Copywriting for copywriters. I randomly chose a newsletter for post #1. The Weekly Spooky, by Brit McGinnis over at Black Bow Communications. She’s the Elvira of Copywriting. Dark, macabre, and damn good people. Give her a follow if you can.

Without diving too deep, I came up with 100 ideas, phrases & titles I thought could fit her theme. Mind you, Brit had no idea I was doing this and they’re not for any specific post. I’m just getting my feet wet here and this one didn’t come out quite how I planned—more of a blog brainstorm than a specific headline. But it’s a start.

I imagine there’ll be a lot of learning over the first dozen or so, and this should (hopefully) be the worst one I write. Sign up at the bottom to get the recap & follow along.

OK, enough stalling.  I put a few of my favorites in bold.

Notes below the list.

1The Bride of Frankenstein’s hair was red – and 12 other facts you didn’t know
2Copy to kill for
3Bloggers! Are you scaring your audience enough?
4Lessons from the chamber
5Nightmare Copy
6How to escape the pit & the pendulum
713 things you didn’t know were true about these horror legends
8These 6 items can help you survive any horror scenario
9What they saw before they died
10the ultimate guide to horror movie survival
11Great copy that makes your hair stand on end
12The story technique Hitchcock used in all 49 of his movies
13The handbook for the undead business writer
14Never underestimate a teenage girl with an axe
15Why you should lock the door before you write
16Freddy vs. Jason vs. You
17Things the demons should always know about girl power
18Lessons learned from Alfred Hitchcock
19Slashing straight to the point
20Blood spatter analysis
21Stop thinking you wouldn’t have been killed. You would.
22Lessons to keep you alive until the final credits
239 gruesome details about your favorite monster’s face
24Spine-tingling tales of writing
25Tales from behind the bookcase
26Bloody Business
277 horror classics written by women
284 secrets to killing a zombie
29How to swing an axe like Jason
30Lessons learned from the dead
31The torture chamber
32Sacrificial copy
33Could “The Mist” actually happen?
34Why cardio workouts don’t mean anything when you’re running from the dead
35Tales from the dungeon
36The dark art of copywriting
37Life lessons learned from horrifically dead people
38What the dead things can teach us
39Burn these ideas into your brain
40What would really happen if you got stabbed by Freddy?
41The secrets buried in your basement
42Here’s why you’ll never stop being afraid of kid ghosts
43Scary stories to tell at work
44Tales of black magic
45The twisted path to the dark castle
46After learning how movie guts are made, you may never want to eat this dessert again
47Disturbing secrets of how we process copy
48Sharp-witted tales that cut through your flesh
49Science says you should watch more horror movies
50Tales from the creature shop — insider secrets to building the perfect beast
51Should you be more like Michael Myers or Jamie Lee Curtis?
52Halloween shouldn’t be the only day you’re afraid of (what happened this week in horror)
53Horrific lessons
54The bloodstained writer
55Voodoo & Witchcraft copy
56I analyzed 6 of the scariest movies and here’s what I learned
57The death knell heard ’round the internet
58How the creature from the black lagoon saved cinema
5926 ways to kill monsters
60What I learned about simple scare techniques from watching Stranger Things
61Weekly bloodstain
62Business secrets inside the screams
63Dark words & black shadows
64Weekly apparitions
65Lessons from the dead / the other side
66Copy tips for beating hearts
676 reasons why I want to be besties with H. R. Giger’s Alien
68How to increase your audience size by never showing the monster
69Where to hide when the monsters come
70How to outrun a demon
71It was this one thing that made me fear sweat
72Messages from the other side
73Why watching horror movies make you smarter
74Why we love to watch people die
75Can you spot the editing mistake in this scene?
76Newsletters to keep your business from dying
77Strange & unusual secrets
78The last thing he saw before his face was ripped off was this.
79If Jason knew about this one thing, he would have made it to Saturday with both arms
80Stabs, jabs & quick attacks you should you be doing with your business
81How to survive the ______ experience
82It’s tough to look back when you don’ t have a head
83Words that go bump in the night
84Lessons learned from Norman Bates / Freddy Krueger / Jason Voorhees
85All the ooze that’s fit to print
86abominable mistakes every movie victim makes
87Mistakes made by the dead (series of villains & their downfalls / tragic hero lessons)
88Interviews with ghosts
89The true science of horror movies
90The copy at the end of your bed
91Why you should be terrified of mermaids
92Dark words that watch you sleep
93How to survive possession —and other secrets for moving beyond bad ideas
94Why it’s OK to outwardly cheer for the bad guy
95Forget the dark, these are the lessons you should really be afraid of
96The fear-monger
97Warning! Most characters are dead before the 2nd act
98If you want to live, read this
99Things movie victims wish they knew before they died
100Don’t look back when running up the stairs (all the things you should leave behind when you advance)
101How to beat the demon
10211 mistakes people make when running from ghosts
10313 things Edgar Allen Poe got right

Overall: Meh. Though there are a few good post ideas here, this wasn’t what I was aiming for. I want to focus on key messaging.This turned into a smorgasbord of potential content. I wouldn’t mind reading a few of these, but I need to get focused on ONE idea. Brit (or anyone else), they’re all yours if you want ’em.

Lesson Learned: Try something more focused than a newsletter. Cut out the general blog headline formulas

Total time spent: 1:28 (all at once)

More tomorrow.

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