Well, the new-look Gmail sux. :-( In fact, in all my years, I’ve never seen such a big step backwards in usability when ‘upgrading’ to a new version of a product. Sadly, I’m sure I’ll find plenty more examples over the coming days/weeks/months/years, but here’s a list of the things that jumped out and bit [...]

I didn’t know what a copy deck was I’m not an ex-agency copywriter. In fact, I’ve never stepped foot inside an agency office. I became a copywriter after 9 years as a technical writer in the software industry. So I’d never heard of a ‘copy deck’. It was a term that just never came up. [...]

This morning, I read a great article by Joe Pulizzi: 4 Truths About Content Marketing Agencies. It’s definitely worth a read, but I’ll give you the synopsis: A lot of people are calling themselves content marketers when they really shouldn’t be. New profession, age-old problem While I agree, this sux, we shouldn’t be surprised. It’s something [...]

Last week, I read an interesting article by Neil Patel on the long versus short copy issue. It allegedly shows long copy out-performing short. On the face of it, it looks fairly compelling, but if you keep your thinking cap on when you’re reading it, you’ll see it’s actually quite weak. It shows us more [...]

I’ve always been a writer. Even as a kid. It sounds corny, but it’s not what I do, it’s who I am. I think in writing I write (in my head, of course) while I’m in the shower, while I’m running, while I’m cooking dinner. When I’m reading, I REwrite. Same when I’m watching TV [...]

Yesterday I moaned about people being too scared to say something. Today, before I’d even had a chance to change into my good tracksuit pants, I saw three examples of people who weren’t. Example 1 – Engaging copywriting The first comes from the glamorous and genuine Lisa Davis. (She’s an SEO developer for Lined Media, [...]

Earlier today, a friend sent me a link to this video, showing Australia’s Opposition Leader acting like a rabbit in the headlights. (I’ve skipped to the end, but the whole video is worth watching.) Don’t get me wrong. I know this isn’t new in politics; I’m not commenting on politics, per se. But it got [...]

This isn’t a discussion about long-form copy. It’s about whether long articles / posts are more memorable, more noteworthy and more link-worthy. I say yes. Actually, I say YES YES YES! Sure, you can whip through a few short pieces and tell yourself you’ve consumed your obligatory content for the day. But how much of [...]

I received an email this morning: “Hi Glenn, before i buy, is your seo copywriting book updated re panda? The table of contents looks fab and I am sure its useful but am wondering, is this book updated, given all the changes about organic content since Panda? Thanks” Now I’ve been pretty quiet on the [...]

I’ve been talking recently with some fellow copywriters about project management. Specifically, how we track time, jobs and contacts. Being the system-addicted geek I am, I had a few things to say on the matter. Here’s what… Firstly, for a freelance copywriter, it’s all about time tracking. If you can’t track your time easily and [...]