"CentralSauce is like the cheat code for deep-diving fans who want to reach as many people as possible with their passion and musical knowledge. It's a platform that craves deep and niche content, led by a motivated, highly-skilled editor and promotional genius in Carter Fowler. No other platform will share your passion or showcase your work quite like CentralSauce. It's not just another creative outlet, it's a community of like-minded creatives, full of ideas and motivation." - Ben Carter, Contributor & Founder of HipHopNumbers

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CentralSauce is my baby. Although nowadays I'm not nearly as involved in content creation as I once was, I still direct all the platform's operations and marketing, as well as serving as the primary developer and Editor-in-Chief.

My work on this project can largely be grouped into a few key categories.

Editor-in-Chief

• Dictate publishing objectives and content standards
• Oversee 12+ person team of content creators and editors
• Personally edit over 10,000 words of content / month

In the Spring of 2019, CentralSauce was selected for archiving by the U.S. Library of Congress and dubbed an “important cultural artifact”, a testament to our content quality and the depth of our work.

Web Development

• Personally designed and developed every inch of CentralSauce.com on WordPress using custom HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Plug-ins
• Implemented and managed a variety of Ad Distributors including Google AdSense, Amazon Ads, Apple Music Ads, etc

Some notable features:

• “Random Sauce”: a button / js hook that pulls up a featured article between 1-8 months old at random
• CentralSauce SHOP: eCommerce store built and maintained with WooCommerce
• CentralSauce Creative Library - a unique collection of resources and tools for musical artists and content creators interested in developing their skills and building their resume

Audience Development / Marketing

SEO

• Keyword research for featured pieces
• On-page optimization for all content
• Strategic linkbuilding campaigns

Results:

• 45,000 unique site visitors through solely Organic channels in the first 6 months
• After 18 months: 

• Alexa Rank: top 900,000 sites worldwide in terms of traffic & engagement 
• Domain Authority Score (Moz): 32

Social Media

• Developed content strategies and editorial calendars for IG, Twitter, and Facebook
• Managed social media accounts and coordinated team of volunteer contributors

Results:

• After 18 months:

• 11,000 total followers 
• More than 260k impressions / month

Brand Development

• Developed all aspects of CentralSauce brand including name, color palette, logo concept, slogan, and mission

Product Development (Merchandise)

• Personally designed all merchandise
• Sourced manufacturer and managed production process
• Develop & manage eCommerce store to serve as point of sale
• Create branded packaging strategies 
• Manage shipping/distribution of goods

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