SKILLS

I am an author, freelance writer, editor, SEO project manager, and content marketing writer with nearly twenty years of experience working with both web and print publications. My work has covered a variety of topics, including home and garden, parenting, green living, education, and marketing. I’m the author of nearly 40 novels, as well as two books about gardening.

 

EXPERIENCE

One Up Web — SEO & Content Marketing Manager

May 2022 – Present

• Project management, including managing a brand that has nearly 20 distinct businesses. Assigning work, writing, reviewing, and producing deliverables on time and adhering to each brand’s needs.
• Write blog posts, service pages, local pages, and other content according to brand voice, goals, and strategies.
• Perform keyword and analytics research to help create or guide brand content strategy.
• Video script writing, as well as concepting and creating copy for social posts.
• Drafting social media posts that are in tune with brand voice and goals.
• Proofreading and editing. 

House Digest — Features Editor

March 2022 – Present

• Edit articles about interior design, real estate, celebrity homes, and DIY projects, ensuring that they meet established style guidelines, brand voice, and quality standards.
• Work one-on-one with writers to help them improve their work.
• Ensure that the best images have been chosen for each article, keeping brand voice and style in mind.
• Use Trello, Slack, and our CMS to work with a diverse remote team of writers and editors. 

LovetoKnow.com — Staff Writer, Garden

April 2021 – May 2022

• Update old content, ensuring that it meets current guidelines for style, voice, and effective SEO.
• Create reader-focused SEO content that both informs and inspires. 
• Keep up to date and use best SEO practices to drive search traffic to both new and updated content.
• Work with an editorial team as well as an image team to ensure that the content I produce is better than that of our competition. 

House Digest — Staff Writer, Home Decor & Real Estate News

December 2021 – March 2022

• Create feature articles and breaking news posts about various aspects of all things related to home and real estate. 
• Use best SEO practices, along with the established House Digest tone and style guide.
• Use Trello, Slack, and our CMS to work with a diverse remote team of writers and editors. 

Colleen Vanderlinden Writing & Editing, Michigan — Owner

January 2005 – PRESENT

• Provide high-quality, timely writing, editing, and proofreading services. 
• Proofreading, copyediting, developmental editing, beta reading services.
• Create web copy, blog posts, articles, longform content, and social media content as needed by clients, adhering to client style guides and SEO best practices. 
• To date, I’ve edited over a dozen books across multiple genres, and have ghost-written 3 novels. 

About.com (now The Spruce) — Organic Gardening Guide

APRIL 2008 – MAY 2014

• Built the organic gardening site from the ground up. 
• Created weekly content including articles, blog posts, and newsletters.
• Used best SEO practices to increase search engine visibility.

TreeHugger.com — Writer

JANUARY 2011 – MAY 2012

• Created weekly blog posts and slide shows about gardening and green living. 
• Helped steer the gardening-related content of TreeHugger. 
• Communicated with readers on social media to enhance their experience of reading my posts and articles. 

EDUCATION

Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 

September 1995 – June 2000