What I Do

Web copywriting

I tell stories, sell products and experiences, explain things, report news, write bios and case studies, and create link labels and other micro-content.  Always before plunging into writing, I make sure I know who my audience is, the main things the page has to say and its key words for search engine optimization. I’m a stickler for editorial style guides–I like saving clients’ time and money. No matter what, I keep my writing clear and simple and sounding like one side of a friendly, honest conversation. And I always make sure it’s tastily baited for search engines and visually structured for the Web’s zippy, clicky readers. Check out my web copywriting checklist.

Content strategy

I’ll help you figure out who you’re really talking to, what you want to say to them and how you want to say it.  I’ll then dig into the content you already have – copy, images, video, audio, whatever – and tell you what I think you should keep, revise or trash and what we might create together to grow your brand and get results.  I’ll also help you create that content and set up a process for maintaining and improving it after your site goes live. My main goal: helping you bring more qualified, target users to your site. Here’s more about my content strategy process.

Content marketing

Content marketing and content strategy skills overlap in several key areas (researching target audiences, clarifying tone of voice, identifying distribution channels, setting up editorial calendars, etc.), but I see it mainly as developing content for inbound marketing–content strategically distributed anywhere on the Internet that grows your brand, builds relationships with your customers, and brings them to your website or landing page–making sure your site gets found.

Web information architecture & usability

For a number of years I worked primarily as a Web information architect, designing site structures and navigation. I still often produce sitemaps and wireframes (standard IA deliverables) as part of my Web copywriting and content strategy work. No matter what, I get to know my target audience as well as I can, however I can, via interviews, surveys, analytics (page views, bounce rates, etc.), and user testing (quick, simple interview techniques, not fancy white-lab-coat stuff)–any information that helps me better understand what users are actually doing with content (the good, the bad, the ugly).

> Blog posts about analyticscompetitor evaluations, and usability.

> Examples of wireframes and sitemaps plus a guest blog post about wireframes.

Marketing copy, history (non-fiction) and journalism

While Web copywriting and content marketing have been my bread and butter for many years, I’ve also written marketing copy (brochures, ads, newsletters and other print material), stories for newspapers and magazines, and a book (non-fiction, published by University of Alaska Press). Here’s more about all that on another website >