that way
• Have a Facebook group where customers can write on your wall

 

But then, as all good listeners must do, pay attention!! Don’t just solicit the input then ignore it.

 

Asking for and listening to customer input has multiple benefits, for small business marketing to huge corporate marketing. Today, for example, I listened in on a discovery call a copywriting client was conducting with a prospect. Why? So I could hear what the prospect had to say, not the client’s translation of it. Now when I work on their email copywriting, I’ll be able to play up the aspects the prospect loved, clarify the aspects that were confusing, and reassure about the aspects that were a little scary.

 

We got that info straight from the horse’s mouth, and my client listened.

Plus customers like to be listened too, so you're creating all that goodwill too!

 

Got a way to get input from your customers and to make sure you listen to it? Post a comment! J

I’m experimenting this year. No, not with my hair or my clothes or my cooking. With my networking. I’m going to try networking primarily online this year, rather than in person.

 

I’ve spent the past eight years involved with a variety of networking groups, including BNI, my local chamber, the PSAMA, and particularly the Seattle Direct Marketing Association (SDMA). In fact, I was an SDMA board member for four years and was president two years ago. I love networking, and that’s how I’ve marketed my copywriting business since starting We Know Words back in 2000. I love meeting new people, I love talking to strangers, I love learning about the marketing challenges others face and thinking up ideas for helping them.

 

But as someone who doubles as a copywriter and a marketing maven, I also have an obligation to my clients to be as up-to-speed on new marketing trends as I possibly can be. And that means not just knowing about them, but using them too.

 

Clients have moved beyond asking me about copywriting topics like email copywriting and SEO writing. Now they ask me about blogs as marketing tools, Twitter, Facebook, wikis and other Web 2.0 and social networking tools. I’ve dipped my toes into the social media waters, but haven’t plunged in completely. The only way I can do that is to market online vs. in person.

 

As my friend Joe pointed out yesterday, marketing in person is a lot more fun! Yes, that closet full of Ann Taylor clothes might get a little dusty. But in order to stay useful as a copywriter who is also a resource for her clients, this copywriter is reading up on Twitter, blog carnivals, blog pinging and more. Using blogs as marketing tools also is akin to SEO writing: You have to follow all the same principles of keyword rich content and frequency of updates to make it work.

 

The irony is, like the We Know Words copywriting Web site, when I get busy with copywriting clients, it’s my Web site, my blog, my marketing that gets pushed to the side. Not this year, however!

 

Have you switched from in person to online networking? If so, I’d love to hear about it. Either post a comment here, or email me at sharon@weknowwords.com.

Michael has been cutting my hair for over 22 years. My relationship with my hairdresser outlasted my marriage. Seriously, I met Michael when I was just newly dating my ex. My ex is, well, now my ex, but Michael is still around.

 

I’m not Michael’s only loyal customer. Heck, I’m not even the most loyal! When two of his clients moved to San Francisco, they flew him down to do their hair still. And I’ve had my hair affairs, trying a salon closer to home or less expensive. But I always go back to Michael for one simple reason: He’s the best. (No one else can make my gnarly hair look the one it does in this photo!)

 

He’s also busy. He hasn’t taken on any new clients in years because he doesn’t have time.

 

Now, this is a copywriter's marketing blog, you’re probably wondering what kind of kick ass marketing Michael does to guarantee he’s always busy. The answer? None. No Web site, no email marketing, no small business blogging, no nothing. He doesn’t even have a nice salon!

 

Michael only has to do one thing to keep his schedule full: Stay the best. Michael’s marketing is all those gorgeous heads of hair walking around downtown Seattle. His clients tell their friends how great he is, but they have proof too.

 

How I wish every copywriting project were like that, but sometimes my copywriting is “me too” copywriting because the clients are “me too” companies. As a Seattle copywriter, I strive to write Web copywriting, email marketing, brochures, whitepapers, etc. as different, to help these clients stand out. But in truth the differentiators between my clients and their competitors is sometimes miniscule, irrelevant or non-existent.

 

Why don’t we try harder to be different instead of trying harder to out market or out sell the other guy?

 

The clients who are really are unique? That help their customers solve real-world problems? They’re a copywriter’s dream job. Just as wonderful as one of Michael’s haircuts. And just as likely to establish a loyal customer base because they are the best at what they do.

 

Are you doing everything you can to be different? To truly be unique in a world full of wanna bes? Then your freelance copywriter is lucky! And you are smart! 

As a Web site copywriter, today I was working on a Web site for a new client, and was reminded once again of the power of stories. This company is an email marketing consulting firm, but with a focus on technical aspects like modeling and analytics that makes for some pretty dry Web site copywriting.

 

Until you turn it into a story…

 

When I asked the client to provide a scenario, as opposed to a bulleted list of capabilities, all of a sudden everything in the copywriting about the analysis came to life and made sense. I got it. And the potential customer will too now.

 

When you can show someone by example, when you paint a picture with your copywriting, you communicate your message much more clearly. And this is true whether you’re doing email copywriting, small business blogging or Web site copy.

 

Heck, what is blogging but a way to make a point through stories and examples?

I’m vindicated! JupiterResearch says work that transactional email!

 

I’ve long advocated for email copywriting in your transactional emails to take advantage of an opportunity to reinforce your brand, cross-sell, or even grow your in-house email list. And a new report from JupiterResearch, sponsored by StrongMail, not only validates my opinion but takes it a step beyond: JupiterResearch is saying time to get promotional in those transactional emails, people! And for this Seattle copywriter, that means make your messaging promotional too!

 

A transactional email such as a welcome email, order confirmation or shipping confirmation email is another chance to market to your customer. They’ve already purchased from you (like a widget) or requested something from you (like a whitepaper), so they already have a relationship with you and expect to hear from you. Take advantage of that warm, fuzzy feeling to say “Hey, by the way, you might also be interested in our gadget to go with that widget you just bought.”

 

It was interesting for me as a copywriter to read that transactional emails often aren’t owned by marketing. OK, that makes the lack of email copywriting make sense! So the first thing we need to do is change the mindset about the transactional email…and any other opportunity we have to touch a prospect or customer, like packaging, customer service, etc. Although I’m just a copywriter, I’m constantly preaching that everything you do is marketing. This just proves it, but also proves how narrow-minded we sometimes are, with clearly defined ideas about what marketing “is” or “is not.”

 

Peoples, marketing is everything and everywhere. It’s 24x7, round-the-clock. And it should most definitely be happening in your transactional emails. So pull those dry, straightforward text-based emails out of the system, do some kickass email copywriting, and stop wasting opportunities to sell and brand.

 

Now. J

 

Yeah, so I guess all this Seattle rain gave me some attitude today!

I don't know why we don't see more articles on copywriting. Words rule. Content is queen. I couldn't blog without words. You couldn't market without words.

So I get excited when I see an article, especially a really good article, on copywriting. And no, I'm not talking about the copywriting article I had published in MarketingProfs.com last week.

MarketingSherpa has a great article on email copywriting. The title is a little misleading, referring to YouTube as it does, but the content is right on the money...and pardon the pun, because it's about email copywriting for nonprofits.

It's 12 copywriting tips worth reading...and implementing. Nothing new to me as a copywriter, but I like being able to pass this along as a reminder to other marketing folks. My favorite takeaways are about being emotional, spending hours on the subject line, and being provocative. Those are all tough aspects for me to convince coypwriting clients on. The article talks about how long it takes to write a short email, for example. Which clients don't understand. But it really is harder to write short copy than long copy! I've said many times great copywriting comes from great editing. And this is especially true in email marketing, where your word length truly has to be just long enough, just short enough.

Twelve tips is about nine more than I can realistically expect anyone to remember, so how about we focus on the three I liked the best. Next time your copywriter gets an assignment from you, let her be emotional and provocative, and let her spend as much time as it takes to write shorter, more effective email marketing copy.