Copywriting News | Apprentice Runner-Up Abolishes Apostrophe Use

She gained acclaim by reaching the final of the 2013 series of ‘The Apprentice’, earning the respect and admiration of Lord Alan Sugar. However, Luisa Zissman’s Twitter followers were left mortified when she revealed her poor grasp of grammar.

Astonishingly, Zissman’s confession led to a barrage of criticism from her mass Twitter following after she posted an appeal for help on apostrophe placement in the title of her new cupcake business venture.

Her Twitter post read as follows: “Can you all help me out as I'm crap at grammar. Is it bakers toolkit or baker's toolkit with an apostrophe?! X.”

In response, one startled Twitter user replied: “You're kidding, right?” whilst others mocked her and questioned how she ever managed to reach the final of the prime time, BBC ONE show.

There were those that were willing to help however, informing her that it should read Baker’s Toolkit, or Bakers’ Toolkit, depending on the number of intended bakers.

However, despite the helpful advice Zissman went on to enrage ‘grammar geeks’ by declaring that she didn’t care about ‘grammar rules’ and she liked the way it looked with no apostrophe present at all.

She said: “I like the look of bakers. Would it be terrible to stick with bakers?”  

In a reply from one Twitter user, Matt Adams, he said: “You can't change English grammar even if it does look better on logos!”

Zissman retorted: “Think I'm going to!!”

To which Matt replied: “But why?! Why deliberately make a mistake in the title of your business for no good reason?!”

Zissman’s bakery business is set to launch towards the latter end of 2013 and will sell baking supplies online. It would now appear that the company name will be launched, minus an apostrophe it seems. Could it be a recipe for disaster?

Tell Write House your thoughts; leave your comments below… 

Write House, West Midlands, provides a comprehensive range of services that will help your business to increase its prominence including copywriting, proofreading and editing services, social media assistance and media consultancy services.

MarketingProfs Issues Report on the State of Digital Copywriting

Leading Marketing Hub, MarketingProfs, has issued an in-depth report detailing the challenges that marketers and content creators face when it comes to digital copywriting, Write House can reveal.

According to the report a high proportion (60%) of marketers and content creators state that a ‘lack of understanding about what good copy is’ represents the biggest challenge of digital copywriting.

Other challenges affecting the production of good digital copy include: work overload/lack of staff (55%), finding skilled writers (51%), meeting SEO requirements (44%), input from stakeholders (40%), lack of writing guidelines (37%), insufficient time to check copy (34%), and no copywriting training (31%).

Other key findings from the report, titled ‘The State of Digital Copywriting’, which was compiled following a survey of 365 marketers, copywriters, content editors, content strategists and consultants, predominantly based in the UK, revealed the following:

Copywriting Activity

• 74% of respondents check and proof copy before it goes live
• 58% use language and style guidelines
• Only 32% have a standard content structure format for their writing
• Just 19% train all their content creators in web writing

Source: Marketingprofs.com

Workflow

• 52% of respondents write copy on demand, in response to business needs
• Just 18% roll out copy according to a content plan, and only 9.8% always use a creative brief
• 43% have, on average, 1-2 stakeholders who need to sign off on a key piece of web copy, and 42% have 3-5 stakeholders
• 42% of time is spent creating content, and the rest is spent planning, delivering, and governing it

Source: Marketingprofs.com

Measurement

• 56% of respondents measure the effectiveness of copy by unique visits or page views
• 48% measure effectiveness by looking at conversions
• 20% aren't measuring the effectiveness of their copy at all

Source: Marketingprofs.com

Write House, Wolverhampton, understands that the majority of responses within the research came from marketers (20.7%), followed by copywriters (10.6%), content editors (9.8%), consultants (3.9%) and content strategists (3.6%).

Write House founder and copywriter, Daniel Waldron, commented: “The report gives copywriters and marketers valuable insight into the habits of copywriters and a glimpse into the state of digital copywriting as a whole. This information will enable the Write House copywriting service to improve its own standards therefore, the research is welcomed.”

Write House News | Google Glum, Microsoft Miserable | Companies Bemoan ‘Poor Profits’

You would think that Google would be ecstatic with a 16% increase in profits over the last 12 months, particularly in the grip of an economic recession. Well apparently not, finance analysts for the technology giant are bemoaning a shortfall in profits despite making $9.7 billion (£6.4 billion).

Write House founder and copywriter, Daniel Waldron, comments: “Well it’s just staggering there are companies that would give anything to still be in existence, to bemoan profits of $9.4 billion signifies one thing only, greed.”

Microsoft followed suit, bemoaning its own shortfall in profits despite raking in $4.5 billion during the second quarter.

Write House understands that both companies have experienced a fall in share value of about 4% as a result of the profit announcements.

Despite Google’s profits experiencing a 16% increase, the company was disappointed to miss out on predicted profits forecast by analysts.

The catalyst behind Google’s profits – advertising revenue - was also up by 15%.

In a statement from Google Chief Executive, Larry Page, he said: “As we adapt to mobile advertising our bottom line as suffered a hit.”

In an official statement from Write House founder and copywriter, Daniel Waldron, he said: “The opportunity to make billions does not present itself to everyone and I think it’s a little short-sighted of two globally recognised companies to publicly moan about a shortfall in ‘profits’ when just $1 billion of that money could solve a number of the world’s issues, in my opinion it’s disgraceful.”

In need of a copywriting service? Contact Write House today.  

Write House Copywriting Services Social Media News | Pinterest Launches Localised French Version

Write House, Wolverhampton, understands that social media solution, Pinterest, has launched a localised edition of its website in France. This move represents the first non-English version of its site.

Whilst the French edition offers language assistance in search and other copy-heavy areas of the site, the primary goal of the French site is to offer a targeted local community experience for users across the French nation.

In a statement from Pinterest executives, they said: “The platform will feature content from French domains and pins with French-language descriptions more prominently in search and on category pages, as well as pins from local users.”

Write House founder and copywriter, Daniel Waldron stated: “This is a significant step for Pinterest as they look to expand in the social media market. The concept of introducing a localised version of the site is a unique and fresh approach.”

To promote the launch, Pinterest sent a group of representatives to Paris in order to raise awareness of its new venture. Write House also understands that the San-Francisco based company has partnered with over 300 blog copywriters, freelance copywriters and other copywriting professionals, to produce guest posts and promote the site via its ‘Pin it Forward’ campaign.

Write House provides a comprehensive range of services that helps businesses to increase their prominence including copywriting, proofreading and editing services, social media assistance and media consultancy services. 

Write House Copywriting Services News | Copywriting Could be Hereditary says Research

Write House Copywriting Services, Wolverhampton, has learnt that copywriting could be a hereditary art form. Investigations undertaken by researchers from Yale and Moscow Universities have identified significant traits that run through families known for their writing skills.

Some examples include Kingsley and Amis, the Brontës and the Waugh family. The research uncovered that there is a scientific ‘link’ that leads certain family members down the same career path as other copywriters within the family.

In a statement from Write House Copywriting Services founder, Daniel Waldron, he said: “I can’t identify with this personally in my immediate lifetime, but maybe my family tree would identify where my copywriting prowess originates from. However, this is very significant research as it may inspire other copywriters to pursue a writing career as did their immediate and historical ancestors.”

Research into the phenomenon led to them testing the theory. Hundreds of children aged eight – 17, along with their parents, were asked to produce written material focusing on particular themes. The finished articles were monitored for originality, plot development, quality, sophistication and creative use of prior knowledge.

Researchers also took into account family levels of intelligence and how they functioned. With all this data taken into consideration, they identified the inherited and environmental aspects of creative copywriting.

The findings revealed a modest, but statistically significant proportion of familiarity and a heritage type element to creative copywriting.

Write House provides a comprehensive range of services that helps businesses on a local, national and international scale to increase its prominence including copywriting, proofreading and editing services, social media assistance and media consultancy services.

Write House Copywriting News | Copywriters Raise Funds for Endangered Animals

Copywriters and conservationists have teamed up in a bid to raise money for endangered species across the globe. Write House, a Wolverhampton copywriting service, has learnt that copywriters and conservationists have partnered in order to share stories about their favourite animals at London Zoo.

A selection of dates have been set aside for the event, spanning from June – September 2013, beginning on June 11^th, 2013.

Write House understands that the event will be attended by a number of UK copywriters and conservationists in order to raise awareness and to raise funds for a number of the world’s most endangered animals. Funds raised will go towards safeguarding the future of those species most at risk of extinction.

The current itinerary, complete with dates, features:

• 11 June: Helen Dunmore, Sumatran Tigers at Tiger Territory

• 20 June: Glyn Maxwell Mallorcan Midwife Toad in the Reptile House

• 16 July: Ruth Padel, Hummingbirds in the Blackburn Pavilion

• 27 August: Mark Haddon, Galapagos Tortoises in Giants of the Galapagos

• 17 September: Andrew O'Hagan, Malaysian Tapirs in Tiger Territory

Tickets for the event are limited and available at https://www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo/whats-on/arts-and-culture/

Here’s an insight into what visitors can expect… A reading from esteemed poet Glynn Maxwell:

“The Mallorcan midwife toad is beautiful and vulnerable, as well as being one of those rare animal species where the male does something surprisingly helpful - carries the eggs around for the female. But most of all I thought about it because until 1979 its story was thought to be over; and it isn't. So now I can help to tell it.”

Write House, Wolverhampton understands that the talks will raise funds for ZSL's conservation projects to save animals and their habitats around the world.

Copywriting News - Google Criticised for Lazy Copywriting Call-Out Line – Write House Reports

In the promotion of its new Chromebook Pixel laptop, search engine giant Google has been criticised for lacklustre copywriting efforts.

One copywriting commentator branded Google’s efforts “lazy and stupid”. Often revered for their ability to produce compelling copy regarding their hardware, Google copywriters came under scrutiny based on just one line within the product description of their new state of the art 

laptop.

So what’s got copywriters riled? After going to all the effort to describe the laptop’s “0.55mm layer of touch-enabled Gorilla® Glass fused directly to the screen, which provides smooth touch interactions while preserving picture clarity.”

And,

“Pixel is machined from an anodized aluminium alloy to a tight tolerance, leaving nothing extraneous or distracting: vents are hidden, screws invisible, and stereo speakers seamlessly tucked away beneath the backlit keyboard.”

Google went on to describe the laptop’s ‘light bar’ and here’s where copywriters criticise Google’s lazy efforts. In describing the light bar Google simply said: “Just because it looks cool.”

In a statement from one copywriting expert, he said: “The line is simply lazy and cynical, it sells a product to clients admirably in the first instance and then shatters the whole perception of the product with one piece of lazy, ‘can’t be bothered’ copy. In this instance it would have been better to say nothing at all.”

No comment was made by Google.