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Copywriting

The Oft-Confused Features And Benefits

If you’ve been a student of marketing for some time, then I’m sure you’ve heard of the saying: “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole.” That quote by Theodore Levitt is probably one of the most quoted passages in marketing in trying to explain the difference between features and […]

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Marketing

Are All Business People Dishonest?

Seems I’m ranting a lot these days, and a little more opinionated than the norm. Perhaps it’s my back problem, which is killing me, that’s making me more sensitive or irritable. I don’t know. But something someone recently said in my copywriters forum irritated me. And it’s not what this person said specifically, but the […]

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Interviews

Copywriting Legends Gary Halbert and John Carlton

In 2005, I held three rarely given teleseminars: a call with copywriting legends Gary Halbert and John Carlton, and a second follow-up call with Gary Halbert.

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Copywriting

The Seven Deadly Sins of Website Copy

Throughout my research, I’m always surprised when I stumble onto websites that are professionally designed and seem to offer great products and services, but lack or fail in certain important elements. Elements that, with just a few short changes, can help multiply the results almost instantaneously. Generally, I have found that there are seven common […]

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Copywriting

How to Make Your Name Memorable

Part of my job as a copywriter includes, from time to time, creating names for businesses, products, and services. Choosing a name may be the single, most important business decision you will ever make. We are constantly bombarded with marketing messages. Limited by people’s very short attention span, your marketing message has to be effective […]

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Copywriting

Copywriting Tips From Joe Valente

Freud on the Rebound So I’m clearing out some space on my shelves to make a little room for hiding presents (or as my wife, Heather, likes to call it, “Thinning out the collection of crap”) when my mind starts to wander. Now, this is not an unusual thing, because I’m a sentimentalist (a.k.a. “packrat”). […]