Thank you. Thank you very much.
Over the years, a number of clients, managers, colleagues, and editors have chimed in with kind words about my work. I'm honored and grateful to have crossed paths with each of these good people throughout my career.
Tracy Rosecrans, SVP Marketing at Healthline, on my marketing copywriting
"I hired Charles as Healthline's first in-house copywriter, and he flourished in this role — even as he also played a big part in the development of our newsletters initiative during its high-growth phase. His marketing copy is succinct, sharp, and lively, and he's so organized with his time that he often worked ahead of schedule. He took direction well, and his co-workers in Marketing, Design, and Product enjoyed collaborating with him. Charles was also fun to have around: He started the tradition of taking the Marketing team out for donuts on his birthday!"
Ankur Jalota, Senior UX Designer at Healthline, on my UX copywriting
"Clear and concise copywriting is an underlooked aspect of UX, but luckily at Healthline, we had Charles to save the day! He and I collaborated on several design projects, and together we would iterate on copy until it was top-notch. Everyone across Design, Marketing, Product, and Editorial enjoyed working with him. Charles has a relaxed and humorous attitude that makes him easy to work with, while also being reliable — so you know he'll deliver, as promised."
Emma Venturini, Product Manager at Healthline, on my newsletter writing and content strategizing
"For over three years, Charles and I worked closely together on Healthline's newsletters. He was responsible for shaping the personality and tone of over 20 different newsletters, which spanned the breadth of health topics from general wellness to chronic conditions. He was instrumental in driving the growth of Healthline's newsletters — both in audience size and engagement — by contributing sharp marketing copy, developing retention strategies, and seeking user insights. Charles' strengths are his consistency, reliability, and discipline. We collaborated on many projects together, and his unflappable demeanor in the face of quick turnarounds was a godsend. I really valued him as a coworker and friend. Needless to say, I cannot recommend him highly enough."
Tim Scanlin, Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Brandracket, on my copywriting
"When Brandracket needed spotless, dynamic, and entertaining music blog copy for several of our lifestyle brand clients, I knew Charles was the guy for the job. His deep knowledge of the history of popular music gives him the ability to connect the dots between then and now, while his genuine enthusiasm for new artists and voices ensures that the tone of his copy is always positive, engaging, and informative. A gifted writer and editor who's articulate, insightful, and extremely reliable, he's been a huge asset to our company. We'll never go anywhere else for our editorial needs."
Gavin Rhodes, Co-Founder and Owner at Audible Treats, on my copywriting
"I've run a PR company for over ten years and have worked with dozens — if not hundreds — of writers. Charles makes my top five without a second thought. He's easy to work with, timely, professional, and an amazing and versatile writer."
Kat Oak Stevenson, Writer and Editor at iVillage, on my personnel management
"I loved working with Charles at iVillage! He's incredibly organized, communicates clearly, proactively manages expectations, and treats the folks he's managing with respect. As a freelance consultant who often works remotely, it's essential that I can easily connect with my client, and Charles was always immediately responsive to any questions or concerns I had. I worked with Charles for six of my nearly seven years with iVillage, and he made my time there a seamless experience. If you have the opportunity to work with him, definitely do it!"
Linda Kelly, Managing Editor at iVillage, on my editing, personnel management, and content management
"A sense of humor, no matter how tense the deadline or difficult the project, is crucial — in fact, mandatory — in the editorial world. And Charles always had it as my Deputy Managing Editor. Aside from his great talents in editing, personnel management, and content management, he is an ace writer/editor in his own right. Because of his attention to details and deadlines, our content and editorial process always ran smoothly. He helped deliver high-quality, engaging, unique, and entertaining text, always on time and on target in support of our overall voice and needs. I greatly valued Charles' efforts supporting both day-to-day and special project requirements. He's a pleasure to work with, as well as a wicked word wrangler, and he'd be an asset to any editorial team/project. I vote yes on Hodgkins!"
Nick Tangborn, VP of Content at Listen.com, on my writing, editing, and personnel management
"Charles was a wonderful manager of his team, a dedicated, hard-working writer and editor, and is an all-around good guy. I recommend him highly."
Nick Smith, Correspondent at KGO-TV, on my writing
"Thanks to Charles, I 'killed' a recent awards dinner audience with a speech he wrote for me."
Jeremy Nisen, Editor at SFist.com, on my writing
"During my tenure at SFist, I was thrilled to bring Charles onboard as a contributor. Long an admirer of his other projects, I had hopes that his sharp sensibilities, quirky humor, and excellent writing would bring something new, fresh, and lasting to the site. Charles more than fulfilled my expectations. To this day, his Blocker features remain some of the best SFist ever carried. It's the kind of evergreen content a city blog can really hang its hat on. I'd hire Charles for any kind of writing or editing project in a second, given the opportunity."
John Alderman, Music and Lifestyles Editor at MP3.com / CNET, on my writing
"Everyone should be so lucky as to work with someone like Charles. He's competent without being pedantic, passionate without being reckless, and dependable without being boring. When he's at work on something, you know it's going to be fun to read, well-reasoned, and that you'll walk away knowing more than you did before, whether it's about soulful burritos or gut-wrenching jazz pianists."
Tim Mitchell, Director of MP3.com / CNET, on my writing
"Charles has an excellent work ethic and a great attitude. He's one of those people who can take his job seriously without taking himself too seriously, and as a result is a great team player. He writes very well and can be serious as well as sardonic. He also has excellent taste in both music and burritos...a combination that's hard to find, quite frankly. I fully endorse the Hodge."
Brad Harvey, Project and Content Manager at ChefsBest, on my copywriting and content production
"Charles does exceptional work, takes direction like a pro, and is a motivated self-starter. He approaches his job with an eye for detail and shows laser-like focus on the task at hand. I highly recommend Charles and look forward to working with him again when the opportunity arises."
Kathryn McEachern, Senior Content Manager at ChefsBest, on my copywriting and content production
"Charles is a valuable asset to any editorial team. He's hard-working and diligent and tackles every project with equal parts enthusiasm and professionalism. He works incredibly well independently and is proactive about helping the team, instead of waiting for assignments. As a writer, he possesses a very rare combination of creativity and distance: He is clearly passionate about his work, but is also able to graciously and maturely accept feedback — and the end product is always strong as a result."
Dave LaDuke, CEO at Sputnik, on my copywriting
"Charles did a nice little piece for Sputnik to celebrate the 50th anniversary of our namesake, the Sputnik 1 satellite. Charles' writing is dry, witty, well researched, thoughtful, and he completed the assignment ahead of time. He is a pleasure to work with, and as good as his word. If you're looking for a writer, I would highly recommend Charles."
Daniel Taylor, Editor at Synthesis, on Burritoeater.com
"I knew Burritoeater.com was a genius site from the first time I laid eyes on it. But it was on a fine San Francisco day, a couple years back, while lost somewhere in the Inner Sunset that I realized the sheer awesomeness of it. I accessed the site from my phone, used the neighborhood search function, found an amazing burrito spot tucked away on a side street that I never would have found on my own, and enjoyed a fantastic lunch. They say the fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and thus, my eternal love burns bright for Burritoeater.com."