Good Copy, Bad Copy — Doris and Bertie Ltd

Strapped for ideas?

Straplines tell your customer what you’re about and they capture the essence of your brand. So why do so many businesses seem to bang out the first thing that comes to mind?

How not to writeClare LynchNovember 15, 2007straplines Comments

Ditch your communications strategy and just talk

Reading noun-heavy prose is like having to complete an obstacle course, in which every word you encounter slows you down and depletes you of the energy to read on.

How to write, How not to write, Grammar and punctuationClare LynchNovember 13, 2007nouns, verbs Comments

Pitching it at the right level

When it comes to a successful business pitch, small, focused presentations are more powerful than 200-page tomes.

How to writeClare LynchNovember 7, 2007Pitching, business writingComment

Don't follow the crowd

Writers seem to have suddenly developed a mistrust of the word ‘after’, preferring instead the more cumbersome ‘following’.

How to write, How not to writeClare LynchNovember 6, 2007Comment

Hard to stomach

Surely a writer using the phrase 'dining experience' is merely trying to differentiate their restaurant from all the other, lesser restaurants out there. Hmm - let’s google that phrase and see.

How not to writeClare LynchApril 10, 2007experience Comments

What's it regarding?

As the Penguin Guide to Plain English notes: It would be good advice to any writer to say, "If you are thinking of using the word 'regarding', don't".

How not to writeClare LynchFebruary 26, 2007 Comments

No experience necessary

Have you noticed that every other thing we’re asked to part money for is an ‘experience’?

How not to writeClare LynchFebruary 12, 2007Comment

Charming sub-penthouse benefits from Juliet balcony

A brief guide to the slippery language of estate agents - lifted direct from a property magazine.

How not to writeClare LynchFebruary 9, 2007jargon Comments

Little effect after much labour

Ask any professional writer what the definition of 'professional writer' is and they'll likely tell you it's someone who doesn't very much like writing.

How to writeClare LynchJanuary 30, 2007writing, copywriting, blogging Comments

Designed to annoy

I flinch whenever I see evidence a fellow writer has surrendered all power to their designer. The biggest give-away? When words are over-designed in a misguided attempt to be witty or allusive.

How to writeClare LynchNovember 24, 2006copywriting, designer Comments

A question of empathy

One of the secrets of writing well is empathising with your reader - something this multinational household name clearly forgot with prose guaranteed to alienate rather than woo its intended audience.

How not to writeClare LynchNovember 20, 2006EmpathyComment

Plural apostrophe: put it down slowly and walk away

Like Capricorns and rottweilers the apostrophe just takes a little bit of time to get to know. Take the time to understand him and you’ve got a friend for life.

Grammar and punctuationClare LynchOctober 21, 2006apostrophe, grammar Comments

Split infinitives: Go on! Do it! There, that feels better doesn't it?

The split infinitive causes more than its fair share of tooth gnashing and garment rending. But why? Let's take a calm, balanced look at the rule and its history.

Grammar and punctuationClare LynchOctober 9, 2006 Comments

Capitalist society

Wouldn't your prose be that little bit more impactful, impressive, heck, downright important-sounding if you capitalised a few words?

Grammar and punctuationClare LynchOctober 6, 2006 Comments