Copy Poetics by Nicole Cloutier
For those of us who want to be kind to, for, and with our words... and make a whole lotta money while we're at it.
An Exercise: Write More Human Sentences 🎱
When I taught college writing, I would run one particular class near the beginning of every sememster. I usually called this class something like "Start with Nonsense" or "Play With Your Words." You see, college students usually arrive to their writing 101 class with a lot of baggage. That highschool "keyhole" essay does a lot of damage to a student's desire to write... who'd've thought? Many of us are still reeling from the red-pen way writing was taught to us... And this was before genAI -...
The belief that helps me love selling
Reader, When I say it's all poetry, what I mean is that... well... it's ALL poetry: Writing Marketing Movement Life This belief is the #1 thing that helps me love my work. Because when you view your copywriting (selling through words) as art, as an extension of the amazingly magical thing that you put into the world, then copywriting because a whole lot easier to do, and you sell more of your magical thing. That's the philosophy behind pretty much everything I do. So today I'm excited to...
The FB ad that changed my career
Reader, In 2019, I was living out of my car + via housesits across the US. No rent, used car fully paid for and not (yet) surprising me with repairs. Life was pretty simple! my 2009 Suzuki car bed! I was in San Jose when I came across a FB ad for the Comprehensive Copywriting Academy (aka the CCA) ... and even though I had sworn off marketing after my 3-year stint at the ad agency... I was craving a bit of stability again. So I enrolled! And I learned more about copywriting in the month it...
How to promise results without overpromising
And the winner of our poll is….. Overpromising! 👇 sending too many emails was a close (and related) second! Reader, I’m actually so delighted this topic won because it keeps coming up in conversations this year… which makes so much sense! Most of us have bought courses, workshops, or programs over the last ~6 years that we didn't actually get results from... 😬 And after seeing that happen enough times, it’s easy to swing too far in the other direction. I know a creative entrepreneur is...
What I'm investing in right now
Reader, In the year 2026, I have a new rule for myself: I'm no longer investing in offers where the mentor isn't reachable. No matter how great it seems. I want to hang out with my mentor, get their thoughts, ask them questions, spend live time in a room where I can see them and they can see me. I'll get way more out of that than I would from even the greatest teacher in a large group course where they never know my name. ... Some things I've paid for recently (that you can still join, too):...
Can I clarify?
Hi Reader, Last week's email might've seemed anti-strategy, so I just want to clarify: I'm not out here making business decisions willy-nilly, but I AM out here removing roadblocks. Example: For the longest time I didn't launch at all, because it seemed like the "perfect" way to do it was with a live masterclass (you know the ones!).* By giving myself permission to fully be my 12th-house, unpredictable-energy-levels self, I was able to launch my way... a more weird, experimental, artistic...
Any thoughts on how to celebrate this?
I’ve always thought of Taurus season as the start of “my” season… Taurus 🌙 → Gemini ☀️ → Cancer 🌅 And this year’s a poignant one… because, Reader, I’m turning 40 in June... Yesterday, I chatted with a receptionist (gotta re-up that 🌿 prescription)… and after giving her my birthday, she exclaimed: “I was also born in June 1986!! How are you feeling?! It’s a big one for us!” But honestly, the more I think about it, the more positive I feel. As someone who's always looked a lot younger than I am...
Survey results! 👀
I'm going to keep this short, Reader, because I don’t want you spending one. more. minute. reading this email when you could be looking at this truly excellent launch data. So... 🥁🥁🥁 The results from the State of Launching Survey are officially in! See the survey results 🚀 There are interactive graphs! And an audio overview where I walk through the patterns I see & how we can make our own launches... easier? better? less stressful? (the dream!) Seriously, go check it out. Enjoy! Nicole P.S....
these shownotes okay?
Season 5... (!!) of It's All Poetry is officially live, Reader! We have SO many great episodes on the docket over the next few months, starting with this one: The Space Between Drafts: Redefining “Edit” (with Emily Doucet) Emily is the founder of Framing Devices where she supports academic authors in bringing their books (and other texts) to life - so obviously the perfect guest to deep dive into "Edit" with! If you've ever wondered about the history of the word that had all of us terrified...
How I plan new offers
A weekly newsletter for those of us who want to be kind to, for, and with our words — and make a whole lotta money while we're at it. Happy new moon / solar eclipse / lunar new year! Yesterday, I did one of my favorite things: got out a giant piece of paper and started mapping out a new offer. Doing this on Big Paper (with colorful markers!) does three important things: 1) Makes me feel creative 2) Gets me away from the computer for a bit 3) Bonus: I love standing back and surveying it all...
For those of us who want to be kind to, for, and with our words... and make a whole lotta money while we're at it.