Writing Sample

If you have found this page, you are most likely interested in my copywriting and technical writing abilities. I have selected five separate samples of my writings for your consideration. You may also be interested in my LinkedIn page. If you have any questions or require a copy of my resume, please email me. Thank you!

Listen to your new clients.

(excerpt from When Acquiring New Clients, Talk and Listen).

The antithesis of talking is listening. When acquiring new clients, those client needs to feel heard. When acquiring new clients, a tuned ear to their unique needs and circumstances is essential. Listening also means more talking points. My contractor from a few days ago might have been able to give me more information if they had listened to my needs. They might have been able to connect the dots to show why their services could help me, and why I should pay them 700 dollars.

In my own experiences working with and for clients, I’ve had clients extremely excited about their projects and felt the need to sell their project to me. Again, my former employer was a nonprofit. While the organization could turn down clients if a client blatantly broke rules, the organization had a legal obligation to accept projects the public delivered.

In the case of a specific client, he produced a television program he wanted to be broadcasted “for the shut-ins.” My client pitched the show to me, for probably ten minutes or so. I know he didn’t understand our rules, and that we didn’t need to know too much of the contents, as long as the show followed our (extremely lenient) guidelines. Still, I listened to him selling his project to me. He was passionate and wanted me to know all about his project and why I should “choose” to broadcast it.

Be proactive: watch

(excerpt from How to give your clients with mobility impairments the best service possible).

Always try to anticipate problems before they happen. This is a standard mantra for all businesses, big and small – and for clients with mobility impairments, this is especially important. How can you be proactive in regards to your clients with mobility impairments? I already mentioned ADA standards. While said standards will differ from business to business, there are a few things such as electric doors, disabled restroom stalls, disabled parking, and adequate clearance in hallways for wheelchairs.  These ideas are great ways to make your clients with mobility impairments feel welcome, but again, you want to give your clients the best service possible.

If you know a client has a mobility impairment (or any disability), make sure to casually observe their activity while at your business. Take note of any struggles the client has. Maybe you have a common kitchen and they can’t reach the plates due to the use of a wheelchair. A simple fix is to put a couple of plates where your client can reach. Maybe your client looks uncomfortable sitting in a certain chair. Offer the client a more comfortable seating option or place said seating options out for the client before they arrive. Watching your clients’ activities in your business will tell you more information about your clients with mobility impairments and other disabilities. The clients, in turn, will feel more welcome, comfortable, and more likely to return.

When my client finished with his pitch, I gave him the proper paperwork and a list of what I needed. The client became a regular and used our services for a couple of years. If I had just rushed the clients pitch along, he might not have used our services at all, because it would have given the impression that I (and my employer) just did not care about his project. I sensed what was important to this client. I knew the client wanted me to listen to his passion for his project. By listening to this client, I paved the way for a positive client and provider relationship.

WordPress: Simply the Best Content Management System

(Freelance client project)

WordPress is the most widely used content management system on the internet, powering 34% of all websites. Compare this to WordPress’s closest rival, Joomla, which only powers 2.9% of all websites. What a difference! 

The reason webmasters love WordPress so much has everything to do with versatility. You can create anything with WordPress. Want to start a personal blog? WordPress works perfectly for this task. Do you design a fortune 500 company’s website? WordPress works wonders – just ask companies like Xerox, Microsoft, Target, and Sony. Couple the versatility of WordPress with a host of plugins and themes which can make your website look unique – it’s a simple choice. WordPress works best.

 For novice level users, you don’t have to have any special training to use WordPress. More advanced users will enjoy the open-source nature of WordPress. Utilizing CSS, you can make WordPress do everything you need and want. WordPress can be as simple or complex as your abilities demand. Best of all, with tech support personal online 24/7 (aka Happiness Engineers) as well as an active help forum, answers and solutions to questions and problems come fast and easy.

WordPress can run on any hosting service. In fact, many hosting services don’t even require you to import WordPress’s files. Cpanel and other web hosting control panels often come with a simple install function. Just click the install, and follow the setup guide.

Finally, if you ever need to reinstall WordPress, it is as simple as uploading a few files to your file manager – thus ensuring your website downtime will be minimal. 

Given the options, WordPress outshines the competition. This is why I, as a webmaster, use WordPress exclusively.

Giving a Program a new ID:

(Instructional manual – written for a former employer).

Every so often a program ID number needs to be changed. This happens because of program number changes, miscommunications, and even a rare typo by a coworker. While it does not matter what the program is actually called on the server, it is still a good idea to rename the program if the ID number has changed. This cuts down on possible misunderstandings and miscommunications.

Renaming the program is a relatively simple process:

  1. Go to the server by double-clicking “Scroll Lock” and select “Server.”
  2. Unclick “Serial Control” on any available server channel.
  3. Click “File” on your selected server channel, and then select “Rename.”
  4. Select the file you wish to rename.
  5. In the “New Name” box, enter the name you wish to give the file.

Now the source file on the server is renamed. The next thing you will need to do is associate the file with the database. To do this:

  1. Double click the “Scroll Lock” button and select “Titan.”
  2. In the application “Media Prep” (found on the desktop) select the “Inventory” tab.
  3. Click the “Quick Add” option on the left of the screen.
  4. In the “Duration” text box, enter the exact time of the program file AS IT APPEARS ON THE SERVER!
  5. In the “ID” text box, enter the name of the program file AS IT APPEARS ON THE SERVER!
  6. Click the “Just Add Database Elements” box.
  7. The dialog box will close, and the program should appear in a white box with crossed out, red letters. This is supposed to happen, so don’t panic!
  8. Scroll to the left and look for a checkbox column marked “Disk Trans.” Make sure to click this checkbox. This should change the letters to black, and eliminate the cross out.
  9. Finally, you will need to clip the program to the proper length and prepare the program for air. The instructions for this process can be found on page 2.

That’s it! Once you have prepped for the program for air, your file is ready to go!

Is Classic Rock a certain sound?

(excerpt from “What is Classic Rock?”)

If you consider Classic Rock as a specific genre, then it stands to reason that Classic Rock has a certain sound. So, let’s compare the sounds of four artists that are usually considered Classic Rock. Jimmi Hendrix, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Tom Petty (and the Heartbreakers) all had major success in-between 1965 and 1979. As far as their sounds, all four artists played rock music that relied heavily on electric guitars – and that’s about the only thing you can say the four artists have in common soundwise.

Jimmi Hendrix and Tom Petty sound nothing like each other. Consider “Purple Haze” vs “American Girl.” Both songs are “classic,” both songs certainly rock, but that’s where the similarities stop. I would never in a thousand years put the two songs in the same genre. “American Girl” sounds a bit jangly and poppy. In contrast, “Purple Haze” sounds a bit more like Rhythm and Blues powered heavily by electric guitars. Yes, both songs are powered by guitars, but even those guitars sound totally different. Hendrix’s guitars sound heavy and have more of hard rock quality, whereas Petty’s guitars are – like I said before – more of a jangle-pop sound.

Let’s look at The Doors, “Light my Fire” vs Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2.” Both songs are epic guitar and keyboard-driven rock songs. Maybe on paper, both songs might look like the same genre. Yet anyone who listens to the two songs knows The Doors and Pink Floyd sound nothing alike. If the two songs were movies, “Light my Fire” would be a sappy, independent, romantic film. “Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2” would be an independent film as well, but it would probably be more of a creepy, quasi-horror, dystopian film. All this to say, comparing random musicians that most consider “Classic Rock” shows us four different sounds. So in asking “What is Classic Rock?” we find that sound is not a qualifier