Content Marketer

If you can stay awhile, learn more about me and my work (if you want to).
Just as doctors practice medicine and lawyers practice law their entire careers, I believe passionate marketers must p.r.a.c.t.i.c.e. marketing.

I LOVE WHAT I GET TO DO

I wake up feeling incredibly lucky everyday to be working in a field I enjoy where there is so much more to learn, unlearn, experiment with and explore everyday.

I enjoy uncovering narratives, crafting stories that resonate and connecting with people in authentic, meaningful ways. I am inspired by smart, humble, self-motivated people who are committed to a clear vision, are passionate about the process and take pride in their work without the need to claim credit or recognition.

Through most of my career, I have had the good fortune of working with creative, inspiring, visionary leaders who were generous with their time, talent and knowledge, allowing me to soak up their wisdom and chart my own path. I’ve also had the chance to work with and lead teams of creative thinkers, problem solvers and priority jugglers who care about the work we “ship” as Seth Godin would say. I have a master’s in communication and a bachelor’s in physics and microprocessor architecture.

never a dull moment

I’ve held range of writing and marketing roles with manufacturers, a Fortune 50 retailer, an advertising agency, a digital marketing agency, multiple e-commerce companies, a couple of non-profits, technology startups and a large trade show producer. I get to switch hats everyday as a collaborative leader, copywriter, content marketing manager, content and brand strategist, content director and project manager.

What do I bring to the table?

A well-rounded approach to marketing, a curious mind, an expanding toolkit of transferable skills and years of experience managing priorities, expectations and people, leading projects and tackling challenges fearlessly. With copywriting as my core skill, I manage and direct projects involving various facets of design and development. While I am grateful for the abilities and gifts I have, I consider myself more diligent than talented. I owe any success to the discipline, work ethic and growth mindset instilled in me by my family, mentors and teachers.

The professional parameter that matters

I feel incredibly fortunate and grateful that no two years in my career have been the same and I have enjoyed continuous learning at almost every job and position I have held. I learned something from every challenge, even the occasional drama, the ups and downs, successes and failures that came with each role. Every experience teaches me something valuable and shapes me into a more effective marketer, a better professional and a more able leader.

Serendipity: from microprocessors to marcom

I stumbled upon marketing after earning a degree in science, majoring in physics and microprocessor architecture. In the time it takes to say “integrated circuit”, I realized that my brain was better suited to process branding, copywriting and strategy than Moore’s law and motherboard design. I serendipitously landed my first part-time job as a copywriter at an ad agency while pursuing my master’s degree in communications. It was an afternoon that shaped my career. One day, after classes, I ended up accompanying a friend to a job interview. I assumed I would be waiting in the lobby thumbing through magazines. (That’s what you did before there were smart phones.) Before I knew it, I was taking a copy assignment pitching concepts and headlines. Within an hour, the ad agency had created a new position for a copywriter and hired me. I went home that night having landed my first job—little realizing that it would turn into a career. Nobody in my family of nerdy engineers and math majors knew what a copywriter was at the time. It was bad enough that I had shifted from physics to communications, I now had a job they had never heard of.

Self-doubt, stepping stones and just sheer good luck

There were times when I wondered if an introvert like me was cut out for what seemed like the boisterous, cutthroat world of marketing. I wasn’t aggressively competitive or ambitious like many of my young and zealous marketing colleagues. I felt too many marketers focused on marketing themselves and their accomplishments instead of just letting their work speak for itself. I often wondered if I fit in. But I was hungry to learn and smart enough to know how little I knew. Luckily, my first boss was not just incredibly passionate about marketing and branding, he was equally enthusiastic about sharing his passion, being a mentor and grooming his newest employees into marketing leaders. He taught us newbies to fish, and there was no looking back.

marketing lessons

Thousands of hours, hundreds of projects, countless pitches and presentations, a few dozen clients and 15 years later, I can say that meaningful, sustainable marketing is anchored by what seem like contradictions. The willingness to listen to your stakeholders and your audience while defining your brand's voice, the ability to see the big picture and the tiny details simultaneously, conviction around objectives combined with open-mindedness for process and approach, an obsession with clear, transparent communication against the backdrop of targeted messaging. Unidimensional views on marketing present it as a numbers game, a writer’s wheelhouse, or a designer’s purview. Your head for numbers, way with words and eye for design are all coveted assets, but they must complement a cohesive, thoughtful strategy. As a marketer, you must be able to see through conflicting priorities and envision the common goal, plug every information gap and close every loop, know when to err on the side of overcommunication, and which narratives will resonate with your audience while not compromising on authenticity. You must be ruthless in cutting through the clutter to get to the crux. You should be able to anticipate how your audience may respond, and be prepared to pivot if needed. Whether you are the CMO or an intern, you are never too big to roll up your sleeves, and never too small to see the big picture. I am grateful I learned this lesson early in my career, and got to put it into practice over the years.

I find it both incredibly comforting and humbling that there is still so much to learn everyday about the business and craft of writing and content marketing. I try to keep up by reading, taking classes, following the great masters of the craft, teaching/mentoring and simply observing human behavior. I am thankful for the opportunity to be doing something I love everyday while continuing to learn constantly. When you start everyday with the curiosity and passion of a newbie layered over the experience and knowledge gained over the years, unimaginable possibilities open up.

When I am not working

You can find me taking nature walks, hiking, doing Yoga, doodling, coloring, reading, organizing, volunteering with/teaching kids, day dreaming or binge-watching comedies, home flipping or design shows. I also dabble with miscellaneous personal writing projects and love being the test audience for my teenage daughter’s many culinary and baking experiments.

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So, that’s a little bit about my background. I will continue to share my thoughts and experiences from different professional and personal experiences in this blog as they relate to communication/ marketing. Or maybe just life. I hope the lessons I share help you. And I hope you will share yours too.