Appfire

As Senior Copywriter for Appfire, my role in collaboration with our Creative Team, Marketing Team, and Founders, centers on defining and crafting Appfire’s brand narratives in ways that increase internal and external brand awareness.

Governance of the Appfire global voice and tone also falls under this umbrella, as well as the development of content strategies that support how copy is used across all of Appfire’s channels and audiences. 

This includes but is not limited to:

✔️ Collaboration with designers, art directors, and producers on high level concepts.

✔️ Shaping creative pitches, and clarifying complex topics into easy to understand language.

✔️ Creation of messaging solutions for scaling on-brand copy across teams, projects, and channels.

✔️ Articulation of a clear value proposition in words for current and future Appfire products.

Senior Brand Copywriter

Shutterfly, Inc.

As part of Shutterfly's core creative team, I partnered closely with other designers, creative directors, and internal marketers in strengthening the Shutterfly brand narrative across the web and all of its digital properties.

I was responsible for the execution of messaging standards for brand themes, campaigns, and positioning that encompasses a variety of digital and print platforms. My work included strong collaboration with other internal creative teams, and I had an active role in developing and maintaining the brand voice for Shutterfly and its related sub-brands. 

This included, but was not limited to, the creation of Shutterfly messaging guidance for brand themes, campaigns, and positioning to deliver cohesive messaging recommendations that ensured Shutterfly was telling the right (and best) stories to our customers and prospects at every touchpoint of their journey.

SPS Commerce

Digital content strategist and content curator, responsible for the creation of messaging, storytelling, and thought leadership content and e-commerce messaging strategies related to retail supply chain optimization and customer journeys as prioritized by the business. 

My primary function was focused on creating content to build and maintain relationships that promoted and built awareness for the SPS brand. In this effort I partnered closely with internal SPS product marketing, customer success, sales, and technology team peers in support of integrated content messaging including, but not limited to:

–– SPS corporate blog
–– SPS brand governance/style guide
–– Sales enablement messaging
––  Web and campaign content
––  Email content
–– Corporate events content

Senior Content Strategist/Copywriter

NEXT Precision Marketing

Led copywriting/content creation for a variety of key agency accounts. Within this role, I interfaced and collaborated with other internal Art Directors and Client Service Strategy Managers, and freelancers in delivering high-quality messaging solutions. I was also accountable for the successful development and optimization of internal workflow processes and for establishing best practices within the creative team.

Associate Creative Director / Copy

Jostens

Led content creation across every channel of the Jostens brand and its related sub-brands, including governance of brand-right, and SEO friendly content in the Jostens voice for B2C and B2B audiences. Oversaw the development and execution of content for over five Championship wins for professional sports teams spanning the NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA: Super Bowl, World Series, Stanley Cup, et al.

Senior Copywriter

The Lucid Word LLC: Copywriting + Creative Consultation

Twin-Cities based creative consultant and senior copywriter. I provide creative direction, marketing strategy, and copywriting services for a variety of clients and industries –– both online and off. Some recent clients and help businesses of all sizes create brand personalities that convert prospects to customers. Elevating your brand is what I do best.

Principal/Senior Copywriter

Best  Buy

Responsible for ensuring all in-store messaging delivered a consistent holistic voice for Best Buy customers within all of Best Buy’s external communication channels. Worked closely with art directors, creative directors, environmental designers, and interactive design teams in developing content using print, interactive, and video platforms for significant drive periods, promotional offers, and exclusive campaigns. 

Set the vision, strategy, and lead the team that implemented an enterprise-wide Best Buy U.S. Marketing Copywriting Guidelines update that effectively directed internal partners and agency partners on correct copy usage of the brand. Oversaw BBY Copy Governance Team, which brought together writers from the Dotcom, Yellow Tag, US Marketing and Channel Design & Brand Identity teams to discuss issues around ongoing usage and formatting regulations that applied to the Best Buy Copywriting Guidelines.

Senior Copywriter - Best Buy Channel Design + Brand Identity

Managed and developed a variety of digital and traditional media materials for internal Best Buy Human Resource clients, including web content, articles for employees, presentations, brochures, trigger emails, video scripts, and newsletters. Worked closely with Employee Relations, Recruiting, Diversity & Inclusion, Training, Strengths, Measurement, and Talent Development teams. Created and managed the communications plan for Best Buy’s PRIDE Employee Business Network (EBN).

HR Communications Specialist 

Experience Life magazine - Lifetime Fitness

Coordinated editorial content for the LifeTime Fitness nationally recognized health and wellness publication, Experience Life. Responsible for editorial management and administrative oversight of the magazine project in addition to oversight of editorial traffic and content generation for publicity opportunities. Supported Editor-in-Chief and editorial team with the publication production schedule.

Editorial/PR Coordinator

I believe the best experiences are crafted by knowing who your audience is, listening to them, and developing an authentic and cohesive voice for your product, your company, and your community. 

My goal is to create messaging and conversations that inspire people to engage and companies to be the best versions of themselves they can be. Throughout my career, I've held roles in both agency and corporate environments, creating original and compelling content using both traditional and digital platforms and tools. 

I bring to the table a set of broad marketing communications experiences, meticulous writing skills, years of experience designing successful messaging strategies, and a deep understanding of how to craft fresh, compelling content that drives readers to act. I've helped shape messaging for industries spanning health and wellness, technology, consumer electronics, retail, luxury, real estate, manufacturing, consumer packaged goods, and non-profit — to name just a few. 

I am equally strong as a solo artist or as a creative conductor leading teams and projects and have done both throughout my career. I thrive in large enterprise organizations and small agencies alike, and I have helped clients from both categories in the development of unique messaging solutions that talk to audiences authentically and on-brand. I'm also deeply versed in assisting clients with brand development from the standpoint of shaping brand voice and brand personality.

This happened in my DMs this morning. 
Someone reached out claiming to be a recruiter.
Their profile said otherwise. 

No recruiting experience. No connection to any staffing firm. 
When I asked about it, they said they just hadn’t updated their profile to reflect it yet. (The entire profile was of someone who is a content writer, not one detail re: recruiting).

It’s a small example of a problem that’s becoming 
much bigger on LinkedIn.
Fake recruiters are popping up everywhere, 
messaging job seekers, name-dropping companies, 
and sounding just credible enough to lower your guard.

It’s low-key predatory.

If someone’s story doesn’t line up with their public record, 
believe the profile, not the message. 
Don’t move the conversation off-platform. Don’t share personal info. 
Don’t click links or “verification forms.”

People looking for work already face enough uncertainty.
They shouldn’t have to navigate scams on top of it.

LinkedIn needs to do better on this front. 
Recruiters should be verified, with a visible checkmark, 
and their profiles should clearly reflect that role. 

Job seekers deserve better than this.

Michele Kamenar

Senior Strategic Copywriter & Content Strategist | AI-literate voice & messaging leader driving authentic storytelling across SaaS, consumer & regulated industries.

I flipped my profile to #OpenToWork yesterday. Five minutes later, my inbox exploded.

Over 20 interested recruiters messaged me. 

A handful were real. The rest? 

Bots. 🤖 And they all had the same cold outreach lingo, immediately asking for resumes and recorded elevator pitches.

It’s so deflating when you’re in a position of vulnerability looking for a job and you think you’re getting all this immediate traction only to find out it’s just a ploy to separate you from your personal information.

LinkedIn recruiting scams are getting better at looking legit. Friendly tone, real logo, polished message. 

But once you know what to look for, they’re easy to spot.

Red flags 🚩 I saw:

1: The job doesn’t exist on the company’s actual site. 

2: The recruiter’s profile is empty or days old. Or they only have a handful of connections. 

3: They want to jump to text or WhatsApp immediately or have as their pinned first post as #OpenToWork with no other context, like it was set up as a trigger (hard no).

4: The salary for the role they say you’re perfect for is absurdly high. They ask for money (or your SSN)  way too early. Like who’s going to ask for your Social Security number on a cold outreach? 

5: The email address is sketchy (not a real company domain).

6: They have no activity on their profile page: no posts, no point of view, no testimonials.  I have a hard time trusting someone to amplify *me* who can’t amplify themselves.

Here’s what I do now: if it feels weird, I pause. I look up the recruiter. I check the company website directly. 

Are they verified? ✅

Your gut isn’t random. It’s your brain connecting dots faster than you can articulate them. 

When something feels off, it usually is. So trust it. Protect your time. Protect your information. 

Don’t let your desire to find something amazing quickly cloud your ability to discern if something is actually legit or harmful.

The right opportunity won’t start with a lie.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

#recruitment #jobsearch #scams

Possible controversial topic, but here goes.

It's nearly 2026. Why are we still creating public profiles that look like this? 

You could have a verified account and a range of professional accreditations, degrees, and certifications associated with your name, but there's something about a profile with no visual representation of who you are (as a human) that automatically gives me pause.  

Your LinkedIn profile picture demonstrates that you take your career seriously. 

It projects confidence, approachability, and competence. 

Why omit it? 

Anyone? Just me? Bueller?

I didn’t expect to discover the biggest insight of my career after being laid off.

A few weeks after the RIF in late August, I came across David Brooks’ book The Second Mountain … one of those late-night rabbit hole scrolls where you’re not looking for anything in particular, then boom, you fall into something that turns into a revelation.

For years, I climbed the first mountain … 

Built a career I cared deeply about. 
Led teams. Built brand voice systems. 
Crafted work that resonated. 

I earned trust. I mentored others. 
I helped brands and people grow. 
And I did it all with intention. 
With heart.

Then August happened.
A layoff announcement.
A sudden stop after years of steady momentum at a company I loved more than any place I had ever worked.

In the space that followed, I asked myself something I’d never really asked before. “Am I still climbing the mountain I wanted, or just the one I started on?”
That’s when the second mountain came into view …
Job titles or KPIs don’t measure it. It asks different questions. 

What do I stand for now?
What kind of work feels aligned? 
Who am I when the applause and structure fall away?

And that question feels even bigger right now. 
So many of us end up leaning so hard into our vocation that we forget what truly *drives* us without a role to anchor to. 
Without the “identity” of work, where do you anchor your value?

At this moment, we are collectively finding ourselves living through one of the most rapid and dramatic technological crossroads the working world has ever seen. 

AI is reshaping how we write, think, create, and lead. 
The pace is relentless. 
The shift is profound. 
Content isn’t just being made differently. 
It’s being defined differently. 

That tension is real, but especially so, for creatives … the strategists, creators, and leaders alike.

Out of sheer necessity, people are making pivots that seem wildly different from what they’ve done before. 
Others are building their own way entirely because the path ahead isn’t as clear as it used to be.

The valley between the mountains isn’t comfortable. But it’s honest. 
And maybe that’s the point. 

To stand still long enough to realize what you’re building toward doesn’t have to look like what you’ve done before. People who’ve been climbing long enough don’t crumble in the pivot. 

They get intentional. 
They HAVE to.
They learn to see differently. 
They build careers the way they build lives. 

Brick by brick. With vision. With resilience. With truth.

So if you’re reading this and are in that space too … between what was and whatever comes next, I see you.

This isn’t starting over. 
It’s starting true.
And maybe that’s where the climb gets interesting.

¡Ay caramba!

This is what happens when nobody reads the copy before it goes out. 
The paper runs a story with ChatGPT’s suggestion still sitting in the middle, like a sticky note that accidentally made it to press.

I just saw a book do the same thing. Prompt text printed right on the page. 
That is not a glitch. That is a habit.

AI can crank out words. It cannot feel shame. 
It does not care if you look foolish in 12-point type.

That last mile belongs to human eyes. 👀 

So keep the tools, sure. 
But pay the editors. Keep the proofreaders. 
Let the copy nerd in the corner give it one more read.

Machines make it faster. 
Humans keep it from being stupid.

Somewhere along the way, we started confusing the act of writing with the act of generating. 

And it’s quietly changing how our brains work.

Remember when writer’s block just meant staring at a blank page, questioning your life choices? Now it’s a blinking cursor inside ChatGPT and the awkward silence of waiting for it to think for you.

I’ve been writing through a lot of seasons, long enough to know that real ideas show up after a little mental wrestling.

Too many of us are letting AI do the wrestling for us. And new science says it’s costing us. Writers who lean on AI too early show lower brain activity in creative and memory regions. 

They recall less of what they wrote. 

And their work starts blending into the same sea of beige mush everyone else is producing.

AI is brilliant once you’ve done your own thinking.
It’s a great editor.
It’s a terrible muse.

So keep the mess.
Keep the scribbles, the false starts, the half-baked lines.
That’s the muscle memory of creativity.

Because if we keep skipping the thinking part, we’ll forget how to tell the difference between good writing and slopped-up beige mush.

Also, Winnie my home office wingman says, "hey". 👋 

#copywriting #creativity #writingcommunity #aiandcreativity #slop

Just a heads-up for any of my followers and connections (and anyone on this platform open to work). I got a random call from a "recruiter" who claimed to be from this company, Power Digital, digging for more details on my background. 

It felt off, so I did some sleuthing. 

Glad I did. 

Keep your antenna up, folks. 

Lots of bad actors out there right now. 

#recruitmentscams #fakepostings

Job hunting can mess with your head.

The rewrites, the silence, the refreshing your inbox like it owes you money (for real tho!)

I came across this YouTube video today from Teal's CEO, Dave Fano, who used to be an exec at WeWork (back when that was still a thing) and now runs Teal. He sat down for 30 minutes to talk about the stuff most career advice is too polite to mention.

Like how to write a resume that doesn't get instantly murdered by a robot before a human even sees it.

What hiring managers are actually thinking when they read your carefully crafted bullet points. (Spoiler: probably not what you hoped.)

How to find a job that works for your actual life and not some hustle-culture fever dream.

If you're job hunting right now, or you know someone who is, this is worth your time, honestly, some good insights here.

Also, has anyone here actually used Teal? I'm close to biting, but not totally sold on the investment... yet.

I keep hearing about it, and I'm genuinely curious what people think. Drop your honest takes below.

Link to video: https://lnkd.in/gbZXXfty
#JobSearch #CareerAdvice #Teal

You can’t hire a Swiss Army knife then wonder why nothing works.

Here’s what actually happens:

The strategist who thrives on solving problems? They’re dying inside doing daily ops. The executor who loves bringing plans to life? They’re drowning in “big picture” meetings they never asked for.

Both are essential. Neither should be forced into the other’s lane.

The reality is most companies can’t afford both full-time. So they pick one, overload them, and watch the wheels fall off.

Or worse, they hand it to AI and pray it works out.

Shockingly, the bot that doesn’t understand your business creates more work than it saves. You end up with output that sounds fine on the surface but misses the positioning entirely. 

Then you spend twice as long cleaning up the mess because it wasn’t trained to understand your audience correctly or what actually needed to happen in the first place.

What works better?

Bringing in a specialist who knows what they’re doing. 

Get the strategy nailed down right the first time. Get the execution roadmap built so your team can actually run with it. 

Then let everyone do what they’re good at… what a concept!

It’s not a failure to admit you need help in an area outside your wheelhouse. 

It’s just honest.

I do this for teams who need strategic work done right, without the overhead of a full-time hire or the cleanup cost of generic AI output. 

If you’re stuck watching your team struggle in areas outside their zone, let’s talk about what a focused sprint could solve. 

#Leadership #BusinessStrategy #FreelanceConsulting #KnowYourStrengths #WorkSmarterNotHarder #SmallBusiness #StrategicPlanning

Clearly, this is not enough. The flood of "me too" responses to my post about the rife scamming problem here from the other day is evidence of that. Story in comments.

Good day LinkedIn community! 👋🏼

Any #AmazonOptimization management experts in my network?  

I have a potential project opportunity for someone with your skill set that is timing dependent. 

If you are one or know of one who’s open for work, please reach out and send me a DM here. 

Thank you!

Your brain wants the big career moment.

The promotion.
The new title.
The announcement.

You crave instant results.
But that’s not how it works (if only it were that easy or simple).

Truth? 

Career growth compounds through small repeated actions, not vision boards, motivational mantra cards or wishin’ and hopin’.

(Hey, no shade on manifestation habits!)

The real move-the-dial stuff?

Weekly coffee chats that build relationships. Thanking someone publicly to build reputation.

Sharing credit in meetings to build trust. Following up within 24 hours. Keeping your manager updated before they ask. 

Introducing two people who should know each other.

Consistency.

Most people wait for motivation. High performers automate the behavior. 

They send the follow up email every time without thinking about it.

Stop chasing flashy career moves.
Build habits that make the move inevitable.

Tell me the unsexy habit that’s actually moved your career forward.

“Houston, we have a problem …” 

Needless to say, I think it’ll be a hot minute or two before I find my next opportunity in this environment. 

The job market and technology shift we find ourselves knee-deep in right now is unprecedented, with more flagship companies offloading thousands of workers by eliminating roles. 

And it’s happening with greater frequency now, a perfect storm of woe.

I’ve gone through job upheavals over the course of my career having found myself at the receiving end of corporate RIF’s before, and was always able to easily (and quickly) bounce back, but this? 

This time it’s wholly different. I couldn’t have been impacted at a worse economic inflection point. And when I see these candidate application numbers I’m just shook. 

What I shared below is just one example of dozens and dozens of job  posts I’ve seen with well over 1K people applying.

That on its own is staggering. But close to 4K applicants for the role below? 

Insane. 🫣

The example I shared here is the most alarming because this particular role has been posted and taken down more than once and even with nearly 4K applicants, they *still* can’t seem to find the right fit. 

Why?

Because many listings are never meant to lead to a hire. 

About 1 in 5 jobs are posted online  have NO hiring action. Each repost means more clicks, more applicants, and more activity that keeps the platform humming. 

Meanwhile up to 40 % of companies admit to posting roles they don’t fill, and as many as 81 % of recruiters say their employer has done so.

From a business model perspective this makes a lot of sense: more postings equals more engagement, more applicants, more usage of hiring tools and ads. 

But from an ethical angle it matters that many job seekers invest time and hope into roles that may not be real or may never be acted on. 

Pretty soul crushing.

They don’t care if you land the job, just that you keep clicking like you *might*. 

You think it’s about opportunity; they think it’s about engagement metrics, but they always win when the job churn keeps spinning. 

The more people chasing roles, the more data and ad dollars they collect.

It’s messy out there, and most of us are just trying to spot what’s real. So check twice before you apply. Look for recycled listings, shifting titles, or no clear timeline.

We’re all wading through the same swamp of sadness right now.

Protect your focus, and don’t lose heart. I see you and feel for what you’re facing, because I’m facing it too.

We’re all struggling in our search for what comes next.

#jobsearch #hiring #careerjourney #copywriterlife

Crazy stat of the day:

Nvidia’s market cap is now greater than the GDP of every country in the world except US and China

Totally normal. 🤯

What a fabulous update to start the week with! It only took 3 years to get here! 😂

Absolutely worth your time. Great podcast. Learn how to identify all the 🚩 flags. There are so many you may not know about. #recruitmentscams

taplio

Michele Kamenar's Linkedin Analytics

Michele Kamenar

Performance ScoreMichele Kamenar's LinkedIn Performance

Michele Kamenar's Best Posts (last 30 days)

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

.css-6ytdur{background-image:linear-gradient(284deg, rgba(39, 43, 72, 1) 0%, rgba(33, 47, 183, 1) 100%);color:transparent;-webkit-background-clip:text;background-clip:text;}Michele Kamenar's Linkedin Analytics

Michele Kamenar

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Michele Kamenar's LinkedIn Performance

Michele Kamenar's Best Posts .css-1emoo84{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:400;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);}(last 30 days)

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Michele Kamenar's Linkedin Analytics

Performance ScoreMichele Kamenar's LinkedIn Performance

Michele Kamenar's Best Posts (last 30 days)