{"id":3308,"date":"2017-01-20T14:52:58","date_gmt":"2017-01-20T09:22:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.webenza.com\/blog\/?p=3308"},"modified":"2025-10-13T11:37:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T06:07:30","slug":"copywriters-hacklist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.webenza.com\/blog\/copywriters-hacklist\/","title":{"rendered":"THE COPYWRITER\u2019S HACKLIST"},"content":{"rendered":"

Look it\u2019s another list<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s quite impossible to have an objective take on copywriting; aside from grammar and syntax of course. A copywriter has a lot of variables, social and mental, that affect the words that he or she puts down on paper. This Hacklist is intended to be a guide of sorts for the wordsmith, discerning or otherwise \u2013 addressing those very variables.<\/p>\n

Here are 43 hacks for the modern copywriter. Douglas Adams may have said that the ultimate answer to life is the number 42, but the ultimate goal isn\u2019t to create a good life for yourself.<\/p>\n

The ultimate goal is to create ideas that outlive it.<\/p>\n

1. Always write the post copy in the end
\n2. Don’t absorb the brief. Read it. Build on it. Don’t be afraid to change it.
\n3. Don’t adapt to the brand. Be it.
\n4. Read the long copy you’ve written in at least two different voices in your head before you send it out.
\n5. While working on a concept, list down 5 words that you associate with the property and then write down the concept note. When done, see if all 5 words connect to your idea.
\n6. Know the difference between sentence case, title case, and proper case.
\n7. Know who John Hegarty, John Bevins, David Ogilvy, and Neil French are.
\n8. Follow the news.
\n9. Puns are good
\n10. Use clich\u00e9s as crutches
\n11. But know that you’ll never run with them.
\n12. stumbleupon.com is your friend
\n13. Follow all your clients on social media
\n14. Have a favourite band\/artist\/writer.
\n15. If a sentence sounds awkward in your head, it\u2019s awkward.
\n16. Don\u2019t write words that you wouldn\u2019t use in daily conversation
\n17. Learn how lead generation and SEO work
\n18. Know how to use a semicolon.
\n19. Coffee
\n20. More coffee
\n22. Keep those Facebook and Twitter tabs open.
\n23. Don\u2019t mull over an incomplete idea for over two nights
\n24. Don\u2019t be afraid to sell an idea even when it\u2019s been shot down
\n25. But know when to stop
\n26. Know what your design partner\u2019s preferred drink is.
\n27. Most of your best ideas will come to you when the sun goes down. If one does, write it down immediately.
\n28. Participate in the Longhand awards
\n29. Don\u2019t end a sentence with a preposition
\n30. If a sentence has more than two commas in it, erase it.
\n31. Know what causal effect is
\n32. Know what the Oxford comma is
\n33. Use colloquial whenever required
\n34. Know that typically, the ellipsis has no more than 3 periods.
\n35. Do not bring dishonor to your clan by using a hashtag on a creative
\n36. Know how patronizing is pronounced
\n37. Know the origins of the phrase, \u2018\u2026turn the page, young man.\u2019.
\n38. Try to write at least one portfolio-worthy copy a month
\n39. Know when a meme gets old
\n40. Know the difference between affect and effect
\n41. The boring briefs maketh a writer
\n42. Don\u2019t use maketh in a sentence. It\u2019s 2017.
\n43. Don\u2019t follow lists not made by either yourself or your mother.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Look it\u2019s another list It\u2019s quite impossible to have an objective take on copywriting; aside from grammar and syntax of course. A copywriter has a lot of variables, social and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3311,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59,3],"tags":[100,101,98,51,103,99,102],"class_list":["post-3308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-creative","category-food-for-thought","tag-cliches","tag-coffee","tag-copywriter","tag-facebook","tag-hacks","tag-puns","tag-twitter"],"yoast_head":"\nTHE COPYWRITER\u2019S HACKLIST - Webenza Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A copywriter has a lot of variables that affect the words that he or she puts down on paper. 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