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Joe Lackey
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Sep 22, 2021

Copywriters: Stay away from “the best.”

Thinking, they say, is generally a good thing. — Thinking, they say, is generally a good thing. We think about. We think of. We think through. Or at least we should. When I see “the best” used to describe a product or service, I see the work of a copywriter who not only failed to think through their claims…

Copywriting

2 min read

Copywriters: Stay away from “the best.”
Copywriters: Stay away from “the best.”

Jun 3, 2021

“There are no dull products, only dull writers.”

Wise words from the GOAT himself. — Wise words from the GOAT himself. David Ogilvy — the advertising brainiac who catapulted the sales of Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz, Guinness, Dove, and Pepperidge Farm into the stratosphere virtually overnight — wrote that sentence in 1983 after nearly 40 years in the business. Yet the truth in it hasn’t swayed one…

Copywriting

2 min read

“There are no dull products, only dull writers.”
“There are no dull products, only dull writers.”

Apr 16, 2021

The most overlooked way to write conversationally (and how Cormac McCarthy does it so well)

Spoken language doesn’t always follow the rules. — Spoken language doesn’t always follow the rules. Your conversations don’t sound as if you’re reading an academic paper or giving a political speech. But then again, would you even want them to? No. And neither would your friends, because if you did, you wouldn’t have any. That’s because spoken language…

Writing

2 min read

The most overlooked way to write conversationally (and how Cormac McCarthy does it so well)
The most overlooked way to write conversationally (and how Cormac McCarthy does it so well)

Mar 17, 2021

What your spam folder can teach you about writing email subject lines

There’s no shortage of content on how to write email subject lines. — There’s no shortage of content on how to write email subject lines. But imagine learning how to dunk and not watching Vince Carter, learning how to throw and not watching Tom Brady, or learning how to punch and not watching Mike Tyson. That’s sort of what’s going on here. Because…

Writing

4 min read

What your spam folder can teach you about writing email subject lines
What your spam folder can teach you about writing email subject lines

Mar 13, 2021

Be careful with those writing productivity hacks. Here’s why.

Writers suggest them often. “Turn off your WiFi.” “Get up at 5 AM.” “Use OmmWriter.” These writing productivity hacks are useful for some. But be careful with them. You might lose sight of what matters most. Don’t romanticize the process. Romanticizing the process, as fun as it may be, shines less light on the…

Writing

2 min read

Be careful with those writing productivity hacks. Here’s why.
Be careful with those writing productivity hacks. Here’s why.

Mar 6, 2021

24 extraordinarily well-written sentences in classic American literature

Let’s dig in  —  in no order or rank. — Let’s dig in — in no order or rank. 1. Harriet Beecher Stowe, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” “Tom had often caught glimpses of this little girl, — for she was one those busy, tripping creatures, that can be no more contained in one place than a sunbeam or a summer breeze, — nor was she one that, once…

Writing

4 min read

24 extraordinarily well-written sentences in classic American literature
24 extraordinarily well-written sentences in classic American literature

Mar 4, 2021

The simplest, most obvious way to practice writing. (Hint: You already do it every day.)

You’re gonna feel silly when I tell you what it is. — You’re gonna feel silly when I tell you what it is. That’s because you already do it every day. And if you’re the average Millennial, you spend 48 minutes a day doing it. It’s texting. Good ol’ texting. Some folks at Yale think that it’s turning youngsters into bad writers. …

Writing

3 min read

The simplest, most obvious way to practice writing. (Hint: You already do it every day.)
The simplest, most obvious way to practice writing. (Hint: You already do it every day.)

Feb 28, 2021

3 ways to write conversationally and follow grammar rules at the same time

It’s a slippery slope. — It’s a slippery slope. You split the infinitive, because not doing so is an “outdated rule,” yet you use periods, because you don’t want run-on sentences. You dangle the modifier, because that’s “how people talk,” yet you force awkward sentences, because you don’t want to end them with prepositions. What…

Writing

4 min read

3 ways to write conversationally and follow grammar rules at the same time
3 ways to write conversationally and follow grammar rules at the same time

Feb 10, 2021

Want to write like Hemingway? Read Anne Frank.

Nothing, it seems, would bring together a lion-hunting, plane crash-surviving, deep sea-fishing World War 1 vet and an annex-hiding… — Nothing, it seems, would bring together a lion-hunting, plane crash-surviving, deep sea-fishing World War 1 vet and an annex-hiding, marble-collecting, diary-keeping 13-year-old Jewish girl. Nothing except writing. Writing is the only galaxy in which Ernest Hemingway, the novelist who gave manliness a name, stands shoulder to shoulder (or shoulder to…

Writing

5 min read

Want to write like Hemingway? Read Anne Frank.
Want to write like Hemingway? Read Anne Frank.

Feb 7, 2021

3 things copywriters can learn from technical writers (and vice versa)

One sells, the other instructs. One calls to action, the other describes an action. One wants persuadability, the other wants usability. — Copywriters and technical writers. One sells, the other instructs. One calls to action, the other describes an action. One wants persuadability, the other wants usability. Despite having different goals, methods, and styles, these writers can and should still learn from each other.

Writing

4 min read

3 things copywriters can learn from technical writers (and vice versa)
3 things copywriters can learn from technical writers (and vice versa)
Joe Lackey

Joe Lackey

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