Paralegal and financial pro turned copywriter bringing boring topics to life, serving as the Resident Writing Expert for realtors, attorneys, and financial pros. Check out my emails below and enter your email address to get my freebie, "5 Ways to Make Your Copy UN-Boring"
April is a lot around here. Let’s begin.
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Hi Reader, April is my birthday month. Which, if you’ve been here for any length of time, you know I treat like a world event. As I should. It’s also the month of my completely made-up internet holiday, 4/11 Day. And Earth Day. Which matters to me more than I probably talk about out loud. (Composting. Recycling. Reusable bags. Farmers markets. Walking when I can. Minimal driving. You know. Mother Earth things.) April holds a lot. Here’s another fun fact that delights me every single year: I share a birthday with Alfred Mosher Butts, the inventor of Scrabble. This feels correct. (And because I continue to have the sense of humor of a 12-year-old, #forever12, I laugh every time I hear “Butts.”) Scrabble works because the rules are fixed. The board is stable. The letters are limited. And yet—there are endless ways to play well. That’s how voice works. When you understand your constraints—who you serve, what problem you solve, what matters most—you stop guessing. You stop trying to say everything. You start choosing words with intention. That’s not personality. That’s strategy. And we’ll be talking about that a lot this month. In between all the April celebrations, of course. If your message is dense, I’ll make it make sense. Best, |
Judi 411 | Judi Harrington
Paralegal and financial pro turned copywriter bringing boring topics to life, serving as the Resident Writing Expert for realtors, attorneys, and financial pros. Check out my emails below and enter your email address to get my freebie, "5 Ways to Make Your Copy UN-Boring"
Hi Reader, Three months into 2026, and it’s been a ride. A few highlights from the first quarter: Client wins: websites rewritten, books launched, clarity restored. My own lessons: done beats perfect, every time. What’s next: new workshops, one-on-one coaching spots opening soon, and a few projects I can’t wait to tell you about. If you want to see more behind the curtain—writing stories, experiments, and what I’m learning in real time—you’ll find it on Substack: 👉 Write Like You Mean It And...
Hi Reader, Anne Lamott calls it the Shitty First Draft—SFD if you’re talking in mixed company—and she nailed it. Every solid piece of writing starts bloated, nervous, and trying way too hard to sound smart. The first draft’s job isn’t to impress anyone. It’s to exist. To get the truth on the page, so you have something to work with later. Here’s how I think about it: Drafting is confession. Say it all. Be messy, human, unfiltered. Editing is architecture. Strip out what doesn’t belong so what...
Hi Reader, Early in my business, I offered a service called Testimonial Scribe. I interviewed my clients’ happiest customers and asked a simple question: “What would you tell your best friend about working with them?” That’s when the real story surfaced. Not polished. Not corporate. Specific. Lived experience. The language clients used often clarified a company’s value better than anything on its website. Over time, that work evolved into case studies. Because eventually, social proof needs...