What makes you great at copywriting? Dancing like Mary Wear.

Until my recent conversation with Mary Wear, I always associated writing with music. When the beats and rhythms of the sentences sing the story forward, I know the writing’s done — music is my measure of accomplishment. But Mary comes down from the bandstand and onto the dance floor with her audience. ‘Copywriting is “persuasion […]

What makes you great at copywriting? Three words from Barbara Nokes.

‘Edit, edit, edit’. That’s Barbara’s advice to copywriters, ‘people today simply don’t have time for long copy.’ We could stop this post right here then. You’ve got the theme of it. It’s valuable advice straight from the mouth of one of British advertising’s great copywriters; the one who created classic campaigns for Volkswagen, Levi’s, Audi […]

What makes you great at copywriting? Ripping yarns a la Susie Henry.

There’s nothing Susie Henry likes more than a ‘jolly good natter’ as she puts it. Give her a garden fence and she’ll be leaning over it to spellbind us with yet another tale true and telling. Susie Henry learnt her trade from the greats, David Abbott and Bill Bernbach, living and breathing the Bernbach philosophy […]

What makes you great at copywriting? Mantras by John Bevins.

One of the most important steps toward greatness in anything you do is to work with the greats. Get their feedback. Take their advice. And most importantly, see how they do what they do. But for most of us, such encounters of the third kind are not so possible. Last week I made this possible […]

What makes you great at copywriting? A touch of David Abbott.

“His copy was easier to read than to ignore, so enticing was every next sentence.” “His school of fine persuasive writing is as convincing on a tablet as it was in the tabloids.” “He had a warmth and an understanding of the better parts of the human psyche and so did not insult their [the […]