I love this commercial

It reminds us that the events in our life are emotional. Canon’s unique trick of using still photos to create the illusion of motion is brilliant. I just want learn how I can do this for slideshows. How great would vacation/holiday/birthday pictures be if you could present them like Canon did for their Rebel Xsi commercial?

That’s the tagline/slogan I came up with for my son’s youth hockey association—Sauk Prairie Youth Hockey. It has a certain attitude to it that’s represents hockey players, parents and fans very well. I think it has a lot of legs. What do you think?

I also created this static banner/header for their blog (which I write/manage/promote). What do you think? I totally want to animate this mother. Anyone want to volunteer their time and talent? It would make an excellent addition to your portfolio. Let me know.

Article was originally published for Fuel Your Blogging

In his book, The Dip, Seth Godin talks about deciding to quit or sweat it out in order to be the best at something—anything. Are you doing what it takes to be the best at blogging?

It’s an interesting question. You started a blog because you were passionate about gadgets, traveling, coffee or recipes. Whatever the topic, your writing came naturally because you are, in some way, an expert. But now? The writing is probably a chore. Like taking out the trash. You have to do it, but you don’t get any sense of accomplishment when you’re done. That’s a “dip”, according to Godin. I call it a crossroad. And welcome to it.

RSVP today!

[repost from Oct. 2008]

Sometimes we get so busy, we just go through the motions — like a machine. Before long, getting by becomes the norm. The result is vanilla creative (good but lacks excitement). Being busy cannot be your excuse. It’s just an easy answer. If you have a passion for creating, then you’ll never be too busy. Passion takes sacrifice. Stay late. Get up early. Reschedule lunch plans. And ditching a million other whoop-dee-doo’s that add little value to your creative projects. You want to be remembered by your body of work, right? Then decide today to be better than vanilla.

Here’s a challenge to jumpstart your creative power-pack again. Your company is asked to sell an oversupply of 1 million ball bearings. Your task is to think up alternative uses for the ball bearings. I’d love to see your ideas. So email me.

Later…

Jorg Greuel | Getty Images

We all have goals. But often our goals aren’t specific enough to be worth achieving. This so true when it comes to our careers. For example, my goal is to be a creative director (CD). That’s a pretty specific goal, right? Nope. Not even close. Here’s why.

A CD on the agency or client side? A CD in what city/state? A CD by when? And so on.

“Become a Creative Director” is pickle-label career goal. The problem is I can’t set any action steps with such a vanilla goal. How do I achieve it without knowing where I’m going? It’s like planning a vacation. You don’t just say, “I’m going on vacation” and just go, do ya? No. You pick a place, figure out where to stay and how you’re gonna get there, right? Well, gosh darn it, why haven’t I treated my career with the same detail?

New goal: Become a CD for ad agency in Madison, WI before I die. Ok, before I turn 40. Better make that 41.

Now what? Well, hang with CDs of course. Let them mentor me. Have them poke holes in my work. Buy them beers. Get to know how they approach a problem. And watch them succeed.

If you’re a CD or know of any CDs willing to take on a bag of hurt like me, let me know.

Later…

Be Better Than Vanilla> http://chadschomber.com
Follow me on Twitter> http://twitter.com/chadschomber

Patience should be your best job skill. If you’re ever asked, “Why should we hire you?”, crack back with “I’m patient.”

Every great leader is patient. They take the time to digest all available information before making a decision. Even in a pressure situation.

Now that doesn’t mean do nothing. When you’re brainstorming, creating a copy outline, or whatever, patience is the difference between vanilla ideas and big, change-the-world ideas. In fact, you need to be “active” in your thinking and not quick to stamp an idea as the right solution. The right solution might require frankensteining a few ideas—It’s alive! But you won’t know that until you’re patient enough to continue thinking/sorting/plugging reams of ideas.

Ok, I already hear everyone whining about deadlines, etc. Stop it. Focus on the creative problem not your deadline problem. Let me illustrate my point. A hockey player doesn’t waste time worrying about the third period before the first puck is dropped. Why? Because you can’t do anything about the third period until it arrives. So you can’t do anything about your deadline. All you can do it bust your ass right up until the final siren.

Oh, and you multitaskers. Stop it. Give 100% of your attention to one thing. Then move on to the next. Not only will you get more done, but the quality will be better.

How do you like them apples?

later…

Chad

by Kimmy Chau | flicker

Actually, these are 5 tips for hiring this freelance copywriter. But you can use this information as a guide for hiring other freelancers.

So let’s just jump right into it.

5. Q&A

Ask lots of questions. You’re trying to gauge my credibility. That’s a given. But you’re also trying to get a sense of my personality, character, etc.. Yes, you want someone who can get the work done. But you also need a go-to person down the road, right? So ask lots of questions. I will do the same. Don’t be surprised if I talk/ask about Unique Selling Proposition or USP.

4. Rate the rates

Sure, every freelancer has an hourly rate. Probably a rate range. But more times than not, I offer straight project rates. Why? Because I suck at estimating how long a project is going to take. Most people suck at estimating their hours. And that could cost you big bucks. Here’s a secret. It take 2 hours of work for 1 billable hour. Sometimes it’s 3-to-1. That’s because quality doesn’t magically happen. There are things I need to do to do what I do. And you shouldn’t have to pay for that.

3. Setting a schedule

Knowing when you need a completed piece is so very important. And ASAP is not a day on the calendar. Work with me to set a completion date and some milestones. Be realistic. See tip #4. Depending on how much information, samples, etc. you hand over, I need time to collect my thoughts about how/where to start.

2. Be open to advice

Your copywriter should be more than a worker bee, punching out widgets. I often provide creative advice/direction/whatnot throughout the process. It’s just the way I roll. But it benefits you, too. If you hire me to write and another designer/art director to execute, we all need to be on the same page. Some one needs to take the lead, creatively speaking. Might as well be me.

1. The power of one

Once you find a copywriter you like—quality work, great person, affordable rates— stick with that person. A brand needs a voice. A consistent voice. The more I work with you, the more I understand your brand. And the better I can deliver effective messages to your customers. It’s that simple.

Happy hiring…

Chad

Article was originally published on Fuel Your Writing

Freelance writers can work from anywhere they want. All you really need is a notebook and a pen/pencil. But I have horrible penmanship and for some reason that blocks my creative flow. (Weird, I know.) So if you’re like me, you pack up the laptop and go. But where?

I live in a rural area. Every “cool” place is at least a 10-minute jaunt. But not knowing exactly where I will work each day is exciting. Nothing beats discovering a tucked away place to set up shop. Of course, there are a couple of requirements for a productive outing. I only need accessible electrical outlets (my poor laptop is on life support), comfy seating and free WiFi. You might be a high-maintenance writer. So your must-haves will differ. That’s OK. Hemingway needed his Mojitos. All I’m saying is take a few minutes to evaluate how you work best and plan around that.

OK, let’s get this out of the way. The cliché workspace for freelancers is a coffeehouse/coffee shop/café. But if you’re a people watcher, kiss getting anything done goodbye. Yes, I admit, I loiter at a certain joe joint now and again. There are good vibes there. But mix it up. If it becomes a hangout, it’s not a workspace. I’m just saying.

For the more daring, hotel lobbies present a rewarding atmosphere. Especially the ones that offer free breakfast. Obviously, you can’t visit everyday, but the exhilaration of not being a guest is worth a trip. Heck, go all out and bring your swim gear.

But for me, the perfect work location is… wait for it… my local library. Actually, I have two libraries to pick from each day. The same may hold true for you.

Here are 10 reasons why a library is the perfect freelancer office:

10. Good vibes-people, books, etc.

9. A gazillion words at your fingertips.

8. A great reference section. Enough said.

7. Magazines of every sort to inspire you.

6. Music CDs to listen to as you work (headphones required).

5. DVDs to watch when you just don’t have any ideas.

4. Comfy chairs and sturdy tables. Enough said.

3. People smarter than you work there. Ask questions, you get answers.

2. No foo-foo coffee-ordering cadence to break your rhythm.

1. It’s all free! Well, your taxes pay for it. So use it.

I’d love to hear about your favorite places to work.

Reposted from Oct. 2008

Creativity is all about connecting seemingly unrelated things to form something fresh and unexpected. And Pandora Jukebox introduces you to stuff you should like based on what you do like. What’s my point? Sit back and let me explain.

As a creative professional, my passion lies (lays? Grammar Girl, Help!) in knowing a little bit about a lot. I’m curious about everything from theoretical physics to how roof shingles are made. These teeny-tiny nuggets of knowledge are what I call “dots”. And when I’m searching for an idea, I try to connect these dots. The more dots I have, the better my odds are for hitting the big idea jackpot!

Enter Pandora. For sake of comparing apples to apples, the songs played in Pandora will be called dots. Do you see where I’m going with this? If not, hang tight. I’m closing the loop. In order for Pandora to be a good source for discovering new songs (dots, remember), you need to create lots of “stations” of lots different artist/genres and so on. But the system is flawed because you’ll get plenty of repeats, which will sound like your local Top 40 radio station. Not cool.

The solution? Fake it. Create stations around artist/songs you wouldn’t normally purchase. You know, the ones you sing along with in the car but won’t shell out $.99 for on iTunes. Better yet, get a friend to load a bunch of his crappy stuff. The result? A whole lotta cool new stuff.

Finally, closing the loop. Start learning about stuff you’ve avoided and collect some valuable dots.

Tune-Deaf Scott Brown Opens Pandoras Jukebox.