DIYFamilyFilms Nails It

Alright, buckle up, because DIYFamilyFilms just dropped an ad campaign that's the equivalent of a marketing mic drop. I'm scrolling through my feed, and bam! An iPhone video course that hits differently. (I haven’t bought it yet but I’m going to! And no, this is not an affiliate venture.)

Let's dissect the brilliance:

The Head-turning Hook

Lead Message:

"Why I stopped taking pics/videos of my son every day."

Hold up, did a photography/video course just lead with not taking photos? Genius. It's unexpected, it's attention-grabbing and head-turning.

Opening Text

"When you take out your phone for every cute moment because you don't want to miss it but you end up with a ton of digital clutter."

And just like that, we're all nodding in agreement. Founder Tenille is in our heads, she gets it. Digital clutter? Guilty as charged.

Understanding Parents

"Time with your child is so precious and you don't want to forget the special moments. I get it."

Yes, you get it, and now we're hooked. Speak our language, sister!

The Sell - Benefit First

"Reduce digital clutter and screen time by learning how to use your phone properly to create home videos that you actually want to watch."

Not diving into course features but hitting us with the benefits. Unexpected benefits, mind you. Reduce digital clutter? Sign me up. Reduce screen time? Double yes.

The Pitch

"Learn the DIY family films method once and have a skill for life. Get 70% off our easy way to follow course built for busy parents! Works with iPhones and Androids."

A skill for life? Check. Discount for busy parents? Check. Works with both iPhones and Androids? Check and mate. This is a pitch with a punch.

Website Check

Clarity Line

Boom, instant clarity on what the course is about. No beating around the bush.

Overcoming Objections

She's a parent like us, low-tech on the phone, reduce screen time, stuff you won’t find on YouTube. Objections crushed, moving on.

Before and After

Instead of the cliché before and after, she labels it "Digital clutter to home movies." It's not just clever; it's a visual punch in the face.

DIYFamilyFilms isn't just selling a course; they're selling a solution to a problem we didn't even realize we had.

Bravo, bravo!

Unsubscribe | Update your profile | 8885 Rio San Diego Dr #237, San Diego, CA 92108

Shamelessly Human Brand Story is here!

After a design event, some friends and I went out for a beer (me: hard cider cuz I’m a wimp), and we were chatting about the latest AI news.

If you were a stalker, this is what you may have heard:

“I’m raising my glass to being on the brink of retirement.”

“Creative work is drying up.”

“How in h*** do we even stand a chance against those smarty-pants AI thingamajigs?”

So what do we do?

We tell better stories. We tell better stories about our businesses. We tell better stories about ourselves.

AI is just a fancy data aggregator; the results can be average. So now is the time to embrace who you and be Shamelessly Human.

Introducing

Shamelessly Human Brand Story:

Write Your Brand Story with Heaps of Human Help and a Dash of AI.

November 9 to December 13.

In this class, we're not just scratching the surface; we're going to dig deep, really deep, into uncovering your Thought-Provoking Point of View (POV). You're not just a designer; you're a designer with a unique perspective that sets you apart. In this age of automation and algorithms, it's your human creativity and insight that bring real value to the table.

Real live human help 3 hours a week.

There are videos, worksheets, and prompts to help you. For 4 weeks, there will be 3 hours of live video office hours to get feedback on your work. (And I’m not internet famous or anything so you can get lots of face time with me.)

And we’ll make friends with AI.

We’ll touch on AI to help. But the real magic comes from your thinking. So, this is a human writing class with a dash of AI. This is a brand story writing class with a dash of AI. If you’re seeking AI as the main course, this course won’t be your jam.

Get ready to unleash your new brand story before the New Year rolls in.

Picture yourself radiating unshakable confidence in your message. You'll have the confidence to unveil that slick website, new course, or new service. Imagine your customers exclaiming, "Hell yes, this is exactly what I've been craving!" 🚀🔥💥

Shamelessly Human is open!

Three waters. Three different brands

You know, I've noticed a fascinating trend over the past few years – the rise of water, with sparkling waters, and flavored waters in aluminum cans. I must say, I'm a big fan of this movement. (Although, I did have a minor mishap when I hurriedly grabbed a variety box of canned flavored sparkling waters for a kids' camping trip, only to discover it was canned cocktails! Lesson learned: Always read those labels carefully.)

Now as a freelance copywriter in San Diego, the biggest lesson I can teach is how a brand can differentiate themselves. So let's dive into the intriguing world of water in cans and see how three different players position themselves in a similar category and see what lessons we can learn.

Liquid Death

 The very mention of Liquid Death and a glance at its branding had me initially thinking it was some hip craft beer. (Oh, those misleading labels!)

The inspiration for Liquid Death struck when Mike Cessario attended an alternative music event sponsored by Monster Energy in the 2000s. Surprisingly, the thirsty bands craved water, not energy drinks. So they poured water into empty Monster Energy bottles to please the sponsor. That got Mike pondering: why can't water be cool and branded differently?

Fast forward to the late 2010s, and Mike found himself at a music festival surrounded by an ocean of plastic waste, much of it crushed water bottles. "The beverage industry has a problem," he thought. (Okay, I admit, I made up that quote.)

Mike, a former advertising guru from agencies like Crispin Porter & Bogusky and VaynerMedia, created Liquid Death – water that rocks the aesthetics of craft beer, housed in an aluminum bottle, complete with craft beer-like branding.

The rallying cry: Death to plastic.

"We're just a quirky beverage company that despises corporate marketing as much as you do. Our diabolical mission is to tickle people's funny bones while persuading them to sip on healthier beverages more frequently, all while aiding the fight against plastic pollution."

Questions to ask: Can you draw inspiration from a different industry, be it in marketing or product delivery, to attract a fresh demographic? Maybe a bit of cross-pollination is what your brand needs to flourish.

Liquid Death may have hit the jackpot with its branding, but by taking a stand against plastic and championing the recyclable aluminum can (which oddly resembles a craft beer can), it's made a real splash in the water market.

 Mountain Valley Spring Water

 Mountain Valley Spring Water has been quenching thirsts since 1871, drawing water from the heart of the Ouachita Mountains at its source.

The signature move has always been delivering water in glass containers, steering clear of the plastic debacle. However, the brand recently decided to venture into the realm of aluminum bottles, offering a more portable, recyclable option. (After all, lugging a glass bottle on a day of fishing isn't ideal.)

The rallying cry: From the source.

Mountain Valley presents its award-winning premium spring water in bottles that tag along wherever you roam. These 100% recyclable aluminum bottles are your go-to for the pool, beach, hiking trails, and all the adventures in between. It's the latest innovation from a brand that's been bottling from the same spring source since way back in 1871.

Questions to ask: Is there a product or service you could provide to meet shifting customer preferences? Is expanding your offerings worth it, even if it complicates things a tad? What's the cost of not evolving?

This is a classic example of an existing brand in a new category broadening its product line to keep pace with industry innovations.

 Path Water

 In 2014, three friends decided to embark on a mission to save the environment by tackling the problem of single-use water bottles. Thus, Path Water was born, blazing a trail as the first bottled water packaged in a certified refillable, 100% recyclable, BPA-free aluminum bottle.

These pioneers literally knocked on doors to secure their first store placements (high-five, 7-11!). After a rebranding effort, several investors, including the ever-flamboyant chef Guy Fieri, jumped on board, and they forged collaborations with iconic brands such as the National Parks, Oliver Peoples, and The Tonight Shoes. Not to mention they scored exclusive licensing deals with Nickelodeon and Hasbro; as of 2023, they're even teaming up with Barbie. Their customizable bottles open up doors for all kinds of small brands to join the party.

The rallying cry: We're forging the path to end single-use plastic bottles.

 "We're on a mission to make the future sustainable by being the go-to bottled water that helps everyone kick the habit of single-use plastic bottled water. Every day, we fuel this revolution as global consumer demand skyrockets for sustainable and reusable choices in bottled water packaging."

 Questions to ask: Can you reimagine how business is conducted? Path wasn't content with creating just another single-use container. Can you offer customization in your product? (Of course, if you're in the service industry, you might already be customizing your offerings.)

In the grand tapestry of water brands, Path Water stands out as a beacon of sustainability, innovation, and collaboration.

So there you have it, three distinct perspectives from the world of water brands. Each one has found its unique path to success, and perhaps there are lessons we can all draw from their journeys. And remember, always read those labels!

On the hunt for creative ideas.

I was in the midst of doing my favorite thing as a freelance copywriter: naming a new product. So there I was, scouring the digital savannah for that one elusive word that would make my product sing. I dove headfirst into the realm of WordHippo's thesaurus, then embarked on an adventure through the lists of WordsThatStartWith.com. But, alas, I came up empty. 

Then, like a plot twist in the making, I was sitting in church and the pastor used the perfect word as one of the subtitles in his three-point sermon. I chuckled and wrote the word in capital letters in my sermon notes so I wouldn’t forget it.

Divine intervention?

Now, was this a stroke of divine intervention? Who’s to say? We’ve all been fed the romanticized myth that creativity strikes like a bolt of lightning, illuminating our minds in a flash of brilliance. Just like how Paul McCartney claimed that the song "Let It Be" descended upon him in a dream about his deceased mother. But let’s be real, us mere mortals don't always get to ride that lightning bolt. No, for most of us, creativity is more like coaxing a campfire into existence using nothing but a handful of dry twigs. ​Creativity is not some elusive unicorn that only the chosen few can ride; it’s a skill, plain and simple. A skill that can be honed, nurtured, and mastered over time. 

Ideas are work!

It’s all about the frameworks. When I’m in the idea-hunting game, I like to play with opposites, mash ideas together like a mad scientist, and toss around a hearty dose of "What Ifs." 

Now, don’t get me wrong; ideas don’t always saunter into my brain while I’m laboring at my desk. But once my brain is tuned in, sometimes stray notions ambush me in the most unexpected places. Like that time I was wandering the mall during the holiday frenzy and a simple wreath had me envisioning an ad with a headline in a round shape. Or the mundane moment at the drive-thru that inspired my very first radio spot. And let’s not forget the time I swiped a sentence right off a Christmas card from my mother-in-law and used it as foundation for a life insurance commercial.  

But here’s the kicker, the pièce de résistance: time. You can’t rush this creative stew; you have to let it simmer.

So let this San Diego freelance copywriter spill the beans: keep your mind wide open and your pencil poised because inspiration doesn’t always come with a bolt; it often slips in through the backdoor.

Bears Be Aware: Edit a sign, save a life.

I was on a trip to Montana with childhood friends on their annual trek to their grandparents’ ancestral home.

At a trailhead, I spotted this mini-guide for bear survival that is a great lesson in information hierarchy. I love it: It has a cute attention-grabbing headline that rhymes: BE BEAR AWARE followed by a clarifying subhead. The information is broken down into three sections:

• Avoid Confrontation

• Secure Food Items

• Carry Bear Spray

I would suggest they change the third subhead, though. While carrying bear spray may be helpful, for any visiting city slickers, it’s probably more important to know not to run.

Here's how I would revise the third subhead and copy:

DO NOT RUN.

• Carry bear spray. Move cautiously out of the area.

I would also switch the 2nd and 3rd blocks of copy as I think it’s more important to tell people not to run than to secure their food. (Though if they don’t secure their food, the bears will come, so it is all important.) The edited sign looks like this:

Now for the final edit. I would cut copy length because the shorter the copy, the greater the chance more people will read it.

BE BEAR AWARE

• Grizzly & Black Bears May Be Encountered.

AVOID CONFRONTATION

• Make noise while walking. Hike in groups if possible. Control your pets.

DO NOT RUN

• Carry bear spray. Move cautiously out of the area.

SECURE FOOD ITEMS

• Store food & garbage in vehicle or hang in a tree. Keep a clean camp. Pack out garbage.

Rick Rubin and the Creative Act

I was impatient and ordered the kindle edition of Rick Rubin’s book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being. It’s a book of short self-contained  chapters so you can pick it up and read a blurb for a dose of inspiration.  (And really, I could create a graphic this long for each chapter, it really is a quotable volume.)

Considering all the recording artists that Rubin has worked with, he doesn’t name drop. A couple of times he gives a specific example of how he has coached an artist but you are left to guess who. 

In making art, the audience comes last. - Rick Rubin

This quote hit me because it reflects the difference between art as self-expression and using creative art to sell a product. As a creative professional, sometimes my copywriting or graphic recording can approach art, but it still has a purpose to sell, clarify or inform. 

Yesterday I was in a session with a team and we were selecting what campaign ideas to refine. There was one campaign that was clever and everyone loved. But it was a longer read and wasn’t as clear, it wouldn’t serve the client as well. We had other campaign directions that could delight a customer and sell the product that we chose instead. 

5-minute Homepage Makeover for a Restaurant

Does your website pass the 5-second rule?

Can a viewer find out what you do within that period of time? (And, preferably, fall in love with your services or products?)

I came across a site that needed help with the falling in love part.

Some members of my extended family were in town, and we were to go to a restaurant to dine with some even more extended family. I checked the restaurant’s website for the address before setting out, and noticed that the site looked like it was from 2008.

The website didn’t make me excited to go visit any of these waterfront restaurants.

Yawnsville.

There are two things I would immediately do to improve it.

• Write a big, beautiful, benefit-driven headline to sell the stunning waterfront locations.

• Use big photos to showcase those locations.

(Because dinner is always more fun when you can watch sea lions sunbathe on a dock and witness standup paddleboarders fall in the water.)

 Watch this video  to see a quick makeover.

Your homepage is such valuable real estate. Make sure you make the most of it.

I hope this helps you!

Write on! :)

Brave the Woods: Navigating a creative business.

Every month The One Club for Creativity hosts Creative Space at the Mingei Museum in San Diego. This month we heard the tall tales and epiphanies of illustrator Brad Woodard of Brave the Woods. Brad shared insights behind the business of his illustration studio. Much of this can be applied to running other creative businesses.

Make friends – People like to work with people they know. Keep in touch with colleagues. They all move on to other jobs, clients, and agencies and will still hire you. Brad mentioned that he emails colleagues from time to time just to see how they are doing, never a request for work. Top of mind = more assignments.

Cultivate an opinion – Share your thoughts about the industry. Brad got his start early during the golden days of blogging and this really built up his readership These days you might share on TikTok, Instagram, or LinkedIn. (LinkedIn is severely underused by most creatives.)

Curate your portfolio – Show the work you want to do more of. Brad got his start in infographics but got tired of doing them. His next job was design-centric with a focus on illustration.

Create the opportunity ­– If you don’t have a paid opportunity for a new type of project you want to try, initiate the work yourself: video, a book, or animation. Brad self-published a children’s book and since then has worked with every major publisher.

Have multiple streams of income – How else can you make money beyond client work? Store. Classes. Making brushes and presets. Social media monetization. Brad makes how to digital art videos. This elevated his presence and drew the attention of larger, big-budget clients.

License – Participate in client success. This can be a big source of income for illustrators and photographers.

Learn about the business side.

Brad mentioned that in art school he didn’t learn a thing about business. I find this true with many recent grads that I talk too. But luckily business can be learned without getting an MBA in the arts. (I can’t think of a better waste of money.) Knowing how to conduct business is what separates successful creative business owners. (Not necessarily their skill at their craft.)

And look at the cute print everyone went home with. Thanks Neyenesch Printers, Inc. Another great idea: always leave your audience with something to take home. It’s how you keep top of mind.

Creative Space happens the first Wednesday evening of every month. I hope to see you there sometime if you live in the San Diego area. As a San Diego copywriter my number one tip for propelling your creative career is to get out and meet people. If you have a network of fellow creatives that you can rely on and refer work to and get feedback from, your practice will soar.

I  #sandiegocreatives #sandiegodesign #illustration #theoneclubsandiego

What is your one thing?

YES/LESS is an exercise I went through a few months ago that helped me focus on what I needed for a little more balance. Have I moved the needle on any of the things I listed? No!

So I’m going to focus on one thing that can make it happen: less doomscrolling. I figure if I decrease random social media usage I will decrease procrastination.

And I’m going to take three steps to jumpstart progress:

1. Taking Facebook and Twitter off my phone and iPad = more Kindle book reading.

2. Don’t begin the day with Twitter = beginning it with prayer

3. Visiting Twitter and Facebook once a day on my desktop and then physically signing out so it is not just a simple click away = less procrastination.

Simplicity can be powerful.

Let me know what your one thing is!

If you want to download plain versions of these templates:

One Thing

YES/LESS Plain

YES/LESS Surf

Big love for small biz.

As a San Diego freelance copywriter, many of the businesses I work with are small businesses. I’m a small business too and I know how challenging the past two years have been. So, if you’re still here, standing tall or if you’re barely making it and ready to throw it all in, I salute you.

There are ways you can support a friend’s business without spending a dime. (Though of course, spending money helps too!)

Write a review.

Some businesses live and die by the reviews they receive. If you have a hairdresser you love, a boutique that you always find that special gift at, or a coach who helps you grow your business, write review. Yelp, Angie’s List, Google, ask them where a review would help them.

Tell your friends and family.

If you found a new place for dinner, tell your friends and family. If your friend bakes cupcakes, tell all of your party-giving friends. 

Follow the business on social media.

That algorithm makes it hard for small businesses to show up. So, follow them to help them boost their numbers.

 Engage the business on social media.

The more engagement a page receives, the more it will show up in people’s feeds. Comment on photos, share posts!

Feel free to take these images and post on your social media!

Revenge of the purple fluffy bunny slippers.

How do you want to show up?

I was working a tradeshow and I was flabbergasted that a woman working the booth across the aisle wore towering heels all day long. I was wearing my comfort sport runners with orthotics and was still had super sore feed at the end of the day.

Then a funning thing happened, at the end of the day the woman pulled out a pair of fuzzy purple bunny slippers. Now that looked comfortable.

I was amused by her footwear but thought this also seems to be a metaphor for how people show up.

They show up wearing the towering stilettos because that is “professional”—meanwhile they think that is what is expected. And buried inside is the longing for fluffy purple bunny slippers.

You don’t to choose one or the other: painfully professional or glittery-unicorn-smiley-face-dotting-your-i. There’s a professional, personable in-between. Think maybe purple ballet flats or furry leopard slingbacks.

Have fun. Be you. And experiment with the language you use to explain who you are and what you do. I’ll be holding a 6-week brand story workshop in early 2022 that helps you nail down your language. Email me back so I can put you on the interest list.

P.S. I used to only use my heart signatures for my emails. I sign off on my business proposals like this too now. And Linkedin articles. I win more clients.

But darling, I'm an artist.

“But, darling, I’m an artist,” he drawled while inhaling on the ever-present cigarette that dangled from his fingers.

I watched Halston, the Netflix series that explores the rise and fall of the designer who created Jackie Kennedy’s pillbox hat for her husband’s inauguration, grew a fashion empire, then crashed and burned after partying too much at Studio 54.

There’s a constant tension between creativity and commerce in the show.

“I must be a real artist because I’m a terrible businessman,” Halston complains.

“Do you have to choose?” a mentor asks.

“Yes, I probably do.”

“Why not both?” his mentor answers.

For 15 years, I have followed a former ad industry creative giant who is now an author and speaker. During quarantine, this individual developed a quick course to sell since there were no speaking gigs to be had. The copy was not engaging, and several versions of the ad appeared, all with forgettable stock photos. It was evident that there was zero creative direction from the former ad professional in the ad campaign for this product. I wonder if sales of this course would have been higher if the campaign had been a little more alluring.

For Halston, details were everything. He had to fight with the manufacturer because they didn’t want to use a special bottle stopper for his debut fragrance, which went on to make hundreds of millions of dollars. Were the details worth it? Yes.

In the end, Halston’s business faltered because he was spread too thin and inhaled too many chemicals. When he began collaborating to produce costumes for Martha Graham’s dance troupe for the sheer creative joy of it, an assistant asked him: “How do you want to make the audience feel?”

And Halston, being the artist, knew how to articulate it: “When the dancers move, I want the audience to feel something pulling back against them. I want to feel the membrane that separates our world from the heavens that we can never quite touch, if we could just stretch a little further, we could be immortal.”

And that’s where art collides with business. How can you reflect what people want to feel in a product that you create? That’s where the magic happens.

DIY Branding Workshop Templates!

Over the past six months, I have been experimenting with a new DIY brand voice workshop that I have been using with clients and in the copywriting classes I teach. It's free and I thought you might want to give it a try.

It's based on the 3-Hour Branding Sprint developed by the folks at Google Ventures. I've adjusted it a bit. It's perfect for solo buisness owners and small groups. Try it out and let me know what you think!

Can you explain your brand?

If not, use these simple exercises to make the idea of your brand into something concrete. If It’s just you, just print out this handbook and doodle away. If you’re part of a team, draw these diagrams on large sticky note posters. After you’re done, you (and your team) should have some common language to describe you’re your brand is all about.

Note and VoteBranding is one of those things where you can talk for hours and hours and still note make a decision. Note and vote limits your discussion time and allows quieter people to be heard.

How to make decisions quickly.

• Time to generate ideas: Everyone gets a Sharpie, a pad of sticky notes and the permission to go crazy for two minutes. One idea per sticky note. No self-editing. The idea is to generate a lot of ideas.

• Narrow down: Then, the timer is set for two more minutes, while each person selects their favorite idea or two.

• Share: Now it’s time to share. Everyone shares their ideas while one person records them. Next, another five minutes passes while everyone individually picks out a favorite idea from the whiteboard and writes their vote down.

• Ta-da: The votes are revealed and noted on the whiteboard. One person, the “decider,” (who is chosen in advance) makes the final call on which idea to go with. (The decider is the CEO of your company.)

Your Mission

Where are you going to be in one, five, and ten years? Taking a long term approach helps you focus on the big picture.

Guiding Principles

List your guiding principles. It’s easy to list 20. But it’s hard to narrow them down to three. This is your point of difference.

Audience

Who is your audience. You might have many. But focus on the top two or three. Ask yourself, what do they care about? What’s their problem that we can solve?

Draw an audience pie chart and label what their top need is.

What, How, and Why

When you know why you’re in business and have a unified way to talk about it all of your marketing and communications fall into place.

The What – Please write a phrase or sentence describing your primary business for the next five years. Examples: We make tacos. I am a financial coach.

The How – What’s our secret sauce? What technology or approach sets us apart from the competition? Examples: We make our tacos with fresh ingredients. I help people gain finyancial literacy.

The Why – You can think of the "why" as the reason you get out of bed in the morning and go to work. The "why" should reflect the core reason your company exists, and it won’t change much over time. Examples: We sell food with integrity. If you don’t plan your future, who will.

This is adapted from Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle.

Brand Personality

Where does your brand voice fall? You can fall to the left in some ranges and fall to the right in others. That’s okay. What you don’t want is your brand voice landing in the middle of everything. That’s bland and boring.

Landscape

Take a sticky note and place where your company is in comparison to the competition. You might want to change the labels to fit your industry. For example, you might use high tech/no tech. Or business/inspiration. Corporate/casual.

Ta-da!

Here you have it, simple beginnings of a brand guide. Use it to help drive your messaging. Or bring it when you engage a social media person, web developer, designer, or copywriter.

Get your copy here.

Clarity Wins! Branding Workshops

If you would like me to lead you or your team through a Clarity Wins! Branding Workshop, just hit me up at stories@annemccoll.com!

Happy writing! :)

"Hosting an Effective Brainstorm on Zoom" at San Diego Design Week.

San Diego Design Week is here, September 9 -13! I will be offering a pre-recoreded workshop:: Hosting an Effective Brainstorm on Zoom.

Learn how to structure and facilitate an effective brainstorm session on Zoom. As designers, finding creative solutions to problems is what we do! Just because you’re working remotely, you don’t have to lose that magic that a face-to-face session can generate. We’ll talk about how to bridge the communication gap that can occur with digital meetings and the importance of visualizing participant input. You will learn how to structure a brainstorm, how to work visually in a virtual world, and low tech ways to make Zoom more engaging.

This prerecorded workshop is available all week. You can access it here.

Virtual Brand Sprint: Getting social with Loom and Zoom

I am sure many of you are now at home for an extended stay. Perhaps you are trying to work from home. As a digital copywriter, I have been working remotely for the past ten years. I wanted to share two tools I use a lot to add a face-to-face component to my interactions.

 Get Live with Loom

 The first is Loom.com which is a video generating service. Loom records a small video of you while sharing your desktop. It’s a great way to record a process, give feedback, or even video a presentation. You can also record Loom with audio and no personal video if you are camera shy.

 You can check out a video I made for you here.

 https://www.loom.com/share/61f669c9ff374dfda5c011cba4bd4ed6

 Zoom with White Boards

I am sure that many of you are aware of Zoom.us, a video conferencing service. Zoom makes it easy to have a video conference and share your desktop. It also automatically records every session. Participants can access Zoom from their smartphone, iPad, or desktop. On the iPad, you can use a white board feature that lets you draw as you talk. It’s a great way to hold a brainstorming session. I use it to host virtual Brand Sprints. Even remote copywriters like to think visual!

You can access the white board function on an iPad by choosing the option after you click the share screen button.

I predraw templates for brand sprints on the white boards before we begin our virtual meeting.

I’ll be thinking of you all and pray that you and your families stay healthy. Use this time to slow down, read a good book, make art, and watch a movie in the middle of the day. As a San Diego copywriter I have long injected a few hours of exercise in my day in between client engagements. Here in San Diego we have a rare two weeks of rain so I plan on taking my family hiking when the sun peeps out. Maybe get some some surf in when the rain is gone.

I have 26,000 unopened emails and I feel fine.

it's a low-tech email management system.

I have four email accounts.

Email #1: This is my work email where I communicate with clients, also my family and close friends. I check this one all the time.

Email #2: This is my work admin email. This is where I sign up for professional memberships, work services like Rev, Wordy, Freshbooks and Squarespace. I check this about once a day

Email #3: This is my 20-year old hotmail account. I save this for the kids' school, work, church, extended family, and travel. I check it about once a day.

Email #4: Shopping and social media. This is the email I use to shop and to sign up for services like Facebook and Twitter. I only look at it when I am confirming that an order is coming through or I check it to get sale codes if I need to buy something at a particular store. It has over 26,000 emails right now since I zeroed it last year. That’s 26,000 emails that I didn’t have to deal with in my daily inbox.

I hope this helps.

Happy Writing! :)

Brand Safari: A visit to Breakfast Republic

Brand Safari: Sightings of great work in the branding jungle.

It was the first week of the new year and I was meeting a girlfriend for breakfast at Breakfast Republic down at Liberty Station. As a San Diego freelance copywriter, I immediately was drawn to how copywriting was able to contribute to a fun experience. This is where creativity–not budget—makes a big impact.

While I was waiting for Lex, my tea was delivered in a mug that equated coffee consumption with early morning clarity.

A whimsical chicken character lived inside the menu and commented on menu items.

And Breakfast Republic didn’t miss a chance for branding fun with napkin wrappers and a line of sauces and toppings they carry.

Well done! Well done! (And the company and conversation was pretty great too.)

How can you share bits of humor and humanity as your customers experience your business?

Writing a Really Rough Draft Really Fast with Google Docs Voice Typing

In my role as a San Diego freelance copywriter, so many of my clients tell me that they have all the information up in their head but when they try to write it’s all jumbled, unorganized, and usually doesn’t sound like them. Something is lost in translation from head to paper.

The really rough first draft.

Writer Ann Lamott says perfectionism can kill creativity. You suffer over the first paragraph, then write the second paragraph and then re-edit the first paragraph. Progress is really slow.

Enter the really rough first draft. Get rough ideas down on paper so you have something to edit. But instead of writing our first draft, we’re going to talk through it.

The tools you’ll use.

Open up your Google doc, and under the tools menu click on voice typing. A microphone icon will appear on the left of your document. Place your cursor where you want to start typing and then click on the microphone icon. It will turn red as it begins to record what you’re saying.

(Sometimes it’s fun to go back and see what Google docs has typed. I have found that it’s a skill and after a while Google docs becomes familiar with certain words and proper names you use.)

Talking is easier than writing.

When I am interviewing clients for writing assignments, they have no trouble explaining their business. They use warm, human phrasing in their explanations—the type of language that appeals to customers. When you’re writing, just pretend someone is interviewing you and voice type away.

Here’s a video of me voice typing the first draft of this post,

Make an outline.

Before you begin voice typing, make a rough outline of the content that you’re going to talk about. You don’t have to worry about writing witty, compelling headlines at this point. Just label each section. That way it’s easier to talk about your information in chunks (which also allows you to catch your breath). 

Start talking.

Just start talking section by section. If you make a mistake, just repeat yourself. Don’t worry about deleting sentences and repeating them until they’re perfect. The goal is to get a rough draft done so you’ll have something to edit.

Edit. And ta-da. You’re done.

Now is the time to edit and polish. Take your sentences and smooth them out. Embellish some thoughts if you need to. Feel free to move sections around.

Change your section labels into compelling headlines and subheads. Ta-da, you’re done.

You can also use this technique in the notes section on your smartphone. Type in your outline and then use the dictation button on your keyboard.

Let me know how this works out for you!

What's on my Kindle: Summer reading for the creative biz.

It’s summer time and my schedule is a little more relaxed because I don’t have to drive my kids back and forth to school. I’ve tried loading books onto my Kindle app on my phone so I can do a little more intentional reading rather than scrolling. It’s working. I am reading more books. As a freelance copywriter, I am always looking for more insights on how to run a creative business.

Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad

by Austin Kleon

I have been a huge fan of Austin Kleon before he wrote his book Steal Like an Artist, which was a study on how creativity works. The second book Show Your Work revealed how to get discovered in the digital age. (Hint: make your own path.) Now Austin addresses how to keep on creating new creative work. Keep Going is the creativity mid-life crisis antidote. Nope, it doesn’t get easier.

Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business

by Paul Jarvis

 Paul is a graphic designer, web designer, course creator who made a name creating courses on how to work with MailChimp back in the day. He’s a smart business guy. (Check out his business templates for designers too at Project Prescription.) The premise of his book: what if the real key to a richer and more fulfilling career was not to create and scale up a new business, but rather, to be able to work for yourself, determine your own hours and become a (highly profitable) and sustainable company of one? This book takes the solo practitioner beyond trading time for money and discusses creating digital products. While I enjoyed this book, I wish Paul could have used examples of people not on the marketing/tech/entrepreneur podcast circuit.

 Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life

 by James Victore

 James writes about finding your voice, dealing with your fears, and finding your purpose and creating a creative and happy life. James has covered a lot of these ideas. (I always send students to his Burning Questions series on YouTube. Now he’s moved to a Patreon page.) Do yourself a favor and get the print book: the designs lose impact in the Kindle version.

Ruined by Design: How Designers Destroyed the World, and What We Can Do to Fix It

by Mike Monteiro

 Mike is the founder of Mule design. I saw him a couple of years ago at the AIGA National Conference, and he spoke on the subject of the responsibility of designers to be responsible for the products they design. We’re not just working on "just an app" anymore—we're working on tools that shift the face of our healthcare, political system, and home privacy. Mike has powerful opinions—you can read a chapter on Medium here.

The Three Musketeers

by Alexander Dumas

This trilogy has been a favorite since high school, and I reread it every ten years or so. The books are so much better in the movies because you witness the depth of their friendships. As more movie, I prefer the 1974 version vs. the one in the nineties with the Brian Adams/Sting/Rod Steward theme song.

I am on a surfing hiatus. The kids have been off a couple of weeks already, and the water is getting warmer, but I still haven't made the switch to a spring suit yet. I've tweaked my shoulders, so I am doing physical therapy every day and taking a break from surfing. It’s a boogie boarding summer! Using a Morey Boogie, circa 1978. I paid $29 in 1979 for a Morey board from Price Club. Boogie boards are still $29 at Costco now. But they barely last two seasons, let alone four decades.

I hope you get a chance to enjoy a little of the summer. What’s on your reading list?

Write like a girl.

As a freelance copywriter I am dedicated to creating clear compelling language for my clients. Yet in my personal communications I realized I can be a little wishy washy. I use words like just, possibly, maybe, and perhaps in my opinions and requests. Can you see the difference?

I’m just checking in on my invoice.

TRY: When can I expect payment?

Let me know a good time that works. I’m pretty free.

TRY: How does Wednesday at 3pm work?

If it’s alright, we should go here.

TRY: I think we should go here.

Well, I hope the design makes sense.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Maybe we could do it this way.

TRY: I think this is the best option.

I just wanted to make sure we’re on for this morning.

TRY: I am confirming our call this morning.

Hey, I just wanted to see where you are.

TRY: Hey, the project is late. When can I expect to see it.

I promise, try the first one and you’ll receive more prompt payments. Here’s to clear communication.

Happy writing! :)