Your Writing Mentor

Mary Knippel

Good CopyWriting is good business

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Whether your market is tweens or the sandwich generation in between taking care of their own family and parenting their parents – your business lives in language.

Do you know how to speak to them?

Do you have the patience to wait for them to answer?

Statistics have proven that a customer must be presented with a message 10 (ten) times before they will act. On average, the first 7 (seven) times your message will be ignored. Perhaps the 8th and 9th time the message will be pondered, or set aside to be considered at a later date. Finally, the 10th encounter results in a positive outcome.

Good Copywriting will keep you in the game.

Coaxing Creativity upon request

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September means cooler weather and falling leaves, but here in California we’re having warm weather and sultry breezes. I enjoyed lots of sunshine and fresh air from an open window at my elbow while I sifted and sorted through my assorted baubles, bangles and beads. I had a request for a birthday bracelet so that meant I had an excuse to play with my many options. Putting together any piece of jewelry takes time to assemble, but even more time to select just the right combination of beads. I love being able to choose just  the right colors and the exact variety of textures to evoke surprise, pleasure and enjoyment. It’s a puzzle to which there is no diagram or direction. It’s also a challenge to create a distinctive item that reflects a certain something extra, a degree of sophistication along with a bit of whimsy. Judging from the compliments I’ve received on items previously completed, I’m happy to report I have been successful in my endeavors. I hope those who receive the bracelets will have as much fun wearing them as I did making them!

Anniversaries – creating and capturing memories

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This week my husband and I celebrated our 37th wedding anniversary. Oh, how young we were!

Ross and Mary in 1972
Ross and Mary in 1972

But look at us now! We’ve survived so much. Losing two jobs because the companies folded resulted in two major moves. Thrilling and terrifying at the same time. I think we’ve thrived because of it. We’ve travelled and seen so much:  Hawaii, London, Paris, Rome, Venice, and Florence. We’ve been blessed to live in three beautiful parts of the world:  Minnesota, Colorado and now California. We’ve left a little piece of our hearts in each of them. Creating life anew and starting over has been challenging and exhiliarating.  Comparing, contrasting and constructing a new routine made our little family unit more appreciative of the little things that were familiar as well as delighting in new discoveries.

We went out to dinner and had a good time, but what I savored more than the wonderful meal was spending time with my life’s companion talking about our time together. Laughing about how it was the hottest June they’d had in Rome for over a decade the summer we visited. Or the time the cab driver in Paris pushed the car to get it started while we sat bewildered in the back seat not understanding what was going on. More recent trips were up and down the 5 visiting our daughter in college. I think we just barely spent equal amounts of time with her as we did on the road! Thankfully, we ‘ve had each other for those long trips and for all the trips in our foreseeable future.

Happy Anniversary for everyone celebrating milestones. Savor the moment now!

Another Season of Opportunity for Creativity

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Glue sticks – opportunities to stick with new ideas.

Spiral notebooks – fresh pages of possibilities.

Sharpened pencils, a rainbow of pens, markers, and crayons – reflecting all the shades of your life’s passion.

School days signaled a shift in attitude and marked a definitive dividing line in the seasons for much of my life. When I was young, school began the day after Labor Day and summer came to an abrupt halt. As a mother, I experienced many more first days of school with my daughter. Unfortunately, school districts decided their own schedules, and school often started mid-August instead of early September. In fact, my duaghter was still at French Camp in Minnesota the summer of her Sophmore year when it came time for registration. I found myself going to the school office and registering for her classes. I feel sorry for the kids who have to sit in a stuffy, hot classroom when there are perfectly good summer days still to be enjoyed.

You don’t have to have someone going back to school to take advantage of the back to school sales on notebooks, colored pens and glue sticks. Get creative and choose fun shaped notes to write your grocery list,  or use colored pens or markers to keep track of your appointments, meetings on your calendar. Remember you are entitled to PLAY whether you are on the playground or not!