User Experience Designer / Content Strategist / Online Marketing Optimization Specialist
Greater New York City Area
- Past
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- Managing Editor, GrokDotCom at Future Now, Inc.
- Persuasion Architect at Future Now, Inc.
- Features Writer/Music Journalist at URB Magazine
- Engagement Coordinator at Future Now, Inc.
- Project Manager/Copywriter at Technology Productions, Inc.
- Marketing Director at Zing, LLC
- Managing Editor at Motormouth Magazine
- Features Writer/Columnist at Metro Times
- Education
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- University of Michigan
- Recommended
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9 people have recommended Robert - Connections
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316
connections
- Industry
- Marketing and Advertising
- Websites
Robert Gorell’s Summary
SHORT ANSWER: I plan/write/optimize and [hire top designers and developers to] build websites and apps that look sexy, are easy to use, and sell lots of stuff. I also do content strategy and social media consulting.
FULL ANSWER: I start by getting a history of what has and hasn't worked for you online, getting a clear understanding of how effectively your website has supported your core business metrics. Then we dive into unraveling your customers' motivations, often using personas to help visualize their needs and behaviors. I then wireframe new experiences -- mobile apps, web apps, a new site, or whatever sort of interface we're talking about -- and I hire obscenely talented designers and developers to breathe life into it.
JARGON-Y ANSWER: Seasoned marketer, blogger, editor and brand strategist with expertise in online and multi-channel planning, usability and conversion optimization, web analytics, copywriting, content strategy, campaign management, persona modeling and scenario planning. Can identify and prioritize actionable insights about customer/user behavior through market research, analytics and psychographics. Networked with top online marketers, bloggers, web and mobile applications developers, entrepreneurs, advertising professionals. Proven ability to lead, manage, plan, launch and optimize a variety of digital marketing products and campaigns that strengthen brands and maximize ROI.
Oh, and I was a music journalist in a former life.
Robert Gorell’s Specialties:
Website/Interface Wireframing & Optimization | Content Strategy | Copywriting | Market Research | Keyword Research | Ethnographic Research | Web Analytics | A/B and Multivariate Testing | Project Management | Product Development | Persona Modeling | Psychographics (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator profiling)
Robert Gorell’s Experience
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Managing Editor, GrokDotCom
Future Now, Inc.
(Public Company; 11-50 employees; futr.ob; Marketing and Advertising industry)
January 2007 — July 2008 (1 year 7 months)
• Grew readership more than thirty-fold, from 3k to ~100k active monthly readers within six months; Led GrokDotCom to consistently rank in the top 25 (#16 at best) on the Advertising Age “Power 150” list of top marketing blogs
• Managed and edited contributing writers, averaging 32 feature-length articles and posts per month
• Led product development, integration and optimization of GrokDotCom’s first-of-breed “Around the Net” RSS discovery engine (powered by OneSpot)
• Produced, wrote and co-hosted daily “Blog Buzz” podcast on WebmasterRadio.fm
• Produced and hosted podcast interview series, featuring top online marketers and bestselling authors, including Seth Godin (Meatball Sundae: Is Your Marketing Out of Sync?), Avinash Kaushik (Web Analytics An Hour a Day), Joshua Bernoff (Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies), Tom Leung (Google Website Optimizer), and David Meerman Scott (The New Rules of Marketing & PR) -
Persuasion Architect
Future Now, Inc.
(Public Company; futr.ob; Marketing and Advertising industry)
November 2006 — April 2007 (6 months)
• Project Lead on six-month, six-figure website planning and experience design engagement for top broadband services reseller
• Developed customer personas and persona narratives, fusing client’s key performance metrics with customer psychographics, leveraging FutureNow’s patented Persuasion Architecture® methodology; Planned customer/user scenarios with FutureNow’s proprietary M.A.P.™ (PAXML) software platform
• Worked directly with client to create and launch entirely new brand and portal to support new business model with increased sales complexity; Led client’s team to create first ever dynamic comparison shopping engine for bundled broadband services of all major U.S. providers; Improved client’s conversion rate vis-à-vis previous brand/model by more than 250%, boosting revenues over 400% and helping secure client’s position as one of Inc. Magazine’s 500 fastest growing companies of 2007 -
Features Writer/Music Journalist
URB Magazine
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Publishing industry)
April 2004 — February 2007 (2 years 11 months)
• Wrote album reviews, artist profiles, event reviews
• Coordinated photo shoots and hosted online video segments
• Wrote feature-length stories on high-profile events and artists, including Detroit’s Electronic Music Festival, Kraftwerk, Questlove, Jeff Mills, Ghostface Killah, and The White Stripes -
Engagement Coordinator
Future Now, Inc.
(Public Company; futr.ob; Marketing and Advertising industry)
January 2006 — October 2006 (10 months)
• Managed and closed inbound sales leads, resulting in over $1.5 million in new business
• Drafted Statements of Work, detailing project scope, expectations, and pricing for all new projects
• Guided clients throughout engagement and initial project phases; Maintained rapport with clients post-delivery to verify project’s success and identify future opportunities and case studies
• Helped "Waiting for Your Cat to Bark: Persuading Customers When They Ignore Marketing" reach #1 on the Wall Street Journal and Amazon bestsellers lists by booking speaking engagements and handling media requests
• Managed rewriting and editing process for a revised paperback edition of Bryan & Jeffrey Eisenberg’s 2005 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, "Call to Action: Secret Formulas for Improving Online Results" -
Project Manager/Copywriter
Technology Productions, Inc.
(Marketing and Advertising industry)
August 2004 — March 2005 (8 months)
• Wrote proposals for various integrated marketing projects, including website development, interactive mapping, video game development, film, television, & multimedia application production, QTVR and static photography
• Developed content and brand strategies for diverse array of retail, real estate, technology companies and civic organizations, including the Super Bowl XL host committee -
Marketing Director
Zing, LLC
(Internet industry)
March 2004 — February 2005 (1 year )
• Wrote and delivered $2 million loan application—later approved, pending 30% equity investment—to the Michigan Broadband Development Authority (MBDA) for urban wireless broadband initiative
• Wrote copy and project managed website development for GetZing.com
• Oversaw staffing and customer needs during deployment and debugging of advanced non-line-of-sight wireless broadband grid -
Managing Editor
Motormouth Magazine
(Entertainment industry)
August 2003 — June 2004 (11 months)
• Helped re-launch formerly tabloid-size monthly as a pocket-size glossy with more up-to-date, event-driven focus; Managed daily operations of 20 magazine staffers and freelance writers; Developed content; Managed multiple deadline-sensitive projects
• Coordinated magazine launch and promotional events with advertisers
• Managed post-production, including all final edits of master Quark document between graphic design team and printer -
Features Writer/Columnist
Metro Times
(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Newspapers industry)
April 2000 — June 2004 (4 years 3 months)
• Nightlife columnist for Michigan’s largest-circulating arts, entertainment and news weekly
• Maintained relationships with various record labels, promoters and press agents
• Interviewed artists; reviewed albums; previewed events; arranged photo shoots
• Planned and promoted Metro Times’ annual Hamtramck Blowout (Michigan’s largest independent music festival, featuring 160+ acts in 14 venues over 4 days)
• Developed content for MetroTimes.com (35k+ monthly uniques)
