Lance Oliver
PROFILE
- Reliable and versatile freelance writer, editor, and translator with broad non-profit, corporate, and news media experience
SKILLS
- Excellent English-language writing, editing, and proofreading skills
- Ability to work quickly and accurately, honed during years of meeting deadlines in the news media
- Adept at writing web content that achieves top search-engine rankings while adding value for human readers; experienced at editing html or using various content management systems to achieve web design results
- Thoroughly knowledgeable of all facets of motorcycling, from industry trends to motorcycle-related travel writing to legislative and safety issues
- Fluent in Spanish, knowledgeable about Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino cultures
- Experienced, fast, and reliable translator from Spanish to English
- Substantial experience editing materials on finance and investing
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Starting from zero, directed and managed development of an online motorcycle content site for RevZilla.com, the largest motorcycle gear e-commerce company in the United States, and within two years achieved average monthly unique views of nearly one million
- Author of The Ride So Far, a collection of motorcycle-themed personal stories published by Whitehorse Press
- Wrote more than 2,000 bylined articles for a variety of newspapers and magazines for both general and specialized audiences
- Created content for the American Motorcyclist Association websites that served a knowledgeable enthusiast audience while achieving top-five rankings in search engine results for important keywords
- Produced e-mail newsletters that achieved open rates averaging above 40% and measurably increased site traffic
- As a freelancer, integrated with internal teams or worked independently, as needed, to provide writing, editing, and translation services for clients such as Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rican Endowment for the Humanities, and other corporations and non-profit entities
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
- Self-employed freelance writer, editor and translator: 2008-present
- American Motorcyclist Association, writer and editor: 2001-2008
- Self-employed freelance writer, editor, and translator: 1996-2001
- The San Juan Star, assistant city editor and columnist: 1992-1995
- WorldTeach volunteer in Costa Rica: 1991
- The Orlando Sentinel, staff writer, higher education reporter: 1988-1991
- The Times Herald-Record, staff writer: 1985-1988
EDUCATION
- BS in Journalism:
E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio
- Spanish language studies:
Casa Xelajú de Español, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala
- Additional coursework:
The Center for Advanced Studies in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, San Juan, Puerto Rico