Copywriting

Categories

Guessing VS Explaining With Data

By Tom Ruwitch

I saw something on the TV news this morning that annoyed me. (What else is new?) Iā€™m sharing this with you not to spread the annoyance, but rather to deliver a business lesson. The news headline: The number of asylum-seekers reaching the Mexico-US border has decreased over the last few months. The analysis: Supporters of…

Read More

Fearing Gmail Promotions

By Tom Ruwitch

My favorite marketing forum lit up yesterday when someone complained about Gmail putting the emails he sends into the ā€œPromotionsā€ folder. Several years ago, Gmail introduced folders (ā€œtabsā€) to organize incoming email into four categories: Primary, Social, Promotions and Updates. Most marketing emails sent through third-party software land in the Promotions folder. Yesterday, an unhappy…

Read More

Capture a Prospect’s Imagination

By Tom Ruwitch

My friend Richard Terry asked me to help him with some marketing copy. Heā€™d heard one of my presentations recently, and he thought he might benefit from my expertise. We met earlier today, and hereā€™s what I told himā€¦ …Richard, you donā€™t need my help. I was honored he asked. I welcome new business. I…

Read More

Great Cold-Call Email

By Tom Ruwitch

I was planning to send a different email to you today.  …until I checked my inbox this morning and opened one of the best cold-call emails Iā€™ve ever received. I wanted to share it with you because itā€™s sooooo good and you can learn so much from it. It begins: ā€œHey Tom, Curious if you’re…

Read More

Wisdom Teeth Dummy

By Tom Ruwitch

When I was a dumb kid, I feared my IQ would drop if I had my wisdom teeth pulled. I was over that by the time I was 19 and dating Kathy. She had her wisdom teeth pulled the summer we dated. She couldnā€™t stand the pain. I suggested she rinse with warm salt water.…

Read More

Borrowing Email Lists Greitens Etc.

By Tom Ruwitch

The meeting went off the rails when I asked, ā€œHow are you going to build your email list?ā€ The nonprofit executive director replied, ā€œWeā€™re going to borrow lists from some other nonprofits we partner with.ā€ ā€œI recommend against that,ā€ I said. ā€œBut we do that all the time with direct (postal) mail,ā€ she said. I…

Read More

Red Delicious Apple

By Tom Ruwitch

The last time I ate a Red Delicious apple, I thought, ā€œHmmm. ā€˜Red Delicious?ā€™ Thatā€™s half-true. Red? Yes. Delicious? Not so muchā€™?ā€ Bad texture. Bland taste. All beauty. No substance. How can something so pretty and shiny be so terrible? I discovered the nasty secret in thisĀ great articleĀ in The Atlantic. Reds used to be delicious.…

Read More

Dump the Grammar Guide

By Tom Ruwitch

Back in high school I had a basketball coach who didnā€™t win any spelling bees or grammar contests. Once, after we failed to run the play he called during practice, he stormed onto the court, screaming: ā€œJeez, yous guys! Donā€™t you know the American language!?ā€ Smart-ass kids that we were, we used to mock Coach…

Read More