Press Releases for PrivateCommunities.com

In my day job, I work at a real estate office. One thing I do is to write occasional press releases. Here are two that I've written over the past couple of months. Both of them are about fairly cool events - Jack Nicklaus (the golfing legend) who visited Governors Club in September and HGTV's Love it or List it filming in Governors Club.

2 New Blog Posts for a Financial Company

Last spring I did a good bit of work for a financial company, helping them launch several websites. They recently contacted me to write a few more blog posts for their sites. Below are two posts that are live.

Blog: - Green Cube & Bold Real Estate

At my day job, I manage several blogs. Here are two of them - Green Cube Storage and Bold Real Estate. Click on the screenshots below to see some of my original and curated content on each.

Southport, NC - An Extraordinary Town

I was recently contracted by First Bank of NC, SC and VA to write an article on Southport, NC. Every summer, my family and I spend a week at neighboring Oak Island, so we're familiar with Southport. This is an article that I'm very proud of. Give it a read here.

Bold Construction Rewrite & Redesign

Last month at my day job, we did a complete redesign of one of our websites, BuildBoldNC.com. A colleague did the actual design while I rewrote the majority of the content for the site. Check it out!

In Print - Take 2!

I made it into Governors Living Magazine again! It wasn't really a surprise, because I wrote the articles and knew when they would be published, but its still super cool to see my name in print. Below are the bylines for each article, or check out the PDF of the article here on pages 32 - 35.

Day Job - Home Portfolios

Writing for real estate is very descriptive. Or as I was told when I was hired, it is a more flowery than other types of writing. No worries though; I can do flowery.

Since I've been at Domicile/ Governors Club Realty, I've written a number of these descriptive/ flowery home portfolios. Below is an example of what I've been writing over the past couple of months.

I made it into PRINT!

I've written loads of things over the past few years that have been published on the internet. Most of them might not even still be out there in internet land. However, now I have a lasting testament to the written word with my name on it. I wrote an article 2 months ago which made it into print this month, in the August issue of Governors Living magazine. It is based on an interview with Chef Eric of Bean & Barrel Restaurant. You can read my very first printed on real paper article below. Or read the full issue here.

Building Websites

I've played around with websites over the years. I had my first site a long, long time ago when there was a free site called Homestead.com, which to my surprise still exists. Then I've had numerous blogs. But I've never just simply sat own and built websites.

Recently I made a clean, simple site for my wife's travel agent business (she specializes in all things Disney). Here's the site I made for her with Weebly. And check out my own Weebly site below too. If you like what you see and would like for me to build one for you, please contact me!

McGuire Design - One of my favorite jobs

In the spring of 2014, I did some work for Robert McGuire, founder and owner of McGuire Design in San Antonio, TX. 

I wrote the 'What We Do' and 'The Creative Process' sections on the front page.  Robert is a very talented designer and has a talented group of people working with him.  This website is so sharp and makes my content look much better than it actually is!

Original Article - CoolKidsCan.com

In the summer of 2014, I did some ghostwriting for Valerie and CoolKidsCan.com, a site that gives tips for helping young kids learn to read.  I wrote some original articles, articles based on research, and some product reviews.

Veronica (Avec Deco Marketing) was super easy to work with and the writing was enjoyable, especially since I had experience helping my own kids learn to read.

Here's an original article that I wrote for her that is based on my own personal experiences.

Press Releases - The Fantastic Product Co & Solar Events

In 2014, a client was launched a new product - Ice Spheres, refillable silicone ice molds which produce large spherical pieces of ice.  The idea of the product is to use these slow melting spheres for hard liquors like whiskey or bourbon and in mixed drinks as well. 

To help this client with the launch, I did a whole lot of press releases.  I also did a good number of press releases for his other business, Solar Events. 

I don't know how many people actually read them, but it gave me a lot of experience with a new type of writing.  Here are two samples of the press releases I wrote.  Click the photos to read more.

Rezitech - Ghostwritten, researched articles

In September 2014, I did a series of ghostwritten articles for Rezitech, a technology services company based in California.  Ghostwriting is doubled edged sword - on one edge is me getting paid for the work, and on the other edge is someone else taking credit for my work.  But like I always say, at least I got paid!

The topics of the articles are Tips for Using Outlook, Intra-office Communication, and Network Security.  I'm no expert on any of these subjects, so all three articles are based on research.  Click the photos to read the articles.

175 On The Park

A while back I was contacted by a prospective client about doing a fairly short project (a total of 2 paragraphs) with a quick turn around (a few hours).  I looked it over, agreed to his terms, and got to work. 

After an extreme rush job, he was satisfied with the work.  But the new site didn't go live for about 9 months!  This is one of my extreme pet peeves, but hey, I get paid so I can't complain.

The result is a total redesigned site for 175onthepark.com, a modern office building in downtown Columbus, OH.  I only did 2 pieces on this site - the paragraph on the front page and the 'About' section.  Basically I took their existing text from the previous site, updated it and tightened it up.  The result is a much cleaner look (from a design standpoint) and a much more readable site.

More news from the day job

Since I last blogged about this job with Domicile/ Bold/ Governors Club, I've been doing new things that I've never done before. I designed my first print ad this week, which may or may not ever see it into print. I'm also managing the Facebook pages for 3 companies, a new thing for me. And the writing that I'm doing is much different than what I've done in the past.

My Weebly site with Day Job samples

When I interviewed for this job, I was told that real estate writing is very flowery and was asked if could could that type of writing. I think my response was something like, 'I can write anything'. So I've been writing descriptions of houses and using words like 'charming', 'gorgeous,' and 'spacious' which should ideally help to sell the homes.

One of the main things I appreciate about this job is that I am pretty much left alone to do my work. And speaking of work, I'm using my Weebly site to keep a running list of articles that I've written. Click on the photo to find links to these articles.

**July 22, 2015 update: I switched up my website a little, so the link above won't work. See my work samples here.

Website Rewrites - Mind.K, Key Solutions, Vitalog

Over the past few years, I've been involved in several website overhauls.  My role has been to take existing content and do several things including rewording, simplifying, and adding new content as needed.  Here are some sites I've worked on:

Mind.K, a Ukrainian Tech company, did a total redesign of their site with updated content edited that was rewritten by a native English speaker (me).  Oleg and Maria were great to work with.



Based in Singapore, Key Solutions wanted the wording on their site to sound more natural.  There's lots of technical wording in this site, so the project was challenging.





Emme with Vitalog hired me to do an update for her simple, straightforward site.  

First work from new job, brushing up on old skills

Today I started my 2nd week at my new job.  And today I got my first published piece.  Actually it was posted this past Friday, but I only realized today that it was live.  The businesses I work for maintain about 10 websites, one of which is a news site for Chatham County.  I also posted the article to several others sites since my new employer wants everyone to know about their award. 

This Chatham Post site (and the other 2 sites) have been created with Wix, a platform I'd never heard until last week at this new job.  It is a pretty simple and straightforward tool for making nice looking sites.  Below is the article/ press release which was published to the Chatham Post site along with the same post on 2 other Wix sites.

Also, I'm brushing up on my Adobe Illustrator skills.  Its been four years or more since I last used Illustrator, but so far I'm doing fine getting used to it again.  I don't have any finished design work to show yet, but will post something when I do. 

'Bucket List' travel Hubs

When I was younger I lived in several different countries and traveled to lots more.  These days my life is very different than the days before my wife and I had kids, so I don't get to travel much. 

Feeling my wanderlust rising, I'm revisiting some of my favorite places through writing articles on HubPages.  I recently wrote two 'Bucket List' travel Hubs, one article on my 5 favorite US National Parks and another on my 5 favorite architectural sites in southern France. 

HubPages - My Hubs

There's a great site called Hubpages where writers can post pretty much anything, as long as it is original and fit for public consumption. 

Publishing nice looking articles is super easy with Hubpages.  I do it for fun, but also to keep my writing skills sharp.

If you're a writer, it is simple and easy to create and account, pick a topic you love, and get some exposure for your writing.  I'm a big film buff, so most of my Hubs have to do with movies.  Some of Hubs include:

• 5 Great Science Fiction Films that You May Have Missed
• 5 of My Favorite Science Fiction Films 
• Monsters: Low Budget, DIY, Sci-Fi Film Excellence

New job, New phase, Still freelancing!!

I've been freelancing for 2 1/2 years and have loved it.  During these years I have also been a stay-at-home dad.  Adding the full year that I was at home before I started freelancing means I was able to spend a total of 3 1/2 years with my kids (including 3 amazing lazy summers).  Freelancing allowed me the luxury of staying home with them, a privilege that many parents, especially dads, never have.  I've been able to be home when they get off the bus and when they have days off school.  However, that is all about to change (for a good reason).

I recently got a full time job, which means I'll no longer be working for myself (at least not full time).  And while I am excited by this change which marks a new phase in my life, it also means I have to put on pants and leave the house!

Everything happened super fast - I applied for the job this past Thursday, was contacted by email within an hour or so after applying for an interview, had the interview Friday morning, and was offered the job the same afternoon.  And I start the job this coming Tuesday.  Talk about head spinning!  I'm still trying to adjust to the fact that I'm going back to the 9 to 5 routine. 

My new job is as the Marketing Coordinator for a local family of companies which does real estate and construction and even has a restaurant.  The different parts of this company are Bold Real Estate, Domicile Realty, Governors Club, and Bean & Barrel. 

I will still be doing some freelance work in a very limited capacity, so if you need something done, let me know.  Find me on Upwork (formerly oDesk) or contact me through my Weebly site for a quote.

Loan Sites - Website Content

Blog posts on OpenCashAdvance.com

Last month, a financial company contacted me about developing the content for a new website. After seeing what I could do, they contracted me to do two more sites for them.  And now I am working on the 4th site for them. 

A lot of the content is boilerplate legalese type stuff (privacy policies, terms of use, disclaimers, etc), but most of the content is  original and I even wrote some original blog articles.

As is the case with other websites I've worked on, all of their sites make my writing look really good.

Two of these are live - LoanStart.com and OpenCashAdvance.com. 

Solar Events - one of my best and most favorite clients

One of my best clients over the years has been Duncan at Solar Events.  I have done tons of work for him, including this article (7 Signs You are Awakening Spiritually).

I have done some original articles, but of lot of my work for him has been based on audio and video transcripts or previous pieces written by the Solar Events trainers.  Duncan is a great guy with a great site; give it a look.

Backlr.com Interview

I interviewed one of my oldest friends Scott and his wife Amber for Backlr.com about how they store photos and videos of their kids.  Give it a read!

Backlr.com

I recently began writing for Backlr.com and now have several articles live on their site.  Check them out here.

The site offers tips and tricks for making sure all of your digital files are backed up.  Give them a visit and like them on Facebook.

Original Hub - 3 Tips For Aspiring Freelance Writers

A few days ago, I wrote a short tips list for aspiring freelance writers for HubPages based on my own experiences over the past few years. 

While you're there, read some of my other Hubs too!!

Stancil & Company Raleigh finally live!

I worked with my friend Isaac Park at Pathos Ethos a year and a half ago to completely overhaul Stancil & Company's site.  Its finally gone live! 

I took all of the content, which was very extensive and wordy, and simplified it to make each section more concise and interesting.