It’s no secret that in a world of instant gratification and quick fixes, people’s attention spans are shrinking. In fact, statistics now lead us to believe that our average attention span is now lower than a goldfish’s – but luckily we’ve got a couple of insider tricks to keep audiences glued to your content...
Read MoreDavid Ogilvy - the cooker, the Amish settler, the advert maker.
All great advertisers are born that way...or are they? David Ogilvy was a man known for his colourful temperament, formidable wisdom, but most of all for his lasting impression on the advertising world. He transformed advertising and copywriting from a disreputable business into a fast-paced industry full of passionate and powerfully creative minds. But even people at the top can have humble beginnings and they don’t come as far fetched as Ogilvy’s!
Read MoreReading is Believing: The Power of Repeating Messages
The first time you hear an annoying advertising jingle you say to yourself, “Argh… I hate these ads!” Second time, “How can anyone actually like this?” But after the fifth time, you suddenly catch yourself humming along during your daily commute.
Whether we like it or not, people are hardwired to fall for repetition in advertising copy. While the age of mobile Internet has introduced countless new channels for reaching consumers, the fundamentals of good copy haven’t changed. The more we see or hear something, the more we like it.
Read MoreTo cut a long story short, long copy isn’t dead!
When it comes to advertising and content marketing, copywriters are faced with a daily conundrum: short or long copy? No matter what the length, copy should resonate with your audiences. Don’t allow yourself to make decisions based around the mantra ‘the shorter the better’, because time and time again statistics prove otherwise. Did you stop to think perhaps your target audience might not want “big pictures” with ambiguous copy? There are times when short copy can result in miscommunication, misunderstanding and to put it quite simply, may miss the mark completely.
From a copywriter’s perspective we’re conditioned to love words. It’s built into our DNA - so of course we’re going to vouch for long copy! Take a gander at some of Wordsmith’s favourite long copy ads:
Read More7 Halloween Words That Will Chill Your Bones
We may not be wearing costumes or handing out candy in the office, but that doesn’t mean we don’t celebrate Halloween in our own wordy way. Creep down Wordsmith’s spine-tingling wordlist...if you dare...
Read MoreFor The Love Of Music
Every writer has a unique ritual for finding inspiration. For Benjamin Franklin it was "air bathing" in the nude; British author VS Pritchett favoured midday cocktails; and countless others swear by the power of an afternoon snooze. For those of us who don’t enjoy the luxuries of booze, naptimes or clothing-optional policies at the workplace, it may be worth your while to consider another effective option: music.
We all know that music soothes the savage beast, but how does it fare in the workplace? Plug in your earphones and try a few tunes from Wordsmith’s carefully curated playlist. The right music might be more beneficial than you realise…
Read MoreHow Daydreaming Helps The Writing Process
Daydreaming. Even the word itself encourages our minds to drift off. In a world where we’ve been conditioned to believe that daydreaming is for the lazy, bored and unproductive it’s understandable to think that it has no place in the working environment. Think again. Recent research shows that daydreaming increases creativity, stimulates your working memory and is an essential element for a healthy satisfying life, but what does this mean for writers?
Read MoreThe Quest For The Write Font
Every writer has their favourite font. Some edit with one and publish with another, while others remain dedicated to one font throughout their entire career. Like handwriting, people attribute certain personalities to fonts: Times New Roman (traditional), Helvetica (artsy) and Papyrus (new agey). Whereas despised fonts like Comic Sans and Curlz draw nothing but sneers. Choosing the right font to compel audiences may be trickier than you think, so let Wordsmith quell your doubts on the matter once and for all.
Read MoreThe Definitive Guide To Proper Apostrophe Usage
With the boom in content marketing, online copywriting and microcopy, grammar mistakes are creating more negative impact than ever - costing companies money, and even more importantly, clients. Once you click that tweet button, your mistakes are out in the wild… whether you like it or not.
No need to fret, we’ve got you covered with tips to avoid common grammatical blunders. Apostrophe misusage is a pet peeve here at Wordsmith HQ (we don’t get out much), so let’s take a closer look at the English language’s most horridly abused punctuation mark…
Read More3 Copywriting Lessons from Aristotle
As far back as 300BC Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle gave interesting insight into how to persuade audiences, and his lessons still stand true today.
Read MoreWhat Makes A Memorable Speech?
Your voice is quivering, you can’t deliver a joke to save your life and you’re on stage in 5 minutes. Before you pull that fire alarm, take a breather and remember that you’re not alone. According to studies, public speaking is people’s number one fear – surpassing even death. Even though gaining confidence is half the battle in public speaking, what’s to be said about the actual speech itself? Even the most successful orator’s words would fall flat without a compelling story or an interesting premise.
This is where we step in. Take a gander at Wordsmith’s top tips to make your speech stand out from the crowd.
Read MoreHow To Write Persuasive Copy
With people being bombarded by thousands of sales pitches every day, consumers are beginning to take writers’ claims with a pinch of salt. Audiences are becoming less inclined to believe every monotonous marketing jingle or call-to-action pop up ad. To be a skillful persuader you need to slip your messages beneath the radar of your readers.
Read MoreCopywriter Misconceptions
According to Merriam Webster’s dictionary, a copywriter is “someone whose job is to write the words for advertisements.” But we don’t just write advertisements – we also draft press releases, corporate communications, reports, speeches, video scripts, websites and copy for content marketing.
Whatever you do, please don’t confuse us with copyrighters – the legal types who charge princely fees to help you stamp © on everything. It’s a common mistake that even our closest friends and family make. So we thought it best to clear up a couple of misconceptions...
Read MoreWhat marketing moguls say about long copy.
Is short copy the way to go? Or is it “the more you tell, the more you sell”? It’s time to call in the experts’ verdicts on long copy.
Although it stands to reason that readers can only absorb short bits of information as they plod through a sea of daily advertisements, some of the biggest names in marketing swear by the effectiveness of a lengthier approach.
Read MoreMastering the Art of the Press Release
Your boss asks you to have that press release on his desk by Monday morning. The dread is building, your pulse is racing and you’ve packed your desk to bolt. Don’t jump the gun - we’re here to help with a few tips to help turn flat press releases into front-page material!
Read MoreWhat you will find on Wordsmith's bookshelf
Never trust a skinny chef – and never trust a writer who doesn’t love to read! Grab a cup of tea and curl up with one of these favourites from Wordsmith’s bookshelf…
Read More5 Grammar Mistakes even Copywriters Make!
Do you ever feel that your copy doesn’t look quite right? As writers, we often get so caught up in how the words sound that we forget about the grammar behind them.
Don’t make grammar an afterthought; it could be costing you a sale, a client, or even that next big promotion. According to BBC News, poor spelling and grammar are costing the UK millions of pounds every year in ecommerce revenue – in fact, a single grammatical error can slash online revenue by as much as 50%.
Take a glance at our top tips before you start writing that next blog post or article. Then polish your copy until it shines!
Read MoreThe psychology behind great copy
As copywriters, our ultimate goal is to help you sell your products, services and ideas. But when the average person is bombarded with 5,000 ads per day, breaking through the noise is no easy task.
The best copywriters in Hong Kong – and around the world – employ powerful psychological techniques to break through our “anti-marketing” defense mechanisms and speak directly to our unconscious minds.
Read on for a few insiders’ tips, and the reasons WHY we use them…
Read MoreInspirational Hong Kong Hot Spots for Writers
Hong Kong - the other city that never sleeps. Trying to find that writing oasis on your crumbling rooftop in Mongkok? Think again. Hong Kong is crammed full of idyllic lookouts and hidden cafe gems. Luckily for you we’ve pin pointed a couple of our favourites:
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