My Work

I’m an expert writer, editor, and content marketer—and when I say expert, I mean it. Between my years studying language structure and linguistics in college, my time working as a writer and editor in the journalism/publishing industry, and my work as an SEO-focused content marketer for the last decade, I’ve racked up 12+ years of experience and have quite a lot to show for it.

Learn more about my career and view some of my work below!

Marketing Portfolio

In my role as Content Director for Hurrdat Marketing, I oversaw and managed the Content Marketing department in our digital marketing agency. I was responsible for devising content marketing and on-page SEO strategies for our clients and internal brands, as well as training and mentoring a talented team of writers and editors. I also developed brand strategies for our parent company Hurrdat, led creative marketing campaigns for clients, and much more in my ten years with the agency.

Articles I’ve Written

While I’m well-versed in all aspects of digital marketing from user experience and web design to social media advertising and video marketing, one area where I have a breadth of knowledge is in creating SEO-driven content for websites and blogs. Because that’s most of my experience, I often research how language patterns and search engine algorithm changes impact content marketing tactics (I also love linguistics, so that helps!). Here are some articles I’ve written on these subjects:

Do Spelling and Grammar Affect SEO? (Hurrdat Marketing)
Google Passage Ranking: What Is It & Does It Matter for SEO? (Hurrdat Marketing)
Introducing BERT, Google’s Language Algorithm Update (Hurrdat Marketing)
A More Targeted Approach to Keyword Research in Content Marketing (Hurrdat Marketing)
WordPress Categories and Tags: How to Use Them for Blogging (Hurrdat Marketing)

Articles I’m Featured In

Though I’m often the one creating content, I’ve also been the subject of some content before (which feels rather meta). Whether it was contributing my content marketing expertise to industry articles, being interviewed about an industry event I attended, or those unexpected moments when one of my tweets went viral, I’ve popped up here and there online in several articles:

9 Ways to Break Through a Website Traffic Plateau (Databox)
Big Omaha Spotlight: Bailey Hemphill, Omaha (Silicon Prairie News)
Experts Recommend Avoiding These 17 Content Marketing Mistakes (John Egan, LinkedIn)
The Internet Is Obsessed with Knickers the Giant Australian Cow (Today)
Opera Omaha Invites Audience to Tweet (Omaha World-Herald)
Trending: Dylan Farrow Slams Justin Timberlake Tweet; Team USA Shows Off Uniforms (The Washington Post)

Podcasts Where I’ve Been a Guest

After being an on-air contributor on a local radio station for five years, podcasting is something I’m extremely comfortable with. I love being a guest on episodes where I can share my content marketing expertise—or chat about things happening in pop culture!

I’ve Heard That

On digital marketing podcast I’ve Heard That, the SVP of Marketing at Hurrdat chats with company leadership about digital marketing trends and more. As the former Content Director for Hurrdat’s digital marketing agency, I was a guest several times, discussing SEO content marketing strategies.

#5: “Are You There, Google? It’s Me, Margaret” – March 24, 2021
#7: “Make Sure We Trademark This” – April 21, 2021
#10: “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Website Adventure” – June 2, 2021
#15: “A Blog a Day Shows Google the Way” – September 29, 2021

Pat & JT Podcast

Pat Safford and Jill Thomas were longtime hosts of “Pat & JT in the Morning” on Omaha’s Sweet-98 (formerly Q98.5), and I reviewed movies on their show weekly for five years. After they left radio, they started the Pat & JT Podcast, and I’ve appeared on a few episodes to talk pop culture.

#439: “I Haven’t Met Any Woodcocks” – November 15, 2021
#533: “Bailey’s Slap Chat” – March 31, 2022

One of My Favorite Projects

I had the incredible opportunity to spearhead creative direction for a local city guide YouTube series for an agency client, Extra Space Storage. This included drafting project proposals and creative treatments, determining video content structure, coordinating with locations and talent, writing scripts, and overseeing filming as a representative of the client’s brand. We released six videos in total, but here are a few samples of the end result!

Journalism Portfolio

During college, I was fortunate to have an internship with Omaha Magazine that allowed me to gain valuable experience as a writer and editor. After I graduated, I was offered a role as an Editorial Assistant. Within a few months of working for the company, I was promoted to Assistant Editor & Web Content Editor, as I took on a larger role with devising editorial calendars, contracting work from freelance writers, providing creative input for editorial design, and managing the company’s social media accounts and website. I also wrote hundreds of columns, short features, long features, and cover features, which you can find organized below (most recent to oldest, by publication).