As the mother of a near-11-month old, Winnie-the-Pooh is a constant presence in my life these days. The other day, as I listened to my husband read The Tao of Pooh to my daughter, I came across a concept that I found could help the often deadline-pressured copywriter. In The Tao of Pooh, author Benjamin Hoff discussed “the uncarved block.” And he equated Pooh to the uncarved block – unrefined, simplistic and solid. Pooh, unlike the very “wise” owl (another Winnie-the-Pooh character, for any of you who are not familiar), does... 

So many of us get so engrossed in trying to write copy that is fresh and inventive, and trying to meet deadlines and hit big picture goals, that we forget about the very basics that make marketing or SEO copy work in the first place. I found this handy little article by Laura Lake with five basic questions to ask yourself when doing any type of persuasive copy. It’s real basic stuff, but here’s a suggestion: before sending that well-polished draft to someone else in your organization for review, take 5 minutes to consider the questions she poses. Do...