I’m sure we’ve all heard the phrase – practice makes perfect. That is 100% the case in my blog writing over the course of my internship, just with a tweak – practice makes recognition. At Scoop, blog-writing is an essential part of engaging users, whether it be through the website, via social media or through their newsletter that reaches thousands of people. My confidence in writing has been slowly building over my time at Scoop, and this was boosted dramatically from a very encouraging email from my supervisor. It read:
“I have been really impressed with your writing skills over the past few weeks. Your blog writing is always of a very high standard, and your attention to detail is on point. So big thank you and well done!“
It may not seem like a lot, but to me, recognition is highly important and reassures me I have done the best I can do. Due to my efforts, I was praised with an ongoing project of updating ‘evergreen’ blogs – blogs that remain relevant for Scoop’s audience. Basically, I had six priority blogs (feel free to have a look at a few here, here and here) to go through and make edits to – big and small. This could range from amending outdated images, changing nuanced wording and/or streamlining the related pages and web app coding.
As well as being more confident, something I didn’t realise I would become more proficient in after carrying out this project was using WordPress. I had never used this software before my internship so had no idea how coding worked, how to insert pictures, what Scoop’s regulations were on fonts, absolutely everything. Hindsight is a curious thing – in hindsight I never would have imagined myself using coding in a public relations position, but how else is a blog meant to look so good!? Mind you, it is basic coding, I don’t think I’m going to be the next IT genius.
My main message this week is to really reflect on your work. Yes, I was doing a blog-writing task, yes I know I have improved in my writing, and yes it is an essential part of Scoop’s website. But what I didn’t realise was my growth in confidence in doing behind-the-scenes tasks such as working with a new software/website and seeing how connected two things may be.
If you’ve completed a task, however basic or complicated it may be, what other things did you have to learn or do to make that task happen? It could be research, effective sourcing, speaking to new people, going to an event, etc. Look at how things in your business connect and you may be pleasantly surprised!
Until next time,
Lakeisha x