April Henley
PROFESSIONAL WRITER
Lennar (2016-2020)
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In my 4 years with Lennar, I had a variety of assignments come across my desk. From web copy to articles to campaigns and more, I was able to evolve and diversify my writing talents, altering my tone and style and voice to address changing audiences and continually promote Lennar new homes. Below are overviews and samples of my work. Some projects are confidential to the Lennar brand and company, and I am only permitted to share samplings of such work in my hard copy portfolio at an interview. Thank you.
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Lennar Website (Redesign)
In 2019, Lennar underwent a revamp of their company website, giving it a fresh look and feel with new, exciting features to enhance and reward the customer experience. A key element of this redesign was a complete rewrite of copy on the Home page and at least 16 subpages. I was given the lead on this, and it was necessary to interview and research with affiliated members and experts behind Lennar products and services to write clear, concise copy that welcomes new and returning customers to make Lennar their choice homebuilder.
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The Connected Home by Lennar
Getting ahead of its competition in the home market, Lennar partnered with the Wi-Fi Alliance® to design and build Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ Home Designs, free of dead spots and equipped with desirable new home technology. The Branding & Creative Team was put in charge of Marketing Messaging and Materials. The following materials feature copy requested of me.
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Lennar Connected Home Brochure_w/Amazon
Lennar Connectivity Device Handout_w/Amazon
Wake Up the Home Mock-up Magazine Ads​
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Everything’s Included®
Lennar’s signature Everything’s Included® approach to homebuilding was given a new look and feel in 2018, with a subject-specific webpage, new handouts, and feature bursts. The latter, proposed by our team, was an initial concept with over 100 bursts to satisfy varying new home features across the country, in Lennar’s different markets.
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Lennar_Everything's Included_Subpage
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Active Adult
In 2019, part of the redesign for Lennar.com was a fresh look for its Active Adult subpage. Rather than share testimonials, a request was made for Active Adult stories. I took charge of this assignment, coordinating with Lennar New Home Consultants to find eager and willing Active Adult homeowners who would like to share how they came to own a Lennar new home in an Active Adult community and how that milestone has benefited their way of life. This endeavor led to travels across states to meet with homeowners and coordinate follow-up photoshoots and video interviews of participant homeowners.
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Lennar Active Adult Subpage__(Scroll down for "Testimonials")
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Open Door and Resource Center Articles
In 4 years, I wrote over 40 articles to feature on the Lennar Open Door blog and Resource Center. These articles covered a variety of topics, from home finance to interior design to shopping the home market to maintenance and home care, and a lot more. These articles helped educate and entertain first-time and move-up homebuyers. Research was necessary for most, and some articles necessitated interviews with qualified experts on key subjects.
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In addition to Blog and Resource Center articles, I wrote 6 Travelogues for the promotion of Lennar Active Adult communities. Below is the travelogue for Lennar's community of Lake Ridge.
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Homebuying Myths (Busted!): Do I need to make a 20% down payment?
4 Reasons to LOVE a Lennar Golf Course Community
How to Care for Your Home After a Flood
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Lake Ridge - A new legacy in Active Adult Living__A Travelogue
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To see more articles, click here to find them pinned to my Professional Pinterest Board.
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Home Maintenance Checklist
Seeing a need to find new ways to “hold the customer’s hand” after their new home purchase, I coordinated with the Director of Customer Care to write and create 7 home maintenance checklists which could be handed out to new Lennar homeowners in their Welcome Home packages. This endeavor required coordinating with 20+ Lennar market divisions to determine the necessary steps in the care and maintenance of homes on the West Coast, East Coast, in Cold Regions and Desert Regions, as well as Texas. For any market outside of these areas, there was the General Maintenance Checklist, shown here.
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Lennar Home Maintenance Checklist_General
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Door to Rewards
In 2017, a unique program was launched in Lennar Houston to provide former and current Lennar Homeowners who want to move up into their next Lennar home. The Director of Marketing came to our team, asking for ideas to name the program and write subsequent copy. I proposed Door to Rewards and wrote the messaging hierarchy for the program.
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First-time Homebuyer Guide – Eagle Home Mortgage
Eagle Home Mortgage, Lennar’s affiliated mortgage member, wanted a guide to feature on their website and educate first-time homebuyers on the necessary steps to buying a home. Coordinating with Eagle, I wrote the initial Guide, which featured on the Eagle website for the 2017 year.
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First-time Homebuyer Guide at Eagle Home Mortgage
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Career Recruitment Flyer
In 2016, shortly after my hire, Lennar HR wanted to revisit its career recruitment flyer which is handed out at college career fairs. This was among my first assignments with the company, and with only a couple weeks under my belt since joining Lennar, I dove into researching the company more extensively, so as to properly communicate to young, upcoming professionals what the benefits of joining one of America’s leading homebuilders might be.
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Lennar Career Recruitment Flyer
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Campaigns
On more than one occasion, our team was invited to assist in the launch of Lennar Product & Service campaigns, be they the Connected Home, Everything’s Included®, or Next Gen®, and also how to target and appeal to key audiences like Millennials and Existing Owners. Together, our team created playbooks and presentations, proposing new designs and copy that might serve the campaigns well. These playbooks and presentations are confidential to Lennar and its affiliated members. I will gladly present such work in my hard copy portfolio at an interview. Thank you.
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Customer E-Templates
In 2019, new attention was paid to Customer Care efforts, including the Customer Care Journey and the circulation of emails throughout this journey (i.e., the shop to buy to own phases of a customer’s home purchase). I was asked by members of Customer Care to review, revise, and write new or existing e-templates which are sent to shoppers, buyers, and owners, so as to facilitate their purchase and create a sense of ongoing connection between Lennar and them. These e-templates are confidential to Lennar. I will gladly present such work in my hard copy portfolio at an interview. Thank you.
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Content Standards Guide
In 2019, during the redesign of Lennar.com, I revised and rewrote the Content Standards Guide. This set of guidelines is available to Lennar Market Divisions, if they choose to use them, so they may provide outstanding content on their respective Market, Community, and Floorplan webpages. Divisions cannot be forced to use the Guide, but its availability to them has simplified the process and elimination of bad content for content which sells. The Lennar.com Content Standards Guide is confidential to Lennar. I will gladly present samplings of the Guide in my hard copy portfolio at an interview. Thank you.