Concepts and copywriting
Full-time freelance for advertising and sales promotion of
all kinds. Available on a project or daily basis.[to
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All media
Advertising • consumer brochures • business brochures (product, services,
capability, etc.) • sales leave-behinds • direct mail • dealer support
and sales promotion • sales letters •
Internet and intranet Web
sites • other interactive media • advertorials • detailed product profiles • merchandising materials
• catalogs • newsletters • FSIs • presentation kits • white papers • spec
sheets • simple manuals • marketing and creative platforms •
proposals
• multimedia • television • radio • other media mentioned below
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Strategic development
I'm proud to have won an Effie, because it's given for marketing
effectiveness.
Having marketed a broad array of product and services over the years,
I contribute experience, special perspective, and insights to help you
maximize your market potential and examine all your options. My experience
in this area includes building strategies from scratch as well as pulling
together strategic input from multiple departments into a single coherent
document.
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Campaign development or extension
You set the direction and do the glory work; I'll build from there. Maybe
you already have one ad or commercial done already, and want me to do
the others. Or, I'll take your concept into other media, being sure
to take maximum advantage of each
medium's special characteristics.
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Creative review
Are you using "copywriting best practices"?
I offer a
reduced-rate, comprehensive review of your ad, brochure,
direct mail package, site or other creative project (as well as
proposals,
etc.) It's an economical way to get meaningful feedback from an uninvolved
writer who sees the project with fresh eyes
-- as your
customer sees it. I may confirm your confidence
in a good creative execution (and say why), but I will also
identify things that might be confusing, show how strong points could
be extended, eliminate wordiness, and suggest other potential improvements.
One thing I
won't do is pan everything, in a crudely disguised
pitch for new business; that's not what this is about. (For one thing,
I can only make an educated guess about what your real marketing
objectives were, unless you tell me.) I'll be constructive,
give you sound reasons why and possibly suggest ways to do it better.
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Presentations
Live or on-screen. Any kind of screen -- laptop, video, slide module,
or multimedia. It needs to be fresh and interesting, but the creativity
should enhance or reinforce your message, not distract from it. The message
itself needs to be clear, succinct and persuasive. Unlike a brochure or commercial, with a presentation you don't get a second chance. Also see my tips on
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Copy/contact for agencies and media
I've dealt directly with clients since the beginning of my career, and
am experienced at fact-finding, determining goals, communicating strategies,
etc., with or without your presence. This isn't my standard procedure
(it's nice to have the full benefit of your account service personnel),
but when you're short on time or people, it often helps.
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Presentations
Live or on-screen. Any kind of screen -- laptop, video, slide module,
or multimedia.
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Information Architecture
Did you know the term "information architecture" dates back to 1975?
It's not just about Web sites, but also for presentations, proposals, strategies,
business plans and other complex documents. A good writer tends to do
this by nature.
By nature, I am a student of online usability in particular. See my (now ancient) article on "
Writers
and Web Sites" about why many copywriters are natural (and in my case, experienced)
information architects.
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Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing
See my article on
"Copywriting
and Search Engine Optimization" and my
SEO Copywriter's Checklist. I specialize in what's called "organic" (or
natural) search engine optimization, which means relying on the content and other visible and encoded
text that should be on your website anyway. It's a natural outgrowth of copywriting. Intelligently incorporating keywords
into your pages' copy and site description is something
of an art. Different search engines and directories have different ways
of looking at things what they look for on your page and throughout your
site, what they value most in cataloguing and ranking, what can penalize
you, how long a site description they'll allow.
You'll benefit from using a versatile interactive writer who can make
your site look better to search engines without degrading its appeal
to humans (your first priority, of course). Even if you just need to develop
click-through-inducing site descriptions of various lengths, it helps to
adapt them on a case-by-case
basis ... not just chopping out some words, but using a writer with a
good knowledge of your business and industry. Someone skilled at blending-in
keywords, and with your larger business interests at heart.
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Basic web site construction
In addition to writing websites, I've created some from scratch, improved some, and administer several
of them, including a couple of
online
stores.
Working closely with you, I'll deliver a site that works well and communicates clearly.
I'm fluent in HTML, pretty good at JavaScript, and have the right software tools. If you
need more advanced technology and graphic design, specialists are on call. Or, if you want
something
really easy (and even more affordable) that you can run yourself, consider
Site Build It!, a comprehensive site-building and search-engine-marketing package that automatically does almost everything but the thinking
for you. Except for the copywriting
... and I can help you with that.
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Press releases and editorial
I write newsletters, editorial articles and press releases from time to
time, usually as part of a comprehensive overall advertising/promotional
project.
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Working the phone
No, not sales calls. But I often use the phone to gather up the product
story before writing begins. For example: canvassing retailers for testimonials.
Or phoning district offices and their customers to nail down case history
details.
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Temporary replacement
If you're located in the New York City area, call when you're short-staffed. I've filled in at every level from creative
director to junior copywriter. This helps you remain sane and fresh during
peak periods, keeps you fully capable during vacation season, and lets
you take all the time you need to find the right replacement for a departed
staffer.
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Proofreading
I'm
not a "full-time proofreader," and for maximum peace
of mind you should
use one.*
But
I'll double-check your final version of my copy
at no extra charge. Who wants a sample with a mistake
that crept in during layout or last-minute changes? Send me the finished page
(pdf, URL, proof, script, etc.) while there's still reasonable time for us to do
something about it, have your regular proofreader(s) check it, too, and
give me some samples when done.
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Americanization
If your copy is intended for an American audience, but your writer or translator speaks
British, don't go straight to print. The difference between British English and US English (even North American English) is
more than a matter of words and spelling. It involves vernacular phrases, spotting regionalisms, changing hackneyed phrases, even differences in tone, and stuff you can't quite put your finger on.
So ask me to put my fingers on it. I'm a genuine United States copywriter, it doesn't necessarily cost much to Americanize (if it needs nothing, I'll say so), and I've done this before.
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Radio
Yes, I know radio is covered above, but I want to give it special attention
-- something radio writing gets too little of. Earlier in my career, I
wrote a few thousand commercials, but I don't get to do as many as I'd
like these days.
Here are some
radio
copy samples. If needed, I can provide finished production,
demo or voiceover capability, too. I'm an experienced radio producer and voice actor.
Whether you've already written one spot
and need two more, could use some script development, or just want to farm it
all out so you can do other stuff,
you'll find me as flexible as the medium itself.
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