Adweek
I served as Adweek’s Director of Audience Engagement for three years (Jan. 2020-Jan. 2023), in a role that allowed me to grow the publication’s social audiences dramatically, launching Adweek’s TikTok account and growing it from 2,000 to 120,000 followers within six months. Additionally, I…
- Wrote the Adweek Daily and Adweekender newsletters
- Personally managed all of Adweek’s social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok, then built a single social role into a team of four and led the social strategy including design and editorial overhauls that yielded dramatic increases in followers on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok
- Wrote regular features and profiles, both digital and print, including those focused on social trends, as well as the metaverse and NFTs and design
- Why RadioShack and LimeWire Clambered From the Grave to Bring NFTs to Nostalgic Fans (print and digital)
- To Find Growth on TikTok, Marketers Need to Think Granular and Niche
- How Mondelēz International Built TikTok’s Biggest Snack Brands
- How Jonathan Hyla Inspires and Equips Neurodiverse Creatives via Clubhouse (magazine-first profile)
- How Billie’s Reimagined Pride Fairy Tales Support LGBTQ+ Youth
- Fasten Your Meatbelts: How Lyft and Oscar Mayer Teamed Up to Offer Wienermobile Rides
- Fools Rush In: The Funniest, Weirdest and Wildest Brand Stunts of April Fools’ Day 2022
- ‘Every Little Bit of Laughter Helps’: Rhys Darby and Terminix Unite for a Charming Campaign
- Created several high-performance video series, both social-first and for the website:
- Wrote Adweek’s Marketing Morsels column every week
- Created an Adweek video series about curious marketing news called Adweekly that achieved hundreds of thousands of views
- Planned, edited and launched a video series promoting Adweek’s Premium/subscriber-only content series that was viewed by tens of thousands of social media users
- Launched the Adweek Creator Network featuring dozens of creators who directly drove tens of thousands in event and subscription revenue
- Ran Adweek’s March Adness bracket, which garnered more than 2 million impressions and hundreds of thousands of participants each year (3 years in a row)
- Moderated and emceed live sessions and events including Social Media Week and Brandweek, which drew thousands of attendees in-person and tens of thousands virtually
- Made an advertisement for the Adweek Daily newsletter that yielded dramatic ROI and signups
- Spoke on several podcasts both within (Yeah, That’s Probably an Ad) and outside of Adweek (Social Pros Podcast)
- Edited Adweek articles, newsletters and magazine pieces
Etymology Books and Content
BOOKS:
- Once Upon a Word: A Word Origin Dictionary for Kids (Rockridge Press, 2020)
- Words from Hell (Hachette, John Murray Press, 2023)
- Useless Etymology (Hachette, John Murray Press, 2024)
- Horror Ebook, Hachette, 2023
WEBSITES:
ARTICLES:
- Jess Zafarris: Author Spotlight – Writer’s Digest
- #5onFri: The Etymology (Word Origins) of Five Literary Terms
PODCASTS:
- Dear Hank & John: The Whens and Wheres of Thens and Theres (w/Jess Zafarris!)
- Author2Author with Jess Zafarris
SOCIAL MEDIA:
- TikTok focused on etymology @jesszafarris (72,000 followers)
- Useless Etymology on Twitter @UselessEty
- Useless Etymology on Instagram @UselessEtymology
Writer’s Digest
I served as content strategist and digital content director for Writer’s Digest from 2017 to early 2019, and I have written a great deal of additional articles and posts for the site since then.
Magazine Features
- “101 Best Websites for Writers,” 2019
- “The WD Interview: Cassandra Clare,” 2019
- “Mastering High Concept,” September 2019
Columns & Tidbits
- Breaking In
- Back Page Puzzles & Features
Writer’s Digest 2020 Daily Calendar
I created 52 writing-themed word puzzles and games for the 2020 Writer’s Digest page-a-day calendar.
Writing Prompts
Online Editorial Articles
- Reddit for Writers: 47 Writing Subreddits to Explore
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YA Author Cassandra Clare Reveals the Practical Magic Behind Her Bestselling ‘Shadowhunter’ Series (extended interview)
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Blessed Are the Legend-Makers: 11 J.R.R. Tolkien Quotes for Writers
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4 Writing Techniques to Borrow from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol
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Did Hemingway say “write drunk, edit sober”? Nope—he preferred to write sober.
- App Happy: 11 Free (or Mostly Free) Mobile Apps for Writers
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“Don’t let anyone tell you ‘No.’” Author Brad Meltzer on Research, Rejections and More
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Breaking In: Debut Author Anissa Gray on Finding Your Writing Workspace and More
Content Marketing
- 7 Experiences to Look Forward to at the 2019 Writer’s Digest Conference
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N.K. Jemisin to Present Opening Keynote at Writer’s Digest Conference 2019
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30 Gifts for Writers: The 2018 Writer’s Digest Holiday Gift Guide
Scotts/Tomcat
In October 2019, I served as managing editor on a unique social media project for the Scotts company, curating 24 stories released on the Twitter accounts of eight horror authors with the hashtag #ScaryStories throughout the month of October. The stories each generated thousands of likes and retweets, with one topping 60K and generating widespread press coverage. I also contributed three fictional horror stories to the project myself.
MM&M Magazine
I wrote four profiles of medical marketing agencies for the 2019 Agency 100 feature in MM&M magazine.
- Agency 100 2019: Patient Experience Project
- Agency 100 2019: Minds + Assembly
- Agency 100 2019: JPA Health
- Agency 100 2019: Invivo Communications
ResumeHelp
In early 2018, I revamped, rewrote and optimized more than 150 evergreen articles on ResumeHelp.com.
HOW Magazine
I served as online content director of HOWdesign.com from 2014 to 2017, and as Editor-in-Chief of HOW‘s print magazine from 2016–2017, during which time I produced hundreds of online articles and five issues of the print magazine.
PRINT Magazine
I served as online content director of PRINT magazine from 2014–2017, during which time I produced hundreds of online articles and contributed to the print magazine.