Take a Lesson (or 36) from Don

Just came across this fantastic infographic from Joanna Wiebe and Copy Hackers. I got a lot out of Mad Men, but it's wonderful to have the copywriting lessons all assembled in one place! Now I need to go rewatch the whole series.

Courtesy of: Copy Hackers

Not Good Enough

Today, in two separate publications, I read about two different writers I admire being given the same advice: "You're not good enough for writer's block."

The first was Pete Hamill, author of Forever (think Highlander, not Judy Blume) and A Drinking Life, among other works. It was actually "You're not important enough for writer's block," and according to today's Writer's Almanac, was told to Hamill by a friend before he wrote his first novel. (I also learned that Hamill was not only friends with Bobby Kennedy but was present at Kennedy's assassination and helped tackle the shooter. I love Writer's Almanac.)

The second was Cal McAllister, founder and executive creative director of Wexley School for Girls, an agency I've had a crush on for ages. In an interview in today's Communication Arts, McAllister talks about his Creative Circus advisor giving him this advice. In a different interview, last year for Seattle Creative Mornings, he says this advice taught him to be "tireless and humble."

I haven't posted for awhile because I haven't thought up anything super smart or creative lately. My husband and I are buying a house and it's my first mortgage experience, so I've been letting myself off the hook as mentally exhausted.

But I'm not good enough to be too exhausted to write. I have to practice and I have to spew words until my fingertips are bruised from banging the keyboard. Practice, hone, be tireless and humble. And write.

Thanks, Pete and Cal. I needed the reminder that I'm not good enough…yet.

The importance of being clever.

Clever headlines often fail, according to KISSmetrics (and those who edit my copy). If users don't understand your meaning immediately, they're going to click away or skim past your headline.

I freely admit that my reluctance to adhere to this advice stems from my persistent self-absorption. I inherently know that I'm the most important person, so I tend to write to myself, to consider myself the quintessential user. Of course I know I'm not really the most important person or the user in question, but in my heart it's really hard to get away from that belief. Call it narcissism, call it what you will.

This is one of the reasons why collaboration (read: goofing off with colleagues) is so important. Write down all the clever you can. Go nuts and go a little too far with it. Share your cleverness with anyone and everyone who will listen (but be careful not to bore your co-workers with your own genius, please).

Then put clever to bed. Get a fresh page and write down the driest, most boring headlines you can come up with. State the obvious. This isn't an opportunity talk down to the audience, even in jest; rather, just say it like it is. Selling crackers? Write "Buy our crackers."

I'd advise you to sleep on it now, if you can. I often dream about work I'm doing. (These used to be nightmares of waitressing in an endless dark dining room with unhappy customers and no pen, but now that I'm doing what I love they're usually just my brain working on an idea.)

In the morning, with a fresh cup of coffee, look at both pages side by side. Clever will have lost its tug, and you can now see some of the gems buried within even the most asinine of headline spoofs. Bring these over to the matter-of-fact language that describes where you need to go, and you may find yourself with something truly valuable.