Letter saver
I hate to see letters wasted. So I save them.
Yep, I keep letters as I edit.
If I want to replace 'November' with 'December', for example, I'll highlight the 'Nov', only. And save the 'ember'. Typing 'Dec'.
Crazy.
I know there's a limitless amount of letters available on a computer. It's not like the old days of hot metal type.
But I see it as my craft. Saving letters to use for future words.
Not for me the 'select whole word' preference in Word.
Oh, no. If I can keep the 'ught' from 'bought' and use it for 'caught', I will.
In the next article, autocorrect produced the word 'telegram' when I wanted 'telegraph'.
I just highlighted the letter 'm' and changed it to 'ph' to create the word I wanted. Rather than select the whole word and replace.
Is it just me?
Am I a letter-miser? Mean with my words? Or a letter-recycler, perhaps. Hmmm.
Onto the recycled stuff that caught my eye this week ...
Text history
Wow - I really enjoyed this.
A history of texting from Zipwhip.
It starts with Samuel Morse (of dot-dot-dot dash-dash-dash dot-dot-dot fame).
He invented the telegraph and two-way communications in the 1830s.
The first email, 1971. The first mobile (cell) phone call, 1973.
In 1985, Friedhelm Hillebrand and Bernard Ghillebaert worked out (on a typewriter) how many letters were needed to communicate effectively. They decided 160 characters were 'sufficient'.
First text message, December 3, 1992. It said 'Merry Christmas'.
Today, we send 16 million texts every minute.
Fascinating stuff.
Webinars
Remote learning: copywriting courses, by remote. Got an internet connection? You can learn. Pick your topic, then contact me Nice idea, Jon ... >
Copy skills
Nice article from Entrepreneur: top skills every copywriter needs.
The first one: conversational writing skills. Yep, no-one likes to be sold to.
Second, empathy. ' ... the ability to step into your audience’s shoes and see the world through their eyes'.
Three, SEO know-how. Of course.
Four, creativity - by which they mean storytelling.
Five, content strategy.
Finally, curiosity. 'An enquiring mind will help you unearth a long list of interesting facts you can use as gold nuggets in your copy.'
Good stuff (although numbers three and five feel like they're selling me something).
WFH tips
I signed up for Freelancers Union many years ago.
I've watched as they championed the rights of freelancers (the Freelance Isn’t Free Law, for example).
They even offer health, dental and life insurance.
Anyway, good peeps.
Their five tips for WFH.
One, have a designated workspace. Even if it's a corner somewhere.
Two, replace what would have been the commute time with 'you' time. A transition time from 'home' to work.
Three, keep office hours.
Four, eliminate distractions. Focus on work, then treat yourself.
Five, take multiple breaks. They quote Psychology Today: 'Working for long stretches without breaks leads to stress and exhaustion.'
I like the way they sign off: 'While remote work sounds like a writer’s dream, remember: we’re fragile creatures ...'
That's me.
QotW
Quote of the week:
'When you speak to everyone, you speak to no one.' Meredith Hill
Workshops
• Maximum Copy: online and in-house
• Copy Ninja: the craft via Zoom
• Writing for Digital: about the web, over the web
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