I was rummaging through my old backup files when I came across this Pentel ad that I did years ago. I was working for Sterling Paper which was the distributor of Pentel products here in the country.

One day my boss asked me to come up with a simple ad, measuring 2 inches by 10 inches to be published in a major broadsheet. I asked him when would he want a study ad and he said within the day. I was naturally surprised because it was too quick; too short a deadline for a print ad.

He said we were given that free ad space as a bonus for the series of ads that had just published on that newspaper. But the thing was they required that extra ad to be submitted not later than the next day. And so I had no choice. I made use of our existing product images and with the help of Photoshop, I came up with this:

It’s a very simple ad that I was able to finish in less than an hour. But still it was fun doing it given the very rushed deadline.

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Seldom do I admire a TV commercial, but this one from Camella Homes is truly amazing. I have nothing but praises to whoever thought of it. I wonder who is the copywriter behind this gem.

Aside from the very catchy “Bulilit” song, this ad also features one of the cutest kids to have graced the television.

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When in doubt, delete.

That has been the mantra of writer friends of mine. I think it is a very good tip to follow whenever you are editing a copy or an article and you come across a word you are not sure of the meaning.

But that should not always be the case. I made a modification of that line which I believe is a better version and it goes like this:

When in doubt, check the dictionary.

Isn’t it much better to first check the meaning of the word before you delete it? Especially if the reason you’re deleting it is because you don’t know what it means?

Humility is a virtue every writer should possess. But there are those who think checking the dictionary is a declaration of their ineptitude with words. But that is completely wrong. If anything else, checking the dictionary is a sign of the writer’s dedication to his craft, of his continuous education with words and of his desire to perfect his writing skills.

Let’s take the case about the word ‘troublous’.

Senator Aquilino Pimentel once mentioned that word in an interview. The word ‘troublous’ is a very seldom used word and people are more familiar with related words such as ‘troubling’, ‘troubled’ and ‘troublesome’.

A friend of mine remarked he was not sure if there’s a word like ‘troublous’ and that if he were Pimentel and a ghostwriter wrote that word in his speech, my friend would delete it.

I asked him why and he said, “I’m not sure if ‘troublous’ is a word.”

Do you see the wrong logic there? The right way of thinking whenever you’re in doubt with the meaning of the word is to consult a dictionary.

It makes better sense, right? Do not immediately dismiss a word just because you don’t know what it means. That’s what dictionaries are for.

Another argument that can be made here is whether Pimentel should have used a simpler word.

While I agree that simple is better, however it is not always the case. The goal of writing or of any form of communication is to choose the word that would best convey your thoughts. Again, that’s what dictionaries are for.

By the way, the dictionary states that ‘troublous’ means:

1. characterized by trouble; unsettled: troublous times

2. turbulent; stormy: a troublous sea

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Michael Phelps dominated the swimming events in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and set a record for the most number of gold won in an Olympic Games, beating Mark Spitz’s 7 gold medals by one.

While Michael maybe naturally gifted for his Olympic prowess, he has attained certain attributes through his own will and determination which can be used and followed by any copywriter who wants to perfect his craft.

Michael Phelps rarely misses a practice

• So should you. The old saying that practice makes perfect always rings true in any profession. Perhaps more so in writing. While you can easily learn the basics of good writing, practice helps you graduate into a consistently effective copywriter.

Michael Phelps works hard in the pool

• You may already be a good writer, but should you content yourself with the ability you possess right now? Remember that there is always a room for improvement no matter how great a writer you already are. Work twice as hard as the competition so you can emerge as the champion.

Michael Phelps makes good use of his 80-in. wingspan and size-14 feet to propel himself in the water

• Make good use of the talent and tools you’ve been given. You already have a brain, what you need is to have a well-stocked mind. Read more. Observe more. Practice more. Learn more. A writer’s most important tool of the trade is not his pen or computer, but his brain. Don’t let it stagnate. Make good use of it.

Michael Phelps hates waking up very early

• He actually stays a bit longer in bed compared to his fellow athletes. If his alarm clock goes on, he would silent it off and go back in bed. While this maybe misconstrued as laziness, Phelps just knows how to reward himself with a little relaxation. You should follow his example. After all your efforts of practicing and improving your skills, some R and R will help your mind and body recuperate and refresh. A well-rested mind can best cope with any writing challenges and projects.

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What’s the ideal keyword density for a 300-word article?

Is it 2% or more than that?

I say don’t worry about the percentage and just do the following and your copy will work just fine:

• Put your main keyword in your title. While it is not definite whether spiders start scanning a page from top to bottom or vice versa, it is the title that states what your article is all about. It is just natural to put your main keyword there.

• If you structure your article into three parts (introduction, body, conclusion), put your keyword once in the first paragraph, twice or thrice if possible in the body, and once in the last paragraph.

• Sometimes if you follow the keyword density percentage, your copy may look spammy or sound too unnatural. Although a good copywriter can effectively incorporate such a number of keywords into the copy, there will always be a limit to the amount of creativity that he can use.

• Know your keywords and build your article around it. Never forget to create a balance between the number of keywords and the general readability (by humans) of your article.

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There is a high probability that we will experience some precipitation tomorrow.

What’s wrong with that sentence? Grammatically, I believe it’s correct but there’s something there that makes any writer and reader feel uneasy.

It’s full of big words! This sentence is the work of a pretentious writer trying to sound too intelligent. He used two words when one may suffice. And the word ‘precipitation’? Tell me, who uses that in normal, everyday talk?

That sentence is too complicated. It makes the reader think harder just trying to understand each word and when you’re writing for the internet where your readers have very low attention span, you must try to always keep it simple.

Everybody knows KISS. The only problem is not everyone knows how to KISS. Keep It Simple, Stupid should be the web copywriter’s motto.

So the next time someone tells you that There is a high probability that we will experience some precipitation tomorrow, tell him to KISS it because all he was trying to say was:

It may rain tomorrow.

Author’s note: I will post more examples of this in my future posts just to remind us to always KISS it.

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During my second job as a copywriter, we had this informative book about copywriting sitting on our office’s bookshelf. I read it (or scanned it) a few times and only took notice of the parts that interested me. I remembered how masterfully it was written yet very easy to understand.

It deserves the title Robert Bly gave his book: The Copywriter’s Handbook

I’m currently on the look-out for a copy but I can’t find one in any of the bookstores I have visited. Perhaps I’ll try purchasing it online.

Should you come across this book, buy it. It’s a great guide and is already a classic.

It’s even endorsed by the great David Ogilvy himself.

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This is one of the first print ads I did for Sterling Paper. Actually, I believe it’s the first ad I ever wrote a copy for. I can only lay claim on the text, the image and layout was the work of our graphic artist. But still, as the copywriter, I am liable for the end result.

Looking back at it, I’ve realized there’s a major flaw in this ad. Don’t mind the copy. It isn’t perfect. I wish I had written a completely different copy. The flaw or error is shouting out loud as we’re staring at it now.

Do you see it? I’m sure you do. You’re not as stupid as I was years ago.

Yes, it’s the redundancy of the company logo.

It’s an overkill. The logo had been plastered thrice, in three locations that don’t serve any purpose. They don’t add any necessary element or act as a support for anything.

A company’s logo is expected to be seen on any ad, but usually posting it once is all that you need to do. More than that, it’s just pure annoyance.

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I once worked for a consumer goods company as a junior copywriter of its marketing department. There was this instance that I wrote a copy for a package of a new product. I won’t go into the details of what the product was and what the copy was also as these are not important to this anecdote.

That copy already had my boss and my boss’s boss approval when I green lighted it for printing.

By then the graphics department were readying the package’s design layout (which already included my copy) for filming (what a word! We don’t get to hear it often these days) when suddenly they phoned me and asked for my presence.

Rose, whose job as a checker was to make sure there are no errors to any file scheduled for filming (as a film costs a lot), told me, in front of the whole graphics and filming department, that there was an error in my copy. She even went as far as to insinuate why I never saw such a simple error.

So I politely asked her what it was and she pointed to this one small word, ‘bluish’.

I was then expecting her to say that I shouldn’t have used ‘bluish’, perhaps ‘azure’ would have been a more respectable choice. But it wasn’t like that.

“You misspelled it. You forgot the ‘e’ in bluish,” she said.

Now there are some things in life that I am very certain as true such as what’s my dog’s name was or when was I born or did JFK sleep with Monroe. Without a blink, I knew I didn’t misspell ‘bluish’.

So I told her so.

“It’s your call. I just want everybody to know that I pointed out this error to you,” Rose said as she told me to sign right next to the word “bluish” indicating I approved of the spelling.

Bless her. I knew she was just doing her job but I hoped she had realized that spellings weren’t her domain. As a checker she was just limited to checking the final proof against the prototype or the original copy.

Oh well, I knew everything would have easily been settled if we just asked my old pal Webster. But not a copy of him was around that office. Good thing though. For a guy who loves words and their proper spelling, Mr. Webster would have turned ‘bluish’ that day.

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