About Sheryl Allen

As a professional freelance copywriter, I write feel-good content for a living. I’ve been copywriting through my business Over the Page for more than 20 years. Since the last millennium. Since the heady days of faxing drafts and couriering floppy disks loaded with final copy. A time when print ruled the marketing world. These days, I develop…

Superb verbs: what “doing” words do for your copywriting

Some days I’d surrender my first-born for a superb verb. Clever verbs trump nouns or adjectives any day. They overshadow pronouns and decimate adverbs (absolutely). A verb can tell your audience so much more than a string of wimpy, overused adjectives. Used well, they paint masterful word-pictures and require minimal punctuation so are less likely…

Get out of my inbox! Go do something creative

Who wants to mark Valentine’s Day by buying a new printer cartridge? Or (for feck’s sake) gutter guard? Not me. I don’t want to mark Valentine’s Day at all. Yet, it seems that everyone with something to tout thinks Valentine’s Day is an ideal time to hit my inbox with an offer. Hell, I even…

I, we or they? Finding your voice in copywriting

I’m often asked about the right “voice” for business communications? There is no absolute answer. It all depends. Whether you’re writing for email, your website, print marketing collateral or your blog, choosing the appropriate voice for your piece depends on your objective, your audience and your business. Connect and emote with “I” The first person…