The thing about advertising is that about 90% of the people have never read a book on the subject. Yet they walk around as self-styled experts. Many even carve out quite lucrative careers. Perhaps you can recognise them: as soon as you start talking about response rates and “selling” they run a mile. The other 10% study and learn the principles of advertising.

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1. Simplify
   Keep your offer and your language clear, crisp, and concise.

2. Begin With The Benefit
   Benefits aren’t everything, they are the only thing. Use them generously.

3. Give Them The Facts
   Do it with a selling proposition that’s packed with reasons why.

4. Do It With A Difference Part I
   We must cut through the clutter and get our message noticed.

5. Do It With A Difference Part II
   Today we have to generate excitement, before we can generate response.

6. Test And Test Again
   We’re not learning anything from the one-shot, one-package, one-offer programs that have become commonplace. Test. It’s the only way to be sure.

7. Build Your Brand
   Even today a strong brand name can create a strong brand preference.

8. Make It Easy To Say Yes
   Give prospects a variety of convenient, no hassle ways to respond. You’ll lift your overall response just by offering choices.

We all aim at trying to write something that is compelling to others, but all so often we fail. There are a few simple rules that we should follow and below are what copywriters would classify as the top 10.

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Brian Clark over at Copyblogger has issued a challenge to bloggers in his post “The Cosmo Headline Technique for Blogging Inspiration.” The idea is to use headlines from magazines like Cosmopolitan for inspiration, and to write your headlines before composing the content. I’ve take Brian up on his challenge and as a result, I bring you the 22 best writing tips ever:

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One of the tougher aspects of freelancing is making sure you get paid a fair amount for your work. I’m sure every freelancer has at least one story of either getting grossly underpaid or not getting paid at all. So here are seven tips to help you improve your quoting.

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