Freelancing since 1993

Below are the highlights of my work as a freelance writer. You may find a more complete overview from my LinkedIN profile and my printable resume from Heavypen. When you are done here, please check out my portfolio.

Freelancing Highlights

Heavypen Communications

My journey as a career writer and marketing communications professional begins in the aerospace industry as a technical writer and illustrator. Most of my work went into classified maintenance and training documentation for military aircraft and equipment. I stayed in that field for about seven years – enough time to earn my degree in Journalism (Cal State, Long Beach, 1981). Instead of following my original ambition to work for newspapers, I found a job with a major software publisher as their marketing communications director. That was the last full-time job I held.

“Heavypen” is my freelance moniker. I came up with it in 1993 when I was trying to conjure a fun callsign for AOL chatrooms and thinking of the last lines from the film “Henry V” based upon the play by William Shakespeare: 

Thus far, with heavy and all-unable pen,

Our bending author hath pursued the story,

In little room confining mighty men,

Mangling by starts the full course of their glory.

I launched Heavypen.com in 1997, when I was still producing a lot of corporate sales literature, annual reports, and newsletters. Right after I launched my own website (coded in HTML), clients started to call me to build websites for them. Then I added content creation for websites and search engine optimization as part of my services. 

I am a freelance content creator and marketing communications professional with more than 30 years of experience. I use my skills as a publisher, video editor/producer, and veteran journalist to drive engagement and interaction with target audiences. I’mI’m also an expert in SEO/SEM/SERP strategies. 

Highlights

SEO/SEM/SERP Contact Work

I manage SEO/SERP strategy for a significant infosec company based in Silicon Valley, CA. My work resulted in a 40% increase in visibility of the site on all search engines for 60% of targeted SERPs. One month after launch, the site earned a domain authority score of 69 (it was 64 before the start of the new website) and a 90% decrease in errors (H1, title, descriptions, images text, duplicate text, mobile pages). I compile weekly reports for the web team manager. My contract with this company began in 2018.

A Leading Neurosurgeon

I write all content for this leading neurosurgeon based in Beverly Hills, CA, including a weekly blog and social media. I also produce all of the instructive videos that he regularly posts on YouTube. I have been working for this client since 2016.

A Celebrity Lifestyle Consultant

Write and manage blogs and vblogs for a celebrity lifestyle consultant for an exclusive community. I write or edit her weekly blog and produce videos for her YouTube channel. I also manage her editorial schedule in conjunction with her branding team. I have been working with this client since 2015.

A Global Business Management thinker,
Best-Selling Author

I have been working with this leading global business management thinker 2012. I write all the content for his personal and corporate sites. I ghostwrote all of his blog posts and produced more than 100 instructional/interview videos (all posted on YouTube). I helped increase his ranking in the Thinkers50 organization.

World Trade Centers Association – Business Tourism

I was contracted to lead and present a three-year project sponsored by the World Trade Centers Association, in New York. I organized ‘‘business tourism missions’’ to various locations in the U.S. and abroad, including Spain (Seville, Barcelona), France (Lyons), Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Okinawa), South Korea (Seoul), and Italy (Trieste). My team built an international business tourism alliance that spanned 85 cities and 11 countries. We designed and launched a branded travel reservation site called “TourismNOW.com” – one of the first online airline and hotel reservation systems (powered by Amadeus). The site generated more than $500,000 in gross revenues (airline, hotel reservations) in the first full year of operations.

Greenway Design Group, Inc. – Cool-n-Save

Contracted work between 2008-2012, I led the corporation’s investor relations program. I wrote a 50-page placement memorandum that raised $5 million for the company. I ran a marketing program, the core product, Cool-n-Save, with celebrity spokesperson Ed Begley Jr. We sold more than 20,000 units within three months. I led a campaign that earned Cool-n-Save the 2011 TechAmerica/Harvey Mudd High-Tech Innovation Award for Green Engineering, over Fisker Automotive, and other high-budget contenders.

Investor-led Commercial Property
Redevelopment Projects

Contract work between 2004 – 2007 for a significant investor group that specialized in commercial property. Wrote business plans that included comprehensive redevelopment and rebranding plans. Created the “LA Touch” marketing campaign in concert with the investment group and the Los Angeles Redevelopment Authority. I also helped coordinate public relations activities for the projects through the LARA and the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau.

More Highlights

Wellness360, HRA360

Commissioned in 2004, I co-researched and designed the “Health Risk Assessment” online survey system that part of an employee wellness benefits program called myWellness360. I designed the test form and led the database team that created the initial response results criteria. The plan was rolled out state-wide and used by more than 40,000 employees in hundreds of insured corporations in California. Word&Brown purchased the entire program. The health risk survey was still in operation in 2016.

Stitch in Time (seminar)

Commissioned by Dr. Gary Geil (2003-04), I co-wrote and co-presented with Dr. Geil, a 3-hour workshop on the utilization of corporate employee wellness programs and asymptomatic disease screening as a risk mitigation strategy for employers. The seminar was approved for continuing education credits for accredited members of the Risk Managers Society and was presented in San Diego, Long Beach, and Los Angeles.

Judicial Council of California

Commissioned by the California Courts, I was asked to deploy a new methodology for improving search engine results (search engine optimization). Created a “text to link” formula that improved search results and increased web traffic by 25% for the Judicial Council of California’sCalifornia’s self-help section. Collected documents and generated PDF documents to the Self-Help section (1996-1999).

Full Resume is available

Please feel free to contact me and I’ll send you my full resume.