Archive for the ‘Ghost blogging’ Category

August-October 2009 has been one of the busiest periods in my entire career. I’m grateful to have such great clients when the world economy is not doing so well!

Here is what I’ve been up to…

For my major Japanese automaker client, I…

• Wrote and edited content for two major reports
• Edited the company’s internal newsletter (I do this every month)
• Wrote 89 individual articles for a new section of the company’s website

These projects involved translation to a degree. I also did several projects for this client that were pure Japanese-to-English translation.

For ghost blogging client No. 1, I…

• Updated the blog
• Edited a press release
• Named the company’s major new product
• Helped write a new brochure on the new product

For ghost blogging client No. 2, I…

• Updated the blog
• Provided a gratis consultation on the client’s current marketing mix (as a marketing MBA, this is something I do to help my clients out!)

For ghost blogging client No. 3 (new since August), I…

• Completely revised the client’s website both to create a better site and help the blog be maximally effective
• Updated the blog

I love this new client! They are the best at what they do in Indianapolis, and I’m proud to be their blogger. In line with my “Japanese training,” I have been visiting the client’s gemba: I’ve been going to every one of their stores, meeting their associates, and deepening my understanding of their business.

Sports fiction

I wrote seven new short stories for a major publisher, and I’ll be writing two other stories by the end of the year. Five of the stories dealt with football, and two dealt with basketball (the remaining two will also deal with basketball).

Another new client

Through a referral I developed another new client that is like a YouTube for positive, family-friendly infomercials.  I wrote two short video scripts about an agricultural product for their client. These scripts received very good reviews, so I hope to do more work for this company in the near future.

Yet another new client

This is a medical device company doing some very exciting things. I have helped them write two press releases, which seem to have gone over quite well.

Biz lit book

My coauthor and I have made major progress on the book, and we plan to have a pretty clean draft complete by Thanksgiving.

What I’d like to help you with

Since this is the first time I’ve had any breathing room since April or so, it’s a good time to talk about new projects! I am interested in taking on new ghost blogging and newsletter clients. Now would also be a good time to talk about revising your website copy–why not make your site new and fresh in the new year? I also tell people I am looking for “fun projects.” I have my regular work each month, and it’s nice to have variety.

Please feel free to call or email me about your projects–I can help!

Like June, July has been flat-out. Here is what’s new:

Website copywriting
I am rewriting and adding to the website copy of the best dry cleaning business in the city. The hope is also that they will become a ghost blogging client. Great people.

Ghost blogging
Right now, I have two happy clients, and the ghost blogging is producing results for both.

Major Japanese automaker newsletter
July has been the best month yet. I look forward to getting my new story assignments every month.

Biz-lit book
My writing partner and I are getting significant interest on the book. Editing proceeds apace.

I will be in Japan for a month and New York for two weeks starting July 29. I will not be able to take on new jobs (except for two new ghost blogging clients if they come on board) until mid to late September. I’d like to express my thanks to my local clients who have made summer 2009 very busy and enjoyable thus far!

May was busy; June is busier.

I have posted a new writing update and a new translation update, describing the interesting projects on which I’ve been working of late.

I have added a new website for the convenience of my clients: Marrubium Review, at which they may view work in progress by means of password-protected pages.

Marketing situation: I am looking to take on a few new clients for ghost blogging, script writing, and newsletter writing. In essence, I am booked until sometime in August, but I am definitely interested in building solid new relationships for the long term.

June has been a massively busy month thus far. I have three main projects to talk about:

New ghost blogging client
Great new client! Truly fun to write for. Taking on only a few more clients will put me in the state known as “maxed out.”

Major Japanese automaker newsletter
This gig is going very well. Also quite fun.

Biz lit book enters editing stage
I am done taking dictation from my coauthor, and now it’s up to me to put it together.

I am more or less booked for the summer, but I am interesting in taking on steady work such as regular script writing, newsletter writing, and ghost blogging.

The past month has been busy, and more and more work keeps coming in!

I received some good news this past week: Hits are up for my ghost blogging client’s blog and ecommerce site. We are having a meeting this Friday to refine strategy further. It also seems I soon may have another ghost blogging client. On ghost blogging, I am working with Rhoda Israelov of Say It For You, a truly wonderful writer and blogger. You can catch her blog here. Ghost blogging is very enjoyable work and helps me achieve balance in my workload, as I am able to work ahead on posts when other work is light.

Other work, however, has not been light. I am very happy to have been selected as the editor of the global newsletter of a major Japanese automaker. Although I do Japanese-to-English translation as well, this job involves very little translation. I receive stories from around the world and edit them to make them fit the newsletter format.

I also continue to make progress on the “mystery business lit book” with my coauthor. We’ve both been so busy, though, that it’s increasingly hard to find time. I suppose that’s a good problem to have.

Many thanks to my clients who have been entrusting me with numerous jobs this year!

I hope you enjoyed the recent post explaining new goings-on at Marrubium. I have remained in a flat-out state for all of March with various writing projects. I am thankful to be doing well in this economic climate and give heartfelt thanks to my clients.

My writing partner (who has also become one of my best friends over the nearly three years we have known each other) and I are making significant progress on our book. In fact, we have gotten most of it written at this point and have sent the table of contents and three sample chapters to some influential people (my coauthor is a very experienced HR and general business guru who has built a wealth of connections over the years). Thus far, the reaction has been highly positive, and we are both quite hopeful. Full steam ahead on this project! (By the way, once we get a book deal, I will lift the veil of secrecy about this project and reveal all!)

It’s about time that I honor another very good friend, mentor, and writing partner: Rhoda Israelov, of Say It For You. Rhoda has been writing for 30 years and has been featured extensively in the Indianapolis Business Journal and other prestigious local and regional publications. She is a certified financial planner (CFP) and thus also has extensive experience in writing about financial matters. Say It For You offers ghost blogging: that is, she will write your blog for you, and you can say it is by you, “From the Team of,” by Rhoda herself, or whatever works for your particular situation. Her blogging style is simply amazing! Check out her blog to see why I think so.

I am honored to report that Rhoda has seen fit to reward my meager talents by taking me under her wing and providing me with clients.

Recently, Rhoda and I created original website content for a local Indianapolis pharmaceutical firm (no, not Eli Lilly, but a pretty exciting company nonetheless). The content consisted of new landing pages describing how the product can help alleviate the symptoms of a variety of conditions that the company had not previously promoted. The president of the company is quite pleased with our work.

Rhoda has also obtained for me my first ghost blogging client, about which I am really excited: this too is a local Indianapolis company, a manufacturer of products for the home. About this client I must say no more, as I will be ghost blogging for them, after all.

In addition to my writing work, in March I did quite a bit of Japanese to English translation, which you can read about in my latest post on Marrubium Translation.