Archive for the ‘Website content’ Category

Although the world economy has been in a fritz for more than a year now, 2009 has been the strongest year yet in my career. I don’t take this situation for granted, and I’m extremely grateful that I have clients who appreciate my work and continue to invest in marketing materials during the downturn.

In this busy year, August-October have been the busiest months. I was in Japan from the end of July to the end of August, working flat-out on English-to-Japanese translation projects for my major Japanese automaker client.

Here is what I worked on for this client August-October:

• Translated the better part of the annual environmental report and edited the work of other translators
• Translated the better part of the annual corporate social responsibility report and edited the work of other translators
• Translated several articles for a new portion of the company website dealing with design
• Translated the better part of a the press kit for the 41st Tokyo Motor Show 2009
• Translated the copy for a poster used around the world
• Translated several press releases

I also did a lot of work for this client that did not involve translation.

The end of the year will probably be a bit less busy, since Japan goes into Shogatsu mode–but it will still be busy. Thank you, clients!

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!

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.

I must beg the forgiveness of my subscribers who have been asking, “Where’s my update?” December has turned out to be quite a busy month–and there are still two weeks to go. For a major Japanese automaker, I have done the following:

• Completed the internal magazine dealing with the company’s history in an Asian country.
• Translated a PowerPoint presentation of over 50 slides, which was used at an event introducing a major new model to North America.
• Translated an internal manual of 41 pages (an ongoing project that will require a good deal more work, to be sure).
• Translated a blurb that will be used in another internal publication.

In the business literature project, my author and I are making great progress, and we should be able to get a final draft together within a month or so. We would like to start looking for a publisher in January.

Things are going well at my Web developer client in Southern Indiana. I visited the firm recently, interviewed all the staff, and am writing bios that the company will put on their websites. It’s a nice project, and the client is fun to work with!

Although I did not write it in December, my new sports fiction story has been published and is being distributed at college basketball venues around the country. I will write and post a press release as soon as I receive some copies from the publisher.

I also have been called into local hospitals to interpret quite a bit in the past two weeks. I like this work because it gets me out of the house, allows me to help people on an immediate, personal level, and keeps my interpreter’s saw sharp.

My networking efforts seem to be going quite well; a lot of people are interested in the product I have to offer, and several projects are on the horizon. What makes me happy is that I don’t have to sell too hard and price doesn’t seem to be an issue; I seem to be finding natural win-wins pretty easily.

For these reasons, 2009 promises to be a very busy year. That doesn’t mean, however, that I am not interested in helping you with your project. Please give me a call!

I’ve been working through the weekend on various projects. For a major Japanese automaker, I did the following:

• Continued to work on the internal magazine dealing with company’s operations and history in an Asian country.
• Wrote a press release concerning a vehicle lease to the Japanese government.
• Wrote a press release concerning an event in which children got to ride in an advanced new vehicle.
• Translated a Q&A series concerning environmentally responsible technologies.

All of the above documents required Japanese-to-English translation. The Q&A documents I do for this automaker tend to feel more like pure translation, perhaps because there is much less of a necessity to make the document flow well from one part to the next (each question and answer set is pretty much self-contained).

In local news, I am helping a Web development company in Southern Indiana by editing content it will be adding to a new website (the company’s own blog site, in this case). Also, a friend from a local networking event invited me to help him write a book. His project sounds very interesting, and I may take him up on his offer. Of course, I’m already helping another colleague write a book, so I’ll need to manage my time carefully.

I’m piled high with work right now, but December tends to be a slow month as people in both Japan and the United States turn their attention to the holidays. I welcome any new project inquiries. Why not have your marketing materials in place for the new year?

The automobile press kit project has been in stasis since last week but should be heating up again soon. In the meantime, I have been working on three other projects:

• The biographies for my local client. There are nine of them, and the trick has been to get a good balance between them so that all have the same length, same tone, and same level of appeal. It looks as though they will be used as Web content by the client. I’m somewhat of a perfectionist, but I think I’m almost there.
• A book I’m writing with a client. Actually, he’s the boss, he’s the main author, and I’m the editor and encourager. The topic is under wraps for now, but let’s just say that it deals with self-improvement in the world of business. My author is really quite brilliant, and it truly is a privilege to be a part of his work. Once we get a publishing deal together, of course I will raise a big ruckus about it here and tell you exactly where you can buy it.
• Finishing up my basketball story. “After the Big Game” will be published in four installments in college basketball programs.

I’ve got really good momentum on the book, so it looks as though that will be my focus for tomorrow, but things often fly in from Japan while I sleep!