New Comma: Business Blogging and Newsletter Entries

From April 2022, I worked with the New Comma team on a freelance basis as a blogger and copywriter. The social media platform is uniquely dedicated to helping African creatives to connect, create, learn and earn. What they do goes beyond the scope of a usual directory and instead mobilises an African creative ecosystem -- a vision that deeply resonates with my own values and beliefs.

Each week, I would receive a brief outlining tasks that could span any of the four channels: Newsletter, Product, Social, or Blog. Deadlines were based on publish dates, but I also had the freedom to do them at any time convenient to me, as long as I sent updates to the team before the next Sunday scrum meeting (or before said publish date).

The platform is a direct response to the diaspora's creativity being largely untapped into and not represented on a globals scale. The mission was to facilitate African creatives tapping into the $2.25 trillion global creative and cultural industry in a way that doesn't require them to dilute who they are to be accepted by the rest of the world.

In support of this mission, my position as business blogger and writer facilitated this by:

Developing copy for the platform's website and marketing materials to effectively communicate its unique value proposition and mission to potential users and investors.

Collaborating with the marketing team to develop content strategies that resonated with the target audience, encouraging them to join the platform and participate in its vibrant community.

Incorporating visual elements into blog posts and marketing materials, enhancing the overall user experience and engagement.

Coordinating with other team members to ensure consistent messaging and branding across all content, maintaining a unified voice that reflects the platform's core values and mission.

Participating in community events, forums, and discussions to stay connected with the African creative community, gather insights, and leveraging it to further promote the platform's mission.

Conducting research and interviews to gather insights and data that supported the platform's efforts to unlock opportunities within the Global Creative and Cultural Industry for African creatives.

Writing engaging and thought-provoking pieces on important components of the creative industry in order to prepare budding our community for the realities, perils but also opportunities of the creative landscape

Continuously monitoring industry trends, best practices, and emerging technologies to adapt and improve the platform's content and messaging, staying at the forefront of the African creative ecosystem's growth.

Collaborating with the editorial team to ensure that all content was well-researched, accurate, and aligned with the platform's mission of empowerment and cultural preservation.

Write a bi-monthly newsletter that includes these four primary pillars: Product updates, Comma Selects (Talent Features), Career Tips, Promotions and any other announcements (Newsletters were twice a month, so I'd be working on one newsletter every other week)

The blog was scheduled to be launched later on in the year, so my task was to adapt career tip posts like these from social into articles for the blog, as well as reworking the content from the makeshift blog that covers New Comma tutorials and creative resources.

Writing captions for social posts and in-asset copy, as well as supporting with finding insights for content (I would be writing captions for a minimum of approx. 3 Instagram posts per week)

Writing website copy for the actual NewComma web app (on an ad hoc basis)

Weekly tasks of finding insights for content for the group to brainstorm on during our weekly scrum on Sundays to insert into the business content calendar (Attend weekly brainstorm sessions)

Exceptional Writing: I demonstrated the ability to write high-quality, engaging, and error-free content that effectively conveys the intended message.

Audience Research and Strategic Thinking: I conducted in-depth research to understand the target audience's needs, preferences, and pain points and then using surges in the creative community's interests, to shape my content output. In particular, I wrote in a way that spoke the language of our paradigm-shifting Gen-Z African diaspora audience, integrating youthful terminology and widely used African phrasing where appropriate in order to display a shared and harmonious style. This sharp focus on mirroring communication created commonality between the platform and its audience serving as a bridge and ultimately strengthening the bond and community within the New Comma ecosystem.

Storytelling: I crafted compelling narratives and incorporating anecdotes where possible in order to bring variety into the writing, capture the audience's attention engage the reader's imagination. Often anecdotes would be based on shared experiences as African creatives which gave the writing that human element, giving depth and authenticity to the content.

Editing and Proofreading: I ensured content was well-structured, grammatically correct, and free from typos.

Adaptability: I tailored the writing style to suit the specifics of this clients brand identity, industry, and the different platforms I was writing for.

Creativity: Generating fresh ideas and unique angles by being responsive to our surrounding environment and culture. Not being afraid to go into new terrain and experiment to make content stand out.

Time Management: I efficiently managing multiple projects and deadlines.

Research Skills: I conducting thorough research on various topics to provide accurate and well-informed articles and content.

Communication: I collaborated incredibly well with New Comma as clients and in the setting of a team, translating their ideas into strong content.

Client Relationship Management: I was able to build and maintain a very positive relationship with my clients, surpassing their expectations during the course of our working relationship.