I’ve spent my life helping people communicate ideas, whether as a musician, educator, veteran, career strategist, or copywriter.
Along the way, I discovered something surprising.
The biggest obstacle isn’t usually talent.
It’s clarity.
That’s why I created ElmoCopy.
Not to write words for people, but to help them discover the message they’ve been trying to say all along.
When your thinking becomes clearer, your writing follows.
And when your writing becomes clearer, the right people begin to notice.
Hi, I’m wondering why you use the name, Elmo. It doesn’t appear to be your legal name. There was a broadcaster, writer, and consultant named Elmo Ellis. He worked tirelessly over a career of 60+ years to make his legal name, Elmo Ellis, synonymous with quality and integrity in the field of Journalism. Are you aware of this? Google him.
Janet,
Thanks for your thoughtful question. I appreciate you asking rather than simply wondering or spreading crazy rumors. Ha-ha!
Yes, I’m familiar with broadcaster Elmo Ellis and have great respect for the reputation he built over his remarkable career. My use of the moniker, however, has nothing to do with him.
The story is much less dignified.
When I was in junior high, I was an obsessive trombone player. One morning, while rehearsing duets before school with my friend John Turgeon, we got into a spirited argument over how to pronounce the musical term allargando. Somewhere in the middle of our debate he blurted out, “Oh, you… Elmo!”
We both laughed.
Unfortunately for me, the rest of the band heard it.
By the end of the day everyone was calling me Elmo. Within weeks it had spread throughout the school. Teachers, classmates, friends, and even my parents began using it. By the time I reached high school, hardly anyone called me Mark anymore.
I figured joining the Army would finally put an end to it.
Instead, a friend from my high school band arrived at the Army School of Music one class ahead of me and introduced me to everyone as “Elmo.” From that point on, the nickname followed me around the world. Fellow soldiers knew me as Elmo. Friends overseas knew me as Elmo. Musicians knew me as Elmo. Somewhere along the way, it simply became part of who I am.
For decades I’ve signed letters, articles, and countless non-legal documents as Mark “Elmo” Ellis. It’s never been a marketing decision or an attempt to borrow someone else’s identity. It’s simply the nickname that has been attached to me for most of my life.
(By the way, I didn’t steal the name from that red-furred ferret on Sesame Street. I was plagued by that name half a decade before his flaming hide ever showed up in 1980. )
So that’s the mystery solved. There isn’t a grand strategy behind it. Just one offhand remark in a band room many years ago that refused to disappear.
Thanks again for asking.
God bless,
Mark “Elmo” Ellis
Mark has done a tremendous job on every single one of my projects that I outsourced to him. Each copy that he has done is well researched and does wonders on my SEO. Always looking forward to setting up projects with ELMO for the next big idea! Keep on being awesome.
http://www.warriorwealthsolutions.com