In which I pick on some of Medium’s top writers — In a recent article, one of Medium’s mega-writers wrote a passionate takedown of the idea that writers need a writing niche to succeed. It is well-written, logically presented, and clearly heartfelt. You’ll find other writers here and elsewhere who are also niche-deniers. But being a cranky old veteran ad man…

Do you have questions about what copywriting is and isn’t? I have answers. — As a longtime copywriter and creative director, over the years, countless people have asked me to share the facts about copywriting as a career or lucrative side gig. I’m happy to do that; before you consider any career, it’s important to know the nut-and-bolts basics of the craft (or is…

Without a good brief, you’re headed for grief. — If you set off on a journey to a friend’s house with no clue where you’re heading, your chance of successfully getting there is the same as your chance of stumbling into a swamp. You’d be crazy even to try, right? But that is precisely what thousands — maybe hundreds…

Listen up, this is the most important thing i’ve learned in my writing career — Over the last 30+ years, I have worked continuously as a freelance writer and as a writer/creative director in advertising and marketing agencies. I’ve written for big multinationals and tiny local clients. …

The most powerful advice about the most important words you write — Perhaps the most quoted line from marketing legend David Ogilvy’s book Ogilvy on Advertising: “On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.” He meant that literally when…

If you write, you’d be crazy not to learn to be a copywriter — Writing professionally has never been what you would call a stable career. A few writing superstars stoke the dreams of untold millions of us with the itch to create and express ourselves. (To be widely read, quoted, and showered with money wouldn’t be bad either.) The wide-awake truth is that…

Hollywood is High on Coke (and Other Almost-Subliminal Sponsors) — No spoilers here but there are some mind-boggling mysteries in season four of Stranger Things: ominous grandfather clocks, spider-infested everything, a Kate Bush song awakened from a decades-long gentle slumber. There is no mystery, however, about why so many Coke products and JIF Peanut Butter jars need to be involved…