copywriting. jumbo style.
At my first job that didn’t involve cutting lemon wedges and pouring draught Beer for drunk, off-duty doormen, my father came to meet me one day for lunch. I heard my boss, Lisa, say to my dad, “Laura’s great. We’ve got to find a way to tap that talent.” Oh yes, I thought. Please. Please… keep reading…
There’s this woman Georgia in my dance class — by that, I mean my instructor Cebo’s dance class, which I take, not teach — who’s amazing. I often watch her and think, “Oh, so THAT’S how that move should look.” She’s super hard on herself. Always yelling out “Aahhhhhh!” when she messes up a move… keep reading…
At the company off-site, they had tubs of ice cream waiting for us first thing in the morning. Breakfast of cry-babies. This day was planned to manage all the upset about the big re-org. To help us lick our wounds…while licking ice cream sandwiches. There had been rumblings that a re-org (as in, re-organization or… keep reading…
I had a housemate in college who’d leave messages on my answering machine like this: BEEEP! “Hey, just checking in, I was just wondering what you were planning to do with the spaghetti pot and some of the other stuff you left out on the counter. I’d clean them myself, it’s no big deal, but with… keep reading…
“Did I ever tell you about my crush at Camp Well-Met? Her name was Laura Mills…” “We know.” “Have I ever told you about Grandpa refusing to take illegal kickbacks in his lumber business during World War Two?” “We know.” “Have I ever told you about my time-efficiency study for Eastern Airlines? It saved the… keep reading…
The easiest buck I ever made was in 1994. Before I tell you what the job was, let’s talk about easy money. I often see business coaches posing this question: “Do you feel guilty charging for work that feels easy?” They post it on Facebook and Twitter, offering to help people break through this so-called “money… keep reading…
Meet my friend and publicity mentor, Selena Soo! Usually, people interview Selena about publicity. In this case, we decided she’d interview me — so I could share what publicity has done for my business, why I didn’t think it was for me, and why I wish I’d started sooner. (The case with just about everything… keep reading…
There’s a word I’m sick of. Not awesomesauce or amazeballs. Both of those sound swampy and musky and wet or hairy, respectively, but they’ve become so common they’ve worn me down. Not woke, though I do hate that one and I promise you, I WILL NOT CAVE and use it. (Though I do think “Woke-ish” should be a… keep reading…
“You have to put yourself out there!” “If you don’t promote yourself, you’re stealing from those who need you!” “Marketing and selling are an act of service.” You’ve probably heard these things. They’re all true. You might’ve also heard: “If your friends are annoyed by your success, they don’t deserve to be in your life.”… keep reading…
“Are you a freelancer?” When someone asks that, I nod yes-ish and answer, “I have a copywriting business.” I’ll call myself a consultant, a professional copywriter, an independent contractor. I’ll say I’m for hire. A free agent. Available for projects. A business owner. But I don’t say “freelancer.” Why? Because it sounds poor. Poor, and… keep reading…
