The rumours are true…

I’m excited (and a little nervous) to confirm that from Tuesday 1st December 2015, Lungfish will become part of Radix Communications.

Obviously, that’s kind of a big deal for me. To all intents and purposes, I’ve been Mr Lungfish for the last three years. The thought of letting the brand go provokes all kinds of funny feelings.

Goodbye, old friend…

But not all about me. It’s pretty big for our sector, and (I hope) for Cornwall, too. This new Radix beast we’re making is bigger and furrier than any dedicated B2B copywriting agency we can think of.

Four free copywriting workshops

Yes, you read that right. This summer you’ll have four (count ’em, four) chances to see me embarrass myself by trying to tell human beings how to write good. And we won’t even charge you for the privilege.

Places are booking up pretty fast, though, so you’d probably get yourself over to Eventbrite or you might miss out on all the hilarity.

The idea is that each workshop is short, sharp… and basically a grab-bag of hints, tips and advice that you can take away and occasionally dust off when you’re bored with writing stuff your way.

They’re at the wonderful Tremough Innovation Centre, the first Thursday of the next four months. And they are (somewhat demurely) entitled as follows:

4th June                      Kung Fu Secrets of Business Copywriting

2nd July                       How to Write Badass Web Content

6th August                  Nail Your Press Release the Lungfish Way

3rd September            A Smash-and-Grab Guide to Voice and Tone

Hope to see you there. Unless, you know, you’re miles from Cornwall. Or you have something better to do…

Lungfish Cup 2014: The Challenge

Imagine dozens of local business people, blasting each other to bits with laser guns… all in the name of Children In Need. 

Yep; the Lungfish Cup is back, and it’s tonight. We sent out a video challenge (below) and business have responded in their droves.

Donated tweets, a big black dog, and me.

I do not currently suffer with depression. But I can understand why so many people seem to assume that I do.

Quite simply, I talk about the subject online.

Often.

In fact, any quick analysis of my Twitter account over the last year or two shows I tweet more about depression than anything else.

And there are two very good reasons for that.

How to Become a Content Strategist

This post was anonymously written as part of Blog Secret Santa. There’s a list of all Secret Santa posts, including one written by David McGuire, on Santa’s list of 2013 gift posts.

Part The First

Oh! Hello there, I’m Jonathon Colman.

You may remember me from such works as The Epic List of Content Strategy Resources or perhaps from the somewhat more epic tale I wrote in the fifth grade entitled (and this is true) “The Story of Super Brace-Face.” It was about a young boy (his name was Jon! Just like me!) who wore braces on his teeth and who (quite unlike me) was a super-hero.

Those of you who are reading this in the UK are smirking now because braces equate to suspenders in your part of the world, and it’s rather silly to imagine someone with a mouthful of suspenders… I mean, where would the clips go? And how would they drink tea? More importantly, how would their trousers stay up?

3 blogging lessons I learned from my Pricehound lessons blog

A few weeks ago, I spent half an hour writing a joke blog post. And in a few, insane hours, it had been read by more people than the previous eighteen months’ posts, put together.

Even for a professional ghost blog writer, I’m not ashamed to admit my tiny, walk-on part in the Pricehound phenomenon was an eye-opening experience.

How to become a copywriter

One of the privileges of being a (hopefully) well-regarded copywriter is that young and would-be writers often ask my advice about the best way into the industry, and what it’s like to be your own boss.

I don’t know how most people do it, or even if a “usual” way exists. But I’m always very happy to talk about my own experiences.

With that in mind, I thought it might be helpful to share some extracts from a recent email exchange with a delightful PR person (who shall remain anonymous), about the possibility of taking the plunge, and becoming a copywriter full time…

Photo by Carine Roberts.

5 Social Media Lessons You Must Learn From The Pricehound Scandal

Right now, the social internet is catching fire. The story that lit the fuse involves a company called Pricehound, and an outrageously inappropriate children’s dressing up kit.

In a little over seven hours, the website breaking the scandal has amassed over sixty thousand page views, while comments on social networks have been seen by millions. Out of nowhere, Pricehound is suddenly big news, and for all the wrong reasons.

What can social media marketers learn from that?  

How to write a quote (that the press might actually use…)

For the last few years, I’ve collected quotes from businesses lucky enough to be nominated for the Cornwall Business Awards. I’d then package these up by local area, send them off to their local press… and most of them wouldn’t get used.

Why? Because they all said pretty much exactly the same thing…

Analysis: natural selection on the Great British High Street

Wondering why your local high street looks the way it does?

For everyone lamenting the demise of Jessops and HMV… for those bemoaning the homogenisation of the high street… for those confused why there are increasingly only three kinds of shop: fear not. This should make everything clear.