Persuasion
The Media’s Integrity Problem
Last week, I shared that I had experienced an unexpected and very sudden divorce. What I didn’t share was thanks to the very public nature of my ex-husband’s job, I had a front-row seat to the vitriolic and unethical world of politics and media – and the absolutely corrupt and coordinated relationship between them. I (…)
Be Wary of Anyone Selling You Certainty
About a decade ago I went down the rabbit hole of learning about food. I started with the woo-woo stuff (Kris Carr’s book isn’t bad), did a stint with the conspiracy theorists (Forks Over Knives, Anything about gluten and your brain), and then graduated to the promised land of Michael Pollan. If you haven’t read The Omnivore’s (…)
It’s ok not to know something
Trust in institutions is at an all-time low, with, I think, good reason. However, it appears we’ve overcorrected because now we claim to, “do our own research,” and cite, “this person I follow on TikTok,” Reddit threads, and Instagram memes. Listen. I love the democratization of information, but our absolute trust in non-peer-reviewed assertions that (…)
Why People Who Go To Therapy Become Better Copywriters
During the previous run of The Copy Workshop, I thought a live fireside chat with a professional copywriter would help invigorate the classroom, so I invited my friend, Carolynn, to speak to students. And while traditional speakers give tips, tricks, frameworks, and takeaways – Carolynn gave us the opening scene of The Godfather. [To find out (…)
Signal In The Noise: Introducing The Carbon Almanac
Before I tell you this story you need to know that I was the founder of the Save The Earth Club at I. Weiner Middle school in 1994. I petitioned for half a day of school to facilitate workshops and speakers and, yes, I was 10. I also drove my parents insane insisting we reduce, (…)
Write Copy You’re Proud Of
There’s a category of businesses I call “cookie-cutter” because they all look the same. You can tell who runs a cookie-cutter business because they’re obsessed with business “formulas” for scaling. And they do it quite well. If you want to run a cookie-cutter business it will probably work, at least for a little while. Books (…)
How to Improve When You’re Not “Naturally” Talented
PSA: The Copy Workshop is open for enrollment for our January 2022 session. The workshop is $1,200 but for the next week, Akimbo is offering it for $800 in celebration of something I’ll tell you about later. For now, what you need to know is the price for the workshop will increase in one week. If you’d (…)
How To Reach Someone Who Doesn’t Want To Listen
A topic that has come up a lot in my life lately is “people you can’t reach.” How do you reach someone who doesn’t want to hear what you have to say? How do you *convince* them to see your point of view? How do you help someone change their mind? Open their eyes? Get (…)