PayPal, San Jose, California
2008 – 2009
Content Manager (contractor) for Global Platform User Experience Design Team
Writing user interaction content for the company’s payment service operations in Asia and Europe. Wrote transactional content that guided customers in the U.K. and Australia through the process required establish their identities and comply with anti-money-laundering statutes enacted in those countries.
Zazzle.com Inc., Redwood City, California
Oct. 2008 – June 2009
Marketing Copywriter (contractor)
Wrote site content, marketing, and promotional materials including emails and advertising for the company, an online, on-demand manufacturer and marketer of a potentially infinite number of customized personal apparel and accessory items.
Yahoo!, Inc., Sunnyvale, California
2003 – 2008
Site Editor and Copywriter for Yahoo! Personals
Built a relationships and romance editorial channel from scratch with an outstanding roster of writers and experts who attracted substantial readership through featured placements on Yahoo!’s front page. Wrote a monthly newsletter, marketing emails, and various user interaction pages for the site. Teamed with product managers, user experience designers, Web developers, engineers, and marketers at all levels.
- Increased year-over-year (2007 vs. 2006) page views by more than 360% and unique visitors by more than 500%. Increased PV (page views) and UV (unique visitors) results every year — 2003-2008.
- Introduced features that drove creation of user-generated content through responses to experts’ and other readers’ responses to relationships questions posed by readers.
- Earned an estimated $6 million in incremental subscription revenue for business unit in 2007 derived from converting people from among the 35 million front-page referrals received from 111 feature articles successfully pitched to Yahoo!’s front-page editors.
- Recruited more than 100 writers, experts, and publishers who contributed articles at no cost in return for the exposure for their books, websites, and services.
- Seamlessly switched to a content management system from a hard-coded content publishing process without interrupting publishing schedule.
- Wrote an email that scored a 43% open rate and 10,613 orders — almost 2x the orders needed for the campaign’s success.
- Wrote an interactive site tour credited with converting 44% of tour takers into subscribers within 24 hours after completing the tour.
- Received a Yahoo! marketing “Purple Cow” award for editorial contributions to a joint promotion with Starbucks.
ThirdAge Media, San Francisco, California
1999 – 2002
Senior Editor (originally Marketing Copywriter)
Wrote the daily front page and all audience email communications — 2 weekly newsletters and 4 daily topical newsletters — reaching more than 1 million daily readers. Created catalog copy for an e commerce area, co-branded sponsor pages, banner advertising, and other promotional vehicles including radio and magazine advertising. Project-managed webpage, ad and banner production, worked with Web designers, engineers, and IT staff at all levels.
PAT MEIER & ASSOCIATES PR, San Francisco, California
1998 – 1999
Senior Account Supervisor
Managed public relations accounts and mentored junior staff members in writing and account management skills. Wrote press releases and press kits, new business proposals, and communications plans for high-tech and Web-based companies, developed strategies and product positioning plans.
Independent Consultant – Marketing Communications and PR, San Francisco
1989 – 1998
Established press relationships for clients and wrote marketing communications copy (brochures, sales letters, print advertisements, and direct mail packages), public relations plans, news releases, feature, and bylined articles, as well as annual reports and investor relations materials for clients including Reynolds Metals Company (Reynolds Wrap and consumer recycling services); Tektronix, Test & Measurement Group; Western Independent Bankers Association; Consolidated Freightways, and San Francisco Opera Guild.
Education
- Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon — BA, English
- University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon — completed coursework for a MA in journalism
Rad Dewey
415-722-4386
radewey@radewey.com