Copywriting
I’m on the train from Paris to Frankfurt, winding down my vacation and catching up on email… …and wondering what I’m going to send you and my other subscriber friends today. Lo and behold, the very first email I read contains a little gem of a story that’s just the kind of tale worth sharing…
Last month, an accomplished, intelligent business woman named Brooke told me I make her grimace. And good golly, Miss Molly, that made me feel warm and fuzzy all over. Once upon a time, I might have sulked if someone put “Tom Ruwitch” and “grimace” in the same sentence – especially a female someone. But not…
A new-ish subscriber named Dave chimed in yesterday with high praise and… …a complaint. “I love your emails, but I cannot keep up with them, as they come so often.” Ahhhh…the give-and-take of daily-ish, info-taining emails. You love them, but they’re…ummmm…too much of a good thing. Dave continues… “I don’t want to jump off your…
In yesterday’s email, I told you how Jack Turk quit his job at Microsoft to become a party magician and, later, “The World’s Fastest Copywriter.” Last night, over cocktails at the hotel bar in Baltimore, I learned the story behind that story. Our new friend Al asked Jack, “Why’d you quit your job at Microsoft?” …
On his 50th birthday, Jack Turk marched into his boss’s office at Microsoft and quit his job as a game writer and project manager. So began his career as a… …party magician. (Holy Pay Cut, Batman!) Now, instead of getting a regular paycheck from Bill Gates, Jack was clawing for gigs, fighting to earn a…
Wow! I touched a nerve this week when I asked y’all about list building (here’s the email in case you missed it). So many questions from aspiring list-builders… …including this one (which was similar to several I received): “What can one say that would make someone feel ‘I must subscribe right away?’” I visited her…
In a couple of hours, I’ll be a speaker at a live business seminar. The topic: Email list building. As I put the finishing touches on my presentation, I thought, “This is good stuff. Good enough to include in a course.” And so was born my idea to create a short course on lead generation…
Got this question from a client the other day: “Tom, how often should I sell in my emails?” He told me he’d read an article that suggested a 1:4 sales:storytelling ratio – one “sales email” for every four “storytelling emails.” “Is that the right ratio?” he asked. I hear that question often… …and mama always…
Remember Eddie Haskell? He was the guy on Leave it to Beaver (a TV classic!) who oozed insincerity. “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Cleaver. Isn’t it a lovely day,” he’d say to Beaver’s parents. And then, when the adults left the room, Eddie would wreak havoc. The sweet-talking devil. I had an Eddie Haskell flashback the other day. …
Rumor has it that some crafty marketers sprinkle typos and misspellings into their emails on purpose. The reason: Emails with typos and misspellings seem more personal and authentic — or so some claim. I get the idea. Typos and misspellings ARE common in “personal” emails. But I’m not into the fake-authenticity thing. When you see…