From Anatolia with love — Did you know that in 1960, Turkey actually produced the largest number of movies in the world, surpassing even the United States and India? This period is often referred to as the “golden age” of Turkish cinema, which lasted until the 1980 military coup. I grew up with those films…

A look at the dilemma facing every storyteller — You’ve heard both sides: “Your readers don’t care who you are or what you do. They only care about themselves and the value you provide for them. Why should they read your story or watch your film? What is in it for them?” vs. “If you want to create an…

No, we don’t sneak into their therapists’ offices — As a copywriter or salesperson, your primary goal is to understand your prospects in order to sell your product or service to them. But how can you truly understand someone you have never met before? The answer lies in a familiar storytelling concept: character creation. We don’t really get into…

Learn how these successful marketing campaigns effectively harnessed urgency to boost conversions and drive sales — We consumers are humans. We often procrastinate. Especially when we’re spending our hard earned money. Baymard.com reports that approximately 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned on average. According to their article, the biggest reason consumers give is “I was just browsing / not ready to buy”.

And what we can learn from them — “Brown, sugary, carbonated drink. Coca-Cola!” The above fake Coca-Cola slogan was frequently used by one of my mentors to mock junior copywriters at the ad agency and demonstrate how NOT to write copy. Listing the features of your product won’t persuade your audience to change their behavior or buy the…

You need to create a thousand voices — I worked at advertising agencies for many years. I wrote copy for banks, fast food chains, cars, skin care products, hygienic pads, toothpaste, computers, home appliances… I can’t even remember all. I didn’t have my own voice. How could I have one? I had to adopt the brand’s voice for…

Striking the right balance boils down to one thing — Our emotions are the main reasons we do things. Period. We have other motivations too, of course. We always need rational motives such as reason, logic, and values to justify our decisions. But only after we are emotionally sold. Marketers know this. For that reason, they use stories that evoke…

Uncomfortable laughs: So bad, they’re hilarious — I think I learned the meaning of the word “cringe” from the British sitcom Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ’Em (1973–1978) which was aired on Turkish TV on Sundays in the 80s. The main character Frank’s clumsiness was too much. I remember screaming in pain as I watched it. British are the experts on cringe I picked…