Gary Mull, B2B Healthcare IT Copywriter
  • Home
  • Services
  • Samples
  • About
  • Contact

Gary Mull
Freelance Copywriter
Specializing in B2B Healthcare IT Copywriting

Copy That Compels
​734.780.6621
gary@copythatcompels.com
View Gary Mull's profile on LinkedIn
I write marketing materials that help businesses make more money and more friends.
Picture

Meet Gary
​

Most likely, you’re here to see if I’m someone you’d trust to write copy for you. Here's my best insider information so you can make that decision with confidence.
​

I'll mention briefly that my copywriting training is centered around the products of American Writers & Artists Inc. (AWAI). I've worked through their direct response Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting and several of their B2B writing programs. I'm a member of AWAI's Circle of Success, which begins as an intensive two-year copywriting training program.

During AWAI's 2015 FastTrack to Copywriting Success Bootcamp, I won the Copywriting Spec Challenge from Moskel Consulting & Marketing.

Ok, here's how I got where I am, why I do what I do, and why you might benefit from working with me.

Gary the Music Man
When I was 7, my parents signed me up for piano lessons. When I was 20, I had my last lesson just before receiving a bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from the University of Michigan School of Music.

In between, I spent manymanymany hours practicing. My mom says I would turn away my friends at the front door because I'd rather practice. I don't remember it that way ... but I did practice a lot. My identity was pretty much tied to the piano.

The highlight came during my senior year of high school. At 17, I won a local competition and earned the privilege of playing the first movement of Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A Minor with the Rochester (Michigan) Philharmonic Orchestra. Very cool.

I continue to play the piano with my church’s worship team and in the pit for community and high school musicals.

So … why does any of this matter to you? Because of 5 distinctive qualities that directly transfer to the craft of copywriting.
  • Attention to detail - Every eighth rest gets the silence it is due, and every ritard has a purpose. Skip a rest or blow through a ritard and you change the character of the piece, even if it's just a little.
  • With copywriting, every apostrophe has its place, and every redundant word is removed. You won't catch me writing “you're” when I mean “your” or referring to the “general consensus” or using bogus words like “irregardless.”
 
  • Perseverance - Wow, it takes a long time to perfect and memorize a Bach Prelude and Fugue. But that's what my teacher told me to do, so that's what I did. I put in hours of studying, practicing, and thinking about patterns and tricks to help me play every note of every measure. Stick to it.
  • With copywriting, there are many components and techniques that comprise the finished product. Headline … lead … proof … benefits … emotions … transparency … call to action. Each part requires deep, sustained thought and effort. Stick to it.
 
  • Polish – If something wasn't just right, I was trained to focus on that measure or phrase and figure out how to make it right. I might need a new fingering, or I might need to push my elbow out further, or relax my hand, or rotate my wrist differently.
  • With copywriting, the editing phase is where polishing habits pay off: choose a better verb, move this sentence to the lead, and strike that benefit because it derails the train of thought. Make it right.
 
  • Nuance – I'd never play Chopin at one volume with a rigid tempo. That would be ugly. Instead, I hear the sound I want to make and apply my technique and training to constantly adjust the dynamics and tempo and pedaling and tone to bring surprise and wonder and gratification to my listeners.
  • With copywriting, there's a similar opportunity for nuance with word choice, sentence length, sentence structure, punctuation, and style. If my readers don't enjoy my writing, I've failed. They may not agree or be persuaded, but I want them to enjoy the experience. Whether I'm playing the piano or writing a case study, to me it's art.
 
  • Creativity – A page of sheet music consists of notes and rests and accidentals, plus words and symbols that tell the musician to speed up, slow down, play loudly or softly or crisply or thickly or suddenly loud. I take those black markings on the white page and overlay them with my style, taste, experience, technique, and personality to create something that's new every time.
  • With copywriting, I use those same attributes of style, taste, experience, technique, and personality to craft a persuasive message unlike any message ever created.

Gary the Family Man
I am very much a family man. My parents recently celebrated their 56th anniversary, and my in-laws celebrated their 50th, so I have good models.

In 1981, I started dating Tammy. 69 months later in 1987, we were married. We have four grown children and one son-in-law. We have a blast together.

I've had many years to think about the role of the family in society. I concluded that families are the basic building block of a healthy society. I could write dozens of pages about why I reached that conclusion. But for now, what matters is that I see both families and businesses as having a fundamental role in the strength of any society. I want to do everything I can to ensure both of them are vigorous and purposeful.

Why does this matter to you? Because of 7 characteristics of a thriving family that also shape the values and philosophy behind my copywriting business.
  • Loyalty and Commitment – I've been with Tammy since 1981. I've been attending the same church since 1983. When I make commitments, I stick with them.
  • With my copywriting business, I'm looking for organizations that have a mission I can believe in. If that's you, and if we start doing business together, you have the best my brain and heart can offer. You have it until you don't want it anymore.
 
  • Long-term thinking – A stable family doesn't just happen. It requires thought and planning and discipline and learning and change and (at least in my case) prayer… all with an eye on the future. There might be a faster way to get a result, but if it means sacrificing integrity or trust, then I'm just not interested.
  • With my copywriting clients, I take the same approach. My writing will meet your immediate needs, but I've failed if my writing doesn't also make your customers happy they're doing business with you … and want to refer you to their friends when the opportunity arises.
 
  • Empathy – Seven billion people, and no two are exactly alike. Each person has unique gifts, desires, personality traits, and character flaws. Not even my four children – who grew up in the same house with the same parents – are alike. It's not until I understand a person's unique story – until I see the world the way they see the world – that I can do something to really help them. Many thanks to Stephen Covey and his 5th Habit.
  • I never assume I know the goals of my copywriting clients. I ask what they want to accomplish, and I listen carefully to the answers. As a side benefit, I find it easy to “listen” to people as they read my copy … to know what they're thinking and how my copy should respond to their thoughts, feelings, and desires.
 
  • Trust – When my kids were moving through their teen years, they learned the importance of trust. As they earned trust from my wife and me, they enjoyed more freedom to do what they wanted to do. If they broke that trust, they knew it could be restored, but in the meantime, they'd be limited in what they could do.
  • If you become one of my copywriting clients, you'll notice you can trust me to take an assignment, study the product and prospect thoroughly, and deliver compelling copy on time. But more importantly, my copy will instill trust in YOUR customers. They will discover that YOU can be trusted to tell them the truth without deceit or manipulation … to stand behind your product and repair or replace it if necessary … to treat them like you'd treat a member of your own family.
 
  • Love – One key element of love is protection. Because I love my wife, kids, parents, and the members of my extended family, I have an unconscious habit of sniffing for trouble and guiding them away from it. Truth is another key element. I want what's best for them, and being truthful is a fundamental way I express love.
  • With my copywriting, I am intentional at telling the truth and guiding my clients and their prospects away from trouble. Over time, they will learn they can trust that everything I say and write is to help them in some way. I look out for my prospects and my clients. As a result, we all win.
 
  • Relationships – Life is so much better when there are people for whom you have mutual love and trust. I can't accomplish the big things on my own. I need to work with other people who have knowledge, skills, talents, and interests I lack. But like you, I don't work with just anyone. I have to trust them to do the right thing for both of us.
  • With my copywriting business, I'm very sensitive to any word or act that would jeopardize my relationship with my clients, and I do many small things to build that relationship. But more importantly for my clients, I write words that nurture strong long-term relationships with their customers.
 
  • Desire for good companies producing quality products – I hate getting ripped off. We've all bought something that broke much sooner than expected. What a hassle. Who has time and energy to repair or replace it?
  • With my copywriting business, I'm looking for companies who have a product or service that helps people. I don't need to write for the biggest companies. But I do need to write for the best. I don't accept work from companies who can't prove the integrity of their intentions and business goals. If I accept work from you, it's because I believe in what you're doing and I want you to succeed.

Gary the Business Man
After graduating from college with a music degree in 1987, I found I had a knack for working with computers. Those were the days of floppy disks and 20 Mb hard drives (because why would anyone need more?).

I worked at the University of Michigan Hospital (Ann Arbor), then at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital (Ann Arbor), then at a healthcare consulting company (Ann Arbor) before being asked by my former colleagues at the U of M to come back in 1994. Every position required more advanced computer skills, but after tackling Chopin Etudes and Beethoven sonatas, it wasn't a huge leap to teach myself word processors, spreadsheets, HTML, relational databases, and SQL. I read a lot of owner's manuals.

My musician's mind was well-suited to work with large databases, so I gravitated toward physician database management. As systems became integrated, my role was absorbed by the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system, so I took on some of those responsibilities with my new team.

Why is this important? Because working in a professional setting brings opportunities to learn characteristics useful to running a copywriting business, such as customer service, teamwork, strategic thinking, and process improvement. I am able – and wildly motivated – to take care of my copywriting customers … and their customers.

Gary the Writing Man
After working in healthcare IT positions for 25 years, I learned about copywriting. I quickly realized I was wired to be a copywriter, because
  • Copywriters need to love their customers. Family life taught me this one.
  • Copywriters need to do a LOT of research. They have to know every detail, feature, and benefit about each product or service they promote. I love to learn new things, so the research is easy – fun, even – for me.
  • Copywriters need to be finicky about grammar and punctuation and pacing. Just as musicians need to be aware of each staccato note and each sixteenth rest and each crescendo. And just as programmers have to place quotation marks, semicolons, and parentheses perfectly. I've been finicky all my life. (Ok, maybe anal is a better word.)
  • Freelance Copywriters need to be disciplined self-starters. So do pianists. Nobody will micromanage my schedule, just as nobody micromanaged my piano practice time. I had to learn the most efficient ways to practice, play, and memorize hours of music, and I had to do it even when I didn't feel like doing it. Quoting Albert E.N. Gray:

The successful person has the habit of doing things failures don’t like to do. They don’t like doing them either necessarily. But their disliking is subordinated to the strength of their purpose.

  • The best copywriters have exceptional communication skills and interpersonal skills. These skills flow from them as easily and naturally as breath. In all my healthcare IT positions, my managers consistently gave me the highest ratings for both communication skills and interpersonal skills. What seemed normal to me was deemed exemplary by them.
  • I was in my early 20s when I read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. His writings on relationships and trust resonated with me immediately and strongly. I finally found someone who could succinctly express the thoughts and passions I sensed but couldn't put words to. I'm all about developing healthy relationships with like-minded people because these relationships give rise to the greatest achievements. And I'm all about helping businesses develop healthy relationships with like-minded businesses and consumers, because these relationships produce a healthy, lively, productive society. And that's something I really want to see.
Picture
AWAI Verified

​Why this is so important to me

Here's what I want to accomplish as a copywriter:

I'm looking for organizations owned or operated by people anchored in integrity. These organizations are providing a useful, quality product or service that makes people's lives better. I want to be a key player in helping them become stronger organizations, which I'll do by writing words that nurture long-term relationships with their loyal customers. In doing this, I help create the kind of world I want to live in.


I am primarily a B2B copywriter. That means I write marketing materials for businesses who are marketing their product or service to other businesses. I focus on healthcare IT because that's my background: Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems and physician databases. But I will always consider writing for companies in other industries and even Business-to-Consumer (B2C) companies.


Here's a quick test to see if we could work well together. Please answer Yes or No to each of these questions:

  1. Are you a part of an organization that has an exceptional product or service that makes people's lives better in some way?
  2. Are you passionate about your company's product(s) or service(s)
  3. Does your company nurture a culture of taking great care of your customers?
  4. Does your company work to cultivate healthy, long-term relationships with your customers?
  5. Are you in any way disappointed or frustrated with the results of the marketing for your product(s) or service(s), or with the person who writes your marketing copy?

If you answered No to any of those five questions, well, we're not a good fit right now.

But if you answered Yes to all of them, we are a perfect fit. Better yet, I'm fairly certain you could get ME passionate about what your company offers, and then you've got me throwing MY passion at your customers, strengthening that relationship.

If my background, perspective, and passion as a copywriter seem like they might help you achieve your business goals, please jump to my Contact page and start a conversation with me today!
Picture
Guess which one is the son-in-law?
Picture

Home

Services

Samples

About

Contact

​Copyright Gary Mull © 2009 - 2017
  • Home
  • Services
  • Samples
  • About
  • Contact