For most of my life, writing was a hobby. But after years of hard work (and a little luck), I've become one of the fortunate few who've turned their passion into a career.
To date, I've written just about everything: SEM ads, full digital campaigns, direct mail, print, broadcast—it's all in my repertoire. I invest the same thought and attention to detail in a billboard headline that I would a TV script.
Sometimes, a copywriter's job is to keep a brand fresh and engaging. But every now and then, a brand needs a completely new voice. A new way to announce its presence in a crowded space. Wherever you want to take your brand, it all starts with a writer who does it right the first time.
In my first stretch at Citibank, I was both the lead writer for the Credit Card Rewards team and co-owner of the Citi Digital Copy Style Guide, receiving questions from other writers and implementing changes as needed.
While I loved Citibank, I longed for a greater creative challenge. When I received an offer from Sam's Club, I accepted and stayed until late 2022.
But life is never a straight path. After a short time at Sam's Club, I received a call to return to Citibank, this time with a proverbial offer I couldn't refuse.
I'm back at Citibank as of this writing, where I'm the senior writer for the ATM team, for which I manage and write all copy for the Citi ATM experience, and the senior writer for the Citi Design System (CDS) team.
I left Sophos Marketing to grow my freelance business, only to receive a call from an old colleague who now worked at Citibank. I wrote at Citibank until August 2021, when I took a role at Sam's Club.
There, I worked on everything from social media copy, SEM, email campaigns, website content, product descriptions and even in-store radio spots.
After a short stint at Sam's Club, I received and accepted an irresistible offer to return to Citibank.
Sophos Marketing was a digital advertising startup that offered subscription-based programmatic display campaigns for under $300/month. Clients were guaranteed a minimum of 100,000 monthly impressions and top-notch creative work.
The latter was my department; I was the fledgling company's Creative Director (and first full-time employee), a role that offered a wealth of new experience.
I became a capable graphic and web designer virtually overnight. I gained management experience, starting as a one-man creative team and eventually hiring and managing design interns. I wrote the company's website, in its entirety, and its tagline. And I designed, animated and wrote display ads for every single client—more than 200 of them—including 7-Eleven, The University of North Texas, NTT DATA, and many, many more.
Capital One was my first foray outside the agency world. I began as a contractor and worked to expand my responsibilities. By the time I was offered a position as an associate—one of only three full-time creatives in the division—I was the chief copywriter in Auto Finance as well as a content writer.
As an aside, Capital One's corporate campus still ranks among my favorite workplaces. Situated on a sprawling suburban property, dotted with ponds, cafés, and outdoor work areas, it was an ideal place to work and think.
McCarthy is a car dealership ad agency in Dallas. A small company with a big attitude, the work environment was fast-paced and dynamic. Working with local dealerships meant that entire campaigns changed monthly (and sometimes weekly), leaving no room for error.
I was an account coordinator, but at an agency with 24 employees and over 30 individual clients, that means a lot more than its name suggests. When I wasn’t producing spots, approving media buys or sending artwork back to creative for revisions, I wrote. As much as I could.
This agency in Ft. Worth, Texas, gave me my first taste of advertising after college. I was an intern, but I worked on every project I could.
A small agency, Balcom’s client portfolio includes local and national names like Justin Boots, United Way of Tarrant County, and the TCU Neeley School of Business. I wrote directly for almost all of them, and assisted with various production for the rest.
