The Autumn Star

ASKING FOR IT Here I stand, asking for it. I am not a girl - a woman. And I am ... asking for it. By it, I mean a paycheck equal to that dude's. Commensurate to the work I do. It's not too much to ask. I am asking for it. And by it, I mean respect. Recognition that the length of my skirt - or my size of my thighs underneath - is not an invitation for your consideration of my body and what it needs to do for you. Nobody asked you. I am asking for it. It is the thing we all strive for, what women continue to fight for, what we have sacrificed and died for. It is what we pray for, over the heads of our daughters. It is what we demand  when push the conversation further It is what causes us to stand and speak against our fathers. I am done asking for it. I will create it.  I will take it. It was never yours to give.

The #MeToo campaign has dredged up a lot of memories for me. I'm working on a longer blog post that breaks down how, from early childhood, society molded my views on women and men. What was expected, what was valued, and what wasn't. And how those views informed my decisions to stay silent when men harassed and assaulted me.  It's a lot to process. And some of the people I'll write about are still in my life. This is true for many of us. We live among our abusers. We share mutual friends. We see them at parties. We laugh at their jokes. We try to forget what they did, at least as long as they're in our presence.  For now, I'm going to share this poem.  Long ago, I dated a bartender. I visited him on weekend nights. This is what I endured every. single. night. MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE Men of a certain age always ask your name before telling you how pretty you are. They ask for it again and again, and again. As if your name - t...

Here's a question I ask every candidate I interview: What's the last great book you read? Catch: It can't be a business book. It always stumps them. Some of them are honest: "I don't read fiction. But, I just got done reading a new book about Jeff Bezos ...." Me: (Inward sigh) I wish this only happened when I was talking to young recruits, new to marketing, eager to show me their dedication to learning business from the greats. But it's not. I can't even tell you how many CEOs, presidents, entrepreneurs, managers, designers, developers, and even fellow copywriters that have confessed to me that they don't read fiction. They offer a variety of reasons why. All of which I consider bullshit. I don't like fiction.  Bullshit. Do you watch movies? Television? Those are fiction. (Even the "reality" shows are scripted.) If you don't like reading fiction, it's because you're not reading good fiction.  Or, it...

Inspired by Unthinkable podcast episode "Just Ship It," I decided to set a National Poetry Month challenge for myself. One poem every week day. I'll update this blog with new poems every now and then, so I have an archive of all the poems at the end. 4/21 ONE IN FOUR *Trigger Warning An argument instigates A misunderstanding Fueled by liquor and bitter impotence A challenge I didn’t see it his way I didn’t see it coming The gauntlet thrown I am facedown Like a slap, like a shot Choking on the sheets We’ve shared His weight Crushing my resistance His hands Willing my submission For a moment, a breath I am stunned -- paralyzed prey An eternal second An unspent scream Then, muscle memory kicked in: Waking up There is a boy I knew, I loved Inside my bed Inside of me And the smell of alcohol From his sweat And my breath Filling the room A miasma of shame and guilt and defense We never spoke of it What happened Had happened before: Nervous, new lover Fumblings Moving togethe...

I've noticed an increase in the number of job posting and freelance gigs that call for a copywriter to also do some level of image creation or design work. I've been asked more than once, "How are your Photoshop skills?" Me? Photoshop? via GIPHY I know sites like Canva and PicMonkey make the process of creating images a lot easier, but I still have a few issues with this trend. #1 It seems to be a one-way street.  I haven't run across a lot of designers being asked to write copy. And you know why? Because designers are notoriously bad at writing copy. No offense, designers. You guys are amazing at what you do. I have nothing but respect for your skills, because Lord knows I don't have them. But I've yet to meet a great designer who was also a decent copywriter. So why are writers suddenly being asked to pull double duty? My suspicion is that people value copywriters a little less than designers. Why? Because we're all taught how to write...

8:15 a.m. Baby Girl and I had just started to wake up. This is my favorite time of day. She's smiling, giggling, snuggly. We're warm and cozy in bed together. The day is nothing but possibilities. And then the phone rings. The home phone. Which nobody ever calls and we have only so I can call 911 if there were ever an emergency. "This is a notice that the IRS have filed a lawsuit against you. Please call 207-693-8051 to resolve this matter immediately." Hubby and I do owe money from our 2015 tax returns, but a lawsuit? It must be a mistake, I think to myself, as I dial the number. The man who answers says his name is Jack Brown. He has a thick accent that leads me to believe he wasn't born Jack Brown, which alerts me something is amiss. He is very angry, which also sets my Spider Sense tingling. He is going to explain everything to me, and instructs me not to interrupt. He says that the IRS has found "fraudulent details" in my tax records datin...

Earlier this month, Baby Girl and I flew from Florida to North Dakota to visit Daddy. He's working up there while there's boom money to be made, and has been gone for two months this time. The travel time was eight hours, a long day even without a six month-old, but we were optimistic. It was going to be an adventure. Baby's first flight!  Searching for a sign  Our first flight left Tampa at 5:00 am, so we arrived at the airport at 4:00. Checking our bags would only take a minute, I figured. Who else would fly so early?  There were no employees at the counters. None. Nada. Zip. And no one in line knew why. People finally gave up and went to the curbside baggage check-in.  I did get a response to that tweet.  Awesome, Delta. Thanks for the info. This could have been easily avoided with a little planning and a few pieces of paper.  Signs at the counters would have saved travelers precious time and help to avoid a negative brand experience.  Tip:  Co...

For Baby Girl's half-birthday (six months), I'm giving her the gift of time. My time. I'm leaving my full-time position to become a full-time mom.  When I went back to work in December, I knew I wanted to work from home. It's a 90-minute commute to our office in Sarasota, and neither I nor Baby Girl liked that drive. Leaving her at home was out of the question for me. She had never learned to take a bottle, and I wasn't going to shock her into taking one by leaving her hungry for hours with a stranger.  Working from home, part-time, with flexible hours, worked. My employer was awesome during my transition into maternity leave and equally awesome transitioning me back.  I couldn't work and entertain Baby Girl, so I hired a nanny. Luckily, by that point she had started to cut teeth and was ready for her first foods. We supplemented my nursing schedule with the nanny feeding her cereal, which allowed me to leave the house for a few hours.  ...

As much as I pick on advertising, I do love commercials. Or, I guess I should say I love the potential of commercials. Video is an incredibly engaging medium for content, and until DVR technology came along and let us fast-forward through them, TV commercials were a great vehicle to deliver your brand and product directly into the homes of millions of viewers. There are two problems with commercials these days. One is the aforementioned DVR technology, and the other is creative laziness. I'm pretty sure that latter spurred the creation of the former. Think about it, if commercials were better, were more like thirty second stories, wouldn't we be more inclined to sit through them? Sitting in front of the boob tube is one of the most passive activities known to man. It burns fewer calories than reading . We have to break from our near-comatose state in order to skip the commercials. During my maternity leave, I watched a lot of commercials. I've put together a list of the...

As lame as it may sound to some, New Year's Resolutions are alive and well. Personally, I like them. They're like the ultimate to-do list, and I'm semi-famous for my dated, color-coded to-do lists. So here are my New Year's Resolutions for 2016: #1 Return to Work. I love being a mommy, but I also love being a marketing strategist. In 2016, it's time to get my little one bottle-trained and in the care of a super-awesome nanny.  #2 Start Running ... Again. Before my daughter came around, I ran several miles a week. It was the best stress relief ever. I was healthy and happy. I'd like to get out and run again. Preferably without a jogging stroller. This is my Me Time.  #3 Produce More Awesomeness. I love breaking apart content marketing conventions, calling out bad ad strategy, and dishing social media secrets. I plan to create even more blog content in the coming year. Hope you're looking forward to it as much as I am! #4 Speak As Often ...

I've been honored to be a guest speaker at University of South Florida's digital marketing class for a few years now. I'm also incredibly proud to have been voted Best Guest Speaker by the students every semester. I put together a custom presentation each semester, because it's fun and because I think the students deserve it, but I use a few favorite slides every time. The Justice League slide is one of them. ... Because superheroes. I think it's one of the most important slides for the students. More important than content audits and syndication strategies. The Justice League slide is tips on creating, managing and working as part of a team. Assemble Your Superheroes  From Gotham and Metropolis to Mars and Themyscira, the Justice League brings the best of the best together. You can do the same by finding the heroes in each department and inviting them to every brainstorm. Too often marketers brainstorm only with other marketers, or worse, alone at thei...

Successful content marketing is all about providing the information your customers need. How do you find out what kind of information your customers are looking for? Your customer service department is a great place to start.  Customer service reps--particularly the veterans--know exactly what questions customers ask about your product, what issues they have with it, and what they think of your brand as a whole. Customer service reps are basically the political ambassadors of your company, dealing with some hostile negotiations and making peace. That's why the job requires people skills.  Tap your veterans and ask them for the questions most often asked.  Answer frequently asked questions in blog (or vlog!) format, then link to them on your FAQ page.  You know what else customer service people have? Stories. You'd be surprised how long a customer will talk to a real live person. Those stories can help illuminate how your product fits into the lives...

Advertising and marketing are two entirely different things. I don't care how many times they're used interchangeably by brand managers, media buyers, and marketing agencies. Advertising is about getting the public's attention and then showing said public your service or product. Marketing is about getting the public's attention and then showing said public a representation of your brand. Advertising is part of marketing, but marketing is bigger. Advertising is about your product. Marketing is about your brand. The expected response from advertising is a purchase. The expected response from marketing is an emotion. Me? I've always preferred to work in marketing. I've got no problem with advertising. It plays an important role in the success of a business. Ads let people know about your product, special pricing and other sales-related info. But ads don't build relationships.  For example, I buy Lucky Charms when I see an ad telling me boxes of Ge...

I told my boss that I was pregnant while we stood in line for coffee at a Starbucks. We had just finished a successful client pitch meeting and we were discussing the potential future growth of his agency. I was ten weeks pregnant, and contemplating the very certain growth of my household. I was excited, and the announcement just sort of came out. I knew he would be happy for me personally, as we’d known each other for years and he knew that I wanted a child. But still, I was nervous. It was February, and I’d only started my position at the beginning of January. Besides that, I had no guarantee of any time off or even that my position would still be available if I took maternity leave. The company had less than 50 employees, so FMLA laws did not apply. Here’s the first thing my boss did right. He congratulated me sincerely...and then set up a meeting to discuss a maternity leave plan. That sincerity shouldn't be underestimated. Before, during and after my maternity leave...

These are words that I'm pretty sure I created, or that were created with friends. Cake pops (adj) - When something is beyond awesome.  example: This essay on 19th century existential poets is totally cake pops!  Tinkerbitches (n) - Those ex-girlfriends or "just friends" girls who hover around your boyfriend, wreaking havoc and potentially trying to destroy you (or at least your relationship).  example: Your bf's ex keeps calling? That girl is a total tinkerbitch.  Memorygram (v) - When you apply a sense of emotion over a memory, to make the memory more palatable or more entertaining. Most common is the "rose-colored" lens.  example: Last summer's vacation sucked, but when Dad tells the story he Memorygrams it.  Mailencholy (adj) - That feeling you get when you realize all the new emails in your inbox are SPAM or junk mail.  example: A deep sense of mailencholy came over me when I realized the 5 new emails in my inbox were promotions and po...

"A house is not a home without a pet" - Anonymous It was my mom's idea to get a pet. I was living in a dark, dank apartment. I spent most of my days at work or at school, and most of my nights drinking vodka and trying desperately to sleep without nightmares. I was like a threadbare sweater--not so much unravelling as coming apart in huge, gaping holes.  What you need, Mama said, is something to come home to. Something that needs you and loves you.  Leaving a living thing in my care might be an act of criminal negligence, I replied. Or something to that effect. I couldn't even be counted on to brush my teeth. I once fell asleep on a chair in my kitchen trying to put together a manifesto out of magnetic poetry. I read morse code in streetlight blinkings and was convinced my reflection was trying to kill me.  But, Mama is not a woman to be deterred. We drove to Brooksville and I spent the afternoon in the sun playing with kittens. I wanted a pretty fema...