Secrets of the Brand Storytellers
November 13, 2019
1 pm to 6 pm PT
Livestream Upod Academy Workshop
Susan Shain is a digital nomad, pitch expert and gravity-defying content strategist joining us live from Bali.
A special mid-week livestream to get you up to speed on branded content, content marketing, signature storytelling and other euphemisms that mean making $$$ by writing for companies. Whether you’re new to this market or a seasoned content strategist, this five-hour all-star live workshop puts you face to face (via Zoom) with former journalists turned strategy mavens and others who no longer wince when they see magazines and websites folding around them.
Between speaker sessions, we’ll answer all your questions about brand marketing, content writing and how to earn good money in new ways from companies that aren’t “taking a pause on hiring freelancers at the moment.”
Gather ‘Round the Content Fire
VIP Speakers
More TBA
Dorothy Pomerantz
FitchInk, managing editor
Dorothy Pomerantz joined the branded content agency FitchInk as a managing editor in 2015. She got her start in journalism in Boston, covering local politics, and later joined Forbes‘ Los Angeles bureau as a reporter. Over the next 15 years, she rose to become the bureau’s chief, where her beat ranged from real estate to Hollywood. She oversaw the magazine’s Celebrity 100 list and established a highly regarded blog about the business of entertainment. Dorothy has a degree in political science from Vassar College and a master’s from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She continues to live and work in Los Angeles—and is the hands-down winner of FitchInk’s contest for best office-window view.
Erika Ekiel is a journalist-turned-brand strategist
Erika Ekiel
Brand Strategist @ Storyboardist
After a decade+ at Forbes as a National Magazine Award-nominated editor and writer (byline: Erika Brown), Ekiel switched to brand strategy for top companies in finance, venture capital, education and technology. “I have helped hundreds of entrepreneurs and businesses figure out what their stories are and how to tell them—first as a business journalist, then as a marketing executive, now as a strategic adviser.” Website: www.storyboardist.com
Aaron Edwards is senior producer and gatekeeper for Pop-Up Magazine’s live shows.
Aaron Edwards
Pop-Up Magazine
Your story is your brand. That’s the idea at Pop-Up Magazine, where journalists, podcasters, visual artists and raconteurs of all kinds share their narratives at these super-popular live storytelling events. As cohost, senior producer and curator, Aaron will explain how speakers are selected, what goes into production and how Pop-Up appearances can leverage into book deals and other ventures. Edwards was a founding editor of The Outline. He’s worked between product and editorial at BuzzFeed News and NBC News and has written for The New York Times and The Associated Press. Website: www.popupmagazine.com
Sunshine Flint and Angela Matusik
Journalists-Gone-Content-Strategists
Sunshine Flint and Angela Matusik are journalists who made the move to digital brand strategy. Former digital director at InStyle and longtime Time Inc editor Angela Matusik is now the head of content and brand at HP. Travel and lifestyle journalist Sunshine Flint is the exec editor of the Garage, HP's digital magazine. Speaking together, they’ll tell us why and how they made the switch, where the jobs are and how to write for HP and other brand publications.
Susan Shain gets paid to travel the globe writing for brands. She’ll explain how you can do it, too.
Susan Shain
Digital Nomad, Content Writer, Pitch Guru
Susan Shain lives the digital nomad life full-time, traveling the globe as a travel writer, brand strategist, author, woman of letters (like her popular how to pitch newsletter) and high-minded roustabout. Bylines: NYT, Washington Post, Playboy, Atlantic. She’ll be joining us from Bali (naturally) and share everything she knows about funding your way around the globe with words. Website: www.susanshain.com
More speaker announcements to come!