Sports E-commerce Writer

cleveland.com is looking for a sports-crazed writer for its new national sports e-commerce/affiliate revenue position connecting fans of several sports to products and services.

This reporter should be competitive and will stay atop the pulse of pro and college sports and search trends to write several short, quick stories each workday -- whether about Cleveland Guardians baseball gear at the start of the MLB season, how to stream the Final Four for free, how to get tickets to the NBA All-Star Game and breaking sports news such as how to get a player’s new Dallas Cowboys jersey after a big trade. When readers click on links and make a purchase, they're supporting our journalism.

While many stories would be assigned, you’d be free to experiment with your own ideas, in collaboration with your editor. You also may work with colleagues on stories.

Due to the nature of sports, this position involves some nights and weekends to take advantage of timely revenue opportunities, as well as breaking news situations that have strong affiliate revenue angles. In turn, your schedule would have a lot of flexibility week to week.

cleveland.com is a collegial newsroom of about 70 journalists who cover seven counties in Northeast Ohio, but with a statewide reach. Our focus is on Cuyahoga County, specifically Cleveland. Our work is published daily in The Plain Dealer newspaper, as well. Your reach is the entire sports world, including overseas for big revenue generators such as Premier League soccer.

We are looking for a writer who is organized, detail-oriented, produces fast and accurate articles and has extensive knowledge of pro and college sports and the sports calendar to continuously monitor events to maximize how to get ticket articles and draft dates and trade deadlines for possible jersey articles, etc. We also seek a writer who likes following trends and analyzing data and SEO to learn why posts performed well or fell short.

Candidate will have the following:

Ability to generate clean copy and to present information clearly and quickly. College-level writing experience preferred.
Vast knowledge of sports world and key dates and trends, particularly pro and college sports.
Previous experience with e-commerce or affiliate revenue content writing and SEO is a plus.
Strong competitive nature, wanting to win each day. Outlets around the country are doing the same posts and details like immaculate SEO and sports knowledge/background will distinguish you from the pack.
Ability to research and analyze preferred online vendors, SEO, performance of posts and most sought-after e-commerce opportunities and products.
Demonstrated organizational skills and being a planner.
Flexibility to work nights and weekends as needed and during breaking news in sports when there’s big affiliate revenue opportunities.
Ability to work independently under deadline pressure and remotely part of the week. We are currently in the office 10 hours a week and work remotely the other 30 hours.
This position is based in Northeast Ohio.