Musings of a StoryholicMusings of a Storyholic

Celebrating the Art of Content Strategy
Keeping the Audience’s Attention Through Tie-ins

I am a sucker for anything cinematic. Yes, I’m in love with the ongoing story of a TV show or the big reveal of a movie. But, I’m equally entranced by the marketing behind them. How do they capture our attention in the first place? Then how do they keep our attention and our engagement?

Consider the tie-in. Tap into what the audience already knows and loves. Yet, don’t hesitate to give them a sneak peak of what they can expect.

So the Quest Begins

I I’m on a quest. I want to become the reigning queen of content strategy. The Oprah of content, if you will.

This journey has included years of roles that have shown me the good, the bad and the ugly of content strategy, development and management. And within my research, I stumbled upon an article outlining what’s required to become a content strategy heavyweight. I believe all points were solid, but I’m here to call out what they missed.

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Are you seeking a content strategist who’s grounded in the art of storytelling? One who isn’t afraid of analytics and the tough conversations? Would you like to find someone who speaks both the language of business and creative? Don’t hesitate to check out my LinkedIn profile, reach out or request my resume.

I’d love to get an understanding of your needs to see if there’s a match.

My Homestead

Seattle, Washington

My Digits

(707) 836-3645

My E-mail

hello@toynorwood.com

About MeAbout Me

I'm a content strategist. Storytelling is in my bones!

At my core, storytelling is what drives me. I consider all points of the story and the potential outcomes, whether it’s a personal tome or a brand message. Relevancy, resonance and consistency drive me to strategize, write and/or develop content that matter.

I have over 15 years of marketing management experience. So I understand the business. I get the need for KPI setting and performance metric tracking. I enjoy streamlining processes, collaborating with cross-functional leaders and managing teams to keep moving forward, yet I know with marketing you must be flexible and agile. Stakeholder and client management is my “jam” because understanding their objective and providing guidance as needed is a great opportunity to build rapport and gain their trust.

Yet, as a former journalist, communications strategist, copy writer and creative visionary, I thrive on content development. I have a profound respect for all things creative (i.e., copy, design, photography, web design/UX, videography and illustrations). As a writer, I speak the language. Put me in a war room and I’m in heaven because I can advocate the needs of the stakeholder while inspiring our team to be free to create fresh, new content that will resonate with the end user.

Essentially, I’m passionate about creating content that sticks while finding ways to keep all parties involved happy with the results.

Check out my experience below!

Toy has a penchant for getting to the heart of any story to communicate its relevance and compel audiences to act. Working alongside Toy on an array of product and service marketing endeavors, I recognized her passion for investigating technology hands on, translating complicated concepts into a meaningful story that wowed our clients and colleagues alike. When it comes to technology marketing, if content is king, she might just be the queen of marketing it.

Nick Louie, Audienz

Toy is one of the rare individuals that thrives in all environments. Her strong work ethic, excellent marketing and content development skills are only the beginning. She’s an enterprising individual that enjoys collaboration and finding creative solutions to complex challenges. She’s all about delivering great work and she’s not afraid to roll up the sleeves and apply some serious brain power to achieve success for her clients. I would happily work with her again.

Nathan Wright, Bridge Partners

Toy approaches every business challenge from a knowledgeable and thoughtful point of view. Her marketing strategies are born from data, research, and analysis. You can trust that a solution recommended by Toy has been analyzed and validated from multiple points of view. From there, her strategies come to life in her ability to craft meaningful and relevant stories. From her marketing acumen to her deep camaraderie with her team and her dedication to delivering results for her clients ─ Toy is an all-around player.

Corey Pilkington, Prime 8 Consulting

Toy is an amazing storyteller, writer and strategist! I had the pleasure of working with Toy of a number of challenging client engagements and she consistently delivered above-and-beyond client expectations. Toy possesses a unique ability to translate complex technical messaging into compelling stories that resonate with real people. And, she is fun to work with!

Russ Rogers, Prime 8 Consulting

A dynamic marketer and memorable wordsmith ... her creativity, communication skills, and passion for client servitude have all helped her excel in BuzzBee's fast-paced setting. Her varied experiences paired with her positive spirit and wit have worked extremely well as she developed effective working relationships with her clients, the creative team and vendors - all while becoming a trusted advisor and leader. Fun, yet professional in every sense of the word, she is a joy and an asset to any team.

Michele Bourdon Keeffe, BuzzBee

Toy is definitely the go-to person if you are thinking about truly enhancing customer experience. She is extremely passionate about customers and partners. Toy helped us launch a Relationship Marketing program focused on CRM online customers. She constantly strived to drive balance between corporate messaging and customer perceptions. One of Toy's biggest strengths is her copy writing skills - she has a flair for simplifying communication and ensuring the message resonates with the intended audience. I would highly recommend Toy for her work ethic, customer vision and commitment to excellence.

Anusha Rangaswamy, Microsoft

Toy was my marketing client on Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Toy was one of my favorite people to work with because she is an expert at maintaining a positive experience for the customer. She continued to ask questions and push for the clearest and most relevant messaging for the customer, while keeping things simple. Toy has a natural ability to see the bigger picture and keep the rest of the team on track. Other qualities include great sense of humor, high integrity and positive attitude.

Jacci Johnson, POSSIBLE

Toy is a versatile storyteller. Not only does she make it really easy for the audience to understand the subject matter, but she also has a knack for establishing an emotional connection through her communication so that the audience cannot help but care about it. When assigned a topic with which she is unfamiliar, she researches it tenaciously on a short timeframe. I'm not one to play politics so I especially appreciate that she is a straight shooter. Working with Toy was a privilege.

Chin One Chan, Marketing Consultant

I wondered, what does it take to be a fabulous content strategist? I discovered this great article that helped me think about how I actually measured up. I also wrote a follow-up column on what I felt the article was missing. Below, you’ll find my self evaluation of those top six skills (in black), plus the six additional skills (in orange) I believe complete my toolkit.

  • 0%
    ORGANIZATION AND MULTITASKING
  • 0%
    SOLID WRITING SKILLS AND DETAIL ORIENTED
  • 0%
    INTERPERSONAL AND MOTIVATIONAL
  • 0%
    ANALYTICAL AND INTERPRETIVE MIND
  • 0%
    FLEXIBILITY
  • 0%
    CONSENSUS BUILDING
  • 0%
    TRUSTWORTHY
  • 0%
    PLANFUL AND EXPECTATION SETTING
  • 0%
    AUDIENCE STEWARD
  • 0%
    FORWARD THINKING
  • 0%
    BUDGET CONSCIOUS
  • 0%
    SCRAPPY

Musings of a StoryholicMusings of a Storyholic

Celebrating the Art of Content Strategy
Keeping the Audience’s Attention Through Tie-ins

I am a sucker for anything cinematic. Yes, I’m in love with the ongoing story of a TV show or the big reveal of a movie. But, I’m equally entranced by the marketing behind them. How do they capture our attention in the first place? Then how do they keep our attention and our engagement?

Consider the tie-in. Tap into what the audience already knows and loves. Yet, don’t hesitate to give them a sneak peak of what they can expect.

So the Quest Begins

I I’m on a quest. I want to become the reigning queen of content strategy. The Oprah of content, if you will.

This journey has included years of roles that have shown me the good, the bad and the ugly of content strategy, development and management. And within my research, I stumbled upon an article outlining what’s required to become a content strategy heavyweight. I believe all points were solid, but I’m here to call out what they missed.