Content Strategy
At Rustic Pathways, I directed content across all marketing touchpoints including the website and blog, emails and newsletters, print catalogs and other printed and digital promotional materials. I implemented a digital content strategy that boosted overall web traffic by 10% by introducing SEO, creating an editorial calendar and collaborating on an email and social distribution plan to get our content in front of new audiences.
SEO: Rustic Pathways blog
I introduced a SEO strategy for Rustic Pathways blog content that included posting more frequently and incorporating keywords into copy. I created an editorial calendar featuring blog posts produced by the marketing team, other staff and external contributors who I coached about how to incorporate the brand’s tone and voice. In addition to assigning and editing those posts, I also wrote my own. During my time there, I increased blog sessions by 74% and new site visitors from blog traffic by 102%
Branding: Rustic Pathways style guide
I developed and maintained the company’s style guide, which included general formatting (typeface, size, and color, and email setup and style, etc.), voice and tone, brand-specific style and terms, punctuation and grammar and an index of word spellings. Over the years, I added sections to include instructions for writing and talking about gender and sexuality and culturally-appropriate email greetings. I also created other brand and company training materials for new hires.
Product launch: Rustic Pathways Critical Issues Summit
Rustic Pathways introduced a new program concept in 2019 by creating a two-week conference to bring together the world’s most promising high school students. I assisted with the product launch by leading the company’s content strategy for this initiative. That included writing program copy and student stories, partnering with the lead graphic designer on visual elements, and creating a video—all of which can be found here.
Messaging update: Rustic Pathways impact rebrand
In 2019, I oversaw the rebrand of the messaging Rustic Pathways used to market its impact on students and the communities where they traveled, which you can find here. That included leading the team that wrote web and email copy, blog posts and a press release that introduced the new language and the announced that the company’s community service projects would contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.