Copywriting Fail: Website Copy

We love group buying sites as much as the next gal, especially if the deals are truly great steals. But reading their copy oftentimes give us a headache and so, we’re giving free lecture in today’s post.

The following was grabbed from one of the more popular group buying sites out there. We’ve blacked out the names of the product and the site to protect their privacy and our hineys.

Let’s start the critique from top to bottom:

• You can’t strike a pose and show off your photography skills at the same time. Yes, I know what they meant. It’s just the way they wrote it in the same sentence. “Oooh, arm’s length photography! So inspiring,” said no one, EVER.

• Never put a hyphen after a period. Period.

• “27mm wide-angle” what? Proofread. Always make sure your sentences are complete. Yes, everybody knows it refers to the lens. However, if you’re going to write with this kind of thinking, best keep it on post-its.

• “Cover the whole picture without the cuts”? We’re not even sure what this means. Be simple. Be straightforward. Be intelligible. Communication 101: Communication is only successful when the message is understood.

• Learn Compliment vs Complement

• “unwanted damages and scratches” – as opposed to wanted ones? Omit needless words

• “fashion sense; Red and Blue” OK, we’ll give the writer benefit of the doubt and chalk this one up to a typographical error. So, again, proofread!

These errors only mean the example cited here was not done by a professional and, if you were the client, one of the worst things that could happen is this copy goes viral for all the wrong reasons. The good news is getting a real copywriter is not expensive at all. Email us now to find out how we can help.

Daily Writing Tip: Feed Your Mind

We are what we eat — we are what we feed our spirits, our minds, our hearts. That is what prompted me to take this photo at last year’s Book Fair. I was sickened by the fact that the poison of one of the world’s worst criminals is still very present and real.  But I pray that people will choose to feed on what is Godly, what is right, what is loving.

And this cannot be truer and more urgent for writers. We need to be drastically vigilant about what we put in our minds, you know what they say “garbage in, garbage out”.

Daily Writing Tip: Write Drunk

 

We haven’t written anything in a while ’cause we have been crazy busy here at WhiteHat Copy so I’m gonna make this quick. I have to warn you, though, I might sound a little preachy today ’cause I’ve been listening to one of my favorite Pastors this past week that I was slaving through while bouting flu.

The Daily Writing  Tip we have is taken from one of Ernest Hemingway’s most quoted quips “Write Drunk, Edit Sober”. Of course, we all know Hemingway probably had to do a lot of things drunk ’cause that’s how he was most of the time. He might not have been exactly a fountain of sound advice, but he was on to something.

I’m not telling you to gobble up a bottle of vodka before sitting down in front of your computer. I’m taking Hemingway’s advice and serving it virgin.

For most writers – professional, starving, fledgling or published – one of the biggest problems we have is never ending  endless editing. Getting past the second paragraph without editing the first 50 bazillion times is a miracle.

So, how do you write and not miss deadlines? Do a Hemingway. Write drunk: drunk with passion, drunk with zeal, drunk with ideas, drunk with knowledge, drunk with feelings, drunk with intuition. And after is all said and done: edit. Edit with the eyes of a sober critic instead of an unforgiving one. Edit like a detached judge instead of a creator.

Be kind to yourself and your work and somewhere between writing drunk and editing sober, you’ll find a voice that’s uniquely yours. 🙂

 

 

 

Daily Writing Tip: Foreign words in English usage

Foreign words often used in the English language, what they mean, and how to properly use them.

Ad hoc (Latin) – concerned or dealing with a specific subject, purpose or end

example: An ad hoc committee was formed to investigate the corruption allegations in the Justice Department.

Angst (German) – dread and anxiety

   example: Teenage angst can be much to deal with.

Bona fide (Latin) – in good faith; genuine

    example: He is a bona fide environmentalist, a genuine green advocate.

Carpe diem (Latin) – seize the day

example: You may be a bit nervous, but now is your chance to shine. Carpe diem!

Dolce Vita (Italian) – sweet life; good life of physical pleasure and indulgence

example: My trip to Amanpulo was pure indulgence. A week of pure, uninterrupted dolce vita.

Ennui (French)