Work Experience and Background
Owner March 2008 to Present
Jennifer Blanchard Writing Coaching: www.JenniferBlanchard.net
[Former Blogs: InkyBites: http://www.InkyBites.com
Procrastinating Writers: http://www.ProcrastinatingWriters.com]
- Ran several self-hosted WordPress sites
- Set up self-hosted WordPress sites, including theme, pages, content, blog posts, images, SEO meta data, tagging, etc)
- Organically increased traffic from 0 visits to 7,000+ (and growing) visits per month using SEO, keywords, social media, email newsletters and other online marketing strategies
- Worked from an editorial calendar and marketing calendar to create content and promotions
- Guest posted on popular blogs, such as Huffington Post, Copyblogger, Problogger, and MindBodyGreen
- Created residual passive income using self-created products and services
- Authored– Butt-In-Chair: A No-Excuses Writing Productivity Guide (eGuide); Pen Name: How to Create Yours (eGuide); Creative On Command; Find Your Story: the 6-Week Story Planning Process (eBook); SoundCheck (novel)
- Wrote all content to a specific target audience, including blog posts, email newsletters and social media posts
- Scheduled bi-weekly blog posts based on editorial calendar
Freelance Writing, Editing, WordPress Site Support, Various Publications and Organizations May 2007 to Present
Remote/Virtual
- Edited manuscripts for fiction and nonfiction books
- Set up and launched self-hosted WordPress sites
- Dealt with WordPress maintenance, theme customization, plugins, widgets, etc.
- Wrote monthly freelance articles for various magazines and Websites
- Wrote copy for landing pages and WordPress sites
- Copyedited all work before submitting it to the editors
- Gathered photos to go with articles, when required
- Interviewed experts for articles, when required
- Created e-mail newsletters for client companies
- Ran social media accounts for various clients
Social Media Manager May 2011 to March 2012
Ampegy, a division of Spark Energy, Houston, Texas
- Created and executed social media strategy
- Launched and managed the “Ampegy Community,” a community donation program
- Built corporate blog and published content weekly
- Worked with SEO firm to increase organic traffic to company websites
- Designed monthly social media messaging calendar around promotions, events and information
- Managed the re-launch of Ampegy.com and AmpegyServices.com
- Handled all corporate social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube)
- Wrote all content and copy for Ampegy.com, AmpegyServices.com, the Amped blog
- Worked with Operations, Field Services, Legal and Compliance to ensure consistency in
all messages - Doubled Facebook “likes” in less than one month
- Planned and executed social media promotions, including an iPad2 giveaway and a canned food
drive - Ran Facebook and Google ads for various promotions
Social Media Strategist June 2010 to May 2011
Brookwoods Group—Contractor at Reliant Energy, Houston, Texas
- Assisted in creation and execution of strategic social media plan
- Built and managed monthly content editorial calendar
- Created and launched Reliant Energy community site (http://www.EnergyInYourLife.com) and corporate social media pages
- Wrote comprehensive social media training guide for internal use
- Implemented SEO best practices in content and community site
- Planned and executed a social content strategy
- Worked closely with internal stakeholders
- Executed link-marketing strategy for seeding content on various websites and communities
Creative Marketing Writer, HRTools.com Nov. 2007 to June 2010
Insperity (Formerly: Administaff), Kingwood, Texas
- Wrote all marketing copy, including white papers, press releases, blogs and feature articles
- Planned, built and executed company-owned social media center and community
- Planned and executed social media marketing and e-mail marketing campaigns
- Designed and executed a Search Engine Optimization (SEO)-focused content strategy
- Blogged about Generation Y in the workplace; currently most popular blog on the site
- Grew the site from 5,000 visits a month to more than 170,000 visits a month
- Used interview transcripts to create expert content (blog posts, email newsletters, white papers, etc)
Managing Editor, AFPE/Super Zoo Show Programs Oct. 2006 to May 2007
BowTie Inc., Irvine, Calif.
- Worked from annual editorial and marketing calendars for program content
- Managed entire program from scheduling deadlines to shipping the magazine
- Copyedited all stories and layouts for tri-annual show programs
- Selected photos for the programs
- Hired and contracted all freelance writers and photographers
Associate Editor, Pet Style News, Pet Product News International (B2B) June 2005 to May 2007
BowTie Inc., Irvine, Calif.
- Managed all content on petstylenews.com
- Wrote weekly news for petstylenews.com
- Developed editorial content ideas for each issue of the magazine
- Copy-edited stories and layouts for all issues of the magazines
- Wrote feature articles, headlines, cut lines, subheads, etc.
- Wrote quarterly column talking to retailers and manufacturers of pet style items
- Selected all photos for magazine
Assistant Online Content Producer, uticaOD.com Jan. 2004 to May 2005
Observer-Dispatch, Utica, N.Y.
- Edited Web pages
- Designed special sections on Web site to go along with print news
- Published 65 weekly columns (ran every Sunday in the print edition) discussing
current online issues - Published weekly polls on local news topics
- Drove more Internet traffic to uticaOD.com through updated coverage of on-going local issues, special lifestyles sections and new hall of fame profiles.
Education:
Bachelors of Science in Public Relations and Journalism, Utica College, 2005
Certification in Holistic Health Coaching, Institute for Integrative Nutrition, 2010
B-School Graduate, Marie Forleo’s B-School, 2014