World Copywriting Blog

Listen to the Mocking Bird

How an old, old song can bring you new, new cash...

In 1855, a Philadelphia music teacher and music store owner named Septimus Winner published a song under a pseudonym, "Alice Hawthorne," called "Listen to the Mocking Bird." Fifty years later, this catchy little ditty had sold over 20 million copies (as sheet music).

The song is about a dearly departed love, Hallie. The mockingbird is "still singing o'er her grave... where the weeping willows wave."

How does this sad love song help you rake in the cash with your copy?

The Overwhelming Power of Details

aboard Delta flight 1257
from Atlanta
Tuesday, 6:32 pm EDT
Seat 6B
80 miles east of Memphis...

... which is "the middle of nowhere," according to flight attendant J. Phillips.

-o- -o- -o-

Ruminations at 39,000 feet

Are you imagining that you're right here right now with me in the dark blue leather and fabric empty seat -- the one right next to mine -- here in this Boeing 757?

Surely you know...

Escaping the Ravages of Hurricane Jeanne

A morsel of conference wisdom before I high-tailed it out of town

Lawrenceville, Georgia
Monday afternoon

To paraphrase Samuel Johnson, nothing focuses you into taking action like 150-mile-per-hour hurricane force winds due at your doorstep in 14 hours.

That was me on Saturday, in Orlando. My flight was scheduled to take me back home to San Francisco on Monday (today), but I wasn't going to stick around just in case the airport still might be open.

I rented a one-way car and drove up to a friend's house in Atlanta. Along the way, I was thinking about a conversation I had with a fellow speaker at the conference in Orlando.

Armand Morin, a major force in Internet Marketing, was chewing the fat with me earlier in the week, when the weather was still pretty good. We talked about our respective coaching clients, and Armand brought up the concept of Occam's razor.

Traveling

What thoughts occur at 33,000 feet?

I'm going on the road Wednesday to speak at Entrepreneur Days.

I'm not sure how long it will be until I can post again, but stay tuned.

Maybe I can sneak one or two in on the road, from Orlando.

David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter
To subscribe, click here

Spelling, Grammar and Cash on the Barrelhead

Whether 'tis nobler to be word-perfect... or happy:

My friend Craig Perrine and I were talking yesterday, and Craig told me about someone who had visited his Web site and sent him back a report card.

It's hard to send red marks through an email, but this well-meaning visitor told Craig about the misspelled words and grammatical mistakes on his site.

And, the dude had the audacity to remind Craig to never begin a sentence with the word "and."

Probably without realizing it, the well-meaning visitor entered a dialogue that has been going on for decades - between direct marketers and guardians of proper usage, punctuation and the language as a whole.

You might wonder which side of the fence I'm on, on this issue.

How's this for your answer:

Humor in Copywriting

Does Copy Have to Follow The "Airport Rule" -- That Is, No Jokes?

Last night I spoke to the Laugh Lovers Toastmasters Club in Oakland, California. It was poignant for me because the club was founded, in another format, by a friend of mine who is no longer with us on this Earth, the legendary John Cantu.

Robin William, Dana Carvey, Paula Poundstone, Margaret Cho and many other comedy superstars of today got their start at Cantu's Holy City Zoo, a comedy room on Clement St. between 5th and 6th Avenues in San Francisco. Today the space is occupied by a fierce Irish bar called The Dogs Bollix.

I was invited to speak last night to commemorate Cantu (he went by his last name), and in dredging up memories, I thought of a story he told me once from his days as a carvinal barker.

Besides being a great humor resource, Cantu was also a very skilled salesman. Rare combo, don't you agree?

The Disappointment Dimension

How Customer Complaints Can Make You A Fortune:

Yesterday I went shopping for luggage. This has become an annoyingly familiar experience. I go through suitcases, roller-bars, what-have-you, in record time.

Am I harder on my luggage than other people?

I don't think so.

Welcome

From: David Garfinkel, Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter

The World Copywriting Blog is a commentary service to post information and insights between issues of the World Copywriting Newsletter:

http://www.world-copywriting-institute.com

Come back for more... soon.

P.S. You'll find a wealth of material here.  And if you'd like to see a few
additional articles about copywriting, please visit the articles page
on my personal Web site.