The Copywriting Maven

I’ve been a long-time supporter of Planned Parenthood (no mail, please.) As such I get the usual constant flutter of direct mail appeals. Recently, I got two differing packages and said to myself, “Aha, they’re doing some testing.”
I thought it might be fun to compare the envelope teaser and headline and invite you to comment [...]

Don’t send nuthin’ until you read this marvelous post by Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies (a book I recommend!). Her post, Trash Talk & Delete Buttons: A Candid Letter from Your Prospective Customer is a clear call to copywriters, marketing managers and sales people to remember the person and his/her environment [...]

One of the items that are drilled into our sometimes thick copywriter heads is the importance of believability. It’s a fine line we walk between wanting to make our product/service appear exciting and unique and the to-be-avoided-at-all-costs, exaggerated fabrication where we whip ourselves into a frothing frenzy and leave reality behind.
I doubt that most copywriters [...]

During my time at the AWAI Bootcamp last week, I had the opportunity to hear many top-notch copywriters talk about their craft and their approaches to getting started on a new project. Mike Palmer and Paul Hollingshead offered a different and really quite brilliant idea to help you get off the dime quickly.
Deconstruct a great [...]

Several months ago I wrote about a Capital One direct mail package I received that included an intriguing rectangle of bubble wrap whose sole purpose was to up the prospect’s curiosity enough to open the envelope and perhaps even read its contents.
Well, it must have worked because I’ve received the same package again, including the [...]