Weekly Round Up #53
Your once-a-week digest filled with copy tips/tricks/hacks, must-read articles, and some pretty cool copy examples.
Welcome to the 53rd edition of the Weekly Round-Up — your once-a-week digest filled with copy tips/tricks/hacks, must-read articles, pretty cool copy examples, and much more!
In this week’s issue:
Copy Tip: Grade 8 FTW.
Weekly Discussion Question: Which headline?
When to Use Questions in Your Ads (via Aryh)
How Understanding Mirror Neurons Can Make Us Better Writers (via Psychology Meetings Writing)
How to Classify and Segment VIP Customers (via Klaviyo)
Podcast Pick of the Week (feat. TCC and Justin Blackman)
Pretty Cool Copy Examples
Job Opportunities
Copy Tip of the Week
Keep your writing at a Grade 8 reading level.
For whatever reason, it seems like the sweet spot for most brands in our space.
It’s easy to understand, it’s approachable, and avoids insider lingo.
There are always exceptions to the rule, but this is a great place to start.
Pro tip: the Hemingway App is a great (free) resource for checking the readability of your writing.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Scenario: You’re tasked with writing an experimental Facebook ad campaign for this brand. Your target audience is people running a marathon for the first time.
💬 What are 3 headlines you’d write to get their attention and position your product as valuable to their interests?
👉 Drop your answer in the comment section below!
Must-Read Articles
When to Use Questions in Your Ads (via Ariyh)
Why I recommend it: Did you know that using questions in your ads can boost sales by up to 50%? Yeah – there’s a catch. I always love these research-based insights from Thomas McKinlay. Not only are they interesting, they’re actionable. Give it a read and transform your next ad.
How Understanding Mirror Neurons Can Make Us Better Writers (via Psychology Meets Writing)
Why I recommend it: Mirror neurons help us connect with others by mirroring their actions and emotions, making storytelling more engaging. Therefore, better understanding how they work can help you craft immersive experiences that resonate with readers on a deeper level.
How to Classify and Segment VIP Customers (via Klaviyo)
Why I recommend it: To begin, it’s worth noting that “VIP Customers” in this particular article refers to those who are SMS subscribers. There are various ways to segment your SMS list for maximum engagement (which is what this article is about). But it’s especially insightful ahead of BFCM when engaging SMS subscribers (and building your SMS list) is so important.
THE COPYWRITER CLUB PODCAST
EPISODE #411: TALKING BRAND VOICE WITH JUSTIN BLACKMAN
⏰ 1 hour (start at 3:45 mark)
Why I recommend it: Brand voice is one of the “popular” ways to niche or differentiate yourself in the crowded world of copywriting. But what is it really? And how do you do it? That’s what this episode is all about.
(As an aside: The Copywriter Club was insanely transformative in my freelance career and Justin Blackman was one of the many writers I met along the way. Solid dude. Fantastic writer.)
Pretty Fly Copy
STUMPTOWN
Format: Email
Why I like it: For starters, I love a good quiz email. This one was an entertaining and unexpected way to not only provide subscribers with personalized content, but also collect zero-party data. It’s also a fantastic representation of brand voice at play.
UCAN
Format: IG Static Ad
Why I like it: This ad is layered with all kinds of goodies. The offer is big, clear, and urgent (e.g. “Free Edge Sample Pack, While Supplies Last”). The core value props are relevant to the target audience (endurance athletes) and paired with icon/visuals. And the caption copy is also right on the money.
THURSDAY
Format: Marquee Sign
Why I like it: Credit to Matthew Gal and Jamie Dimond for sharing this. I love the hierarchy of the messaging here – it really guides the reader down to the targeted action (e.g. download the app). It’s a great technique to keep in mind for emails, landing pages, and yes, even your own ads.
HUCKBERRY
Format: Last Chance Email
Why I like it: I am notoriously not a fan of subject lines from brands that begin with “Re:” or “FWD:”, but because I have a soft spot for Huckberry, I let this one slide. I also loved the plain text format on the top part of the email, and the “forwarded” message from a previously sent email below. Well done.
Career Opportunities
These remote opportunities are updated every week with copywriting and marketing roles ambitious job-seekers should definitely apply for.
Job Opportunities
Freelance Writer at FinanceBuzz
📍Remote (Contract) 💸 Undisclosed
Marketing Copywriter at NVIDIA
📍Remote (FT) 💸 $100,000 - $166,800/yr (USD)
Copywriter at Hootsuite
📍Remote (FT) 💸 $64,600 - $94,700/yr (USD)
Copywriter at Plein Air Agency
📍Remote (Contract) 💸 Undisclosed
Conversion Copywriter at Spiralyze
📍Remote (FT, Contract) 💸 Undisclosed
👉 If you’d like to include a job listing, please email me here and include “Job Posting” in the subject line.
That’s it for this week! If you have questions or comments — drop a note below.
✌️
Matt
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