Blog

It happens to me surprisingly often.

I’m half skimming, half reading a fairly interesting article—all the way until the last word. But as soon as I’ve finished, I’ve already forgotten what I’ve read.

Sound familiar? If you want readers to remember your words, you need to invigorate your message and jump-start your readers into action. Here’s how …Read more »

Ever wanted to know which books to read to improve your writing skills?

This post lists the 31 books that have most influenced my writing. These books helped me become a more engaging blog writer and more persuasive copywriter. Plus these books inspired me and taught me how to get unstuck and streamline my writing process.

I’ve categorized the books, and help you select the books most suitable to your writing goals. Read more »

When I started writing in my early 40s, I was a procrastination champion.

I often hated having to write, and I allowed myself to get distracted by everything—the neighbors’ barking dogs, Twitter, email, random thoughts. Staying focused on writing felt impossible.

Shall I tell you how I learned to make writing easier and more joyful? Read more »

Does the idea of marketing your business make you cringe? Do you hate promoting yourself?

Self-promotion and marketing have always felt alien to me. But I’ve learned that marketing doesn’t have to be pushy. The opposite is true. You can promote your business with grace, and still sell bucket-loads. Want to know how? Read more »

Have you tried to learn copywriting by reading blog posts?

And does it seem hard to apply the tips? As if your knowledge is a little disjointed?

Teaching yourself copywriting can feel like a difficult task.

But it doesn’t need to be so hard, if you apply a good learning system. In this article, I reveal the 5-step system I used to teach myself copywriting.Read more »

Do you ever read a draft and feel it’s a tad boring?

It happens to all of us.

You might think that writing with personality should come naturally. But writing often doesn’t work like that. We have to work a little harder to inject personality into our writing.

And while I can’t deny it is work, it’s not as difficult as it may sound. Check out these 3 steps for writing with oodles of personality.Read more »

Do you ever feel stuck writing a first sentence?

Even bestselling writers can feel paralyzed when writing that all-important first line. Stephen King admits he can mull over his first sentences for months.

So, what can you do if you’re in a hurry? And you want to write a compelling first line, pronto?Read more »

I used to think writing required ironclad discipline. Or at least steely willpower.

But there’s an amazingly simple mind trick to writing more (or doing anything else that might feel impossible).

This mind trick seems so powerful, that I can’t believe I haven’t discovered it before …Read more »

“I feel overwhelmed,” he emailed me. “There’s so much information on your website. Where should I start? What are the basic writing techniques I should learn?”

My friendly emailer suggested an article about basic writing techniques—for anyone starting out, who’s feeling overwhelmed or looking for a quick refresher.

Sound good? Read more »

The idea of writing from the heart used to feel alien to me.

Isn’t it a little woo-woo? I write a business blog, not a memoir nor a love letter, so why would I write from my heart? Read more »