Online Marketing position (in-house, contract, or consulting):
Pay-per-click search (PPC, CPC) campaign design, management, and optimization
Affiliate program design, recruitment, and management
Other online marketing strategies, including: SEO, website optimization, and advertising management, as well as a variety of "guerilla," "stealth," and "viral" marketing techniques.
2007-2008: Small projects for individual e-commerce merchants (including PPC and affiliate marketing); extensive "affiliate-role" work (earning sales commissions from niche web sites and from PPC search activity)
2006-2007: Extensive work for "print on demand" e-tailer:
Involved in all aspects of e-commerce startup with a "print-on-demand" business model .
Supervised production of first-phase web site and design of more than 3,000 unique posters.
Managed acquisition and processing of large editorial content database and image library.
Designed and implemented affiliate program and pay-per-click search advertising campaigns.
Prepared plan for larger web-site development project, database, complex user interface.
Unfortunately, client was unable to provide expected resources to implement plans; interim store failed to draw adequate traffic or sales. I recommended closure of the first-phase site when client could not allocate resources to broader plan.
2005-2007: Various pay-per-click consulting projects:
One directory-site client sought to improve performance of
a large AdWords campaign; I expanded the keyword lists substantially and identified ROI measures to set bid limits, resulting in a substantial increase in traffic and conversions, while also reducing the existing $20,000 monthly AdWords spend.
For another retail e-commerce client, I created several test AdWords campaigns, but quickly determined that the merchant's conversion rate was extremely low, due to both site-design issues which I had already identified, and also due to non-competitive pricing. Based on my advice,the client "regrouped" and re-launched the site with a new design, better pricing, and an effective affiliate program.
For several other consumer-retail e-commerce clients, I designed, tested, and optimized new pay-per-click search campaigns, resulting in substantial
increases in profitable sales for each client.
2004-2005: Worked full-time with an "agency client" serving auto dealers. Designed and implemented a "pay-per-call"
lead-generation system; tested and optimized pay-per-click
advertising campaigns for several large auto-dealer clients.
2002-2004: LitPlans.com: After considering (and exploring in depth) a career change to teaching, I decided against that change and instead developed a profitable web site directory of literature lesson plan resources for teachers. I sold this web site in mid-2007.
2000-2001: Worked full-time as "Chief Strategist" for MovieGoods.com, a
successful startup e-commerce retailer; included significant roles in:
Design of web site, and oversight of
implementation by outside development firm;
Development of eBay auction strategy and
evaluation of related issues;
Evaluation, License Negotiation, and Integration of third-party
editorial content;
Successfully designed and implemented profitable marketing
strategies;
Design and management of highly successful affiliate program;
Design and implementation of very profitable pay-per-click search strategy
1999-2007: I have continuously worked on "affiliate-role" projects, generating substantial earnings from affiliate commissions. I also became an active seller through the eBay and Amazon.com marketplaces (initially as part of consulting work for clients, and later on my own). A large part of my "affiliate-role" work involves my running "direct-to-merchant" AdWords PPC campaigns.
1998-2007: Developed "online marketing strategic plans" and "affiliate marketing strategic plans" for several retail e-commerce companies.
1997-2000: Worked primarily on the design and implementation of affiliate programs for e-commerce retailers. My first
consulting client was the "original" art.com (it's been sold and transformed three times since then).
1996-1999: In 1996, I created a directory of "web-site advertising" resources which quickly grew into a highly
profitable site (drawing $10,000 per month in advertising revenue by mid-1999). I sold the Adbility.com
web site in late 1999, at the peak of the "dot-com" bubble.
Attorney,
Law Office of Mark J. Welch (Pleasanton, CA) (estate planning and probate
law) 1993 - 1998 - Created & promoted popular law-themed web site to promote law
practice (CA-Probate.com,
sold in
1999)
Earlier employment: business & litigation attorney (1990-1993);
syndicated columnist for legal newspapers (1987-1990); reporter for
BYTE and
InfoWorld magazines; and author
of a shareware computer game-design system.
Education
University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall
School of Law
(J.D., 1989)
University of Massachusetts, Amherst (B.A., 1983,
Journalism / Interdisciplinary
[Computer Science])