A Visual Thesaurus subscriber's comment to an earlier column of hers inspired Nancy to write this piece. Thanks to both! -- Editor

I've shamelessly borrowed my title from David Ogilvy, who used it as a chapter title in his best-selling 1963 book, Confessions of an Advertising Man. Ogilvy founded one of the world's most successful ad agencies; his clients included Rolls-Royce, Shell Oil, and Sears. Many of his do's and don'ts are timeless: Select the right agency in the first place. Brief your agency very thoroughly indeed. Don't underspend. Tolerate genius.

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Subscriber Larry Oakner graciously sent us this terrific piece on branding -- and how the Visual Thesaurus can help. Read it carefully: Larry's been building brands for over three decades and is the author of And Now a Few Laughs from Our Sponsor. Thanks Larry! -- Editor

How do you describe a personality? You might call a witty conversationalist "clever." Your friend who bungee jumps? "Courageous" or even "fearless." The grandfather who counseled you on life's mysteries? "Wise," of course. We differentiate people's personalities by using words that describe their actions that set them apart. Branding works the same way.

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You have an e-mail, direct mail letter, web page, or other promotional piece to write. How much copy is required to do the job? One paragraph? Five? Twenty?

Most marketing writers struggle with this question. And for good reason. There's a lot of misinformation out there. One so-called expert claims that all marketing and PR copy should be long and involved. Another insists that short and concise works best these days.

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If you're a copywriter or corporate communicator, you've been trained to not use the same words or phrases repeatedly in your copy. If you did, someone -- your boss or editor -- would strike the offending words as being repetitive, wordy, or even boring. As a writer, you're supposed to use your creativity, knowledge of the language, and intellect to craft beautifully written copy.

Imagine, then, when someone informs you that a new copywriting skill involves using the same words over and over again on a Web page. When you see the offending copy, you cringe. "Ack!" you think. "What hack writer got away with writing that... that... that stuff?" Welcome to the world of search engine optimization copywriting.

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When we talk about writing style, we mean one of two things: a set of rules and conventions regarding words and punctuation (sometimes known as the "house style" of a given publication); or a distinctive, identifiable way of assembling words and punctuation (sometimes known as "tone" or "voice"). The first kind of style is all about standards: it's why newspaper writers spell out all numerals under ten and why New Yorker editors -- alone of all their tribe -- spell vendor as vender. The second kind of style is about deviations from the standard. It's what makes us recognize a passage of prose as indisputably Ernest Hemingway's or Joan Didion's or David Foster Wallace's or Maureen Dowd's.  Continue reading...

Each week I come across countless examples of marketing and PR writing that are wonderful to read. The grammar is impeccable. The phrases are inventive. The words sing. But does that mean the resultant sales letter, web page, or press release will meet objectives? The answer, of course, is no.  Continue reading...

Say you're a journalist or a copywriter. Or you write novels or screenplays. Or you're an expert in your field who's working on a book. You've got deadlines to meet and bills to pay. So why would you add to your to-do list a blog -- an online journal no one pays you to write? For some very good reasons.  Continue reading...