A copywriter's way with knobs

Having found the fabulous cabinet knobs mentioned below at Willow and Stone I have been inspired to create other pieces of furniture painted in Farrow & Ball's London Stone. The subtle and chic colour shows the cream off a treat. This bathroom cupboard was made by Silverbrook of Lincolnshire, another of my businesses specialising in property improvement and maintenance. Tongue and groove work is topped with a piece of reclaimed Elm from my partner's tree surgery business, inset with a Savoy basin from Bathstore.com. I'm hoping to create a website for Silverbrook of Lincolnshire soon to reach a wider market and showcase some of our Farrow & Ball painted furniture and accessories online. Watch this space!

Home shopping with knobs on

Strong, accurate and clever SEO copywriting is the secret of driving customers who want to buy to your website. I love it when I search for something on Google and it's the copy on the site that delivers the result I want. In this case it was knobs. Potentially tricky I'm sure you'll agree! But I was delighted to discover the wonderful emporium of Willow & Stone, full of fabulous details for the period home and garden. Thanks to clear, concise title tags and a very detailed navigation I could locate exactly what I needed - antique style cream ceramic door knobs in a choice of 3 sizes. And the best bit of all - I ordered the wrong size, had to swap and every email was met with sensational, personal service to back up a great e-commerce site. Best practice in every way.

Epicentre of the Earthquake Market Rasen

Copywriter OK! Thank you so much to all my friends and copywriting clients who have contacted me this morning to check we're all OK here in sleepy, sunny and now famous Market Rasen. I leapt out of bed just before 1am this morning, as the windows rattled and whole house shook, convinced there had been a train crash or a vehicle had hit the house. I dashed downstairs to find half my neighbours in the street, dogs barking, alarms going off, people hanging out of windows but miraculously no damage! So huge debts of gratitude to my gang of builders (you know who you are) and top chimney man. Thank you! I've read that Charles Dickens once wrote of Market Rasen as the sleepiest town in England and this morning proved it. The other half of my street, including my daughter, slept right through 5.2 on the richter scale. It takes more than an earthquake to wake us up the 'shire!

A beautifully written email

Yesterday I received a lovely personal email from Selina Scott thanking me for choosing her mohair socks as my current favourite GIFT under copywriter's favourites on my professional copywriting website. It was truly my pleasure as there's no pay for play. I simply choose things I really like and try to share them with others who want to find great product and service quickly and easily. I'm a mini Wikia, before it's even begun! It also made me love her brand more, it is truly personal, small, low key and special - and the sale is still on - so if you're quick you can get these deliciously cosy kid mohair bedsocks half price.

The Copywriter's Bible

I carry a permanent link on my professional copywriting website to the Guardian Style Guide. I love it and use it constantly. I was delighted to receive an email from author David Marsh telling me the new edition is available in print. It's an invaluable reference for any writer or marketer, offering clear and easy clarification on how to use copy, words, phrases, spellings and above all the context of usage. If you read nothing else, click on C and cruise down to 'capitals' to discover how the preference for leading caps is finally diminishing and lower case rules - hooray! But not everywhere which is why you need this guide to help you get your copy right. If you want a copy at a discounted price please email me, I'm cooking up a deal!

Brand name copy anyone?

If you’re looking for an alternative to Google News over a lunchtime sandwich try Word of the Day on my website courtesy of Dictionary.com. This week I’ve enjoyed ‘pari passu’ meaning at ‘equal step’ and am desperate to use it somewhere.

The idea is to step out side your comfort zone and be inspired by new language. Hey I’m not advocating words that can’t be understood. As a commercial writer, I’m well schooled in keeping it simple, but the odd foray into the unknown and unclichéd is good for the soul. Another of my favourite words was in the news recently ‘chromophobia’ – a book and a film, but 5 years ago just a word I loved because it had brand name written all over it. My plan? To develop a fabulous website selling only black and white gifts and accessories. I’ve just checked and the dot com domain is for sale. Brand name anyone?

Fairytale of fine language

How crazy that Radio 1 has banned some of the lyrics of the fabulous ballad Fairytale of New York. As a copywriter I love (and always have loved) the power and energy of song lyrics. This ballad has such beauty and pathos and its earthy language plays a huge part. There's nothing like belting out a bit of Kirsty and Shane on Christmas Day after a few glasses of fizz, don't you think? I'm not advocating bad language, it's just that powerful words sung with passion lift the spirits. It all began for me by writing out The Jam lyrics in my rough book in Mrs Smith’s Maths class. This was so that me and my best friend Jackie could seamlessly impress the mods and scooter boys at youth club on a Friday night. Almost 25 years later (how scary) it's the Arctic Monkeys who move me most with their cute and clever wordsmithery. I love their witty urban poetry and gritty story telling. Or is it that their portrait of growing up in Sheffield in the ‘00’s transports me to the Middlesbrough of my youth? OK, the rough book's been replaced by the iPod but seeing them live made me feel 15 again!