At every job…

How I’m Wired…

I’ve got an idea!

My Adidas campaign…

I started this campaign to see if I could wrangle myself a job with Adidas. On Twitter, the campaign grabbed the attention of someone in the marketing department. They called and we talked “Why Adidas?” No open positions, but now I’m on their radar. I could get your product on a lot of people’s radar! Give me a chance.

Follow me @HireMeAdidas

Sometimes we all need a hero

In case you’re keeping score…

Need ideas?

My W+K 12.8 Project (top 100)

I received word I made it to the second round of  W+K12.8 on a Saturday morning, while I was on vacation in Michigan. W+K12 is Wieden+Kennedy’s advertising school/agency, and out of more than 600 applicants I made the top 100. I was on my way to a wedding, and the second round required I turn in a project by the end of the day on Monday. The only problem was I didn’t have a computer, and I was flying all day Monday. Luckily someone at the wedding loaned me a computer, and I was able to spend part of my Sunday, before they had to leave with the computer, cranking out a project. Here is the result to my project’s question, “What should the role of United States government be?” I didn’t make it to the third round, but having Wieden+Kennedy interested in me as a copy writer and idea-man was enough for me. But it’s not too late for you, you can hire me today!  click here to view the project

Need jargon made simple? No worries!

I’m your Justin Bieber

Right now, sitting at your computer, you are Scooter Braun. Who is Scooter Braun, you ask? He’s the guy who discovered Justin Bieber on YouTube, got Bieber his record contract, and became his manager.

This could be us, so happy together!

Not sure who Justin Bieber is? He’s just a 17-year-old multi-millionaire, no big deal. His first album was certified platinum in the United States, and he became the first artist to have seven songs from a debut album chart on the Billboard Hot 100.

I’m Justin Bieber, right now you’re on my YouTube page.

What’s my name?

If you’re like Snoop and constantly forgetting your name, or if you just need help naming a company, I’m here to save the day! Here are few examples of companies I have named.

S.I.N Cycles

My friend makes and sells gravity bikes, which are basically bikes designed to go down hills incredibly fast. I came up with the name, Sir Isaac Newton Cycles. S.I.N Cycles for short.

Portland Quarters

Another friend came to me with the idea of opening a real estate office in Portland. The name plays on the fact that Portland is split into quarters. I’m sure you’re smart enough to get the other play on words.

The Collective Thought

A friend in Austin needed help naming his new graphic design/artist studio. Since he planned to work with other designers and feature other people’s work in his space, I thought it was important for the name to reflect that. The name is also a play on the process of coming up with a product for a client. The finished product tends to be a bit of your ideas, mixed with a few of their thoughts. He loved the name.

I’m the new Bo Jackson!

I’m like Bo Jackson, but without the abs and athletic ability. So I guess I should say, I’m the Bo Jackson of the marketing world. I can do it all. I know writing, I know layout, I know sales, I know Twitter, I know Facebook, I know how to write for many different audiences, I know how to grab people’s attention, and I know I can make a difference in your company’s success.

I’ll bring people to your site!

Above: The google analytics from a site one month before I took over blogging, Twitter, and Facebook posts. Below: The google analytics from the site after I took over, for one month. Notice the rise in hits on a daily basis? It’s not enough to just blog, tweet and post things to social media sites. You have to create a fun and interesting conversation that readers can’t help getting involved in. The number of followers on Twitter and “likes” to the company’s Facebook page also increased greatly.

I’ll go the extra mile

Or jump off a bridge for you (yes, that’s me). Photos are from an article I wrote for the LowDown Magazine, called Death Camp 101: A day in the life of base jumper Shane McConkey. Shane didn’t think I could write an article about base jumping, without leaping off of a bridge myself. So I decided to jump! Read the story and see more photos below. 

Tags: base jump, shane mcconkey

Need a video star? Check!

I think the band Extreme said it best, sometimes it takes more than words…

 

When you run into one of those cases, it can be helpful to use a video to convey your message. Below is a screen shot from a video I wrote for HP. Watch the video to find out how to print photos from Facebook.

Sam Adams thinks you should hire me…

I interviewed Portland’s Mayor, Sam Adams, awhile back, about communicating with the people of Portland via Twitter. I recently sent him a text message asking him why a company should hire me. Here was his response:

There you go, what are you waiting for? Call me now at 971-409-9369. That’s 971-409-9369.

I’m the best around!

In this video I’m Daniel LaRusso, the Kararte Kid. Your company’s project is represented by the Cobra Kai dojo, the gentleman wearing black. Notice how your project is kicking everyone’s butt? But then there’s me, chipping away at your project step-by-step, coming at it from different angles. There are a few times where your project throws me a punch or leg kick I wasn’t expecting, but I handle it like a champ. In the end, I triumph over your project, meet the deadline, and I get the girl (the girl in this video represents a potential client). After all, I’m the best around!

Tags: karate kid, problem solving

Eye-catching headlines

For an article about the growing trend of building residential houses out of shipping containers.

Tutto Ferro is a company that does high-end steel work for residential homes.

Pretty straight forward. Needed a catchy headline for an article about fireplace mantels.

Informational flyers? No problem!

Headline:
What’s your health worth?

Deck:
MAC Fit IV is here, time to take control of your life

MAC Fit, a 12-week health improvement program, is back for another installment. Led by the Human Performance Lab staff and personal trainers, Glenn Johnson and Molly Sparkman, MAC Fit is designed to not only teach people how to loose weight, but give them the tools to keep it off for life.

“This is the best investment I’ve made for myself,” said Tim Mather, a MAC Fit Alumni.

MAC Fit not only teaches participants healthy eating and exercise habits, it offers social support though weekly meetings. Each week MAC Fitters meet up to talk about their successes and challenges from the following week, and participate in a group exercise.

The proof is in the pudding, but after MAC Fit you’ll be smart enough to leave that pudding alone. Over the course of three MAC Fit sessions, participants have lost a combined total of 518 pounds of fat. This averages out to each participant loosing 7.9 pounds of body fat! On top of that, MAC Fitters added 1.8 pounds of lean muscle mass.

Not only have participants lost fat and increased their metabolism, they have lowered their resting heart rates, blood pressure, improved their cardio respiratory endurance, and made strength gains all around.

“Thanks to both Molly and Glenn for their knowledge and enthusiastic pursuit of healthy bodies and minds for participants of MAC Fit,” said Shirley Ingram, another MAC Fit Alumni. “I never thought it would be possible to gradually get back to my young adult weight and cholesterol – but I am, and I am so happy!”

MAC Fit’s primary goal is to improve participants’ health through adopting healthier habits. Sign up and join the MAC Fit movement, where people are learning new behaviors through the use of imagery, gaining improved self-confidence, and learning to take control of their environment whether at home, work, or away.

I can help mold your ideas!

Tags: indesign, photoshop

My dog would totally hire me…

See who else thinks you should hire me, below the jump.

Tags: Illustrator, indesign, photoshop

I understand the value of Twitter

I have live-Tweeted several speeches and or events. This Tweet was from the International Builder’s Show. I took a video of a new product, uploaded it to youtube, and then Tweeted it (all from my iPhone, on the spot). Generac claimed they got some booth traffic because of the tweet.

• Then Generac Gen Ready panel is worth checking out! Watch it in action http://tiny.cc/EL6D3 then stop by N2805 with any questions #ibs2010 10:30 AM Jan 20th via Twitter for iPhone

The following are Tweets I sent out during the two day EcoVative Building Conference and Expo in downtown Portland, Ore.

• A 2009 survey showed 24.9% of people reported they plan to add geothermal heat to their house. #ecopdx 3:18 PM Apr 22nd via Twitter for iPhone
• In portland green homes sold 18 days faster and for 4.2% higher price than code built homes between 2007-2008. #ecopdx 3:09 PM Apr 22nd via Twitter for iPhone

Tags: twitter

How to hire me

In today’s modern world, there are countless ways to actually offer me a job. This post is designed to help you realize the quickest and easiest ways to hire me, while pointing out the least affective ways to add me to your pay role.

1. Telegraph: According the World Wide Web, there are in fact many telegraphs still operating in U.S. If you can find one, you could send me a telegraph, saying, “We’re hiring your punk ass!” The only problem is, I don’t have a telegraph so I might not get your message. This would be tragic because you would surely miss our interactions at the water cooler.
2. Smoke signals: While smoke signals are in fact a way to communicate, I must confess this is one of my weaknesses as an employee- I cannot effectively read smoke signals.
3. Aerial advertising: If you do decide to go this route, I hope you spring a few extra bucks to have your message, about how you’re hiring me, spelled out in exhaust smoke across the great blue sky. I know I just said I wasn’t effective in reading smoke signals, but if the pilot spells out, “You’re hired,” I think I’ll be all right. If you chose to go the banner route, I will forgive you, but I won’t be all smiles on my first day.
4. Singing telegram: I went ahead and found, what I believe to be, the only singing telegram business in Portland. I wish there were more options, but sadly I think I’m limited to a guy who looks like the Ted Nugent with Bret Michael’s fashion sense. Yes, he wears a bandana and a cowboy hat. He has plenty of songs to choose from, but I went ahead and preordered “Never Gonna Give You Up,” by Rick Astley.

I heart Photoshop

I shot this photo for an article on indoor air quality. The masks were added in Photoshop.

This is a photo I shot and edited for the cover of the LowDown Magazine.

Home on the Range was a comic strip I wrote for a few months. More picks below the jump.

Need to rebrand your product? I can help. “Old English 800, it was good enough for Christ!”

Tags: photoshop

Brand yourself…

A graphic designer came to me with an idea. He wanted to create a stamp to mark the envelopes containing his resume and portfolio to draw attention to his envelope in a large pile. I sent him a list of slogans I thought would grab a creative director’s attention. Here are three he had made into stamps.

Tags: brand

Just a few more reasons to hire me…

Tags: indesign, photoshop, social media

New ways of doing the same thing…

I came up with the idea of using instant message to create a talk show and interview people. People routinely publish Q & As with artists, musicians and other important folks, why not add a little flavor to the interview by showing the readers who is talking? I thought it was a great idea, apparently I wasn’t the only one. A friend in Austin mentioned it to his boss and they started doing IM interviews.

Tags: IM, instant message

Copy writing: email blasts

For this project, the client wanted something funny, with a lot of personality. This was an email I wrote for them.

subject of email: How [First Name] became a ninja master…

Are you one level away from becoming a ninja? You’re nearly ready to catch bullets out of thin air and leap buildings in a single bound, but you’re just not sure of how to get there…. I hear you, luckily for you I’m here to help. Hi. I’m (name), I work for (company name), the leader in online learning + marketing, and I want to help you get your ninja on.

Not clear what we do? We provide you and your company with a group of ninja masters who will provide you with all of the tools you need:

•  Our advanced online learning + marketing platform connects you with your industry audiences, the people you want to hear from

•  Our comprehensive catalog of courses and videos attracts your audiences, then our expert, partnership-focused, team helps you develop and deliver courses, videos, and webcasts to get these industry experts your message

•  Our creative services and platform help manufacturers announce and roll out new products to distributors, and train end-customers in how to use them

•  Our creative services and platform help industry associations connect with and educate their members

•  Our creative services and platform help distributors use our creative services and platform to train their staff and sell products to their customers

Go ahead: Check out our track record of taking people from karate kid, to ninja master. <link to landing page> If you don’t succeed, neither do we, lucky for you we’re the greatest ninja of all time. Hiiiii-ya! I just chopped through two floors of concrete with my bare hand.

Sound too good to be true? Tell that to the 72,000+ people who have logged on and worked with our team to create valuable product, sales and certification information about their company through BlueVolt’s easy to use system. And all it took was a simple click < Link to landing page; sign up for a demo>, I’m not going to make you go on a vision quest. One click stands in the way of you introducing your company to the most groundbreaking site your industry has ever seen.

Our site has so much information it is literally mind-blowing! Okay, it’s not literally mind-blowing, but there is a ton of information to be found using (company name). We use technology to get your from point A to point B before your competition has even learned how to sweep the leg, and we’ll help you increase sales. Need help building up your site? Done!

When you unleash the (company name) learning and marketing platform, you’ll quickly begin offering quality content to recruit and retain employees, and increase sales. You know how we know this? Because we’re ninjas, we’re mad sneaky like that, and our top-notch ninja team is going to help you develop easy to use courses that get your brand out there for the masses. We’ll give you the tools you need to succeed.

(company name) offers thousands of courses on-line, available at the click of a button from anywhere, at anytime, for anyone who needs them. That means a lot of people are getting information about your company around the clock; because let’s face it, the Internet is always open, and people are always on the Internet. And to make your life even easier, our creative team of ninja masters with work with you to design courses that will eliminate the objections and excuses you usually get from your green belts, and turn them into level-five black belts.

But no need to thank me, I was never here (remember, no one ever sees ninjas). You’re the one who dramatically grew sales while cutting training expenses. You’re the one who eliminated all the resistance and obstacles that come with training and handling new product knowledge. You’re the one who found a way to do more with less. Yes, you’re the one who discovered BlueVolt. What are you, some kind of ninja master? Yes you are!

Why don’t you flip on over to (company name) and see what we have to offer you by clicking on this ridiculously simple-to-spot link. <link to landing page>

Thank you for your time today, now give yourself a big pat on the back; after all, you’re the one who clicked here<link to landing page>.

 

Tags: copy writing