A few months ago, a good friend of mine posted some upsetting images of starving children of Somalia on her Facebook page with a request for donations to Doctors without Borders. I couldn’t stop looking at them … and felt near tears the entire day. (This is not a good state to be in when […]
NOTE: After attending our jillionth networking event last night, we thought we’d repost some tips we’ve learned over the years. Whether success for you means leaving a networking event with several new business contacts — or just leaving with your dignity intact — here are a few basic steps to get you started. And while these steps are geared […]
Readers ask, The Hired Pens tries to answer. Today’s question comes from Sean, who wonders if the English language is dying a slow (or not-so-slow) death. Dear Hired Pens, Where has the proper and grammatically correct use of the English language gone? Seriously, it seems that everyone is using Text Speak and it is really […]
If you’ve ever watched a football game on TV, one thing becomes clear: Beer commercials sure are stupid. Most beer ads today blatantly objectify women, a proud tradition that goes back decades. A more recent trend is to portray men as bumbling fools who hatch plans to build homes out of Coors Light cans or […]
A few weeks ago, I received the following inquiry in my inbox. Dear Hired Pens, How few words can a writer use and still get a point across? Poetry goes a long way to reducing words to as few as possible, and the haiku form goes even further. The ultimate in brevity, however, is a […]
One of our writers, the fabulously talented Genevieve Crain, just sent me this photo of a headstone company in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. As copywriters Dan and I spend a lot of time thinking about what is and is not appropriate humor for our clients. It’s hard to get it right, but when you do, the […]
We hear a lot about “interactive” this and that these days … but the term is not usually applied to PRINT advertising. These particularly clever ads each have their own unique interactive element — from tightening bras to opening bottles of beer. (Do not attempt at the same time in real life.) Enjoy!
My mom taught herself how to speed read. She tried to explain it to me once, but I wasn’t really listening because I have no interest in reading faster. I like meandering my way through a book. It’s relaxing. But becoming a faster writer? Sure, sign me up. So when I saw the recent slate.com […]
Dear Faithful Blog Readers, I am currently hard at work on a blog about speed writing. Given the topic, you wouldn’t think it would take that long if I followed my own advice. Hmmm… But in the meantime, I thought I’d share one of my favorite blogs from The Hired Pens newest hire, the talented […]
As one of the creators of America’s Most Popular Blog™*, there’s a lot of pressure to come up with fascinating entries. Luckily, inspiration is everywhere. For example, yesterday on my way to the movies, I passed this sign. In case you can’t quite make out the terrible picture I took with my iPhone, it’s a […]
