I'm so glad you decided to swing by my site! You probably want to know a little bit more about me.
Well, here's the 411 on my background and why you should hire me as a freelance copywriter to solve your problems.
An Emotional Interview
I kicked off my career as an award-winning journalist. Quick anecdote: I applied for work back in 2007 as a reporter for a local paper. They liked me a lot during the interview but wanted to put me to the test:
National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day was coming up. And they needed a local story to go with it. I had to find someone with a connection to that horrific event in American history. And they needed to have a strong connection to Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
66 years later.
Good luck!
I began with a quick Google search: Retirement homes in the area. After a couple of calls, the fates decided to be kind. There was a man there by the name of Louis Sebastian.
And he was aboard Yard Oiler 21, a fueling ship, that was stationed at Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
Yahtzee.
Arrangements were made and I was able to speak with the 90-year-old on the phone. But this was no ordinary assignment. Very quickly, the gravity of what Louis experienced hit me hard.
His voice broke multiple times on the phone; pain and sorrow still stung in his voice all these decades later.
"There was no such thing as being scared of death," he said. "All we tried to do is see who we could save," he said.
He also spoke about the 65th Pearl Harbor anniversary aboard the U.S.S. Arizona, now a memorial.
He said he met a Japanese man who had been one of the bombers that fateful morning. He was with his two daughters, who translated for him.
"He was a Japanese pilot. He said he didn't want to do it, but if he didn't, they would have shot him," Louis said. "I forgave him. He didn't know what he was doing. It was bomb or die. So he bombed."
After two hours of discussion, I had all I needed. I thanked him heartily and got to work on the article.
It would impress the editors of the paper to give me a job. And it impressed Suburban Newspapers of America, who honored it with Third Place, Best Feature.
Some of the best freelance copywriters have started as journalists.
Reeling in the Parents
Fast-forward a few years. Print newspapers, as we all know, are going the way of the dodo. I was laid off and eventually landed work as a communications specialist at a national K-12 online school.
No brick-and-mortar buildings. Everything was virtual—and was this eight years before COVID-19.
The problem?
Parents were not that engaged with the school.
Taking inventory of what I had inherited in the role, I learned they had a short, two-page printed newsletter that went to the students' homes. Long story short, I evolved it into a fully developed magazine:
Feature articles, glossy photos, engaging copy.
I also created copious amounts of content that would be relevant to parents and families and co-created a new website to host them all. Working with our social media lead, we got them in front of parents.
Long story short: parent engagement shot up by 20%!
Putting the Social in Social Media
Let's fast-forward again through time. At this point, I'm working for Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University.
One of their top scholars had a vision for a website where leadership experts would pen regular articles to help other professionals develop as leaders.
The site was built. A few academics and connections contributed a few pieces. But it wasn't setting the world on fire. This needed something.
Your faithful narrator was called to use an official Twitter channel to move the needle. And so, not only did I work on creating engaging copy, but I knew there needed to be more.
Finding other leadership experts (with large followings), I began to engage with their content. I developed relationships. And soon, I had them willing to write for our site.
Of course, they shared this content on their channels. And that drove their followers to us.
Win-win!
Followers, engagement … it all shot up FAST.
I love strategy. It helps make me an effective freelance copywriter today.
People Polling
Speaking of strategy, I love using research. Some of the ways I've handled it are crafting surveys, talking directly to the target audience, and inhaling as much relevant information as I can.
Surveys helped me create an effective marketing campaign at Fisher College of Business.
A/B testing, at my urging, helped the marketing and communications team at the college learn about a specific target audience for their email campaign.
It's not enough to write copy that reads well. Strategy is everything.
Freelancing
Today, I'm a freelance copywriter. After deciding to go solo, I haven't looked back. Clients have included advertising agencies, a financial institution, an online journal publication, and even Us Weekly. (To name a few.) And so far, so good.
If you like what you see on this site, please reach out! You can email me at christopherwalexis@gmail.com.
I hope we can speak soon!