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Samuel HopkinsTelephone: 07791785150.
Email: [email protected]
Address: 7 Holmewood Road, Brixton Hill, Lambeth, London, SW2 3RP
Linked In: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/sam-hopkins/79/baa/435 Twitter: @samhoppie
Travel Blogs: http://theglobehopper.tumblr.com / http://www.mydestination.com/blog/author/sam-hopkins/
Film Blog: http://samhoppie.tumblr.com / http://screengeeksuk.com/author/sam-hopkins/
Profile: Enthusiastic, cultured and personable Human and Political Geography graduate from Newcastle University with a passion for writing and blogging, film, travel, fashion and men’s lifestyle, magazines and fitness (in particular running and triathlon). I am experienced in content production, SEO copywriting, marketing, copy editing, blogging, design (InDesign, Photoshop and Adobe Suite), digital and social media and I am wanting to develop a career within the field of content marketing and copywriting.
Work Experience:
September 2013 onwards - Marketing Executive at travel company ‘The Great Projects’ –
- SEO copywriting and management – rewrote the whole website (WordPress) from scratch (with emphasis on SEO, HTML and key words) and I also update it daily whenever there is a new project that has been developed or a new web page needs to be added.
- Writing, editing and content marketing – for publications (including The Guardian, BBC Wildlife, Wild Travel, National Geographic and The Wall Street Journal) as well as for weekly blogs, articles and newsletters (B2C and B2B) to over 10,000 clients. I also have written all of the pre-departure information that volunteers receive before they travel with us.
- Blogging – During my time here, I have written at least one weekly blog from different tones of voice.- PR – Through relationships with clients as well as press releases in newspapers and magazines
(including National Geographic and The Guardian).- Google Ad Words campaigns – this included coming up with new ideas for campaigns and designing
campaigns to fit in with monthly budgets.- Design – through my time at the company, I have designed and created two separate brochures (each
60+ pages long) using Photoshop, Irfan View and InDesign, as well as leaflets and smaller brochures for ‘Visit Malaysia’ and other travel events. I also wrote all the copy for these publications.
- Networking – with charity partners, the public and other businesses at a wide range of travel events, including the WTM in London and the ITB in Berlin.
- Social Media – Facebook (including Facebook advertising campaigns and CRM), starting up and maintaining a Twitter account, Youtube channel and a Google + page. I have also used video editing software to help edit videos for both the website and for the Social Media sites which I update daily.
- Programme and Project Development – networking with other tour companies and charity partners to design and draft new tours within South America, Africa and South East- Asia.
- Market Research – of competitors and of new marketing strategies which would potentially help the business to succeed (including remarketing, dynamic remarketing through Google, researching other publications in which to advertise with etc.)
- Affiliate Marketing – with partners including STA Travel and Gap Year Travel.- Producing Marketing Analysis Reports – of yearly numbers and trends to figure out what has been
effective marketing wise and what has not been effective (using website traffic, leads, Cost per Click analysis etc.)
- Administrative tasks – my role has also involved plenty of administrative tasks, including setting up bookings on both NetSuite and the website booking system, drafting emails to clients and responding to queries, answering phone calls from clients and assisting the office team whenever it is needed.
July 2013 – September 2013 – Junior Copywriter Intern at the ‘My Destination’ headquarters in London and Freelancer for ‘Hotels.com’ –
- SEO Copywriting – for the ‘My Destination’ website (WordPress) and blog as well as freelance work for ‘Hotels.com’. Per day on average I would write 3000 words (with an emphasis on SEO, META description and key words).
- Editing and proofreading – of both website copy and of other’s work. Once edited down, this was then uploaded to the CMS by myself and by my colleagues.
- Social Media – interns were encouraged to use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest to help spread both our work and the work of ‘My Destination’ in general. I was also allowed access to their official sites.
September 2012 – June 2013 - Film Editor at the Newcastle University Courier (The Guardian’s ‘student publication of the year’ for 2012 and 2013 respectively) -
- Planning weekly editions of the film section (for both print and online) – this role involved coming up with weekly themes for issues and design articles which were to be written by a team of writers.
- Delegating articles and film reviews – each week, writers would need to write reviews on films that were out and on articles for the section. I organised this on a weekly basis, arranged with the local cinema the film times and specified the word counts for both the film reviews and articles at weekly meetings – where I was the chair.
- Editing and proofreading – once all the articles and reviews were written and emailed to me, I would need to edit these down and correct spelling and grammar mistakes.
- Design – each week, I used InDesign and Photoshop to design both the print and the online sections of the section. Final proof was made and then the PDF format would be sent to the publisher.
- Social Media – started up both a Facebook and a Twitter account for the film section, which was a great place to meet new writers, share and discuss film related news and give details of the film radio.
- Film Radio – this was a weekly slot we had at the university radio station, which I often chaired, prompting an hour’s discussion of films out, the worst films of the month etc.
- Arranging interviews and meetings – this included a phone interview with Ben Wheatley – director of 2012’s ‘Sightseers’.
Further Work Experience:
January 2013 - RAG Team Leader and Organiser, Newcastle University – This role involved the organisation and leadership of peers in campaigning and collecting street donations throughout both Newcastle and Durham. It also involved helping to organise, plan and implement social events for the week in order to raise money for a variety of different charities in the UK and abroad.
2011 - August 2013 - Writer for the Newcastle University Courier (Film, Fashion, TV, and Science sections), ‘Exploration’ travel magazine, The Travel Word and the International Ecotourism Society- I thoroughly enjoy writing articles, particularly within the travel, fashion and film sectors. Throughout my time at Newcastle University, I regularly wrote for ‘The Courier’ and over the past year I have written travel articles for ‘Exploration,’ an online travel blog written by students. I have also written for a fashion magazine. In addition, an article I submitted (about the top six things to do in Nairobi) was added to the International Ecotourism Society’s website. I also contribute to my own film and travel blogs on Tumblr, using Twitter and Facebook to help promote it.
Education:
2010 – 2013: 2:1 in BA Geography Hons (Human and Political Geography), Newcastle University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Modules included Political Geography, International Development in Africa and a 12,000 word Dissertation in Popular Geopolitics.
2007 – 2009: Gresham’s School, Holt, Norfolk:3 A-levels, grades ABB (Geography, Drama and English Literature).
BTEC First Diploma, distinction: equivalent of 4 extra GCSE’s (2 A*s, 2As). 2007: 10 GCSE’s, grades A* - C.
Additional Skills:
I am a fully qualified First Aider, with proficient IT skills (particularly in social media (Google+, Twitter, Facebook etc.), Content Management Systems (Wordpress), Photoshop, Indesign and Microsoft Office), and the ability to speak conversational Spanish. Furthermore, I completed the CCF Cadre Leadership Course and became a qualified NCO (leader) within the Army Section at school leading my peers on expeditions (Duke of Edinburgh) and on Army Camp.
Interests:
I am an avid film and TV enthusiast, contributing to my own film blog and to my friend’s (Screen Geeks UK). I also chose to do a dissertation on film whilst at university. I love to travel, often solo - meeting people from different cultures and backgrounds along the way. I caught the travelling bug when I spent 2 years of my childhood living in Southern India, and since have travelled to India, Mozambique and Colombia to name a few. I am also passionate about charity work and international development. In 2012, I undertook the Link Community Development charity hitchhike from Newcastle to Marrakech. This was a fantastic challenge and I raised £500 in the process for education in Sub-Saharan Africa. I volunteered for 2 weeks in a Kenyan orphanage in 2012 and was a team leader for RAG at Newcastle University. Last year, I ran the London Marathon for the Gorilla Organisation, raising £600 in the process. I am doing the same this year for the charity ‘Ace Africa’. I am also a keen follower of fitness: during my final year of school I was swimming team captain as well as head of the triathlon team. These were both invaluable experiences, as they helped to teach me leadership skills as well as the importance of working within a team. Finally, I am a big fan of fashion and men’s lifestyle - regularly trying to keep up to date with the latest trends.
References: On request.
