If only my brain were pregnant.

February 8th, 2010

You know how everyone makes all the usual jokes about pregnancy and food cravings? Pickles and ice cream will always be hilarious, but these cravings are a serious force to be reckoned with. If I could bottle them, I’d be rich.

I remember distinctly a feeling of almost possession when I was craving something. Like the baby was calling for protein and my stomach wanted carbs and my bones wanted calcium and my mouth wanted butter and salt – so I ended up eating dark sourdough toast with a 1/4 stick of butter, feta cheese and smoked salmon, sprinkled with jalapeno stuffed green olives. Ah, satisfaction.

And who was I but the vehicle, the deliverer of the goods? None of it was my doing – not the urges, not the recipe development, nuthin’. And it works, right? The body calls, we give it what it needs and wowza, we make a baby. Another human being. How magnificent!

Today, I was trying to write a piece for a client and I was thinking – I wish different parts of my brain would activate like my pregnant body. (FYI, this next part is actually biologically correct. Ha! You do have to be a brain surgeon to run a blog!!!)

My hindbrain would call for the smooth flow of muscle function so that I could type and sit up straight,
my limbic system would insist on emotion and sense memory,
and my neocortex would demand exciting verbs and perfect wordage.

And I’d just sit there at my computer on autopilot spewing viciously remarkable prose until at last I had created a glorious final draft from what was once just a blank page. To the writer? Yes, it’s just as magnificent a feat as the production of a baby. Plus, good copy doesn’t whine or spill milk and it pays for itself. Now that’s a thing of beauty.

Image credit: Bob Fornal

Filed under Critical Copywriting, Writing | Tags: brain food, content creation, copywriting, craving, creation, permission marketing, pregnancy, Writing | Comments (9)

My favorite way to find content

July 25th, 2009

So I’m talking to Chris Ming Ryan – he’s a video and content guy, and we live in the same blogging and social media world. We’re throwing ideas back and forth about a project we’re thinking about doing, and discussing life on this web in general. All of what he says is good, and then, he says something great.

And suddenly he hears what he’s said. And he exclaims, ‘Oh my god, that’s a post! I’ve gotta go! I’ve gotta go!’

He was only half kidding. Maybe a third. And we got off the phone pretty much right away.

Talk about what you do, talk about your industry, your goals, how you work – with someone that doesn’t know you or doesn’t know your area of expertise. When you talk to someone like that, you’ll be driven to think of new ways to explain or illustrate your thoughts. Have a pen and paper or keyboard handy.

You think all day, you might write all day – but how often do you talk about your usual topics? (Especially if you’re a freelancer or a solopreneur.) The three practices are very different and create quite different results.

Try it. Pick a topic. Think about it for an hour – see what you get. Write about it for an hour – see what you get. Talk about it (in conversation) for an hour – see what you get.

When you employ all three brilliant modes, your ideas – and your post content – will expand. Hey, it might even triple.

Image credit: Nikita Kashner

Filed under Blogging, How To, The Business | Tags: blog content, content, content creation, new ideas, Writing | Comment (0)

Too many copywriters in the typing pool?

July 23rd, 2009

I subscribe to Copyblogger. I’m a fan of Brian Clark’s and I usually like the posts on the site…but lately, well, I’m seeing a theme and it’s making me a little queasy.

The fact that some people write blog posts ‘to sell’ makes sense. If you study the last month (at least) of postage on Copyblogger, ‘what the people want’ would be clear: they want to know how to be good copywriters, how to make their copy sell, how to get a lot of copywriting work. Here are a few recent post titles:

From these titles, a few conclusions can be drawn:

1. A lot of people are trying to be copywriters, but are failing.

2. The copywriter market is saturated.

Of course everyone doesn’t succeed, so #1 has to hold some truth. Add to that this scramble for ‘how to make it work’ information.

But, I’m very interested in #2.

When I started my business several years ago, I was one of a very small number of copywriters in my local area. I think there were three or four others. Note: you couldn’t turn around without bumping into a web designer.

Now go on Twitter, or even to Google, and search for a copywriter – there are a bazillion. Oddly, while the pool of prospective work has grown dramatically because of the Internet and social media, the chances of standing out in the crowd and getting hired have decreased. (The Reversal Theory strikes again, eh Dad?)

So, why are these ‘how to succeed’ posts making me queasy? I think it’s the desperation. And the lack of interest in the writing. The vision in my head is of millions of freaked out people trying to make it up the side of a cliff in order to make a buck.

And now I’m laughing at myself because the next logical step here is to make a list of things you can do to stand out…but then this would be one of those posts too. So, I’ll resist…unless any of you ask me for my version of that list. Because whether or not you’re trying to sell something or not, your blog should aim to give your audience what it needs and wants to hear, what they respond to and what they crave.

Although…there is one thing that’s been gnawing at my brain, a possible solution to lift ourselves out of the crowded copywriter pool. I’m still stirring the pot on this one, but when the soup’s done – you’ll be the first to know.

Image credit: mhaithaca