Hello to the Freelance Writing Jobs community! I’m very happy to be a part of a network that Deb Ng led so successfully, and I hope I can do it justice in the future.
I’ve known Deb for years — since we were both writing for Know More Media back in 2007. Our paths have crossed many times since then — writing for b5media and later when I took over writing for About.com as the Guide to Blogging as Deb’s successor.
It’s amazing how our paths are crossing again since Splashpress Media purchased Freelance Writing Jobs from Deb last month. I began working with Splashpress Media in May 2010 and have been writing on three sites for Splashpress: Performancing.com, BloggingPro.com, and BusinessLogs.com. When Splashpress purchased Freelance Writing Jobs, they approached me and asked me if I would be willing to take the helm. Being so familiar with the community and with Deb, I had to say yes. And here I am.
You may have seen me here on Freelance Writing Jobs before. Deb has reviewed a couple of my books in the past and even given away copies in blog contests. If not, I’ll introduce myself to you. In fact, I know Freelance Writing Jobs is a very personable community — more of a family than a network — and with that in mind, I’m going to reveal more about myself over the next few days so you can really get to know me. I’m going to give you my story in three parts: professional life, writing life, personal life. I hope to learn more of your stories over the coming days and weeks as well!
So here goes… my professional life (which I’ll try to write so it doesn’t sound like a boring resume):
I have always loved marketing and advertising. I was probably the only teenager on the planet who had a collection of print ads. Naturally, I decided to study marketing in college. I got my Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing with an English minor from Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut almost 20 years ago and started my career working in the marketing field for a division of AT&T. Several years later I moved to take a marketing management role with HSBC (coincidentally enough at an office just a few miles from Deb Ng’s home – it’s a small world) where I managed multi-million dollar marketing budgets and directed all facets of marketing.
It was during my corporate career that I learned to be a copywriter and to write effective marketing and business communications. Suffice it to say, working for some of the largest companies in the world and directing marketing programs for global audiences taught me a lot. I mean seriously — a lot. I stayed in Corporate America for a decade and quite honestly, I hope to never return.
My next career stop came about a bit unconventionally (which I’ll tell you about when I write about my writing life tomorrow), but ultimately, I opened my own marketing communications company, KeySplash Creative, Inc., through which I offer all kinds of writing services as well as branding and social media consulting services. I’m busier than ever and life is good. Some of my clients over the course of my career have included Citibank, H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt, Cox Communications, and more. I work with large and small businesses around the world, and I love it! I also speak at virtual and in-person events about marketing, branding and social media, but not as often as I’d like (more about that in the personal life part of my story in an upcoming post though).
So the crux of my professional story is this — I’m a marketer and writer. You’re likely to find that a lot of the content I write on Freelance Writing Jobs will be about marketing yourself and your business. I can’t help it. I love marketing! You’ll also learn that my marketing approach is based on brand transparency and organic growth. Corporate buzz words really annoy me and hard sales pitches make me want to scream. I’m not saying that they don’t work, I simply don’t advocate them. For me, marketing success is long-term, sustainable growth rather than short term spikes that are gone tomorrow.
You can connect with me on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, too.
Up tomorrow: my writing life
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