603 Copywriting Blog

Hiring a freelance copywriter is an important step for any business. You’ve made the decision to bring in outside help for your website, brochures or adverts, and you’re searching Google or the Professional Copywriter’s Network to find a freelancer who meets your needs. But what do you need to bear in mind when you’re hiring […]

Last week, my wife nipped to the Co-op to grab a pint of milk. As is her way, she got talking to the teenager on the till. It turns out that he’s studying for a marketing degree at Manchester Metropolitan University. “Oh,” replied my better half. “What a coincidence. My husband’s a freelance copywriter.” The […]

So stick a fork in it: guest blogging is done; it’s just gotten too spammy. In general I wouldn’t recommend accepting a guest blog post unless you are willing to vouch for someone personally or know them well. Likewise, I wouldn’t recommend relying on guest posting, guest blogging sites, or guest blogging as a link-building […]

The sunburn from your August bank holiday is still stinging, and the shelves are full of Back to School offers. Christmas 2016 is probably the last thing on your mind. It shouldn’t be.

Good writing isn’t just about finding a structure that works and then typing until you’ve filled in the relevant sections. If it was, good copywriters wouldn’t be able to charge a healthy amount for their services.

If you’ve never read Kate Fox’s “Watching the English,” I recommend it. It’s an anthropological study of the English, explaining the linguistic, psychological and behavioural codes we tend to follow. And it turns out that if there’s one thing we English don’t like, it’s earnestness. (If there are two things, the other is queue jumping, […]

When you imagine a brewery, what comes to mind? Huge vats? Swimming-pool sized quantities of beer? Giant mechanical bottling systems? Chances are you don’t think of a semi-detached house in suburban Prestwich. But that’s where I found myself, after accepting an invitation to Britain’s smallest commercial brewery, Manchester’s Beer Nouveau. Because when a man offers […]

Even after eight years, I’m still learning how to be a truly great copywriter. I’ve just had a superb lesson.

Common sense is a deeply uncommon trait. I’ve got no idea who said that, no intention of Googling it, and every reason to keep using it in conversations about marketing. Because lots and lots of what marketers say – especially the gurus and the rockstars and the ninjas – is utter, utter bullshit. Bob Hoffman, […]