Montreal Copywriter

Social Media Education Series @ Ometz

editor — Fri, 04 May 2012 06:07:24 +0000

My friend and colleague CT Moore is giving a 3 part social media training session through Ometz in May, and I’ll be co-instructing with him on the first session.

It’s only $200 to register for all three (save $25).

May 9: Social Content Strategy & Blogging

May 15: Facebook Marketing Tools

May 23: Social Strategies & Best Practices

The purpose of this three-week series is to offer the basics of social media marketing. Designed for job seekers who want to increase their skills in core aspects of social media to make them more marketable to employers and for employees who choose to go individually or are asked by their companies to learn how to acquire social media tools to apply in their workplace.

There are only a few seats left in the 3 part social media training workshop, so book your seats now.

Muppet Show Pitch

editor — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:44:41 +0000

One of the videos making the rounds this week – no, not the one featuring a Tupac hologram, though that was very cool- is an old school pitch from Jim Henson. The beloved Muppets creator was pitching his idea for a televised show to CBS. Evidently, it worked.

Jim Henson and the Muppets

Some things change, but a creative pitch for a show that ran from 1976-1981 is still relevant. Why? First off, it’s entertaining. But I’m more interested in the creative ingenuity.

Today we live in a world where Muppets present at awards shows. But this pitch is from the mid-seventies, well before anyone knew who Kermit was. Jim Henson took a creative leap, broke out of the proverbial box, and created a phenomenon.

This is the original pitch for the Muppet Show:

Pinterest Waiting List: Brilliant or Bananas?

editor — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 03:44:42 +0000

It took me a while to want to join Pinterest. While it’s a great idea, I was a bit turned off after joining Google+ and haven’t been in the market for yet another social media tool that collects cyber dust. After waiting a few months and checking it out through a colleague’s account, I decided to take the plunge. This evening, I went online, asked to join Pinterest, and got the following email:

Much like the nightlife mentality that any place without a line isn’t worth getting into, Pinterest is making me wait; hoping it will wet my appetite for, and raise the profile of, the desired destination. In other words, Pinterest is the new cool club.

Not sure if I find this brilliant or really annoying. I think the answer is both. They have now piqued my interest, and as long as they approve me before I lose said interest, I’ll be hooked. In this way, Pinterest has done something quite engaging and intelligent.

Mind you, if it takes too long, or they make me jump through too many hoops, I may just go back to posting my pictures on Twitter and call it a day.

Coolest thing in the House | Copywriter Edition

editor — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 23:22:34 +0000

Dan Reitman, a fellow copywriter and frequent collaborator, shot this fun segment for a series called “Coolest thing in the House.”

Great house and a great guy, so check out Fish Out of Water – Coolest Thing in the House:

Movie Trailer Parody; Language Humor Style

editor — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:51:58 +0000

A friend just brought my attention to a great movie trailer parody circulating around the web. The short, called “Academy Award Winning Movie Trailer” will make anyone who’s had to sit through a barrage of previews before a film chuckle. And from a writing perspective, it’s just priceless.

Watch “Academy Award Winning Movie Trailer” here:

What is a Copywriter?

editor — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 22:24:46 +0000

People ask me all the time what it is I do for a living. If I say I’m a writer, they ask when my next novel is coming out. While I do like to write creatively in my spare time, that’s not what I do for a living.

When I say I’m not that sort of writer, they ask which publication I write for. And while I’ve worked as a journalist in the past, I’m not that sort of writer either.

So then I tell them I’m in the copywriting business. “Oh”, they say, “so you do legal work?” Nope, not that either. But they’re not that far off. They’re thinking of Copyright, a term used in the legal world for the rights granted to the author or creator of an original work. As a copywriter, I do write original work. So while I’m not in the legal profession, that terminology is related to what I do.

But I’m not in the copyright business. I’m in the copywrite business.

I am, quite simply, a writer of copy. A wordsmith. A language wrangler. A copywriter.

Who do I write copy for? Businesses, mostly. This surprises a lot of people, but it’s true. If you read text on a website, or get a newsletter, chances are it was written by a copywriter. Press kits, letters and emails. Blogs. Storefronts. Branding. Catchy advertising slogans. And that person of interest you heard speak last month? Someone may have helped polish his language.

So, next time you see a line in an advertisement or on a sign that you find fun, take a moment and think about the person hiding behind a keyboard who came up with it. Those little wordsmiths who are seldom seen, but whose voices are more frequently heard than you can imagine: The copywriters.

I may not understand your Google + circles, but I want in

editor — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 20:47:02 +0000

I haven’t quite figured out what Google circles are for, but not wanting to be left out, I’ve joined anyway. This is likely how most of these social media applications get started, right? We all want to jump in and be part of the next big thing, the second it becomes available. But why is it that we’re all so eager to join the loop that we jump in before we even know how this loop is going to unravel?

Being an early adopter comes with a certain amount of bragging rights, I suppose, but it also comes with a lot of unknowns, and potential pitfalls, especially in the tech world.

Using social media is a lot like dating, trying to break into a new social group, or starting a new job. You spend a lot of time trying to break into the fold, wanting to be selected. After all, it’s human nature to want to be wanted. Often, it’s only once you’re in that you stop and ask yourself “Did I really want to be here in the first place?” But hey, I guess you don’t really know unless you try.

So, what are Google + circles good for? It’s hard to say at this point. This function seems to be a sort of amalgamation of Facebook friend links, Linked-In business contacts and miscellaneous plug-ins all housed in a sort-of Gmail contact card. How these classifications evolve, and what/if there is any practical application, is yet to be determined.

So far, my favourite explanation comes from HappyPlace.com, who’ve outlined 21 Google Plus circles you can actually use: