Yes, Writers. Use the Passive Voice.

I know you've been told not to use it, but sometimes, the passive voice can be your friend.

I use it when the action (or the target of that action) is what I want to emphasize.

For example:

The nation's premier civil rights legislation, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, was signed into law on July 2, 1964.

I could've written: "The US president signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law on July 2, 1964 as the nation's premier civil rights legislation" ... but I wanted the "star" of the sentence to be the Civil Rights Act ...

or

My bike was stolen last week. I had to walk to work until I could get a new one.

I could've written, "Somebody stole my bike last week" ... but I wanted the attention to be on my bike and that it was stolen, not an anonymous thief.

Using the passive voice is a matter of style, not a grammatical error.

That being said, don't overuse it. The passive voice can make your writing wordy with complicated sentence structures. And overuse can make your writing flat and uninteresting

One Tough Mama

My mom kicked down the door.

She was a nursery school teacher. During a fire drill, the exterior door she was supposed to take the kids through was locked.

She didn’t have a key.

So, she kicked it down.

The school told her she’d have to pay for damages.

“The fire alarm was going off and I had 21 kids to get out of that building. That door shouldn’t have been locked. That’s on you.”

“But it was a drill. There wasn’t really a fire.”

“I quit.”

“We’ll pay for the door.”

That was a while ago. She’s 95 now.

And still a badass.

 

It’s International Women’s Day. I’m celebrating my mom and all women who kick down doors.

War and Pull Ups

The slight man looked out of place wearing suit pants and a tie while doing pull ups.

I thought I would be the only person into the school weight room, but math teacher Israel Borenstein was there.

Doing pull ups.

I didn’t have any classes with Mr. Borenstein, but everybody knew of him because he was fasting in protest of the war. 

A war halfway across the world.

That was an odd concept to me. As odd as seeing a teacher doing pull ups. 

In a tie, no less.

“Shouldn’t you be in class?” he asked as he dropped to the floor.

Damn. I was busted. And tongue-tied.

“Why is it that you want to exercise instead of studying?”

I had no idea what to say. I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“You’re on a hunger strike, right?”

“More of a fast.”

“To protest the war, right?”

“Yes.”

“But what good is you being hungry gonna do?

“Maybe help people to think differently about war.”

“By not eating?”

“If they were bombing San Francisco, would you feel like having a nice meal?”

“Uh, I guess not.”

“Well, that’s how I feel about the war. People being killed this way makes me lose my appetite.”

I expected more, but he turned, picked up his suitcoat from the weight rack, and headed out.

At the door he turned and said, “If you need to burn off steam in here to clear your mind for study, I understand. If not, go to class.”

Although it was his first year at the school, he left part way through. I don’t know why.

This was our only interaction.

Mr. Borenstein, one of the better teachers I've encountered.

Can you give me a job writing copy?

Often writers in the early stages of their careers ask me if I have any work I can't get to that they could write for me. Sometimes they offer to work for free for the experience.

Typically, I don't have extra work for them. And I would never expect anyone to work for free.

Not the response they're hoping for. 

However, I do have advice. 

Such as this 6-step challenge:

1. Target a few businesses.
   
   NOTE: If possible, start with a friend or family member who needs customers (dentist, personal trainer, massage therapist, chiropractor, hairstylist, etc.).
   
   
2. Learn about them by digging through their websites, getting on their mailing lists, reading their social media posts, etc. 
   
   
3. When you feel you understand their target audience and their voice, identify a piece or two of their current copy you feel you could write better. Rewrite it. Then edit and polish it until you are proud to put your name on it.
   
   
4. Send it to them with a well-crafted cover explaining that you are willing to give them the copy at no charge to either update their website or use in an A/B test with the hopes that if they like it, they will hire you to write more.
   
   NOTE: Even better if you can make an appointment and present it in person.
   
   
5. Follow up.
   
   
6. Return to Step 1 and repeat.

This exercise has 3 primary benefits to a copywriter who is new to the craft:

• It's a framework for practice. Practice in researching/understanding businesses and their customers. Practice writing copy. Practice selling. Practice working with established businesses.
  
  
• It's a portfolio builder. There's nothing wrong with spec copy in a portfolio.
  
  
• It can generate paying clients.

If you're in the early stages of your marketing writing career, keep asking folks like me for work. 

You don't ask, you don't get. 

But if you're not picking up work through this channel, consider this 6-step approach.

Then, when you get to the point you have more work than you can handle, sub it out to me.

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