What’s the best part about my job? The variety! As a copywriter, I’m asked to cover all kinds of topics. In the last couple of months, I have written about everything from roofing to worms. What is there to say about worms? If you’re a gardener like I am, you aren’t just talking about worms,…
When I first got into copywriting, I focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) topics. What a geek-out! I covered 3-D printing, research in microgravity, and cellular growth and repair. Then came the client requests: Can you write about school safety? Worm farming? Flannel shirts? Carpentry? Fashion photography? Teaching poetry? The answer to all…
Question from a recent e-mailer: Does my copywriting experience include developing keywords for search engine optimization, aka SEO? Permit me to answer this question with a little story. In a past life, I wrote and published an eBook. The site that promoted my eBook was ranked #1 in Google for several years. What was the…
Why are we doing this? This isn’t an existential question. It’s at the heart of every copywriting project. And it’s a question that leads to this set. Call it the Copywriting Top 10: What can I write for you? Do you need website copy? Words for your brochure? A news release? Or something else? What…
Copywriting Around America Lately, I’ve been covering topics that range from raised bed gardening to worm farming, and from engineering firm marketing to the psychology of color. In addition to enjoying the wide variety of assignments, I’m having a great time with clients who come from all over the country. So far this year, I…
Summer’s latter half has been filled with construction-related copywriting projects. One was for a Phoenix-based company that restores residential and commercial buildings that have been damaged by fires, floods, storms or other disasters. My words will be used in their new promotional folders. The other project is ongoing and involves work for a design studio…
You’ve probably seen many photos of El Tour de Tucson – packs of cyclists hurtling past picturesque mountains or cactus-studded deserts. Can’t say that any of them have come from my camera. Why not? Because I don’t have a car! The bicycle is my main form of transportation, and that includes going to and from…
Your New Word for Today Poor Dick Quax. He gets into a Twitter debate with two alternative transportation enthusiasts and the next thing you know, his name is a hashtag. Responding to a request for better transport options at a local mall, the Auckland, New Zealand city councillor said, “[N]o one in the entire Western…
Words for the Web As a copywriter, I work directly with clients. Or I’m a subcontractor. My subcontract work comes from design studios, and it runs the gamut from dancing lessons to solar energy. Then there was the recent copywriting project that broke the mold. The client was the design studio itself. Here are the…
Note: This is a summary of the 5-minute presentation that I just made to the Tucson WordPress Meetup Group. Introduction Thank you for coming to the Meetup! My name is Martha Retallick and I’ve been a full-time freelancer since 1994. Along the way, I’ve worked as a web designer and photographer. These days, I focus…
Summertime in Sizzling Tucson, Arizona! And I’m not kidding about the “sizzling” part. Recent daytime highs have exceeded 110 degrees. What do people do when it’s that hot outside? Stay inside! If our to-do lists include outdoor activities, we handle them early in the morning (before 6:30 a.m. is ideal) or after sunset. Which brings…
Why do clients hire copywriters? Because they’re busy! They don’t have time to create content for their websites, brochures, newsletters, case studies, white papers, and other marketing materials. I help clients get these must-do tasks into the “done” column. They also like how I make complex, technical subjects accessible to a lay audience. Here are…
Back to Tucson’s South Side for another exciting finish to El Tour de Tucson. I also shot the 2012 race from the South Side. The winner, Philip Tintsman, broke away late in the 104-mile race and finished miles ahead of everyone else. View my 2014 Tour de Tucson photo gallery…
Cyclovia Tucson used to be one of those annual events. And then it became popular. Very popular. The spring 2014 edition attracted 20,000 people to Tucson’s South Side. The first-ever fall Cyclovia Tucson featured the central part of the city. I have a confession to make: I didn’t ride. Not one single pedal stroke. The…
Before this summer’s monsoon season, I lost an entire barrel of spaghetti squash plants. Borers got to them. So, I re-planted the barrel with O’odham Vayo beans. I watered them. And watered. And watered. It was getting to the point of being ridiculous. Was this impressive growth of Vayo bean vines ever going to produce…
The remnants of Tropical Storm Simon love Southern Arizona. To the tune of 1.40″ in my rain gauge since yesterday afternoon. And it’s starting to rain again. Simon, how can we miss you if you won’t go away? Here’s my front yard, shortly after Simon said, “Rain on Tucson!”
Tucson’s long, hot summer of 2014 almost made me give up on container gardening. Take, for example, my hot pepper pots. I watered and watered and watered them. (Why am I doing this?) The pepper flowers kept drying up and falling off. Result: No summertime peppers for my omelettes. Then came fall. And guess what’s…
It’s official: Tropical Depression Odile was a No-Deal. After spending several hours weeping over Tucson, she decided that we weren’t supportive enough. So, Odile headed east and dumped her sorrows all over New Mexico and West Texas. While Odile was still trying to gain our sympathies, she left scenes like this. Baja Fairy Duster in…
Yes, it’s still summer. And, yes, it’s still hot as blazes. But September is just a few days away. Which means that it’s time to get the early fall garden planted. What’s in mine? I’m starting lettuce and greens in the big pot. Still-producing lemon basil plants surround it… What’s in this basin? Carrot seeds…
Mid-afternoon thunderstorm rolls in, ruining my plans to take a nap. Outside, there’s the sound of raindrops soaking the hardscape. Like the brick edging around one of my garden basins… And the front walk. It’s getting the rain-hammer! Uh-oh! More thunder outside. Here comes the rain — again.
So much for trash-talking the clouds. One of them took umbrage and thundered at me. That cloud invited its friends over for a party, and rain it did! Half an inch in less than an hour. After checking the rain gauge total, I trained my camera on the side-yard garden. Chiltepin pepper plants with prickly…