On the craft

Most copy fails for the same reasons. The reader wasn’t specific enough, the argument wasn’t earned, the brief described the product and forgot the person buying it. These posts are about how that happens and what to do instead.

Craft

17 Feb 20256 min read

What Makes Copy Feel Human

The tells aren't in the word choice. The disease is that the copy has no point of view. It hedges. It presents both sides. A good writer knows when the qualifier is cowardice.

3 Feb 20257 min read

Why Copywriters Still Study Ogilvy

Ogilvy sold. That's the part people forget when they cite him for craft. He cared about words because words sold things. Not because he had a romantic attachment to language.

20 Jan 20255 min read

Clichés: Why They Kill Credibility

A cliché is a thought that used to mean something. These phrases became clichés because they were once good: concrete, visual, specific. Then they got used until the image wore off.

Methodology

10 Feb 20258 min read

The Psychology of Desire: Eugene Schwartz's Framework

Schwartz's central insight: you don't create desire. You channel it. The desire already exists. Your job is to connect what you're selling to what the reader already wants.

27 Jan 20256 min read

Persona Development: Why the Brief Starts With the Reader, Not the Product

The brief says: target audience: women 25-45, urban, household income $75K+. That's not a person. That's a census category. You can't write to a census category.