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When I was in graduate school in the mid-1970s, I began illustrating to supplement my poverty-level student income. Because of my fine arts background I moonlighted as a magazine illustrator—secretly, since we fine arts students thought creating commercial artwork was prostitution. Even though we studied art history, somehow we missed the fact that all the greatest artists from Leonardo to Velasquez were, in effect, commercial artists working for paying patrons (usually the church or rich noblemen). After graduation and a few years of living abroad, I decided to become an illustrator full-time. Needing to earn a living trumped my grad school snootiness. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re launching a new website, chances are you’ve made sure you’ve got the design and programming locked down. You know your site—your baby—needs to look better than your rudimentary web design skills will allow, and you’re the first to admit you know nothing about even the basics of programming, so you’re happy to farm those out. But the writing? Ah, the writing. Now that’s something you know how to do—and how hard can it be, really?

There’s the rub. And here are a few misconceptions people have about writing website copy.

1. If you can write well (or you’re in marketing), you can write web copy. Well, yes and no. A doctor can probably do a self-appendectomy if necessary, and a stylist can cut her own hair. But better to let someone else do it for a couple of reasons. First of all, it’s hard to get the “angle” just right. And secondly, web copywriting is a special kind of writing. Sure, if you can write, you can learn to write websites and do it well. But you may not want to make yours or your company’s website your first try—at least not without some help.
2. It’s like writing a paper or an article. If you take this approach you may fall into what I call sequentialism, that is, the tendency to want each page to be a continuation of another, “previous” page. But if you take off your writer’s cap and put on your surfing-the-web-at-lunchtime cap, you’ll realize why this doesn’t make any sense. No one reads web pages in the order you think they should. There’s not even any guarantee that web users will enter your site via your home page, although you hope they will (that’s why you’ll make an extra effort to design and write your home page as carefully as you decorate your home’s entryway–because that’s probably the first thing people will see and it represents you).
3. Or, conversely, it’s like writing a bunch of one-page ads. If you write your web copy this way, you avoid the error of sequentialism but can instead fall into the trap of providing no connectedness between pages. When you write website copy, it’s important to keep in mind the overall structure of your website, the pages and subpages that are related to each other by subject, with major points and subpoints called out from page to page–and links between them to lead the reader where he wants to go.
4. Because there is so little copy on a page, it should be easy to crank out in no time. Anyone who writes regularly knows how easy it is to spend hours, nay days, reworking a single paragraph to get it just right. But because web copy can appear to be so much marketing “fluff” to outsiders, it looks easier to write than it is. With web copywriting, just as in any other kind of writing, every word counts. And you should make sure you allot a fair amount of time to the process, taking into account time for research, consulting with your web designer and programmer, and meetings with supervisors and others who have an investment in the final result.
5. I want my website to appeal to intellectuals or experts in the field, so I need to make my copy sufficiently lofty. With this approach, writers can fall into the trap of wordiness, jargon and excess, both in length of copy and in word choice. Web writers need to keep in mind that even the most expert of their site visitors will appreciate well-written, tight copy arranged in digestible chunks through the judicious use of subheads, bullet points and helpful links.
6. I need to cover the page topic thoroughly. This is a tough one. Unless your site is strictly informative, its goal is usually not to have site visitors read every last word of your copy—it’s to get them to do something else, whether that’s to buy a product, sign up for your company newsletter or call you to schedule a service or consultation. The key is to give people enough information to understand what you have to offer without boring them and sending them clicking frantically to get to a competitor’s site that can give them what they want quicker and without all the fuss. I received a wake-up call on this topic when a coworker (who shall remain unnamed) said to me when looking over my home page copy for a client site said, “But who’s going to read all this stuff?” Point taken. I don’t think I ever made that mistake again, and for that I am grateful to the coworker.
7. My cleverly written web copy will be my claim to fame. Don’t we wish. Maybe some of us will get an award for our copywriting excellence. But if we fall in love with our own writing such that we can’t edit it down, or if the “voice” the site copy speaks in is ours instead of the voice needed to speak to site visitors, our web copy will ring false and fail to connect with potential customers.

One helpful resource we’ve used here at Hile is the book Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug. Although it’s a book about web usability and not specifically about copywriting, there’s so much helpful information in here, everyone who has anything to do with creating websites should read it. And, more specifically for writers, it can never hurt to take another (or first) look at Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White. You can buy it on Amazon or just about anywhere, or you can save yourself some money and access it online.

Still want to write your own web copy? Go for it. Need a little help? Let us know. Hile provides a variety of copywriting services to meet your web writing needs, from consulting on your copy, to proofreading and light editing, to writing all of the copy for your site.

In the advertising industry, “Quick and Dirty” refers to completing a project without much creativity, design or thought behind it. People whose primary goal is to keep costs down are the usual instigators of Q & D, and we often hear phrases like, “Just throw it together” or “Just do something really simple and quick.” If the project is a website, it’s, “We just need to get something up on the web. Don’t spend a lot of time on it.”

Here at Hile Design, we don’t like Q & D because it negates the core skill-set we bring to our clients—namely, developing thoughtful, well-designed advertising promotions. Advertising is about connecting with people, and with all the media messages we get every day, coming up with something fresh that gets noticed (and acted upon) is hard work. Creative directors, marketing strategists, graphic designers, writers, art directors, illustrators, web designers and photographers are hard-wired to do their creative best for their clients. Removing the goal of excellence takes the wind out of their sails. Because Quick & Dirty usually starts with the word “just,” there is the implication that advertising and design are processes that don’t require much thinking.

Further, when a client reviews the hastily “thrown-together” promotion it’s not uncommon to hear phrases like, “So that’s it?” or more often, “That’s not what I was looking for.” Because in the end nobody is satisfied with Quick and Dirty. Clients want solid, professional work.

When I was in college in 1973, I bought my aunt’s 1963 Mercury Comet for $300. The car is an entire blog article unto itself, but to make my point I will discuss the vehicle’s ancient, treadless tires. Although I was working two part-time jobs, money was scarce. So when it came to replacing tires I decided to buy retreads for $13 a pop (pun intended). The problem was that one of my tires would blow out every two to four weeks, so back to the tire store I’d go for another retread. Looking back I can’t believe I didn’t see the futility of this so-called inexpensive solution. Over the three years I drove that jalopy I ended up paying more than the equivalent of a good set of tires, not to mention the hassle of changing flats along busy highways in freezing rain and blistering heat. Quick and Dirty is like my collegiate tire buying approach: Spend a lot of time and effort trying to go cheap, and in the end you’ll deplete resources that should have been invested in a thoughtful solution.

My recommendation is that if you are going to advertise your company and its services, don’t skimp. Advertising is about ideas, and good ideas are hard to come by and take time to develop. Give your creative team the resources they need to do their job right, and you will end up with an effective solution that offers a great return on your investment.

Every year Lake Superior State University publishes its “List of Words and Phrases to Be Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.” This year’s list included such phrases as “going green,” “iconic” and “desperate search,” among others.

As Hile Design’s copywriter, it’s my job to keep copy (both in-house and client-related) clean and lean, which  means, among other things, keeping it as free as possible of both industry-specific jargon and tired words and phrases.

Here’s my own list of overused or confusing language. While I won’t go so far as to say these words should be banished outright (jargon is useful when people within an industry are communicating with each other, and some words are just too good to discard entirely), I’ve heard them enough on TV and radio, and seen them pop up in unedited client copy and print ads, to make me think twice before using them.

• Solution. I suppose it could be argued that every company is some client’s “solution,” but I’ve become weary of hearing this ubiquitous word. It’s used in every industry from technology to health care. An old adage in writing is, “Show, don’t tell.” So don’t just say, “Kitty-bites: Your finicky cat’s food solution.” Tell me why and how, or paint me a word picture like Meow Mix does: “Tastes so good cats ask for it by name.” Exception: Use it when a word rhymes with it: “Easy-Clean: Your backyard pollution solution.”
• Cutting-edge and out-of-the-box. These come from Hile’s creative director Julie Tibus (thanks, Julie!). The two words mean pretty much the same thing, and using them is supposed to show that the company they describe is really “with it”— with it enough, in fact, to think of using the words cutting edge and out-of-the-box. Except that everyone is now using those words to describe themselves or their particular “solution,” which means that if you do too, you can’t claim the description. Exception: Use the words when talking about pizza: “Ricardo’s Pizza: We’re your cutting-edge, out-of-the box dinner solution.”
• Utilize, over-utilize, under-utilize, utilization. I admit this word (and its many variations) is one of my personal pet peeves, because it takes the perfectly good, solid word use and turns it into what we used to call a 75-cent word (which adjusted for inflation, makes it a ten-dollar word). I’ll grant you that sometimes you need a three-syllable word to make the sentence flow. Companies that use “utilize” in their copy also tend to create complex sentences filled with company jargon about “cutting-edge solutions.” So, use use, if you can. Exception: Use it in a tongue-in-cheek way: “We’re the guys who utilize.” And you might be able to get away with rhyming here, too: “Realize. Prioritize. Utilize. Yep–We Do It All.”
• Global. Most local businesses won’t try to get away with this one, realizing that it would sound ridiculous to say,”Bob’s Corner Market: Your Global Solution for Items You Forgot at the Grocery Store.” But big companies use it in an attempt to sound experienced and far-reaching, which they usually are. The downside to this word is that customers can think you’re too big to care or provide great customer service. Exception: Use it if you’re a company that sells globes: “We’re global. ‘Nuff said.”
• ROI and other acronyms (CEO, COO, CPU). Some companies throw these around  to show they are knowledgeable about marketing or whatever industry the acronym falls into. Think fast: Do you know what ROI stands for? I got into writing early but marketing came along later in my career, so I had the disadvantage of sitting in on staff and client meetings while advertising jargon dipped and soared over my head like so many bats on a summer evening. If you have a background in marketing or business, or even if you took a business-related class in college, you know that ROI stands for Return on Investment, and you may think, “But everybody knows what ROI means.” Not everybody does (confession: I didn’t), but even if they did, that fact wouldn’t justify using the word as a tag line or main selling point of a service. So, there are two points here: Avoid jargon, particularly acronyms, and avoid words that don’t lead to a concrete mental image that helps you sell a product or service (see Solution, above). Exception: Use a bunch of acronyms in a single sentence as a way of making fun of yourself or to make a point: “Is your ROI getting held back by your CEO’s lack of creativity or your computer’s slow CPU?”
• Arguably. This word is not specific to advertising, but I’ve been seeing it everywhere lately, and it always makes me pause: “Justin Verlander is arguably one of the best pitchers in the American League.” OK, Are you saying that you really think Verlander is a great pitcher, or are you saying that people will probably argue with you if you say he is, or are you saying, “One could argue that Justin Verlander is one of the best pitchers in the American League”? It’s supposed to be a positive statement about Verlander’s pitching ability, but I always imagine people arguing whenever I read that word, and it makes me wonder. So I’m not going to use it (but you may if you like). P.S. Justin Verlander is one of the best pitchers in the American League. He just had a bad year last year.

Am I saying I’ll never use any of these tired words when I write ad or website copy? No, and you’d probably be able to find copy I’ve written where I’ve used more than one, either by client request or because I feel it’s the best choice for the situation. As a Hile creative, though, I try to avoid sounding as if I missed my daily McCafe and just went into autopilot, spinning out the first words that come to mind.

Do you have words or phrases that you’re just tired of hearing? Let me know. I might utilize them in a future post!

A while back I met with an industry colleague of mine who admitted to struggling with a moral dilemma because of her involvement in advertising. She mentioned that she regularly considered getting out of the business. I found this particularly interesting since most of my friend’s work was done for nonprofit organizations that help people. She felt that there is something inherently “bad” about advertising. Hollywood often portrays big businesses as “evil” (when was the last time you went to a movie and a big corporation was the good guy?), and my friend seemed to have a similar take on her own profession. I thought it was sad that a person would continue to work day after day in a job they feel is taking advantage of people.

I don’t feel that way at all. Sure, there is a dark side to the industry. I’m thinking of the schlocky “Girls Gone Wild” TV spots that come on late at night, those unsolicited phone calls for time-shares during the dinner hour, and of course spam (never before has anyone been so concerned about my medication needs and my opportunity to meet Russian girls who want to get to know me better). But there is a downside to almost every good thing. A glass of wine with dinner is fine, but we all know what happens when alcohol consumption goes unchecked. It’s a matter of balance. We can always tune advertising out—that is, until we need something. For years I ignored the Sunday ad section of our local paper until I wanted to buy a snow blower. And then I was all over the ad inserts looking at options and matching prices from Home Depot, Lowe’s, Sears and others.

No, for the most part advertising is good. It’s the grease that turns the wheels that run our free-market economy. And a free market spurs products and services to keep improving, raises the standard of living and even helps prevent civil unrest and wars. Advertising helps people find goods and services they need, educates them about their benefits, helps them save money and even entertains them. (Remember the Super Bowl ads?)

Further, in the nearly 30 years I’ve been involved in the industry all but a few (I can count them on one hand) of the vendors, managers and creatives I’ve worked with have been fine, upstanding, moral people who really want to help society.

Has advertising enhanced your life? Think about the last time you needed something—say, an electric hedge trimmer, groceries you could afford, toys for the kids at Christmas or a jacket in the springtime. How do you know where to go and what to buy? You got it: advertising.

I’ve spoken with several people who admitted their websites aren’t representative of their company, or that they were hastily developed to get something (anything?) onto the web. They argue that it doesn’t matter that their site leaves something to be desired because according to them, their website is not key to their selling process. I beg to differ in a big way (and I suspect their potential customers would as well). My friends may never know how important their websites are to their sales because unbeknownst to them, many of their prospects have already sped off in search of another company to work with.

Of course, a website is always part of the sales equation. Just as we all make instantaneous judgments about new people we meet, so potential customers make sweeping and decisive judgments about a company and its products based on its website. According to web user research those judgments can be made at supersonic speed, so that doesn’t leave much time to make an impression. If we don’t put an awful lot of careful thought and effort into making our websites visually appealing, accessible and relevant to our customers, the site might do more harm than good.

In a recent discussion about website relevance, an industry colleague of mine used a helpful analogy: Imagine a high school student looking for a college to attend upon graduation. She may review six or seven different universities, and if those schools are too far away to visit, she will make her decision based solely on the experience she has on the colleges’ websites. For that potential freshman, the website is the college. Excuses such as, “Well, if she could just visit our campus, she’d see that our school is much better than our website portrays it,” are of no use. They’ll never get the chance to prove themselves. As business owners who want our websites to be an accurate representation of our company, we need to remember:  Our company’s website is the company to prospective customers.

I used the term “experience” because that is what a website should be. I define web experience in advertising as a succinct representation of a company’s (or in my example, a university’s) brand. For the web experience to be a positive one, the website has to be truthful, easy to navigate, eye-catching, informative and readable, audience-appropriate and current. If any of those elements are missing, the customer may go missing as well.

So, when designing (or redesigning) your website, sweat the details. Consider carefully who your customers are and what you want them to do on your site. Talk to them to find out what’s important to them. Scrutinize your written content, site design and navigation, which might seem intuitive to you, but may be confusing to your site visitors. Maybe even do some user testing (we did on our own recent site redesign, and it led to some meaningful navigational improvements). Lay aside your preferences and put the customer first. Invest in your website as if it’s your most important marketing asset, because it is. Then your website will be a sales tool, and not a frustrating diversion.

Based in Costa Mesa, California, Roger has illustrated for many leading companies including AT&T, Bell South, DirecTV, Euro Disney, McGraw-Hill, Sprint Cellular and others. We wanted to find out how this award-winning illustrator got into the business and what he sees as the future of his industry. We think you’ll be interested too, so read on.

Hile Design: Roger, can you share a bit of your background and how you became a commercial illustrator?

Roger Xavier: I’m going to summarize this as much as possible: My earliest recollection of drawing was when I was 4 and started off with crayons. Then came my love of comic book art. The line drawings I grew up on in those comics would be ingrained into my psyche. I’d tried almost every medium used to create art, but pen & ink drawings have always been something that stayed with me.

Skipping ahead to college, I received my formal education in illustration, art history and design. In my senior year at college, I won a contest to create a poster for Molson Golden Beer. My entry became part of an exhibit and ended up gaining the attention of a book publisher in New York who not only hired me to do a couple of book illustrations, but also opened up an opportunity to work on a movie for MGM just 3 months after graduation. After that, I wanted to pursue the movie poster industry and started working for several Hollywood firms that specialized in entertainment advertising. During those early years, I tried everything from biomedical rendering to editorial art for magazines and working on any advertising job I could get. That was a time of growth and I didn’t really hit my stride until 1990, when I was awarded a project by Emmett Morava of Morava Design to create the annual report illustrations for the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power.  Emmett had great vision and instructed me to go bolder with my pen & ink drawings. He showed me how to design with ink and create something more than just a rendering.  The LADWP annual report went on to win many awards.  It was then that I started getting some recognition. Read the rest of this entry »

As the person in charge of hiring creative staff for our ad agency I see a lot of resumes from young designers. Over the past four or five years I have witnessed an alarming trend. Even with tools like Spellcheck, it’s not uncommon to receive resumes with several misspellings and grammatical errors, often in the first paragraph of the cover letter. When I get these resumes, I often don’t take the time to review the candidates’ actual design portfolios. I know that I don’t want a person on my staff who can’t communicate effectively with our clients.

I’ve been asked on occasion to speak to graphic design students at several colleges. They are always amazed when I tell them that one of the most important classes they can take in their design curriculum is English 101.

With this in mind I am providing a list of what I think is important in a creative’s resume. These tips seem like no-brainers but you’d be surprised how often they are ignored.

1. Make sure your cover letter and resume read well. Have someone you know that has a good grasp of vocabulary and grammatical skills review your draft.
2. Avoid being too informal. I receive online resumes without any capitalization, a common web protocol among high schoolers and college buddies, but totally inappropriate for the business world.
3. Go online to review the targeted company to see what services they provide and what kind of creative work they do. As a favor I interviewed a friend’s daughter who was fresh out of design school who began the interview with, “So what kind of work do you guys do?” Write your cover letter and qualifications to align with the creative services the firm provides.
4. It’s fine to mention what you want to get out of the experience of working for the company, but put the needs of the firm first. They are going to be paying you hard-earned money, so they need to be assured that you are going to be a diligent, enthusiastic employee who is eager to do whatever you’re called upon for the betterment of the company.
5. Oh, and have an amazing portfolio.