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ARPGamer

RoleEditor-in-Chief
TypeSide Project
PeriodNov 2012 – Mar 2013

Background​

Started as a side project with friends. We wanted to cover action RPGs--a sub-genre that was growing fast and had no dedicated outlet doing it well. Post a few articles, have some fun, move on. That was the plan.

That is not what happened.

Within weeks I was hiring freelance writers. Then training them. Then managing their output, coordinating a content calendar, and running editorial review cycles during my evenings and weekends. The "fun side project" had become a small publishing operation with more than 10 contributors, and I was the editor-in-chief of all of it.

The site hit roughly 15,000 pageviews and 5,000 unique visitors per month. I did the SEO work myself--keyword targeting, metadata, the usual. But the part that actually made it interesting was the studio partnerships. Gaming companies would send us review copies and beta keys; we'd distribute access to readers in exchange for coverage priority. Content for access. It worked until I ran out of hours in the day, which took less time than you'd think.

Eventually the time required outpaced what evenings and weekends could sustain. I sold the site to Borderland Media. They shut it down. (I'm not bitter about it. Much.)

What I Did​

  • Founded and launched a gaming news website using WordPress, designing the site architecture, theme configuration, and plugin integrations.
  • Recruited, trained, and managed 10 freelance writers on editorial standards, CMS workflows, and content guidelines.
  • Served as Editor-in-Chief, overseeing all editorial output including article review, copy editing, and final publication approval.
  • Targeted keywords for SEO strategies, growing the site to an average of 15,000 pageviews and 5,000 unique visitors per month.
  • Built media partnerships with gaming studios to secure early access, review copies, and beta distribution for readers.
  • Coordinated the content calendar across all contributors to ensure coverage of newsworthy events and avoid content duplication.
  • Managed the full content operations workflow from assignment through publication, including editorial review, revision cycles, and scheduling.

Key Skills​

Editor-in-Chief · Editorial Management · Freelance Team Management · Content Operations · Content Publishing · Content Roadmap · Content Strategy · WordPress · WordPress Plugins · SEO · Keyword Analysis · Blog Writing · Web Content · Editing · Copyediting · Proofreading · Peer Review · Content Management · Content Management Systems · Web Design · Managing Deadlines · Task Management · Collaboration · Research · Social Media · Workflow Processes · Process Improvement · Mentoring · Team Assignments · Delegation · Backlog Management · KPI Metrics · Web Hosting · HTML · CSS · Windows · Adobe Photoshop · Screenshots · Gaming News