Embrace your inner smartass

Don't believe what your high school principal told you. Being clever does pay.
In highly creative and competitive industries (have no doubt - this means us!), being clever is more trade than trait. How else will you stand out? Consider this. If you do a Google search for "copywriter" right now, you will find that there are 4,770,000 pages that matched your search. And you thought high school was hell. Try standing out in this crowd! It's a wonder every business isn't resorting to clever puns and plays on words.

Fact is, most are playing it safe. They are using cliches and phrases you've heard too often. Each individual listing becomes blurred into one big glob of who cares. What can make a person stand out in this crowd? Give me a 'C'. Give me an 'L'. Give me an 'E'. Give me a 'V'. Well, you get the point. ...

Amid all the empty promises (top search engine rankings now!) and cliches (outrank the competition), I found one site that distinguished itself by being really clever. Here's the listing:
Chris Custer - Copywriter
"How The Cousin Of A Famous Civil War General Can Help Your Website 'Lead ... Do NOT make the mistake of "writing this off" thinking you already know this. ...
www.custerwriter.com/ - 55k - Cached - Similar pages

The guy took something simple - his last name - and made a clever reference to an ill-fated general by the same name. This made me want to read more about this particular copywriter who appreciates the fact that sometimes, you have to be clever. This guy didn't have much to lose, either. He's listed so low in Google that the Custer reference works on many levels. Perhaps the lesson here is that if you can't beat them, outwit them.
So, don't be afraid to be clever. What used to cost you a trip to the principal's office can now be a way of attracting potential clients and partners.