copywriting

Copywriting Counsel from an Unbearable Campaign

A version of this story on Copywriting Counsel from an Unbearable Campaign appeared in Total Annarchy, my fortnightly newsletter that helps you be a better writer, storyteller, marketer. Get it in your inbox; you’ll love it. * * * Fall 2020 has been dominated by a contentious, polarizing, absolutely gutting election—where one plumped-up challenger seeks to unseat an overstuffed incumbent. Social media has been taking sides (it always does)—adamant that their candidate is the most qualified. The most skilled. The only logical choice, you idiot. I’m talking, of course, about Fat Bear Week. Fat Bear Week is the annual competition that seeks an answer to the question: Which brown bear at Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve is the fattest?  The single-elimination tournament pits bear against bear. Voters online choose the one they think has packed on the most pounds to prepare for the coming winter’s hibernation. This is not a body-shaming; it’s […]

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Pumpkin Spice Couches: A Case Study in the Power of Copywriting

A version of this story on the Power of Copywriting appeared in Total Annarchy, my fortnightly newsletter that helps you be a better writer, storyteller, marketer. Get it in your inbox; you’ll love it. * * * How do you sell two used couches upholstered in the exact, unfortunate color of the poop emoji? 💩 That had been my challenge since last weekend, when I swapped out the two brown couches in our Maine cottage for a smart, gray, sofa-and-loveseat duo with a mid-century modern vibe. Maybe it was my imagination… but they seemed a little cocksure, that trim mid-century pair, sliding efficiently into spots once occupied by their dumpy, dung-colored cousins. (The old brown couches ended up against the far wall, looking… I don’t know… forlorn? I would say they reminded me of two old dogs watching their family welcome a new pup… but that would be ridiculous, wouldn’t

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