From the monthly archives:

December 2008

I Just Rebranded My Blog

by brianlburns on 30 December 2008

in updates

Alright. That should do it for the UPGRADE - I still, as always, have some tinkering to do, and there are still some cool developments in the works… but I guess it’s close enough to talk about some of the changes.

The biggest change, of course, is the URL and the title - I’ve gone from StartupWriting.com to BrianLBurns.com. The idea, at least when I first started writing fulltime, and first started authoring this blog, was to build a brand around StartupWriting. I have, at least to a certain extent. But really, I’m operating under my personal brand much more than anything these days. And on top of that, even though I still love startups (and it’s still an important part of this blog), my copywriting is no longer exclusive to them. I figured I wanted a little more professional flexibility, and thus, I figured it was time for a name change.

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Plus, the name change not only gives me professional flexibility, but it gives me more flexibility with the content of the blog. I’m no longer bound to focus just on writing (though that will remain a focus). I can write more universally about what interests me (and what might interest you). I think my new About page speaks well to that. And while you’re at it, check out the new Creds and Links pages, because I’m pretty psyched about those.

Everything else new you see is just design tweaks - I took the name-rebranding opporunity to also freshen up the look, and try to bring it up to date with the evolution of my business. Please, if you see something that I missed, or you just see something that could be improved, let me know - either here in the comments, or through the Contact page.

Of course, if you don’t have anything wrong to point out… you can just let me know how much it ROCKS!

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UPGRADE

by brianlburns on 22 December 2008

in updates

As you might be able to tell, the site is going through a little bit of an overhaul - an upgrade, if you will. Stick with me for a little while, and I’ll let you all know when things are ace.

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update: it’s getting very much closer. exciting.

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You’ve Gotta Know Who You Are

by brianlburns on 16 December 2008

in identity, voice

A competent copywriter can communicate the message (or brand) that lies at the soul of your startup. A good one can work with you to help develop and improve that message. But no copywriter - no matter how great - can develop your message for you. Your message is your identity. We can’t tell you who you are.

So, if you’re looking for help from a copywriter, look at them just as a communication expert who can help you develop your identity, and present it in the best way possible.

Nothing less, and nothing more.

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The following is from one of my favorite movies, the little-known Joe Versus the Volcano. It says what I’m saying, perfectly. The scene happens between a limo driver,  and Tom Hanks (Joe), going out shopping for nice clothes that he’s never had the opportunity to buy before:

Driver: They just hire me to drive the car, sir, I’m not here to tell you who you are
Joe: I didn’t ask you to tell me who I am
Driver: You hintin’ around about clothes. That happens to be a very important topic to me sir… clothes makes the man, I believe that. You say to me that you want to go shopping, that you want to buy clothes, but you don’t know what kind. You leave that hanging in the air, like I’m gonna fill in the blanks. But that to me is like asking who you are, and I don’t know who you are. I don’t want to know. It’s taken me all my life to find out who I am, and I am tired.

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