Writing Without Waffle
Copywriting has an image problem
As you may know, ‘copy’ is any text that is uploaded to the internet or printed on paper.
Copy: Middle English (denoting a transcript or copy of a document): from Old French copie (noun), copier (verb), from Latin copia ‘abundance’ (in medieval Latin ‘transcript’, from such phrases as copiam describendi facere ‘give permission to transcribe’).
The problem with the word ‘copywriting’ is that many people don’t know they need it.
Some people think they can do it themselves. But just because someone knows how to throw a sentence together doesn’t mean they can write copy.
Copywriting is not just about writing words that flow in a grammatically correct way. It’s the art of writing words that persuade the reader to take an action, change their attitude or spend their money. It’s a craft and a skill that overlaps with marketing, psychology and sometimes SEO.
Admittedly, it’s always been the case that people think they can write their own copy. But now there’s added confusion.
Wordy humour
Top 30 eggcorns
To be pacific (instead of to be specific) An escape goat (instead of a scapegoat) Damp squid (instead of damp squib) Nipped it in the butt (instead of nipped in the bud) On tender hooks (instead of on tenterhooks) Cold slaw (instead of coleslaw) A doggie-dog world (instead of dog-eat-dog Read more…