There I was tootling along the M25 yesterday, on my way to Scotney Castle in Kent to meet a friend. It was a beautiful day and given the wet summer we’ve had, the glorious sunshine came as a welcome surprise. “Perhaps we’ll have an Indian Summer,” I said to myself. Then I started to wonder where the term comes from.

I’ve always associated it with unseasonably warm weather in autumn, but I didn’t realise that an Indian Summer is usually followed by period of colder weather.

According to The Phrase Finder and Wikipedia the term originated in America in the late 18^th century and reached the UK in the 1920s.

Previously in Europe the phenomenon was known as St Lukes Summer, All-Hallown Summer or Saint Martin’s Summer. The latter referred to St Martin’s Day on 11 November – the date it was supposed to end. It originated in France where it’s still used.

But why Indian? Well, apparently no-one knows but lots of people have speculated. Here are three of the theories listed by both * The Phrase Finder and Wikipedia – there are more extensive lists and more information on both sites if you’re interested:

• When European settlers first came across the phenomenon in America it became known as the Indian’s Summer.
• The haziness of the Indian Summer weather was caused by prairie fires deliberately set by Native American tribes.
• It was the period when First Nations/Native American peoples harvested their crops.

Whatever its meaning, it’s certainly nice to see blue skies and sunshine at the end of September!

And Scotney Castle is well worth a visit. The grounds looked stunning in the late summer sun yesterday – particularly the old medieval castle at the bottom of the valley which was left as a romantic ruin when the ‘new’ castle at the top of the hill will built in 1837. The National Trust, who owns Scotney, is renovating the old castle and it should be available for weddings next year. Aaah – how romantic!

Romantic medieval Scotney Castle

Photos copyright Elaine Swift

*As well as visiting the website, you can follow The Phrase Finder on Twitter @aphraseaweek

Whatever we think of the reporting standards in our national newspapers, they have given us some great headlines over the years.

One of my personal favourites is The Sun’s “Super Cally go ballasitc, Celtic are atrocious” following Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s 3-1 win over Celtic in the Scottish Cup in 2000.

I spotted one of a slightly more sophisticated nature on the front page of The Guardian in April and have been meaning to write a post based on it ever since. It accompanied a front-page story by the paper’s Paris correspondent, Angelique Chrisafis. She was writing about the alleged outrage of notorious French riot police – the Compagnie Repulicaines de Securite (CRS) on hearing they would no longer be allowed to drink alcohol with their lunch.

Apparently, up until now, even packed lunches provided to the CRS out of riot vans while they were patrolling demos, came with a can of beer or glass of wine. And the headline?

“Riot squad sees rouge as police vin gets bottled.”

It’s tempting to think that good headlines are the result of a flash of inspiration (an old stalwart, by the way, when I was Head of Press and PR for Nikon UK and writing about the company’s flashlights – yes I know, I know). But the majority of strong, memorable, and more importantly, effective headlines take time and a great deal of hard work.

*Luke Sullivan is an award-winning advertising copywriter and his book, ‘Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This’,  is a must for anyone tasked with writing marketing material as well as advertisements. It’s both entertaining and instructive, and his chapter on writing headlines is very useful.

His advice is to write a hundred headlines for every one you need. Well, actually his first piece of advice is, “Get the puns out of your system right away.” Mmm so he’d love the ones I’ve chosen above then! But of course he’s talking about advertising headlines which need to sell a product or service.

To get started, his suggestion is to “methodically explore different attributes and benefits of your product as you write.”

So let’s say you’re writing a headline for a new range of cosmetics that contain only natural and organic ingredients, and aren’t tested on animals. You could use the following categories on which to base your headline:

• The product’s purity
• Kindness to skin and the environment
• Kindness to animals
• Science-based evidence headline
• Stylish good looks (package design)
• Value for money
• Nature based ideas

Write headlines under each category. Let the ideas flow and get scribbling. Don’t cross anything out at this stage, but when you’ve got your lists, go back through and mark your favourites. Leave them to marinade a while then work on them some more.

Like I said, it’s hard work and it’s a long process.

*You can follow Luke Sullivan on Twitter and read his blog at www.heywhipple.com

The works feature words made up from a new font Paddy is developing together with graphic designer friend, Andrew Sullivan of Blacknight Design The font will be called Dungeness and should be available later this year.I couldn’t resist ‘Fresh Bait’ which is now hanging in my office!

Visiting Paddy and Helen is always lovely: they’re so welcoming and generous with their time. It’s great seeing the new work that’s appeared since we were last there. And their two adorable Jack Russells – Fly and Jet are a bit of draw too!

Paddy and Helen opened the studios to the public in 2006 and there’s also an online gallery . The work is exhibited in two beautiful sheds which Paddy and Helen describe as “an extension of a continuing working practice which allow people to view the work in a clean, attractive and organised environment.”

The studios are open all year and are well worth a visit. There’s a great variety of work with a strong bond that pulls it all together. It’s very reasonably priced too making it possible to own an original piece of art from a talented artist. And if you don’t fancy a trip to Dungeness, you can always view the work online .

It would be a shame to miss out on a visit to Dungeness though. It’s like nowhere else I know. There’s a beauty in its strangeness from the quirky homes dotted in no particular order across the landscape, to the beach, one of the largest expanses of shingle in the world. It’s offered up some of the best beach-combing finds I’ve ever made – including a message in a bottle!

Incredibly, the ugly nuclear power station that dominates the landscape sits within a wildlife sanctuary deemed a Site of Special Scientific Interest. In fact, although it looks so hostile, Dungeness is home to a remarkable variety of wildlife. It has over 600 different types of plant – that’s a third of all those found in Britain. It’s also one of the best places in the country to find certain insects such as moths, bees, beetles, and spiders. Many of them are very rare and some are found nowhere else in Britain. The RSPB has a reserve there too.

One of the most famous Dungeness residents was film-maker and artist, Derek Jarman. The garden he created at Prospect Cottage is still looked after by his friends and attracts many visitors. And let’s not forget the lovely Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch 15” gauge steam railway complete with station and cafe. It’s easy to understand why the place is so inspiring for an artist.

Prospect Cottage © copyright Ron Strutt and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

“Dungeness attracts a great number of visitors many returning year after year,” says Paddy. “First-time visitors are often bowled over by the strangeness of the landscape, the open skies, and the unfamiliar desert-like appearance. “It’s a place you either immediately fall in love with or feel an immediate aversion to. I love it here because I was born and brought up in Africa and the beach here is very similar to the Kalahari desert at certain times of the year.”

I love it too and look forward to my next visit. This time I came back with a painting but who knows what treasures I’ll find on the beach!

Paddy and Helen’s brush garden. (Photograph © copyright Paddy Hamilton)

BBC Gardeners’s World clip ‘Gardening on The Edge’ featuring Paddy and the brush garden!

As always it was a mixed bag and there was lots to see but I was particularly drawn to three pieces of work that used words rather than images.

Two of them were by Tracy Emin (I’ll come back to them in a mo) and the other was by Miranda Argyle. I loved her piece which comprises the word ‘Heartbeat’ (its title) stitched in silk thread onto linen, over and over so that it fills the entire surface.

Take a look at the rest of Miranda’s stitched work and her current work.

Now back to Tracy Emin. Her monoprint, ‘Me too – Glad to Hear I’m a Happy Girl’ has the words ‘Glad your happy girl’ handwritten in the middle of an otherwise blank sheet of paper. Of course it left me wondering whether the grammatical error was intentional or not. I overhead two women, who I suspect were teachers, discussing it and suggesting she should go straight to the bottom of the class!

The use of words in works of art is nothing new. 1960’s Pop artists such as Andy Warhol used text in their work and British artist, Tom Philips has blended visual art with text from an early stage in his career.

In 1966 he set out to find a second-hand book for threepence and to create a new version of it by altering every page by painting, collage and cut-up techniques.  The new book, which he called ‘A Humument’ comprised 367 pages and was published in 1973.

Since then there have been three new editions and it now has it’s own website where you can view the fourth edition in its entirety

Phillips has brought it bang up to date with the The Humument App which is available from the App Store How cool is that?

Public artist and campaigner, Martin Firrall, certainly knows how to make a statement through textual art – maybe it’s because he originally trained as an advertising copywriter!

Firrall’s work has been projected onto St Paul’s Cathedral, the Royal Opera House and the National Gallery. His work ‘Complete Hero’ was projected onto the side of The Guards Chapel, Birdcage Walk, London in November 2009.

And in a moment of serendipity, I found this BBC online article from October 2009 on artists who have used text in their work: including Firrell.

Anyway, one day last week a leaflet dropped through the letterbox that really broke the mould. It was from the Surbiton office of Hawes & Co and it grabbed my attention immediately.

Why? Well the quirky image of a garden gnome helped! However, although it’s quirky it’s still relevant to the message. The heading states ‘ fact (number 3)’

The first line of copy reads:

‘When choosing a new home, a large garden is a must – unless you’d prefer a small one.’

Then in just 38 words, it gets across the message that everyone has different needs, and that statistics are no replacement for experience, expertise and judgement. And guess where you’d go for that? Hawes and Co of course!

There’s a little bit more copy on the back, but again it’s succinct.

I spoke to Hawes and Co partner, Richard Gee who is based at the company’s Surbiton office. He told me they work with design agency, February Hemlock, of Thames Ditton, and like to produce things ‘that are a little bit off the wall’.

As well as getting across an important message, the leaflet also shows that Hawes and Co have a fun, friendly side, which is always good to know when you’re going to be working so closely with a company.

I’m already looking forward to seeing the other fact cards in the series!

I got tired of hearing, ‘well, we’re at the business end of the set now.’ Ugh. Not only is it plain ugly, but like all phrases that become over-used, it jars. You have to be very careful, in writing as well as in speech, about becoming reliant on certain distinctive words, phrases, and devices.

By devices I mean starting sentences with ‘And’ or using brackets for instance. Now, there’s nothing grammatically wrong with starting a sentence with ‘and’ or any other conjunction. I love it in fact because it creates emphasis. And for that very reason it needs to be used sparingly or it will lose its impact.

I bought a cookbook by a company whose copy I usually love. However I was really disappointed by the over-use of brackets on the introduction pages. I know that sounds horribly pedantic but I found it really distracting.

Last year I wrote a post on the misuse of quote marks after reading a book on productivity that had the same distracting effect on me. Ironically it was about how to be more productive by learning to avoid distractions.

It interrupted the flow as I had to stop every minute or so to read the framed word in a certain voice and with particular emphasis. I couldn’t continue with the book unfortunately, so I guess my production isn’t as good as it could be!

But we’ve arrived at the, ahem, business end of this post so what’s my point? Well, it’s just to be careful about over-use of anything in your writing, particularly if it’s a phrase or word that seems to be particularly popular at the moment.

Another example is referring to your place of work as something ‘Towers’. Innocent coined that one years ago and it worked really well for them. It was original and perfectly fit with their young, fun image. But for anyone else it looks like plagiarism or lack of imagination.

If you’ve heard or seen something used, even if you love it, my advice is to avoid it – especially if it’s as horrible as ‘business end’. Unless, of course you can use it in an original, surprising, ironic or clever way.

Businesses seem to think it makes them sound dynamic and professional. Well it doesn’t. It makes them seem dull, unimaginative, dated, and as a PR friend of mine suggested – ‘lazy-brained’.

The same friend actually spotted a van yesterday sporting the company name ‘Just Solutions’. Oh dear. Maybe it’s a tongue in cheek attempt to poke fun at the ridiculous and much maligned use of the word. Then again maybe not.

In what was obviously a solutions induced obsessive few minutes he sent me the link to the website of Moving Solutions – oh yes – a removal company.

I’m just as obsessed though. One of my favourite ways to tackle the boredom of the drive to Manchester from Surrey, is to spot the most laughable use of the word (I can’t even bring myself to write it for the moment) on the HGVs trundling up the motorway.

So what’s the alternative? I’d suggest it’s never a good idea to use it as part of a company name but how do you avoid using it in your copy? It depends on the context of course. I’ve seen people use it instead of ‘services’, when ‘services’ is exactly the right word to use.

My advice is always to be clear about what you’re telling your readers. Say it like it is. Don’t dress it up in words that you think make you sound smart, professional, and dynamic because chances are they’ll have the opposite effect. And of course you run the risk of confusing people or giving out the wrong message.

So if you’re a haulage company don’t claim to offer ‘logistics solutions’. If you provide IT services don’t shy away from that by offering ‘IT solutions’. And there’s nothing wrong with telling prospects that you can solve their problems rather than offer them ‘solutions’.

Phew. I feel better for that. Now it’s time for me to find a nutritional solution for my evening meal.

Thanks to Bill Hunt for suppling the solutions for this post.

Writing copy for marketing materials is about much more than describing your business. In my post ‘Let me tell you a story’,  I wrote about the power of painting a picture for your audience and the importance of choosing words that will engage them.  Well, I’ve just come across a great example from the Second World War of why you need to keep your audience in mind all the time you’re writing.

The Home Publicity Division of The Ministry of Information managed to alienate its target audience with its first poster. Created to boost morale, the poster had the opposite affect because it read:

‘your courage, your cheerfulness, your resolution will bring us Victory.’ Not surprisingly, it prompted people to wonder who exactly you and we were in that equation!It’s not that the words are wrong: they say what the MOI meant. But they don’t capture the spirit the MOI wanted to create because, unsurprisingly, the words didn’t engage their audience. In fact, they alienated them. The Ministry lost an opportunity to make people feel part of a common cause, and gain goodwill.

So, the lesson from this piece of wartime propaganda? Keep calm and carry on putting your reader at the centre of everything you write.

‘Churchill’s Wizards The British Genius for Deception 1914-1945 by Nicholas Rankin. Published by Faber and Faber ISBN 978-0-571-22195-0

Basically it’s about getting your message across, and Butler uses environmentalists to make his point. Now, I’ve no idea whether or not this is true but he claims they have a tendency to hit people with stats, results and conclusions.

He says this closes the subject down and doesn’t allow the other person’s mind anywhere to go. His recommendation to Greens is to ditch information overload, “in favour of suggesting details that actually catch people’s interest and allow the other person to get involved.”

It’s good advice that also applies to our marketing materials. So, instead of giving bald facts about who you are and what you do, aim to capture your reader’s imagination. Tap into their emotions; allow them to create picture of how your product or service will help them, or make them feel –  or look even.

Letting your readers create the desire in their own minds is far more persuasive. I mean, buying something is always more powerful if we’ve made our own decision rather than feeling we’ve been harangued into it isn’t it?

In his article, Butler suggestions Greens could learn a lot from Shakespeare about capturing people’s interest and allowing them to ‘complete the thought’. (He also thinks 70s TV detective, Lt Columbo could teach them a thing or two as well, but you’ll just have to read the article to find out why!)

Shakespeare’s plays were originally performed in daylight with no scenery so he had to paint the scene with words for his audience. I love this line from Hamlet, spoken by Horatio as dawn is breaking:

“But, look, the morn, in russet mantel clad,

Walks o’er the dew of yon high eastward hill.”

Wow. Of course, I’m not suggesting we come over all 16^th century and flowery. But painting a strong image for our audience, using words that will resonate and engage them, is far more evocative, memorable, and persuasive than bald facts.

Robert Butler’s article, ‘Going Green’ is on page 38 of the summer issue of Intelligent Life. Butler is a former theatre critic of the Independent on Sunday who blogs on the arts and the environment at The AshdenDirectory

Seeking a mid-weight copywriter

Our client, a well-established beauty retailer, is looking for a mid-weight copywriter…

Hello? I’m afraid mischief got the better of me and I emailed to ask if, at 6st 10Ibs, I was too lightweight to apply

Seriously – what’s in people’s heads sometimes? I have no idea what the term means but it suggests they are looking for someone average. But who is going to admit to mediocrity and why would a company activity seek it? Imagine the interview:

“Yeah, well, our marketing stuff is a bit of a waste of time really so there’s no point getting someone good in to write it.”

“Oh that’s great because while I’m not dreadful, I’m not really good either. And it just so happens, I’m looking for a company that takes pride in being mediocre. So when can I start?”

It could well be that in their world ‘mid-weight’ means something entirely different. But that’s the point – they need to think beyond their own little domain and be clear about what they want if they want their communication to be effective.

Unless you’re clear and say what you mean, don’t be surprised if you leave people baffled!