Onclave home page copy
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I was hired to write the sales brochure for new startup Onclave. The owners were so pleased with the copy that they used it as the home page content for their new website. Click thumbnail image to see the full page.
This site content is a great example of what is possible when a client and copywriter work well together. I knew zero about the subject matter, but because the client group all understood that, they came to our first call with all the details.
They knew they would be selling a highly technical product to an audience with varying degrees of technical experience, including none. So they already knew how to talk about their product in plain enough language for me to get it. That made it easy for me to dive in and start thinking like their target market--what needs, concerns, and fears would drive them to search for this kind of technology solution, and what kinds of information they might need upfront in order to see this company as a legitimate contender for their business. |
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Boostapal.com: Site design, copy and brand identity
Boostapal.com is an affiliate marketing site geared toward middle-school to college-aged kids. As with any affiliate marketing site, Boostapal is an intermediary between shoppers and online stores. When you go to the Boostapal mall, you'll find a huge list of links to online retailers. The difference here is that instead of the site keeping the affiliate marketing fee that it would normally earn by directing traffic to a participating retailer, Boostapal puts the fee into an account under the child's name.
The goal is for kids to get their parents, grandparents, and all of their friends shopping through the Boostapal mall so that they are all contributing to that account. There is no change to any retail prices with affiliate marketing, hence there is no charge whatsoever for using Boostapal.
The home page shown here was the initial introduction of the Boostapal concept to kids. I designed the menu bar to look like a chalkboard, and used the same handwriting-style font for the headline and subheads on the page.
There was a similar home page geared toward the parents; various types of marketing campaigns were designed to drive the right traffic to the right sign-in page. But as a failsafe, I added the last line of copy here to redirect any wayward parents to the page that would explain Boostapal to them.
Click image to enlarge.
The goal is for kids to get their parents, grandparents, and all of their friends shopping through the Boostapal mall so that they are all contributing to that account. There is no change to any retail prices with affiliate marketing, hence there is no charge whatsoever for using Boostapal.
The home page shown here was the initial introduction of the Boostapal concept to kids. I designed the menu bar to look like a chalkboard, and used the same handwriting-style font for the headline and subheads on the page.
There was a similar home page geared toward the parents; various types of marketing campaigns were designed to drive the right traffic to the right sign-in page. But as a failsafe, I added the last line of copy here to redirect any wayward parents to the page that would explain Boostapal to them.
Click image to enlarge.
Actual site home page has since evolved, but the logo and colors remain.
ADT company intranet site, Customer Experience section; copy and layout
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When I joined ADT's Customer Experience team, the team was brand new, so there was much we wanted and needed to communicated to the rest of the organization about our initiatives. I built and managed the Customer Experience section of ADT's SharePoint-based intranet site to achieve this goal.
At the time, the limitations of SharePoint meant every department's section of the site looked identical. There were no options to add color, for example. So, for the Customer Experience section, I created copy blocks, headers, photo captions and banner ads in Photoshop and imported them to give it a distinctly different look from the rest of the site, and to make it more engaging. When I later moved to the Marketing team, I took on the responsibility of updating that section of the intranet as well. Click the image to enlarge the page. |
Read another ADT “Meet a Customer for Life” story.
View another page from the intranet site.
Texas Tourism banner ads
The Texas Tourism Bureau hired Temerlin McClain to create a set of promotional banner ads. The interactive writer on my team was working on initial concepts and brought them to me for feedback. What was missing for me was a tie-in to their long-running campaign, "Texas. It's like a whole other country," which highlighted the vastly different types of terrain present throughout the state. These were the concepts I ended up working on with her.
For this interactive banner ad, your choice of ideal vacation type—"Go with the flow" or "Go, go go!"—would open a second banner.
Below is the banner you would see after choosing "Go with the flow." The copy reads as follows:
Go With The Flow!
When you get away, you're looking for total relaxation. That makes Texas the ideal destination for you. Just a short drive, and you can be lounging on the beach . . . floating down the Guadalupe River . . . strolling along San Antonio's Riverwalk . . . taking in the spectacular beauty of a West Texas sunset.
The banner features a menu of options that each take the visitor to a different page on the TravelTex.com site.
Go With The Flow!
When you get away, you're looking for total relaxation. That makes Texas the ideal destination for you. Just a short drive, and you can be lounging on the beach . . . floating down the Guadalupe River . . . strolling along San Antonio's Riverwalk . . . taking in the spectacular beauty of a West Texas sunset.
The banner features a menu of options that each take the visitor to a different page on the TravelTex.com site.
The next example is a banner ad designed to fit a specific configuration that was available through Yahoo! This ad worked like a microsite, featuring a menu across the top. As this ad was intended to appear to users in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, it took users to pages on TravelTex.com that featured area attractions.
On the left is the banner as it would first appear to a user; on the right, you see the drop-down menu that appears when the user clicks "Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex Attractions." As the pointer scrolled over each option in the drop-down, it would appear highlighted to indicate that each was a live link.
Head: Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear.
Subhead: Think it's too late to plan the perfect summer vacation? Think again! Think Texas.
Body Copy: Just a stone's throw away (or a short car trip, anyway) the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex offers events and attractions for the whole family, and accommodations to suit every budget.
On the left is the banner as it would first appear to a user; on the right, you see the drop-down menu that appears when the user clicks "Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex Attractions." As the pointer scrolled over each option in the drop-down, it would appear highlighted to indicate that each was a live link.
Head: Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear.
Subhead: Think it's too late to plan the perfect summer vacation? Think again! Think Texas.
Body Copy: Just a stone's throw away (or a short car trip, anyway) the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex offers events and attractions for the whole family, and accommodations to suit every budget.
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We also received some fantastic feedback from our client on these banners:
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LinkedIn showcase pages for Blackhawk Engagement Solutions
Hawk Incentives (formerly Blackhawk Engagement Solutions, and Parago prior to that) is a global provider of rebate and incentive programs, in both the consumer and channel spaces. As part of an ongoing effort to maintain the company's position as a thought leader, the Marketing team was asked to create a set of showcase pages for use on LinkedIn. As of July 2014, the company had launched one each for Shopper Marketing Insights and Consumer Promotions, for which I wrote the content.
Click each image to enlarge.
Click each image to enlarge.
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Shopper Marketing showcase page
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Consumer Promotions showcase page
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Watters customer e-newsletterThis digital newsletter went out to customers who had opted in. Although I worked for Watters as a sales rep, when I found out we had a customer e-newsletter, I jumped at the chance to write it.
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Williamson & Williamson: Site design, copy and brand identity
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I built two identical websites for the firm, one focused on general criminal defense and the other on DWI cases. After looking at the websites of other law offices in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, it was obvious that visually setting this firm apart from its competition was not going to be difficult, since every other site was either red, white and blue or stone gray.
I chose a color palette of pale teal and dark-chocolate brown with dark teal accents, which gave the site a look that was both unique and elegant. I also kept the design of each page very clean and uncluttered--another departure from the trend at the time. The website was functional from 2005 until the business closed shop in 2010. You can view the cached version of the DWI site via the Wayback Machine. While this option doesn't include the images, it does contain all of the site content, which I wrote in its entirety, and has functioning navigation. |
Click to enlarge
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Noesis: Site design, copy and brand identity; product design
Noesis was my company, which I ran from 2004 through 2007. I handled every detail, including building the website, which meant site design, content development, product photography and retouching, advertising and marketing. I marketed the site via banner ads, traditional direct mail and email, and through theknot.com. I also attended multiple bridal shows.
By 2006, I had my product in seven different retail shops and was taking custom orders online. I also met with brides, bridesmaids, and moms of brides and grooms all over the Dallas/Fort Worth area, primarily at dress fittings, to design jewelry, veils, and dress embellishments specifically to accompany their wedding-day attire.
By 2006, I had my product in seven different retail shops and was taking custom orders online. I also met with brides, bridesmaids, and moms of brides and grooms all over the Dallas/Fort Worth area, primarily at dress fittings, to design jewelry, veils, and dress embellishments specifically to accompany their wedding-day attire.
Home page
Click to enlarge
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Banner ad
Small banner ad for Noesis; placed on various sites through Blogads.
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Noesis email to bridal boutiques & wedding consultants
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One of my promotional emails to customers who had opted in to receive communications. The background image is part of a provided template, but I wrote the copy, and product design and photography are mine as well.
Side note: I was particularly proud of the featured tiara, which was a hand-beaded replica of a vintage 1930s bridal tiara I had purchased on eBay. As is typical for vintage headpieces, the original had aged to a beautiful champagne-cream color. While they look beautiful with ivory and beige gowns, they are off limits to a bride wanting a white, diamond-white, or off-white gown. I created this version in white specifically for this bride, using the original to draft the shape, and filling it in with my own beading pattern using much smaller beads and completely covering the buckram base. Click to enlarge. See additional samples of this email/enewsletter. |
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ChienChic: Site design, copy and brand identity; product design
Home pageClick to enlarge.
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Samples of product pagesFrom the Retro Collection. Click to enlarge.
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ADT Security Services: Email survey for non-customers
Copy written with no input beyond “create an email promoting a survey to consumers who are not currently ADT customers.”
ADT monthly customer eNewsletter
HomeVestors of America, company intranet site; Ken D'Angelo Foundation page, copy and layout
Ken D'Angelo was the company's founder, and he was highly revered by its employees. Within the limitations of the content management system, I strove to create a page worthy of Mr. D'Angelo's memory. (Note: Under the headline was a series of anchored links to the sections beneath it. Each section also included a link back to the top of the page. Not super-sophisticated, but it did the trick.)
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