Entries by Matt Wright

Textspeak – the salvation of grammar

“All the research is showing, the more you text, the better your literacy skills will be” – Prof David Crystal, expert in linguistics

Gulp! What does that mean for the ‘older generation’ who do not possess triple-jointed thumbs and a black belt in predictive text? The Telegraph article quotes further from Prof Crystal’s address to a Literature Festival out in the Far East:

“People say young people don’t read and write any more. Have you seen a young person recently? They may not necessarily read…Shakespeare….or Dickens, but have you ever seen a teenager not reading? They’re reading all the time, texting all the time, online all the time.” read more read more

March 7, 2015 /0 Comments/by

Attention! 6 successful advertising styles

Funny how things come full circle. The old-age sandwich board encompasses everything we now advocate when writing new-age web copy:

=&0=&– a provacative heading, or a pithy strapline
=&1=& – you are restricted by size, probably to about 140 characters….now where do I recognise that number from?
=&2=& – be it ‘Come Inside’, or ‘Try this’, there is always a point to the sandwich board.

read more

February 27, 2015 /0 Comments/by
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The language of online love – copywriting

It won’t have escaped your attention that February comes embossed with hearts, ribbons, and pink bows….Valentine’s Day does indeed have a lot to answer for.

However, this blog concentrates solely upon the written word, and the growth in online dating sites has bred a whole new language which needs to be understood and decoded. Never has copywriting been so sexy!

Having trawled through numerous articles on the subject (purely in the interests of research), I’ve condensed ‘dating copywriting’ down to 3 not-so-basic rules: read more read more

February 18, 2015 /0 Comments/by
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How to write like Phillip Larkin…

OK, I’ll come clean and admit it – I like poetry….I really do.

That’s perhaps not an earth-shattering revelation for a middle-aged male, but for a teenager trying desperately to be cool it wasn’t really the done thing. Oh, and my favourite poet was Philip Larkin, a bald, bespectacled, rather morose-looking Hull librarian….like I said, not cool.

However, time and distance lend perspective and now, as a copywriter, I can revel in his genius and try to pass on some of his linguistic tricks. To be honest, they aren’t much use when it comes to writing website copy, which prizes brevity and simplicity, but it’s nice to aspire to something grander. read more read more

February 16, 2015 /2 Comments/by
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Personality Profiling & The Lasso of Truth

I must admit, I’m not much of a believer when it comes to profiling, apart from the one when the tv detective deduces that the killer is a left-handed Australian with crooked teeth and an Oedipus complex….all from an empty teacup. So, it was with some reluctance that I submitted myself to a Personality Profiling Exercise, undertaken by Simon at a networking group which I regularly attend.

The results were surprising:

THE GOOD STUFF read more

February 9, 2015 /0 Comments/by

5 top tips for writing a Press Release

5 top tips for writing a Press Release

    1. Tell people it’s a Press Release 

    The first words in the title line should read “Press Release : For immediate release”

    • This alerts the reader to the fact this is a Press Release, and hence there should be a story to follow
    • If they are not the right person to deal with Press Releases, they can instantly forward it on.

    Most Press Releases are for immediate action, but if not, indicate this clearly and give the date on which it should be actioned

    2.=&1=&

    Assuming the reader is the right person to deal with Press Releases, you have to attract and hold their attention. The title should inform the reader what the story will be about read more

February 9, 2015 /0 Comments/by

Girl Power – The new Spice Girls? – Advertising copy

OK, so there are 7 of them rather than the original 5, and the names might have to be tweaked a little, but Girl Power appears to be back in the UK, thanks to a new campaign set up by Sport England called ‘This Girl Can’.

And not just in the UK – over the weekend in the USA, ‘Like a Girl’ was the top-ranking advert at the Superbowl, playing on the stereotypes of what it means to be a girl, and how it can hinder confidence. read more

February 4, 2015 /0 Comments/by
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Obituaries – how to give life after death

How do you sum up a person’s life in a few paragraphs?

I pondered this thought recently following two very different funerals I attended back in December – one was for an old family friend in his 80’s, the other for a much younger friend, not even in his 40’s, who had passed away from cancer. The circumstances were very different, but the need to remember their lives in words remained the same.

I’ve jotted down a few practical pointers below, together with real-life obituary examples to give you a flavour of how good writing can elevate a sombre situation. read more read more

February 4, 2015 /0 Comments/by

General Election Year – the art of the personal put-down

The killer phrase, the career-ending image, the ultimate put-down – nowhere is this better evidenced than in politics. So, with a General Election looming in May 2015, does this mean we can expect to be indulged in modern-day witticisms from our ruling elite….erm, probably not.

Consider these modern-day insults:

  • “A congealed laminated weasel” (David Cameron)
  • “A plastic bag caught in a tree” (Ed Miliband)
  • “A bunch of flowers taped to some railings” (The Libdems in general!)

These insults have one thing in common – they were all crafted by a comedian (Bill Bailey) – which shows the need for a sense of humour, something which most, but not all, politicians sorely lack. read more read more

January 15, 2015 /0 Comments/by

“His eyes are bulging like the belly of a hungry chaffinch”

One of the best things about January for me is the darts.

At a time when we’ve all over-indulged, I find it somewhat comforting to watch beer barrel-shaped men standing on a brightly-lit stage, clad in flammable polyester, surrounded by hordes of intoxicated fans.

But the best bit has to be the commentary, the wordsmiths behind the microphones who are constantly searching for new images to bring the simplest of sports to life. And, in the dear departed Sid Waddell, we lost one of the geniuses of our time. read more

January 8, 2015 /0 Comments/by