The Hippo Pod: Alan
In this podcast, Employer Brand and Employee Engagement Manager, Tannum, talks about Golden Hippo’s exciting and unique company culture with the people who know it best. This episode, we spoke with Alan, who has been at Golden Hippo for 4 years and is currently the SMS Marketing Manager on our Copywriting team.
Here are some of the highlights of Tannum and Alan’s conversation:
What is your Golden Hippo story? How did you hear about Golden Hippo?
Jason, one of our video editors, is a film school friend of mine, so that’s how I found out about Golden Hippo. I had no copywriting experience and was going to school to be a screenwriter. I moved to Southern California days after graduating looking to make it big, and I did a lot of different jobs. I eventually came on as a copywriter, and was handed a text list to run. This was one of our middle-sized brands, so it was a good chance to prove that I could do something else. It also coincided with us changing to a new platform for our SMS messaging. I was involved in learning this new platform and when we transitioned all the brands over, Alison saw how involved I had been and wanted me to take a bigger role in the overall strategy. After 5-6 months, they ended up creating a new role for me to reflect that.
Quite early on at Golden Hippo, I challenged Shelly to a writing combat. I ended up winning, but the fact that I challenged her meant something in how I was seen, and it opened up many opportunities for me. Coming in with no background and being surrounded by great copywriters, I was very anxious to prove myself.
What does a day at work look like for you?
On a remote day, the days are quite varied other than regular meetings. I have a color-coded to-do list spreadsheet. I have so many long-range strategic projects that involve so many departments, so I’m always checking in to see where things are at. On a good day, I remember to open that spreadsheet early in the morning and remember what I have to do.
I go in on Wednesdays because that’s when we have our team meetings, so that’s a nice way to add some social interaction to the middle of the week.
Is there someone in your professional career who made a big impact on you?
Shelly and Alison, who are the VP and Director of the copywriting department. Both of them have taught me so much, and I am enormously indebted in how they have worked to create opportunities for me to see where I’m thriving and interested. It was Shelly's idea to create this role, but it was Alison’s responsibility to hand it to me. The two of them are so committed to the professional development of our team members and find where they can make an impact and also enjoy what they’re working on. It’s so meaningful to know that the two of them are looking out for me.
What advice would you give to jobseekers? Any advice specifically for copywriters?
It meant a lot in my interview that I was able to talk about the newsletters I had been subscribing to to learn more about copywriting, and the small gigs I took to get experience. Showing that you’re actively learning and trying to advance yourself on your own without being told “hey, go learn this” made a difference. Invest in yourself and your learning and talk about it.
If you can make it into the copywriting trial, some advice I got from one of our copywriters was to listen. You’re there not to show that you can write but also that you can take edits. One of the reasons we have so few people with a different background is because we do things differently. You have to throw out what you think you know about what works, and look towards the data to see what is working.
If you’d like to listen to the full conversation, click here!