My Portfolio 📝

Over the course of my career, I've produced more content than I care to count. For consumer, small business, and enterprise audiences, from SEO-driven articles to infographics to social media posts to thought leadership essays to product announcements.

So, instead of a looooooong list of links you won't click, I've curated my best work samples here to showcase the range, results, and resonance I'm capable of as a content marketer.

Product-led content that works across the funnel 📈

I have a bias for content with long-term value that considers "always-on" distribution beyond SEO and direct product tie-ins.

My store setup guide for Shopify is my best example of product-led content marketing.

Shopify's help documentation provides step-by-step store setup instructions, but I saw an opportunity to create a comprehensive resource that showed off how to bring a realistic business idea to life on Shopify.

I came up with a cheeky mild hot sauce brand, including products, SEO opportunities, pricing strategy, and all the pieces a new merchant would need to consider. I worked with a talented designer on the branding and product mockups, and built the demo store from scratch myself, along with a step-by-step guide and in-line tutorial videos to accompany it.

How to Start an Online Store with Shopify: A Step-by-Step Guide

An in-depth walkthrough of how to set up an online store with Shopify. Using a demo store, we’ll show you what steps to take—all the way to launch.

ShopifyBraveen Kumar

Kinda Hot Sauce | Delicious Mild & Medium Hot Sauces

Proudly not the world’s hottest hot sauce. Mouth-watering medium hot sauces for the responsible spice lover.

Kinda Hot Sauce

Case studies that impress prospects ✨

Case studies are valuables assets, but that value is under-realized because they're not engineered for the main drivers of distribution: your website, sales reps, and re-marketing channels like email and paid social.

Great case studies should feel like free PR to customers and easier commission to sales reps.

So I do a few things differently:

I create custom Open Graph images for each case study so when they're shared by sales reps in private messages and on social media. This way they "sell" even before the prospect clicks.

I put the bottom line up front—above the fold—on both desktop and mobile. Every product has different success metrics worth highlighting, and it helps to understand how to frame the results in terms that matter to prospects.

SmartWorkout Case Study | Passion.io

The revenue was nice. But the boost to customer satisfaction was even nicer.

Passion.io

I explore new video and design formats that showcase the product in action, summarizing the customer story and what they love about the brand.

Messaging that leaves a mark on the market 🗣️

They say you don't tell the market what you're selling. The market ends up telling you.

In my case, clients told me I was a "messaging guy" even though I didn't consider myself one. I'm not a big fan of the traditional approach to thought leadership that involves repeating the same idea ad nauseam.

Instead, I prefer an approach that combines persuasive poetic prose with content that makes people feel you actually "get it".

Here's an example of a manifesto page I worked on to help build hype for a product called Boom ("OBS for video conferencing"). It's always a good signal when strangers compliment the copy on a page design this cool (by the talented Leanne).

the copy on this site is incredible, world class https://t.co/Y6NGHkNevS

— haroon (@haroonisdreamin) June 14, 2023

Demand gen that delivers "aha!" moments💡

I covered various beats as a member of Shopify's content team, but demand generation was my bread and butter—identifying untapped opportunities to attract potential customers.  

My best example is a network of content I worked on that focused on business idea inspiration to attract aspirational entrepreneurs, the largest potential audience for Shopify.

Each piece was mapped to an SEO opportunity, but written to convert search intent into buying intent. Every single one ended up ranking very well for their target terms (thanks to the strength of the Shopify.com domain).

This cluster proved effective at generating leads but also top of funnel traffic, so I followed it up with a lead magnet called The BIG List of Business Idea to capture subscribers from the thousands of daily sessions each piece of content was bringing in.

No Inventory? No Problem: 13 Low-Investment Small Business Ideas

These low-investment, no-inventory business ideas make a great entry point for beginners or anyone with a busy schedule.

ShopifyBraveen Kumar

13 Home Business Ideas That Let You Work From Home

Harness the flexibility of remote work and power of technology to start one of these home business ideas you can operate from the comfort of your home.

ShopifyBraveen Kumar

Print on Demand: A Low-Risk Way to Sell Custom T-Shirts, Books, and More

Here’s a rundown of what print on demand is, popular print-on-demand services, and what you need to know when creating custom products.

ShopifyBraveen Kumar

Educational content that wins over audiences 💚

Great educational content is original, truly helpful, and, most important, makes learning fun. When every topic seems to be saturated with coverage, this is how I rise above today's table-stakes of "in-depth content".

I love diving into topics and exploring them with unfettered curiosity. I conduct interviews with experts, go down research rabbit holes, and often roll up my sleeves and get my hands dirty to find compelling angles or create original examples.

Whatever the topic, I push myself to deliver what my target audience is really looking for every single time.

How to Use Reddit: For Beginners and Business Owners

Don’t “get” Reddit? Learn how to navigate and harness one of the most useful websites on the internet.

ShopifyBraveen Kumar

For the Fans: How to Make and Sell Your Own Merch

A successful merch strategy involves more than just slapping your logo on a t-shirt or backpack. Learn how to come up with your own merch strategy, from coming up with product ideas to selling directly to fans.

ShopifyBraveen Kumar

Product marketing that builds HYPE 🔥

I supported a number of product launches during my time at Shopify, from introducing new sales channels to standalone products like virtual employee Kit. For me, good product marketing content gets customers excited and potential customers interested by positioning the narrative around possibilities.  

My best examples of product marketing and thought leadership can be found in Shopify's AR/VR product line, planning and ghostwriting content that would tell the story of this exciting new technology.

I worked with multiple stakeholders, including product managers, designers, and featured customers to shape the narrative throughout the staggered launch of Shopify AR and 3D model support on product pages.

Shopify AR Makes Shopping in Augmented Reality a Reality for Small Businesses

Shopify AR is an ecosystem of tools, partners, and resources to help you create your own augmented reality shopping experience for your Shopify store.

ShopifyDaniel Beauchamp

How Augmented Reality Is Changing the Way Consumers See the World

Augmented Reality (AR) is undergoing a shift that’s enabling consumers to see the world in a whole different way. Here’s why businesses should be taking notice.

ShopifyBraveen Kumar

Bring Product Pages to Life with Built-In Support for 3D Models and Video

Now you can upload a 3D model or video directly to your product pages on Shopify as easily as an image—without the need for custom code or a third-party app.

ShopifyJon Wade

How to Create and Use Shopify Checkout Links in 2023

Improve conversion rates for your Shopify store’s campaigns by tailoring your checkout links to match the context.

Checkout Links

Social content that resonates 📣

I've always loved writing and producing comedy, whether managing a Facebook page, writing plays, filming YouTube sketches, penning satirical articles, or just clowning around on Twitter.

All that practice has turned "making people smile" into a skill that gives my content a flavour that's rare in B2B social media.

I'm able to combine education and entertainment (and a genuine empathy for short attention spans) into social content that hooks fast and keeps audiences around. Here's a collection of various social media content I've ideated and produced in a variety of mediums.

Teaching that sticks with students👨🏾‍🏫

I love teaching. Whether it's coaching hungry writers one-on-one or speaking in front of a classroom. In most cases, I prepare the content and deliver it myself, and have gotten some great feedback from attendees.

Here are some of my faves:

• What Editors Need to Know About AI Writers for Editors [EDITORS CANADA]
• Content Marketing for Scrappy Entrepreneurs [TORONTO METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY]
• Mentor and Pitch Competition Judge [BUSINESS IN THE STREETS BOOTCAMP]

Side projects 🛠

I don't aspire to be "just a writer" or "just a marketer". I want to be someone who can solve a wide variety of problems.

Side projects are a key part of my own development to this end, and I think they're worth including in my portfolio.

I've used these projects to try out various marketing channels, from Facebook advertising to organic Instagram marketing, and expose myself to new skills outside of content writing, like coding, design, community management, and more.

Lumo Shoes

During my time at Shopify, I noticed a growing trend in Google searches for "LED shoes", with a seasonal spike that coincided with EDM music festivals in the summer.

So I created my first online store dropshipping LED shoes for festival-goers. It was a good excuse to learn Shopify.

I only made about $600 (after spending $800) in the span of 2 months, but learned a college tuition's worth about paid advertising, Instagram marketing, store design, and scrappy marketing tactics.

It helped level up the content I made for Shopify's audience of aspiring entrepreneurs.

The Tumblr Poet

I once started a poetry account on Instagram as a joke that kind of ran away from me.

I grew a small-but-engaged audience of 4,000 from scratch and then developed a print-on-demand poetry book that sold over 100 copies, almost all organically.

You can check out the case study below for the full story.

How I Became an Instagram Poet (And Didn’t Even Know It)

This is the story of how I became an Instagram poet.

Braveen KumarBraveen Kumar

Poetry Generator 😔🥀

Written and coded (almost entirely) by GPT-3.

Braveen KumarBraveen Kumar

Coding projects 💻

A blog post is just a container for code—words just happen to be the typical contents. That's why I decided to learn HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, to add a new dimension to my creativity.

Here are some coding projects I've had fun tinkering on.

Percentage Change Calculator

No matter how many times I do it, I always forget how to calculate percentage change. So one time, instead of spending 5 seconds googling it, I spent 5 hours building my own instead.

I used this project to learn how to take in inputs from a user, loop through if/then statements, and manipulate the DOM to render the output.

Random Starbucks Order Generator

I was in line at Starbucks one day and someone was taking their sweet time deciding what to order. That was the inspiration for this little tool I made to practice using arrays and string interpolation in JavaScript.

It spews out inedible order ideas most of the time. But occasionally gets it right...