Discovery Channel School: Science Collections Grades 5-9, Spring 2000
I helped an East Coast agency win this account in 1999 when I wrote a 32-page catalog for Science Collections for Middle School teachers. It included summaries of Student Activity Books, CD-ROMs, Videos, Teachers A-Z Resource Books, Hands-On Activities and Web Guides for Physical, Life and Earth Sciences. The following year, the catalog was expanded to 60 pages. Download Discovery Channel Cover, Spring 2000 PDF
Download Elements: Page 1 PDF
Download Elements: Page 2 PDF.
Download Bacteria: Page 1 PDF.
Download Bacteria: Page 2 PDF.

US Dentek
U.S. Dentek dental products challenged my writing and organizational skills by requesting a combination 12-page catalog/sales brochure to introduce its Breath Remedy line of products, which we called “The World’s First Fresh Breath Kit.”

This consumer/trade brochure included a complete home oral breath care system with a daily regimen kit with the entire line of Breath Remedy products: Toothpaste, Tongue Scraper, Tongue Spray, Breath Drops and Mouth Rinse. The last few pages of the catalog were for the company’s established products like Dental Piks, Tartar Scrapers, Dental First Aid Kits, and more.
Download Catalog Covers PDF.
Download Catalog Inside Pages PDF.

Cayson Culinary Designs
In June of 2005, Cayson Culinary Designs wanted a catalog/brochure to showcase their high-end chef's and server attire used by America's top restaurants. The unique cover utilizes a sculpted paper printing process to define the details.The client loved the brochure so much, it became the template for her updated Web site.

Palm 2004 Winter Catalog
Palm wanted to create a catalog/magazine to promote its most recent SmartPhones, PDAs, handheld software and accessories. So I was hired to write this 24-page catalog for PalmOne in November 2004 to boost holiday sales. Palm printed 1,000,000 catalogs and sold advertising space to Palm-compatible software companies to offset the printing fees. Kuleana Design (formerly Landis Design), SF, created the fantastic design and managed the project.
Download Adobe PDF of pages 1-11 and 24 (back cover).
Download Adobe PDF of pages 12-23 (back cover).

Palm 2003 Winter Catalog
Palm printed 500,000 of this 24-page holiday 2003 “magalog” that blended traditional catalog copy with magazine-style articles.The goal was to sell the latest, greatest products � TREO smart phones, Palm Tungsten and Zire handhelds, plus software and accessories. Kuleana Design (formerly Landis Designs), SF provided the beautiful layouts for this 24-page piece for which I wrote the catalog copy.
Download Adobe PDF of the 2003 Palm Catalog.

Intuit QuickBooks In-Box Catalog
During 2006, I wrote a dozen projects for the good people at Intuit, including this QuickBooks 32-page Catalog for Checks, Envelopes, Supplies and More, and the companion Intuit Market Website for all these products.

In fact, in 1994, I successfully introduced Quicken users to QuickBooks in the first direct mail piece ever written for this financial product that’s long been the leader in the business software field.
This catalog was mailed to anyone who was a new QuickBooks customers to tell them about the vast array of checks, envelopes, supplies, and more. Best of all, all of these products are compatible with Quicken and QuickBooks software. Download Part I of the Catalog (PDF).

Download Part II of the Catalog (PDF).

I wrote these spots for a client in the Midwest through an agency on the East Coast, which proves I don’t have to live in your town to write, direct and product great radio copywriting for you:

1) Lasik-1 Jingle: Country Version”
Lasik-1: Country.mp3

2) Lasik-1 Jingle: Rock Version”
Lasik-1: Rock.mp3

3) “Lasik-1 Jingle: Easy Listening Version”
Lasik-1: Easy Listening.mp3

Download Wells Fargo EquityLine Platinum Card Acquisition Letters 3-Page PDF.

For Wells Fargo, I also wrote a project that launched an in-branch promotion for the bank’s Business Gateway program. It included: � Easel-backed counter cards
• Take-one brochures
• In-branch posters and
• Follow-up direct response letters for its “Refer a Colleague” on-line checking services program.
Please contact me if you’d like to review these materials.

I also worked for Wells Fargo for several years while attending San Francisco State University and I’ve been a client of theirs since I was 16 years old.

Watch the video now — and turn your speakers up!

Batter Blaster is a blast from the past. This organic batter features retro packaging in a spray can so you can make light, fluffy pancakes and delicious waffles with no mess, no fuss, and easy cleanup.

This :60 Flash/Video that I wrote in 2007 highlights the product’s attributes with a fun demo that shows the “then” of how it used to be done in the 1950s and “now” of how easy it is to “make a better breakfast faster with Batter Blaster.” My talented colleague, Brian Jacobson of Focus Design was the art director for this video; he also designed the retro packaging. Jim Kerns of Moving Monkey Productions directed it and provided the voiceover.

Batter Blaster is taking off. It’s now available for purchase at Costco, Andronico’s, Whole Foods, and a few markets in the Arizona and the Pacific Northwest.

And read the January 31, 2008 story in SF Gate: “Inventor Says He Has A Batter Idea.”. Here’s an excerpt: “The Batter Blaster Web site features a campy homemade commercial complete with a jingle that seems written specifically to become embedded in a consumer's skull for the rest of the month. ('Make a Bet-ter Breakfast Faster� Batter Blaster.')”

• As a Creative Director/Copywriter, I’m working with a start-up company in the San Francisco Bay Area to launch a new medical product that will be sold through health plans to Seniors. Details to come.

• Financial District Dental.com — A friend of mind, Dr. Michael Hack, owns this thriving cosmetic and general dentistry practice in San Francisco. Here’s an ad I created for him that included a testimonial, a client photo, and a Free Whitening offer (a $450 value). Download Ad PDF.

• Dr. Richard Evans — Another cosmetic dental client is located in Los Gatos, in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area. For this Cosmetic and Restorative Dentistry practice, I coined the phrase “Where Art and Dentistry Converge.”

• Northgate Chiropractic — Dr. Marilyn Lindauer is the only Diamond Certified chiropractor in Marin County. Her office is located in San Rafael. I write and manage her site.

• Blue Shield of California wanted to send a direct mail piece to potential beneficiaries to remind them that they no longer have to wait six months to get coverage for a pre-existing medical condition. We decided to use a self-mailer approach. This blue, black and white six-panel mailer utilized an arresting headline, straightforward copy, competitive Blue Shield personal HMO rate charts, and a tear-off postcard so recipients could request a call. It was very successful by returning a high response rate.
Download side 1 of Self-Mailer PDF.
Download side 2 of Self-Mailer PDF.

• U.S. Dentek dental products — I wrote a 12-page catalog/sales brochure for U.S. Dentek to introduce its Breath Remedy line of products, which we called “The World’s First Fresh Breath Kit.” It included a complete home oral breath care system with a daily regimen kit with the entire line of Breath Remedy products: Toothpaste, Tongue Scraper, Tongue Spray, Breath Drops and Mouth Rinse. The last few pages of the catalog were for the company’s established products like Dental Piks, Tartar Scrapers, Dental First Aid Kits, and more.Download Catalog Covers PDF. Download Catalog Inside Pages PDF.

• I’ve rewritten www.LAPSF.com with SEO keywords copy for its main pages. These bariatric surgery leaders in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Honolulu offer Laparoscopic techniques for superior weight-loss surgery procedures, gastric bypass and LapBand surgery. This site even offers a Body Mass Index (BMI) Calculator.

• Asuka Laser — This site was written in Japanese for veterinarians, then translated loosely in English. I then edited the content for a North American audience. It offers versatile applications for diode laser use.

• St. Joseph’s Medical Center for Health Excellence — I created the copy for this two-sided, eight-panel Centerings Newsletter about News, Events and Education for Holistic Health. Download Health Newsletter PDF This was just one of a number of direct response projects that I’ve written for Baltimore and Philadelphia area hospitals (St. Francis Hospital, St. Joseph’s Medical Center, Anne Arudel Medical Center, St. Mary Medical Center, Towson Health Express), including nurse recruitment direct response projects, emails for Web landing pages, and more.

• www.drugstore.com — I wrote content on 18 Buying Guides which included these product areas: Breath Sprays, Toothbrushes, Sunscreens and Self Tanning Products, After Shaves, Hair Removal Products, Shaving Creams, Deodorants, Bar Soaps, Tissues/Cotton Swabs, Razors/Blades, and Children’s Sun Care Products.

• Enclara Care Companion — I wrote, directed and produced the script and audio track for this healthcare portal that helps families create online communities to help them through end-of-life issues for a loved one. This PPT script was turned into an online Flash-style presentation utilizing Adobe Presenter software by the very talented Sharon Schanzer at Red Letter Day Graphic Design.

• www.planetrx.com - For this site’s launch, I was one of six Associate Creative Directors. My team of four copywriters and me created over 210 pages of content for vitamins, minerals and dietary supplement products, while the overall the team of 22 writers cranked out over 1,500 pages in two months to meet the rapidly approaching launch date.

• www.cancertrust.com — I wrote the Web site and self-mailer to oncologists for CancerTrust.com. Though the company failed during the dot.com bust in 2000, this was an invaluable experience in working with a medical start-up. Download Front of Self-Mailer PDF. Download Back of Self-Mailer PDF.

• Finally, I’ve written four magazine articles that were published in Alert Diver Magazine by Diver’s Alert Network. You can read them on my Web site at these links:

• The Sun Also Burns; May 2001

• Low Anxiety: Getting Narked in Belize’s Great Blue Hole; June 2001

• To Dive or Not To Dive: A California Diver’s Experience in Florida Waters; April 2002

• Equipment Upgrade 2.0: Your Gear May Be Years Old. It Still Works. But Is It Safe?; May 2002

Here are some recent sites I’ve created with talented San Francisco Bay Area Web designers:

1. www.verio.com
I wrote and edited this 120-page Web site for the world’s largest Web hosting company that included a total redesign. About 1/2 of the pages had SEO keywords that I blended into the copy. Designed by QuestUs.com.

2. www.fortifysoftware.com
This site was refreshed in late 2006 after I extensively edited and rewrote all of its content. I also wrote their monthly newsletters, forum announcement emails and case studies. Designed by a New York agency.

3. www.communicaidinc.com
This site is for a large San Jose translation, interpretation and language solutions company. It was especially challenging because the clients are linguists. Designed by Riley Design. SEO keywords by Moonstone Interactive.

4. www.intuitmarket.com/quickbooks
Intuit sells millions of dollars worth of its QuickBooks-compatible Checks, Forms and Supplies each year. I rewrote this 50-page site with SEO keywords and simplified copy to push the benefits of each product, including Best Sellers like Voucher Checks, Standard Checks, Envelopes, Deposit Slips, Payroll Tax Products, Forms, Pre-Inked Stamps, Labels plus Logo-Design Services.

5. www.sfbaywindow.com
When this site was being created by the San Francisco Association of Realtors, the very talented Web designers at Aerojet.com in Berkeley recommended me for Website copywriting, editing and proofreading for the content originally created by a SFAR employee. I’ve edited over 140 articles for this vast resource guide for San Francisco Property Owners that offers advice to make your home, neighborhood and city they best they can be.

6. www.churchillexchange.com
This 1031 Exchange Program company based in SF needed a site to explain what they did and how they work. Designed by RohnerDesign.com.

7. www.ipowercorp.com
This company in Novato specializes in solar tile roofing and solar powered systems for commercial properties, businesses and homes. Designed by FormulaDesign.com.

8. www.savoycorp.com
Savoy is an 90-year-old property management and leasing company with 10 buildings from San Francisco’s North Beach to the North Bay. I was also the freelance copywriter for their ad campaigns and press releases. Designed by Sabatella Creative Design with RohnerDesign.com.

9. www.technicianschools.net
I revised the Medical Technician Schools and Technical Career Outlook sections of this site for Search Engine Optimization of new key word phrases. The result: sales volume was up 111% and revenue increased 113%. Designed by Moonstone Interactive.

10. www.suzukifuel.com
Suzuki Motorcycles launched this micro-site with a B2C Fuel Efficiency Acquisition Promotion. This campaign originally offered Free $10 Gas Cards after a test drive scheduled through a visit to this site. Within one month, over 10,000 cards were distributed nationally, exceeding client’s goal by 20%. Designed by QuestUs.com.

11. www.equitybancorp.com
This Northern California real estate development company is now ranked #1 on Yahoo! with the key words: “California private money lender.” Designed by BBMediaServices.com.

12. www.queenofquickbooks.com
Pamela Lyons is the Queen of QuickBooks. She’s an accountant who reigns supreme over a group of bookkeepers. She can now write and publish her own articles on this site that I created with Bradley Charbonneau at Likoma.com.

13. www.bookbankusa.org
For over 40 years, Book Bank USA has donated books and computers to libraries and schools across the globe. It was founded in 1968 by Sidney Kluger, father of my friend Andrew Kluger. Designed by Likoma.com.

14. www.cellfire.com
This site is a dot com that offers free downloads of coupons through your mobile phone for discounts on video rentals, restaurants, flowers, travel, and much more. SEO keywords and design by Moonstone Interactive.

15. www.jaysdelisf.com
This San Francisco deli blends the ambience of Italy with a taste of New Zealand, including organic food, natural meats, fine wines, gourmet chocolates, and more. I call Jay’s the “Environmentally Friendly Deli.” Read why. Designed by Gary Rosenstein.

16. www.teamghilotti.com
This Petaluma-based company hit the ground running in May 2007. The site was built from the ground up in about three weeks. I can now update it myself using WordPress software. I also wrote their ads, outdoor boards, and sales folder. Designed by Likoma.com.

17. www.ModernPropertyManagement.com
A friend of mine launched this new business in June in Yuba City, but plans to extend it throughout the state. This site lets him update the blog himself with new property rental listings. Designed by Michael Feldman Creative Services.

18. www.PetCharities.org
A non-profit that sold a customized pet calendar. You could buy a square, a week, or a whole month for your pet, alive or memorialized. Designed by www.wulfwerks.com.

19. www.spryscapes.com
Greg Spry is a general and landscape contractor I met through BNI. This 10-page site offers an overview of his services, with photos of his best work in both general contracting and landscaping. Designed by BBMediaServices.com.

20. www.McMickingFoundation.org
This cleanly designed site of eight pages is for a non-profit foundation based in San Francisco that provides grants and scholarships to benefit children, education and science to all ethnic groups and ages throughout the S.F. Bay Area. Designed by BBMediaServices.com.

21. www.photacular.com
This terrific photo gifts site of about 50 pages that lets you customize your own t-shirts, mugs, ornaments, decorative plates, coasters, keepsake boxes, jewelry and more with your own photos, was created from scratch to launch and is a true 24/7 success story. The site owner, a real night owl who lives in the S.F. Bay Area, did the coding in her off-hours, mostly from midnight to 8am. I wrote the copy with SEO for the pages from 8am to 6pm. Meanwhile, the Web designer, who lives in Arkansas, created his work after his day job, from 6pm to midnight. So in one month of intense, round-the-clock work, we launched a site that normally would have taken three months. Designed by Seidel & Associates.

22. www.motorcycleinsurancequotes.us
This site launched in March 2008 to offer motorcycle owners a better, faster way to get insurance quotes for their Hog, Vespa, or anything in between. Here, you can find quick quotes in rates, FAQs, insurance for Classic Bikes, Custom Bikes, and Mini Bikes, as well as New Bike and Used Bike Loans. SEO keywords and design by Moonstone Interactive.

23. www.drrichardevans.com
This Cosmetic and Restorative Dentistry site launched in late 2007 with a series of three Flash screens. The captions are: “Thousands of successful cosmetic procedures”… “Hundreds of restorative patients”… “All to create one successful smile after another.” I coined the phrase “Where Art & Dentistry Converge�” to summarize Dr. Evans’ 30 years of experience and vast expertise. The Smile Gallery showcases million dollar smiles for just a few thousand.

24. www.nhnc.org
The Novato Human Needs Center is a Marin County 501(c) non-profit agency founded in 1972 that assists more than 4,000 community-based residents annually. Helping low-income people overcome their crises and move toward self-sufficiency, it provides a variety of local services: Community Services, Holiday Share, Emergency Food & Assistance, Transportation Services, Employment and Education Services, Thriving Families Initiative (Formerly FREE), and a Second Center Thrift Shop. Designed by Likoma.com.

25. www.NorthgateChiro.com
Dr. Marilyn Lindauer is the only Diamond Certified chiropractor in Marin County. Her Northgate Chiropractic office is located in San Rafael. I manage her site and have been her patient for over 10 years.

26. www.LAPSF.com
This site was rewritten with SEO keywords for six of its main pages. These bariatric surgery leaders in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Honolulu offer Laparoscopic techniques for superior weight-loss surgery procedures, gastric bypass and LapBand surgery. This site even offers a Body Mass Index (BMI) Calculator. SEO keywords and design by Moonstone Interactive.

27. www.AsukaLaser.com
Created in Japanese for veterinarians, this site’s content was then translated loosely in English. I then edited the copy for a North American audience. It offers versatile applications for diode laser use. Designed by Next Solutions America, Inc. of Torrance, CA.

28. www.SVautodealers.com
Throughout Santa Clara County, there are 72 new car and truck franchised dealers. As California’s fourth largest county, the Silicon Valley Auto Dealers Association serves nearly 1.7 million people in 15 cities across 1,300 square miles, including Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, San Jose, Milpitas, Santa Clara, Los Gatos, Morgan Hill and Gilroy. Designed by Likoma.com.

29. www.pwc.com/quality
Getting the most out of internal audit is now a business imperative. It starts with a PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) Quality Assurance Review from a leading Big Four accounting firm’s commitment to quality improvement that goes beyond just compliance. The site includes links to its Quality Assurance process, Proprietary Tools that set the standards, the PwC Internal Audit framework, the PwC Internal Audit Operating Model™ and the PwC approach to Assessing IA Quality and Effectiveness. Designed by econiverse.com.

30. www.planetrx.com
For this site’s launch, I was one of six Associate Creative Directors. My team of four copywriters and me created over 210 pages of content for vitamins, minerals and dietary supplement products, while the overall the team of 22 writers cranked out over 1,500 pages in two months to meet the rapidly approaching launch date.

31. www.meredithhousing.com
I rewrote this 10-page site by infusing it with Search Engine Optimization keyword phrases. By adding a heavy density of SEO copywriting, such as “Vallejo New Homes,” “Solano County New Homes,” “Napa Valley New Homes,” and more, I helped The Highlands at Garthe Ranch in Vallejo, with prices starting at $599,000, compete with more expensive homes in nearby Napa and Sonoma Counties. Designed by Moonstone Interactive.

32. www.alderlanefarm.com
My friend, Virginia, is a horse lover AND a Web designer. She asked me to tweak two pages of this site with SEO keyword phrases –– the Home Page and the Horses for Sale Page. This site is now highly ranked in the various search engines. Designed by BBMediaServices.com.

33. www.rtsf.com/

The client at this Personal Technology Consultant and Wireless Concierge site initially wrote his own copy. But my colleague at BBMediaServices.com recommended that Robert Tarleton contract with me as a freelance Website copywriter to revise the Home, About Us, Services and FAQs Pages. He said, “Gil, in a matter of days, polished up my Website, put a professional look on everything, and weaved in critical search engine keywords that would help drive more traffic. He took the whole Website up several notches.” Read more.

1) Media Preferences of Digital Consumers
A Survey of the VNU Digital Consumer Webpanel

Download PDF.

2) Globalization Is A Trend, Not An End
A Survey of Global Technology Marketers

Download PDF.

3) How To Reach And Influence The UK Enterprise IT Decision Maker

Download PDF.

THE SOLUTION
I branded them as “The Business-Only ISP,” then wrote a series of four postcards initially, produced them, gang printed them, and had the client mail them once every two weeks to its target audience: businesses in the South Bay and San Francisco.

THE RESULTS
Their response rates were 4% for the three postcards shown in the animated gif and 6% for the one titled “Does Your ISP Only Serve Business?” on the front and “We Do. They Don’t” on the back. Why? Because the latter postcard had a checklist for what brainstorm offered vs. the competitors, making it “interactive”.

Download Postcard #1 PDF: Our Competitive Advantage: We’re Dense, Have Fat Pipes, And Feast On Cold Potatoes.

Download Postcard #2 PDF: Dr. DSL’S Recommended Daily Allowance: More Fat & More Fiber.

Download Postcard #3 PDF: Most Businesses Worry About Getting Their Internet Service Up. They Should Really Worry About It Going Down.

Download Postcard #4 PDF: Does Your ISP Only Serve Business?

It was the day before The Bloom Agency was going to make a new business presentation to Porsche Dealers of North America. I saw a small blurb in the Sports section of the Dallas Morning News that Porsche had just won 8 out of 10 places at the 24-Hour LeMans Endurance Race.

A few minutes later, I wrote this headline, showed it to the Creative Director, and sat with an Art Director who sketched out the concept.

We didn’t win the business, but I created a terrific ad.