The proof of the writer is in the reading.
From the time I was 10 years old, I knew what I wanted to do. No, my vocabulary didn't yet contain the words "marketing copywriter." But while other kids were playing cops and robbers or pretending to be cowboys, I imagined myself a dynamic businessman, battling it out with rival corporations in epic showdowns to the bitter end. It won't surprise you to know that I wrote my company's own ads (often in colored chalk on a giant green chalkboard).
Following are a few pieces I've written for other people's companies over the past 19 years. (Of course, this is but a small sampling. Let me know if you'd like to see more!)
Following are a few pieces I've written for other people's companies over the past 19 years. (Of course, this is but a small sampling. Let me know if you'd like to see more!)
Click the images below to see a larger version.
Catalog
Above: The inside front spread of The Artful Home's spring 2007 catalog. In the letter at left, I tried to capture the founder's warm personality in a message that invited readers to delve inside and explore the works of the nation's finest artists. The story behind "Pear Coffee Table" (right page) is interesting because the artist actually called to chastise the copywriter (that would be me), saying the description "diminished" his work and simply would not sell any tables. That stung at the time, but my work was vindicated when we sold not one, but two of these $6,500 tables within the first week of the catalog's drop.
Above: These samples play like a "greatest hits" of my catalog copy for The Artful Home and Lab Safety Supply's Safety & Industrial Supplies catalogs. Looking back, I was probably too young to know what I was doing when I wrote the LSS copy, but I was having too much fun to notice!
Print advertising and direct mail
My portfolio is full to bursting with print advertising and direct mail. If you'd like to see these samples, drop me a line. I'll be happy to show them to you!
Left: Lest you think I'm all serious, all the time--
this mockup of a print ad for a districtwide student information system shows my ability to approach challenges from unexpected angles.
this mockup of a print ad for a districtwide student information system shows my ability to approach challenges from unexpected angles.
Lead-generation letters
This lead-generation letter, a two-page testimonial
I wrote after interviewing a real-life teacher, beat the company's control package by a whopping two to one.
I wrote after interviewing a real-life teacher, beat the company's control package by a whopping two to one.
Another control-busting lead-gen letter. This one earned me the marketing department's coveted "control freak" award.
E-mail
What makes a great email? A short, snappy subject line that hooks the reader's interest. An informative headline that communicates the offer. And taut, concise body copy that conveys the details in scannable form. That's easy. What's not so easy is crafting creative messages to a group of customers--affluent art lovers--who expect more than just a straight sell. These folks don't want to be peddled to; they want to be moved. Or at least swept away for a brief moment to an artfully inspired place in the imagination.
Educational inserts
Newsletter articles
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