15 Copywriting Exercises to Work Your Wit

 

No muscle grows in size without conditioning. Likewise, no writer improves without practice. History's best novelists, journalists and advertising creatives understood that great writing doesn't always come easy.

These 15 creative writing prompts will keep you sharp whether you're battling a bout of writer's block, working on perfecting your latest marketing project or just looking for a way to pass time on Sunday night.

Quick Tips for Writing a Blog People Will Read

Imagine a room of 150 people all jumping and down. Yelling. At the same time. Now multiply that by a million. How small do you feel? 

A. Studio apartment small

B. Fuel efficient car small

C. Miniature pony small

D. Blogger on the internet small

If you answered A, B, or C, congratulations. You're actually taking up a pretty nice chunk of space. Pat yourself on the back and enjoy a mimosa. If you answered D, please take a seat. There's punch and cookies in the back. The meeting starts in five minutes.

Welcome to the club of 150 million bloggers who feel teeny-tiny-pond-scum small in each our of teeny-tiny corners of the internet, fighting for attention. It's hard-knock life, but help is here.

The foundation of any blog lies in the quality of its content, so therein lies your first step. Below you'll find 30 quick and easy tips -- from creating witty titles to resolving common vocab confusion -- to help your transform your writing and amplify your voice in the crowd. Tackle them one at a time and gear up for big, bold and beautiful blog success.

1. Master grammar, spelling and punctuation.
2. Know some AP style, like the rules outlined in my AP Style Cheat Sheet for Bloggers.
3. Keep your title under 40 characters.
4. Use anecdotes to paint a picture for the reader and appear more personable.
5. Mix up your syntax with short, long and fused sentences.
6. Keep the first sentence of each post under 20 words.
7. Consider the mood of the story and pick verbs to match.
8. Lead with dialogue, statistics, fun facts or descriptions to lure readers in.
9. Focus on how the topic affects people -- either you or others.
10. Break up copy within a post using subheadlines, block quotes, numbered or bulleted lists or photos.
11. Avoid clichés like average, reportedly and literally.
12. Write an outline for your post before you start.
13. Write with a clear beginning, middle and end.
14. Write in a time-day-place format: Around noon last Saturday, I was sitting at Starbucks…
15. Link to compelling info like reports, surveys and other news.
16. Keep your tense consistent throughout each post.
17. Know when to use who vs. that: who for people or pets with names and that for everything else.
18. Know when to us who vs. whom: who if the sentence would use he/she, whom if the sentence would use him/her.
19. Reference back to your intro in your conclusion.
20. Become familiar with figurative language and use it to spice up a post.
21. Fact check names, dates, spelling events and quotes.
22. Avoid superlatives like “best,” “worst,” and “always.”
23. Keep a thesaurus and dictionary handy.
24. Break up a long post into a series of posts.
25. If you need to cut copy, trim from the middle first.
26. Include SEO in your title to garner search traction and give readers a post preview.
27. Avoid “be” verbs: was, were, am, are, and is.
28. Remove facts that aren’t vital to the story.
29. Incorporate SEO into your titles and posts.
30. Put yourself in the reader’s shoes to find out what info to include in each post.

What tips + tricks do you use to write blog posts? Comment below to share your story.

The AP Style Cheat Sheet for Bloggers

The makings of a word whiz combine both knowledge and skill. While creative ability may link to our DNA, translating artistic thought requires study and practice.

Bloggers, journalists and copywriters from all industries turn to the Associated Press for its golden writing rule book, the AP Stylebook. I compiled a list of the most common AP style rules I utilize when writing blog posts and marketing copy. Bookmark this page to refer back to in times of a copywriting crunch, or download it for free here! Happy blogging!

The AP Style Cheat Sheet for Bloggers

Capitalization

• Capitalize proper nouns: Bill Clinton, New York City, Baby Boomers
• Capitalize days of the week + months of the year
• Capitalize product names: Styrofoam, Band-Aid, Dumpster, Frisbee, iPod, Jell-O, Kitty Litter, Scotch tape, Vaseline, Velcro, Windbreaker
• Capitalize races, but not colors: Caucasian, white; African American, black
• Capitalize the first word following a colon if the word begins a complete sentence
• For book titles, games, movies, poems, etc. capitalize main words, conjunctions and prepositions of four or more letters and the first and last words

Numbers

• Write out numbers one through nine
• Write numbers 10 and above numerically
• Always use numerals with address, ages, clothing sizes, dates, dimensions, money, percentages, recipes, speed, sports, temperatures, times, weights and years: size 8, 100 degrees, 21 years old
• Write out million, billion and trillion
• Spell out percent
• Use numerals for amounts less than a dollar and write out cents: 22 cents
• Use the $ sign and decimals for amounts more than a dollar: $2.50
• Write out fractions of less than one: one-half, one-third
• Use numerals with fractions larger than one: 1 ½
• Write odds with the smaller number first: 1 in 100
• Use numerals with dimensions, but write out units: 6 feet tall, 11 inches wide

Days + Dates

• Days of the week are written out: Monday, Tuesday
• Abbreviate months that preface a specific day: Feb. 2, 2015
• Never abbreviate months with five letters or less: March, April, May, June and July
• Write in a time-day-place format: Around noon last Saturday, I was sitting in Starbucks…

States + Addresses

• Abbreviate states only when they follow a city: Detroit, Mich.
• Never abbreviate states with six letters or less: Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, Utah, Texas, Iowa, Idaho and Ohio
• Write out street, avenue, boulevard and lane when present without a number: Main Street
• Abbreviate street, avenue and boulevard when present with a number: 123 Main St.

Punctuation

• Place commas and periods inside quotation marks
• Use a comma to join independent clauses with a conjunction: I like pizza, but I also like burgers.
• Use a comma after a dependent clause and before an independent clause: Because it rained, I didn't go out for pizza.
• Use a comma after an introductory word or phrase: All of the sudden, pizza fell from the sky.
• Use a comma to introduce a quote of one sentence: He said, “I really love eating pizza in my PJs.”
• Use a colon to introduce a list or join two similar clauses: The time has come: I need pizza.
• Use a semicolon between two independent clauses instead of a conjunction
• Use a dash for a dramatic pause: Oh no – what happened to the pizza?
• Use a dash instead of commas to interject a sentence: She ate pizza, chicken strips and – to top it all off – a big bowl of ice cream.
• Use hyphens between two compound modifiers: the much-loved teacher

Titles*

*Please note that my use of italics here only follows my pattern of italicizing rule examples. None of the below examples should be italicized in practice. 

• Use quotation marks for titles of movies, books and TV shows: “The Walking Dead,” “How to Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Hunger Games”
• Names of magazines and newspapers need no special punctuation: The New York Times

Common Confusion

• Who vs. that: Use who for people and pets with names; use that for everything else
• Who vs. whom: Use who if the sentence would use he/she, whom if the sentence would use him/her
• Less vs. fewer: Use fewer with things you can count individually: I need fewer sweaters; Use less with things you can’t count and that aren’t pluralized: I need less furniture
• Affect vs. effect: Affect is a verb, and effect is a noun: Global warming has affected us so much, it’s resulted in an effect of more recycling

Check out these handy references to make the most out of your writing potential:

The History of AP Style

The Eight Parts of Speech

2013 AP Stylebook for $12 on Amazon
Download my AP Style Cheat Sheet

5 Secret Benefits of Blogging

My first blog has its own special place on my personal Wall of Shame. So does my second. And my third. I would normally abide by The Blogger's Ten Commandments here and link to these unmentionable pieces of writing, but the sin of transmitting ill copy would outweigh any holy karma I may receive. 

I hopped on the bandwagon with my aforementioned blogs (or as I like to call them, "The Pitiful Preface") for a few different reasons. Though writing does fill me with geeky grammatical joy, it wasn't that feeling that first urged me to tackle the big B. For the most part, I felt pressured by the trends. It seems everyone and their pet rock writes a blog nowadays, and my being a communications major gave me all the more reason to feel like blogging was expected of me.

My first conquest took place on HubPages and the second and third on Wordpress. Both were short-lived. Just two months ago, I created The LC Studio blog as a spinoff to my Etsy shop and bought it a cozy little home with a white picket fence here at Blogger. 

Now I'm writing about what I love not as a chore but as a hobby, and I'm reaping a world of benefits from it because of that. Though my blog is meta -- that is, I blog about blogging -- the digital deities aren't biased in to whom they reward their gumptious goodie baskets. If you haven't yet taken your hobby to the next level by starting a blog, here's what you're missing out on: 

1: BLOGGING ACTS AS A HEALTHY CREATIVE OUTLET

I wore my imagination on my sleeve as a little girl, but to save t-shirts I confided in an ever-growing collection of journals as a safe harbor for my thoughts. Not only did scribbling between blank pages entertain me during bouts of debilitating boredom, like my older brother's baseball games, but it just so happens that all that Vitamin J probably boosted my health. Studies show that regular pen-to-paper therapy strengths the immune system, reduces stress and increases problem-solving cognitions.

Blogging, which first caught fire in the form of online diaries in the mid-1990s, also purports serious emotional and physical therapeutic value. Whether you write with the intent of personal catharsis or personal branding, keep at the keyboard: An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but a blog post a week keeps your health at its peak.

2: BLOGGING TEACHES YOU TO MANAGE YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE 

Successful blogging necessitates professionalism, tech-savviness and networking know-how. Pocketing these traits now allows you to cash them in later when your future boss comes peeping through the windows of your Facebook wall.

All your online endeavors, including your blog, contribute to your digital footprint -- a collection of data left behind that can be traced by almost anyone. With 95% of employers checking social media sites during their hiring processes, it's important that this footprint elicits several admirable traits, like those outlined in the infographic below. 

3: BLOGGING ACCENTUATES YOUR CREDIBILITY 

Don't fall for that old idiom "those who can, do; those who can't, teach." You can't teach a craft that you haven't mastered (at least not very well), and so it goes with blogging. As Confucius said, "To know what you know and what you do not know; that is true knowledge." These multi-million dollar blogs didn't rise the top by generating inaccurate copy but by advancing as experts in their individual fields. Their credibility stems from careful attention to the relevant facts and a rejection of topics that mystify their image.

If you dream of gracing the world with your insight on the lives of munchkin cats, be the very best munchkin cat blogger on the web. Don't write about munchkin cats and calico cats and the best food for indoor cats and how to brush a cat's teeth and... Do you get my point? No one will take you seriously if you try to be a Jill-of-all-trades, and it'll be harder to solidify an audience that way. If you pour your heart into one topic, traffic will slip into your Munchkitty blog faster than its mascot slips across your kitchen floor.

4: BLOGGING EXPOSES YOU TO NEW THINGS

If you run a blog or are working on developing your personal brand, chances are you have a voracious appetite for information that will propel you toward success. I never would have trialed things like HootSuite or Google Analytics had it not been for my deep-seated desire to turn The LC Studio into more than just my little corner of the internet.

The transformation of your blog from an online word processor into a business tool will likely accompany a flirtationship with several different tools and programs, like post and e-mail automation, search engine optimization, analytics software and web and graphic design. In addition to sanctifying your online presence, these skillsets also mimic the requirements of today's up-and-coming jobs.

5: BLOGGING + BUSINESSWOMEN GO HAND-IN-HAND 

While kindling a love affair with a keyboard can't quite compete with the early endeavors of famous entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs, bloggers and tech startup wizards are, at their core, one in the same. Both types of people value hard work, take risks and embrace leadership roles. 

Our wondrous 21st century is the prime planetarium for fostering the growth of new businesses. Forbes.com reporter Elaine Pofeldt reported in 2012 that the number of adults involved in startups hit an all-time high since 1999, even despite the "sluggish economy" perpetuated by the economic recession in 2008. She accredits the increase to a change in the culture of the U.S. job market, writing, "The old rules, in which getting a traditional job was the smartest career route for many, don't apply as much anymore." Here's the cherry on top for bloggers: 69% of new businesses in the U.S. start at home, and with the internet housing over 150 million blogs and growing, there's a good chance yours will start there, too. Look at you, Little Miss Biz!

ARE YOU READY TO JUMP START YOUR JOURNEY AS A BLOGGER?

We live in a time privy to creative communication. It's easier than ever to connect. It's easier than ever to have your voice heard. You have something to say, so don't wait a second longer. Check out these top free blogging websites and start building your personal brand today.

What's holding you back from starting a blog? How can I help you start your personal brand online? Leave your comment below!