Christopher Berry Professional Copywriter
Freelance copywriter in Haslemere, Surrey
As a freelance copywriter working with businesses in various industries, coming out of the Covid-19 lockdown has almost been as weird as going into it. Every business that's opened up again has had to do so with new Covid-19 procedures in place, typically revolving around a term that would've been alien to all of us … Continue reading How (not) to write social distancing pages
My first class for Skillshare has launched. Skillshare is an online learning platform comprised of online video classes taught by practitioners in a variety of areas, including technology, design, lifestyle, entrepreneurship and the creative arts. I was approached by Skillshare earlier this year and asked to become a teacher on the site, helping students to … Continue reading Skillshare video class: how to write a great home page & keep people on your site
You’ve decided which social media platforms to use to interact with your present and prospective customers. You’ve also looked at some key aspects of a good social media marketing strategy. Now comes the next big question: when should you post on those platforms? This article looks at 3 platforms in particular: LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. … Continue reading What are the best times to post on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook in 2018?
In my last article, I looked at seven key aspects of a good social marketing strategy for businesses. This time I’m taking a closer look at three main platforms that businesses use — LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook — and comparing them. Everybody knows using social media effectively can be great for business, not just for … Continue reading Twitter vs Facebook vs LinkedIn: which is best for marketing?
Lots of businesses confuse social media marketing with advertising. Sure, you can use social media to advertise, and yes, because of the volume of people, advertising on social media can be effective. But if that’s the extent of your strategy, then you’re missing the point — and the power — of social media. Social media … Continue reading #SocialSense — 7 key aspects of a good social media marketing strategy
The sun’s shining, the air’s warm, and I hear seagulls (which is odd, because I live in Aldershot in Hampshire—nowhere near the coast). Anyway, Britain and the sun are frequently falling out, so the fact that they’ve been on good terms for the past week or so has given me a bit of a travel … Continue reading 6 tips for writing terrific travel articles
Guest post by Patrick M. Greene, an academic writer for Essay Twist Gone are the days when customers triple just for putting up a couple of printed advertisements. Blogging is now the new fashion when it comes to business marketing. It’s even considered as one of the best ways to draw new customers to your … Continue reading Business blogs that work
A brochure is, fundamentally, a piece of advertising. It could be intended as a lead-generator or a leave-behind, aimed at a consumer or the trade. Regardless of function and audience, brochure copy should push your prospect towards a sale. Its primary focus should not be the provision of information. It should be persuading your prospect to … Continue reading 5 secrets to writing an excellent brochure for your business
At Christmas time, do you ever hear something and think, what in the world does that actually mean? We seem to have gone ear-numb to a lot of the Christmas words and phrases we hear every year. So now I’m going to unpick a few of them and find out what linguistic secrets lie behind … Continue reading Weird Christmas Words — from “Yule” to “Hark” to “Boxing Day”
Company newsletters are a great way of staying in touch with customers, staff or shareholders. They’re a valuable means of letting customers know about offers, events, new products and changes to the business, or keeping staff and shareholders informed, updated and motivated. In 2013, the Content Marketing Institute found that 78% of respondents used newsletters. … Continue reading Stay in touch — 5 tips for writing better newsletters
You’re at a critical juncture. You’re not sure whether your business should enter the blogosphere, or continue roaming a blogless path. To blog, or not to blog. That is the question. To answer it, ask yourself three more questions: Is your website a source of business? Does your website get enough traffic without a blog? … Continue reading Get Bloggy — why businesses should blog, blog, blog
One of the first things you learn in the world of copywriting, advertising and marketing is: sell the benefits of your product or service, not the features. Features are about the product, benefits are about the customer. For example: FEATURE: The torch has a brightness level of 150 lumens. BENEFIT: The torch’s 150-lumen brightness level … Continue reading Why case studies are great marketing tools for businesses
The quest for the perfect brand name can be challenging. If you get it right, your company/product/service has a head start on success. If you get it wrong, you’ve potentially just killed what you’re trying to promote. My last copywriting tips article looked at the main considerations for freelance copywriters when embarking on brand name … Continue reading Copywriting tips – good, bad and ugly brand names
Etymology fascinates me, particularly when the passage of time twists the original meaning of a word or phrase into something else entirely. There are some common expressions with such wacky origins that even if you tried to make an educated guess, you’d probably be barking up the wrong tree. (See what I did there? No … Continue reading Weird Words – 5 expressions with crazy origins
All forms of copywriting can be fun and creative, but there are two types I love best: in-depth articles that I can really get my teeth into, and creating brand names. Funnily enough, both are at the opposite ends of the copy spectrum. When writing a lengthy article for a magazine or blog, your hours … Continue reading Copywriting tips – brand names with buzz
As a writer, I’ve always been interested in how language changes, develops and evolves. How words change their meaning because of the way we use them. How mishearings and grammar mistakes become part of the language because overuse leads people to forget that they’re errors. How entirely new words pop up because of new technologies … Continue reading Weird Words – 5 surprising word origins you’d never guess
All good copy should contain a powerful call to action. In other words, an instruction or request designed to provoke an immediate response from your audience. A call to action should persuade your reader to do something now. The most obvious would be, “buy it now”, but “buy it now” is too simple and too … Continue reading Copywriting tips: 5 powerful call to actions to enhance your marketing
Man in 2016: “Could you Facebook me that selfie of us asap?” Man in 1916: “Could I what you that what of us what?!” Once upon a time, “text” was only a noun, “tweet” was just something birds did, and there was no such thing as a “selfie”. Now we tweet, text, sext and take … Continue reading Weird Words — from “totes” to “selfie” to “lol”
As a freelance copywriter, I find that brand names and taglines can be the most difficult copy to write. All copy is subjective, yes, but brand names and taglines are even more so. One that sounds great to the writer could sound horrible to the client — and vice versa. There’s no real answer to … Continue reading Copywriting tips — how to write better taglines
I have a Numatic Hetty HET200 Vacuum Cleaner. Do I call it that? No. It's a hoover. When I dig it out, I don’t “vacuum” the flat. I “hoover” the flat. “Hoover” is a noun and a verb that has long been synonymous with vacuuming and vacuum cleaner, yet the word actually originates from the Hoover … Continue reading Weird Words – how brand names become generic
There’s an art to the cold email, just as there is to the cold call. People find cold calls and cold emails frustrating (me included), but that’s partly because of the lack of effort that goes into them. The problem with a lot of cold emails is they’re simply too cold. In other words, the … Continue reading 5 quick copywriting tips for writing better marketing emails