Author Archives: Tom McKay

As a freelance copywriter for tech and corporate clients (and a former technical writer), I have found a LOT of resistance to clean, simple “shirtsleeve English”. Too many corporate types seem to fear that clear language and everyday words will somehow reduce the value of their ideas or offerings. Quite the contrary. Keep it simple, […]

What would you say if you had only two minutes of your customer’s time? What would you show if your sales presentation could only be three minutes long? What would you talk about if the big new customer you’ve just spent weeks getting in to see refused to sit through your PowerPoint presentation? What if […]

Many spelling misteaks, er, mistakes, are caught by your spell checker. But a spell checker is no help for typos or word usage errors. Think: Did you mean “to,” “too,” or “two?” Should it be “it’s” or “its?” There’s nothing worse (or more embarrassing) than getting 5,000 copies of your shiny new brochure back from […]

“Blogs don’t have to be badly written. It’s just that most are.” That’s the mournful cry from Tony Long, copy chief at Wired News. He’s written a curmudgeon-like response to those who claim the Internet has improved the quality of writing in general. It’s called “You, To, Can Right Like a Blogger.”

If advertising is so effective, why don’t ad agencies advertise? That’s the question Simon Sinek poses in a recent issue of BrandWeek. After all, ad agencies recommend clients spend 10% their revenues on marketing. But do they practice what they preach? Sinek points out: “According to Nielsen Monitor-Plus, Interpublic, Omnicom, Publicis and WPP spent a […]

You CAN do two things at one, as long as you don’t care about quality. I’ve long preached that the secret of good writing is not trying to write and edit at the same time. Write first, edit later. And that goes whether you’re writing advertising copy or code. Your brain has to get in […]

It’s easy to get free publicity. Want your face on the front page or the TV news? Just get busted doing something dastardly and illegal. Your handcuffed “perp walk” will get you LOTS of media attention — and bring smiles to your competitors’ faces. There are better ways to do it, of course. Even if […]