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About Paul Arinaga
Paul Arinaga grew up in the most isolated – yet
multi-cultural – archipelago in the world, the
Hawaiian Islands. Since leaving Hawaii, however, he
has studied and worked on three continents for
American, European and Japanese companies. Perhaps
because of this, his career has been all about
building bridges.
Bridge the Gap
Paul bridges the gap between different cultures. He
writes a single promotion for use in multiple
markets or adapts promotions for different markets.
This “global localization” saves effort and money,
avoids serious cultural blunders and gets the high
response rates that improve ROI.
Techies are from Mars, Users are from Venus
Paul also bridges the gap between techies and users
– between product features and customer needs.
Unlike most copywriters, he has actual industry
experience. Paul worked for more than 15 years
in the software business for companies such as
Microsoft and the medical division of Philips
Electronics.
Paul's
experience includes marketing and market research,
sales, product development, product management and
project management. He has worked on both
proprietary and open source software projects.
Paul's experiences as a Windows marketing manager
and software “evangelist” with Microsoft in Japan
were formative. There he learned how to market
software from one of the greatest software marketing
companies in the world. Paul also gained an
appreciation for cultural differences. Japanese
versions of Microsoft products needed to be adapted
for the local market. Different technical
approaches, different feature sets and different
marketing messages were required.
After earning an MBA from the London Business School
in 1995, Paul went to work for the medical division
of Philips Electronics in Europe. In selling
healthcare information system solutions, Paul gained
a deep understanding of this complex vertical market
as well as the issues involved in selling enterprise
software.
Once again he served as a bridge between users and
technical experts, and between staff located
throughout the globe. Among other accomplishments,
he founded a user group, won back the trust of
disgruntled customers, and managed the creation of a
next-generation product prototype.
Writing has been a common thread throughout Paul’s
lengthy career in the IT industry. Being an
excellent writer, Paul has written much of his own
marcom material. At Microsoft, he even wrote a
speech for Bill Gates that was made into a video!
Today, Paul combines his two passions:
copywriting and software. He founded his company to help
software companies increase their sales and improve
their return on investment. He does this by helping
companies create successful direct marketing
campaigns. With his international background, Paul
is particularly skilled at helping software
companies to adapt their marketing promotions for
use in multiple markets worldwide.
Although Paul is a skilled writer and experienced
software executive, he was surprised to discover
that “writing to sell” requires more than just good
writing skills and product/market knowledge. For
this reason, Paul gained specialist training by
enrolling in the direct response copywriting program
offered by the American Writers & Artists Institute
(AWAI). At AWAI, Paul studied advanced direct
response copywriting techniques under the tutelage
of such legendary copywriters as Bob Bly and Michael
Masterson.
To
bring his skills to the next level, Paul is
currently working with award-winning copywriter and
coach, Chris Marlow. With over 20 years of
experience, Chris is one of the leading experts
worldwide in direct response copywriting for
software companies.
Apart from writing direct response copy for his
software clients, Paul teaches information
management at the Brussels campus of Boston
University. He finds that teaching provides the
motivation to keep up with developments in the
fast-paced IT industry. Paul also has a strong
interest in web marketing. As an infopreneur, he is
actively engaged in building micro-sites to sell
information products.
Paul divides his time between Brussels, Belgium and
Honolulu, Hawaii. He is a native English speaker who
also speaks fluent Japanese, Dutch and French. Apart
from writing and software, his passions are the
outdoors (hiking, mountain climbing, cycling), music
and gastronomy.
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Ask for
Bridging the Gap, Paul's informative report
on writing one promotion for use in multiple
markets. Get the Free
Report.
Or, if you prefer,
take a look at the
services Paul provides.
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