Writer, Reader, Runner, Traveler, Marketing Professional, Pilates Instructor, Procrastibaker
Life is about who we are, what we love, and how we impact the world around us. Why put yourself into just one bucket? I fell in love with marketing in college, storytelling through marketing, and writing through storytelling.
Marketing is a balance between creativity and analytics. Right and left brain. You need both to be successful. Understanding the why behind the action, the data behind the campaign, the reasons behind the consumer behavior. All of these also apply to storytelling, whether it’s creating a new campaign for a beloved brand or a novel from the ground-up. You need the creativity to come up with a storyline that will draw readers/consumers in, but you also need to know the structure of your story, the arcs, the purpose, the ultimate goal, how to weave the details into something memorable, and how to sell the whole concept to readers.
Writing has made me better at marketing and communications overall, and my background in marketing is what makes me such a strong storyteller and writer.
Brand Marketing
After a decade of working in corporate marketing, I had an epiphany. I loved writing. I wanted to write, to tell stories, to research and share what I learned in unique and clever ways. But that wasn’t my epiphany; my epiphany was that I was already doing that every day in my marketing career. Marketing is the process of thoughtful storytelling to different audiences. We use data, analytics, market research and other insights to develop a story for a particular audience and goal. Everything from an internal email to a white paper to blog and social media posts tells a story. Let me tell yours.
Life & Fiction
I recently heard a theory that feels very accurate to me. Apparently most writers are introverts. Observers. For much of my life, I wished I could be different. I envied those outgoing humans who don’t think through everything before (and after) saying it–or writing it in today’s digital environment. I see extroverts and people who have never been shy about a damn thing in their lives, and I wish for that mindset. That’s not me. Until I began writing, I thought these quiet, (overly-) thoughtful, observational qualities were holding me back. But they’re not, they’re just making me experience life in a different way than those I envied. And I realized for the first time, maybe this could be a good thing.
Pilates Education
What does Pilates have to do with marketing or writing? On the surface, not a whole lot. But when you dig down, it weaves cleverly into my life, growing not only muscle but creativity; strengthening not just bones but decision-making and critical-thinking skills; building both confidence and capability when it comes to presentation and public speaking. It has forced me out of my comfort zone in the best way.
