Home | Stella Orange Wordsmith

How to start a rumor.

Published April 3, 2012

Loose lips sink ships – and get people reading.

Remember how rumors start?

Lean in.

Look to your left. Look to your right.

Lean in some more.

And with a twinkle in your eye, tell your confidante something totally hot and dripping with juice.

“Oooh, this is so good. Promise me you won’t tell anyone else.”

I mean, right?

We all know how it’s done, people.

The real knack is translating that kind of “delicious secret” energy to your copy.

Another way to think of this is: what are the best-kept secrets in your line of work—that you’re ready to share with the lucky ducks who opted-in to … Read the rest >

Posted in brand + message, copywriting, how to be, how to write

The junk food message.

Published March 27, 2012

Quit selling + start saying something

Have your efforts to “sell” sold you out?

Lately, I’ve been chewing on the idea that a lot of marketing out there is like fast food. Predictable, cheap, and ubiquitous.

And I feel sick, unnourished and hungry after I eat it.

Why? What we call fast “food” isn’t much like real food at all. It’s been scientifically developed to store, travel and reheat well. Much of what we taste is actually chemically crafted. In a lab. By engineers and scientists.

The same holds true for marketing messages in a lot of people’s stuff:

“Make more mo.ney with ease and grace!”… Read the rest >

Posted in brand + message, copywriting, how to be, how to write

The ole’ push-pull

Published March 20, 2012

How to rope ‘em into reading more.

Want more readers?

Last week, we were talking about hooks in your writing.

There may have been a mention of hookers in that post, as well.

This week, continuing our inspired and totally impromptu series on “copywriting techniques that keep readers reading,” we’re talking about the hook’s kissing cousin: the “pull question.”

Pull questions are a fabulous little sneaky way of pulling your readers into the “body” of your copy. (I’m putting vocab words in quotes, for those of you at home who are making a list of words that you need to know to be a better and more … Read the rest >

Posted in brand + message, copywriting, how to be, how to write

You need a hook.

Published March 13, 2012

The "hook" makes your copy irresistible!

Remember Captain Hook?

When Stella was in teacher school, getting her masters’ degree at the University of Washington to sculpt high school minds, she learned a valuable lesson.

Attention must be won.

And the way to do that, at least at the opening of class, is with a “hook.”

As in, hook ‘em and cook ‘em.

Hook, line, and sinker.

Think I get through this blog post without mentioning hookers?

Anyway…

As a classroom teacher, the idea was to plan most every lesson with an opening sequence that engaged your students in the topic at hand. It could be as … Read the rest >

Posted in brand + message, copywriting, how to be, how to write

“We are all writers now.”

Published March 6, 2012

Branded content is a powerful way to promote your biz.

I was in Austin, Texas last weekend, exploring the city with a friend. Turns out, we were there the week before S x SW, a massive and uber-hip music and film festival.

Couple moments of note:

Instead of staying in a hotel, we used airbnb.com, a free online service that hooks you up with folks renting out their back shacks, vacation properties, and apartments around the world. For $90 a night, we stayed in an adorable residential neighborhood within walking distance of everything (including the Alamo Draft House, with a yard and full kitchen. Awesome!

We got to … Read the rest >

Posted in brand + message, content, copywriting, how to be, how to write

“I don’t like writing.”

Published February 28, 2012

Don’t let the gremlins sabotage getting the work out into the world.

Gremlins are the voices in our heads that pop up when we need to write.

They are sniveling and nasty, yet strangely believable creatures who say things like:

I don’t know what to write about.

I’m too tired/busy/grumpy/not in the mood to do this.

I’ll do it later.

If you see that the gremlins have got ahold of you, see my tip for handling this with whimsy and power (“Why your desk needs a spittoon.”)

Perhaps the biggest gremlin of them all says:

I don’t like to write.

Granted, maybe you really don’t like writing. But the … Read the rest >

Posted in brand + message, content, copywriting, how to be, how to write

Are you yelling at them?

Published February 21, 2012

Simulate a conversation in your writing

For some reason, business owners think they have to shout in their marketing. I don’t know why, but I suspect it’s from watching too many local mattress and car commercials on television, where the owner is super excited for no reason.

FREE GIFT!

Are you STRUGGLING to FIGURE OUT how to MAKE BIG MONEY ASAP?

FIND OUT the secret to getting slim, hot and rich in 30 minutes a day!!

You know that relative or acquaintance who TALKS SO LOUD ALL THE TIME IT’S REALLY GRATING TO BE AROUND HER… AND YOU JUST END UP TUNING OUT AS SHE GOES … Read the rest >

Posted in brand + message, copywriting, how to write

What friends don’t say about your website.

Published February 14, 2012

Your homepage is the “face” of your business online

There are 4 things I want to see on your homepage:

Enthusiasm
Competence
Results
A “call to action”

There are 3 things I don’t want to see on your homepage:

“Do you struggle with —-?”
A headline that you would never say out loud to a client.
A lot of words that don’t make me feel hopeful, excited, or agitated (or feel much of anything.)

Here’s the thing: your homepage is the “face” of your business online.

And it needs to be as clean, clear, and friendly as your real face is, when you are with people in real life.… Read the rest >

Posted in brand + message, copywriting, how to write

The kitchen sink test.

Published February 7, 2012

Everything but the kitchen sink?

When it comes to writing your Services page on your website, think of the kitchen sink.

You know the expression: everything but the kitchen sink?

This is the test you must put your Services page on your website through.

Because the truth is, your Services page is a curated collection of offerings.

It’s not a full-on catalogued inventory of every way you’ve every worked with a client.

The thing about curation is that it involves choices. Like hanging a painting, you choose what’s going to go in the spotlight. And what pieces you are going to group together, to tell … Read the rest >

Posted in brand + message, copywriting, how to write

Quelling skepticism with your About page.

Published January 30, 2012

Quit hiding out behind a boring bio

We are entering a golden age of opportunity.

There’s opportunity aplenty, when you know how to look at things.

See, there are a lot of people out there who are skeptical about anyone who is selling anything on the interwebs.

You may even be dealing with 3 layers of skepticism:

Layer #1: They are skeptical about anyone who’s selling.

Layer #2: They are even more skeptical about anyone who’s selling things online.

Layer #3: They are SUPER hardcore skeptical about something being sold online , because they actually bought something from someone else, and it didn’t work out so … Read the rest >

Posted in brand + message, copywriting, how to write