I wrote recently about how an inane email subject line from Paypal irritated me and put me off opening it. Here’s a very different approach which actually worked for me. Because it made me think the email content would be easy, undemanding, but informative.
More on email subject lines: making it easy
March 30th, 2012How to alienate your customers: pretend to be their friend
February 25th, 2012When brands have to fight to get our attention, there’s an increasing danger that they use the wrong tone and overstep the line, achieving precisely the opposite effect of the one they were aiming for.
Sharpen those essential writing skills
January 6th, 2012The first of a new series of our training days takes place in Falmouth on 22 February 2012. It’s an intensive training in writing more clearly, more persuasively and more creatively, designed for anyone who needs to write well as part of their job. And judging from the feedback from other courses I’ve run, it’s certainly helpful.
The dangers of using your own judgement (when it comes to email subject lines)
October 5th, 2011The fact is that sometimes research can give you evidence that goes right against your own instincts. Here’s an example that surprised me.
Bad spelling costs money
July 27th, 2011So it turns out spelling mistakes can put people off buying from a website. In fact they can halve the number of purchases people make.
Rupert Murdoch and the problem of sincerity in copywritten copy
July 18th, 2011The ad that News Corporation placed in British newspapers at the weekend was intriguing. It posed as a letter from Rupert Murdoch but read like what I call copywritten copy. Like something carefully composed, calculated, tuned and polished by a professional writer. Indeed, by a writer used to selling things.
What’s in a name?
May 28th, 2011Finding a resonant name for an organisation or product is a powerful marketing tool. It can position you, attract attention, define your target audience and help establish your values and attitude. But only if it’s not a lie. Read the rest of this entry »
Want to improve your marketing writing skills?
May 3rd, 2011What makes the difference between a clumsy, confusing piece of writing you stop reading halfway through and one that grabs you? The innate skill of the writer?
A big part of it is down to the techniques the writer is using. And you can learn those techniques.
Which email newsletter box got 122% more people signing up?
March 9th, 2011OK, a quick test of your instincts for how users respond online. A test that the vast majority of people failed, revealing how counterintuitive usability can sometimes be.
We have two different versions of a sign-up box for email updates, the kind of thing most the ecommerce sites in the world have. And the kind of thing most ecommerce sites would love to double the number of people clicking on.
Here they are:
