Give your company a voice
I’m often asked whether a word should start with a capital letter. Yes, we all know that sentences always start with a capital letter but what about other words mid-sentence where the answer doesn’t seem as cut and dried?
If you’re confused, it’s for a good reason. While some capitalisations are logical, many are not. Some are consistent throughout the language while others are arbitrary, differing from country to country and even from one newspaper to another!
For those of a certain age, it has long been the failsafe gesture of the restaurant diner who wants to pay. But, in a sign of these digital times, the exaggerated air scribble is on its way out. Its demise is due to a younger generation who have never had to sign anything to settle a bill.
As a copywriter, it’s important for me to keep up with communication trends so my writing is relevant and relatable.
2020 has seen a growth in sales of surveillance technology. What happened to trust between employer and employee?
With the US elections on the horizon, victory could hinge on which side’s slogan is the best. Elections really can be won or lost on the basis of a snappy slogan. Think of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” in 2016 or, closer to home, the Tories’ “Labour isn’t working” poster in 1979.
According to a new book on American presidential slogans called ‘Words to Win By’, election slogans work best when they are clear,
Don’t be afraid of giving instructions when you write.
At a time when many of us are searching for ways to pivot our businesses in the COVID-19 era, this killer idea enables the dead to dish the dirt.
Bill Edgar, a former private investigator has pivoted his business to become a ‘coffin confessor’, gatecrashing the funerals of Australia’s wealthy to reveal secrets the departed want finally to be told in front of relatives and friends.
For decades, one of Bill Edgar’s clients let his family believe that their riches stemmed from his skills as an astute businessman.
Did you know that today’s teens increasingly see the use of full stops in online communications as being abrupt, angry or passive-aggressive?
Do you automatically lapse into stiff, formal business-speak when you write? Here are some tips to help you keep it personal and communicate in a warm and friendly tone of voice.
Write using active verbs, rather than a passive tone of voice, and your copy will have much more zing. And once you’ve got the hang of it, writing in an active voice will quickly become second nature.
How? It’s all about the way a sentence fits together. Here’s the grammar bit so bear with me here. There are typically three main parts to every sentence:
When writing, possibly the most important advice is to keep it simple. The urge to pack too much information into a single sentence can be irrestible. Yet, according to the Plain English Campaign, sentences should ideally be between 15 and 20 words for readability.
Admittedly, this is easier said than done. (If you just checked the wordcount of the sentences in my first paragraph, you’ll know they only just scrape in!)
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