Jesse Wisnewski

Want a Unique Writing Style? Misuse the Software

June 23, 2015 by Demian Farnworth 9 Comments

My new favorite podcast is Song Exploder.

According to the tag line, it is “a podcast where musicians take apart their songs, and piece by piece, tell the story of how they were made.”

The best episode in my opinion (and I think in many) is the one where John Roderick (singer and songwriter for The Long Winters) deconstructs his haunting piece “The Commander Thinks Aloud.”

However, the episode that concerns us is “Plastic Soul” by YACHT. (I love the ALL CAPS.)

Claire and Jona from YACHT describe the song as a fun neo-disco piece about human suffering (that’s certainly one way to think about it) inspired by technology and French disco singer Amanda Lear.

But I’m not so much concerned even about the song. [Read more…]

Will People Trust Your Copy If You Ignore Their Objections?

June 18, 2015 by Demian Farnworth 2 Comments

Even in a beautiful language like French, “no” still hurts.

But objections are a simple fact of the business life. They’re like octopus tentacles — everyone has at least eight of them.

Of course this is perfectly natural. Most potential customers are primed NOT to spend money and stiff-arm sales copy.

And the reasons why they may object are just as numerous: [Read more…]

The 10 Best Rough Draft Shows (So Far)

June 16, 2015 by Demian Farnworth 7 Comments

Online readers are a surly bunch.

Mean, lazy, and stupid.

I mean that in the best possible way, mind you. And, naturally, I lump myself into that group.

See, when it comes to reading online, everyone is mean, lazy, and stupid. Makes you wonder if there’s something wrong with anyone who chooses a career as web writer.

The origin behind that harsh designation, though, is interesting. It’s how New York University philosophy professor Jim Pryor suggests his students view their readers.

His reasoning? It forces the writer to write clear, concise, and compelling copy.

Which is what my podcast, Rough Draft, is all about. In just a few minutes a day I deliver essential writing advice you need to succeed online, four days a week.

But unlike most business podcasts (where interviews rule the roost) Rough Draft is a monologue.

It’s just you, me, and 15 years of experience working with top brands like KISSmetrics, Salesforce, Hubspot, and, of course, Copyblogger (where I am Chief Content Writer).

Tomfoolery included. [Read more…]

A Silly Primer on Search Engines (for Web Writers)

June 11, 2015 by Demian Farnworth 3 Comments

Listen to this article here: How Search Engines Work Part One and Part Two.

How do people find things on the web? Search engines.

Google, as you probably know, is the dominate search name. There’s also this thing called Bing. Then smaller boutique search engines that specialize in narrow fields. Academic, medical.

The job of a search engine like Google is to find content that matches your query (the question you are asking):

How far is the earth from the sun?
Who is the leader singer of Led Zeppelin?
What is a freemason?

The better it can match your question to a good answer, the better the user experience. [Read more…]

5 Reasons Why You Should Use the 5 W’s When Writing Online Photo Captions

June 8, 2015 by Demian Farnworth

Editor’s note: This article was first published on April 20, 2011 — the very first article published on The Copybot.

Who. Where. When. Why. What. The 5 W’s.

Originally used as a method of Bible study in the late 1880s, journalists eventually adopted the 5 W’s method to write newspaper leads.

By 1917, it was a staple of journalism — taught in high-school classes. In the 40s, it was considered old-fashioned. [Read more…]

10 Copywriting Books You Must Read

June 6, 2015 by Demian Farnworth Leave a Comment

I don’t care who you are — blogger, freelance journalist, ghost writer, ad copywriter — if you are writing on the web then you need to absorb copywriting mechanics.

There are two ways to get to that point: learning and practicing. I can’t help you with the practicing part. You just simply need to write … and keep on writing. But I can help you with the education part.

10 copywriting books you must read

What follows are the 10 books from the legends of direct response. Two are more recent than the others (and Influence is not technically direct response). These are the books I would demand you read if teaching a ground-level course on writing for the web since so many principles of direct response copywriting obey the unbreakable law of the web. [Read more…]

Want Powerful People to Notice You? Be Useful

June 1, 2015 by Demian Farnworth 5 Comments

We all start at the bottom. In the dark. Ignored.

Even high profile people like James Chartrand, Erika Napoletano, Stefanie Flaxman, Bernadette Jiwa, and Belle Beth Cooper were once nobodies.

What did they do to climb out of that hole? They got noticed by powerful people. But not through flattery.

The mistake most people make when it comes to trying to get the attention of powerful people is to shell out compliments and praise. Through email or in person at a conference, say.

Trust me, powerful people like compliments and praise, but it’s momentary, shallow, and fails to make a lasting impression.

There is a better way. [Read more…]

How Web Writers Can Improve Their Copy with White Space

May 22, 2015 by Demian Farnworth 4 Comments

I want you to imagine a statue. An aged bronze sculpture of a young girl, possibly eight years old, in a long dress. She stands about 50 inches, so roughly four feet tall.

Her head is cocked to the left, a pensive, sad look on her face. Both elbows are pinned to her side and her forearms stretch upward, her palms open to the sky, a bowl in each hand.

As if she is feeding the birds. [Read more…]