Weekly Round Up #64
Your once-a-week digest filled with copy tips/tricks/hacks, must-read articles, and some pretty cool copy examples.
Welcome to the 64th 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: Ditch the CTA
7 Psychological Techniques to Help You Write Attention-Grabbing Hooks (via Psychology Meets Writing)
Retaining Your BFCM Shoppers: What to Do After the Big Weekend (via Peel Insights)
5 Boring Ways to Become More Creative (via Mark Manson)
Podcast Pick of the Week: Don’t Think About WHO, Think About WHEN
Pretty Cool Copy Examples
Job Opportunities
Copy Tip of the Week
Ditch the CTA
Okay, okay, okay – hear me out.
I saw this tip from Tim Stoddart on LinkedIn earlier this week and thought it was great:
Call to action = Okay Call to outcome = Better
CTA: “Buy today” CTO: “Unlock better health”
CTA: “Join the community” CTO: “Get more clients”
Sell outcomes, not actions.
(To no one’s surprise, this tip has a lot of blowback in the copywriting community. It goes against standard practices when it comes to CTAs. But honestly, it’s always worth a test!)
Must-Read Articles
7 Psychological Techniques to Help You Write Attention-Grabbing Hooks (via Psychology Meets Writing)
Why I recommend it 👉 You have a finite amount of time to grab someone’s attention, and in today’s economy, your ability to do that can make all the difference. Nowhere is that more true than with online ads, video scripts, and even leads in newspapers. Your ability to write a good hook is paramount to success. This article’s packed with 7 techniques (with examples) you can use to give yourself a better shot at nabbing someone’s eyeballs and brain time.
Retaining Your BFCM Shoppers: What to Do After the Big Weekend (via Peel Insights)
Why I recommend it 👉 You’re using Black Friday/Cyber Monday to acquire new customers – good on you. But now what? That’s what this article is all about. And if you’re not game-planning your post-BFCM strategy right now, what are you doing, man?
5 Boring Ways to Become More Creative (via Mark Manson)
Why I recommend it 👉 What if I told you creativity is a skill? Would you believe me? Because, like Mark Manson argues here, I think it is. And just like any skill, you can practice it to become better at it. Ergo, these five tips. I think the first one is probably the most important: focus on doing the work, not flashes of inspiration.
BRAIN DRIVEN BRANDS
Marketers – Don’t Think About WHO, Think About WHEN
Listen on iTunes | Listen on Spotify
⏰ 21 minutes
Why I recommend it 👉 As a copywriter, when you’re thinking about how you’re going to present your message to your audience, you often think about who your audience is. But that’s only part of it (as you know). Unfortunately, that’s where most of us are tempted to stop.
In this conversation with Sarah Levinger and Nate Lagos, Sarah stresses the importance of beginning with WHEN before the WHO even crosses your mind.
Pretty Fly Copy
HOWLER BROS
Format: Email
Why I like it 👉 The GIF in the hero was very eye-catching, but I appreciate how brands bring back crowd favorites for a limited window of time. It instantly manufactures urgency.
HOLLOW
Format: Email
Why I like it 👉 Sure, there’s a Black Friday sale going on, but that’s not what caught my attention. I like it when brands give their products context – like this is when you’re going to use XYZ product. It’s all about framing your campaign around the Rule of One. And this email did just that.
OLUKAI
Format: Email
Why I like it 👉 The strategy here is brilliant. The brand tells you to build your wish list of your favorite products of theirs for a chance to win them all (zero party data anyone?). But here’s the kicker – they’re doing this before Black Friday, meaning they can send you targeted campaigns featuring your must-have products at a discounted price for a limited time. Would you rather maybe win a free pair or most definitely get your picks at a discount?
THE WOOBLES
Format: Email
Why I like it 👉 Two words: surprise and delight, which is easy to come by in emails from The Woobles. But this one in particular was extra epic. It tells a story, a seasonally appropriate one featuring their products. Well done!
Career Opportunities
These remote opportunities are updated every week with copywriting and marketing roles ambitious job-seekers should definitely apply for.
Paid Social Account Manager at Homestead Studio
📍Remote 💸 Undisclosed (but it’s gooooood)
Marketing Copywriter at Lovevery
📍Remote 💸 $75,000 - $100,000/yr. (USD)
Lead Copywriter at Kajabi
📍Remote 💸 $87,800 - $117,000/yr. (USD)
Copywriter (B2B) at Hat Tip
📍Remote 💸 $25 - $35/hr. (USD)
Email and Content Writer at Compose.ly
📍Remote 💸 Undisclosed
That’s it for this week! If you have questions or comments — drop a note below.
✌️
Matt
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