Kait is a member of our Marketing team, and has been with Bloomreach for 9 months now. We spent some time chatting with them about their experience with the company to give prospective candidates a chance to better understand what it’s like being part of our Marketing team and creating amazing things together.
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When and how did you realize that you would like to work within technology?
Funnily enough, I am not a super technical person — even though my parents always want me to troubleshoot all of their electronic and Wi-Fi issues (but maybe there’s an advantage to that when you’re a writer in tech!). Honestly, I have an old, dear friend of mine to thank for getting me into the tech field. Shout-out to Rachel Thomas, who is now bringing her expertise to Twitter as a Senior Product Designer!
About a year into my graduate program in English, Rachel hit me up and told me about a Content Strategist position at a SaaS company in the Greater New Orleans area. I learned very quickly that my creative and analytical background from my humanities-based education transferred quite well to marketing strategy and digital copywriting. It was easy to get behind the new and exciting possibilities that awaited me in tech, so here I am now.
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How did you find out about Bloomreach?
I stumbled upon Bloomreach on LinkedIn when I was on an active job search in 2021. This might sound a bit odd, but from the moment I saw the ad, I had a gut feeling that everything would work out because of how the company presented its brand online; our values seemed to be so well aligned. Sometimes, things in life are just meant to be.
I was immediately compelled to apply, and my intuition was right. From the moment I talked to Kim Benton (one of our amazing recruiters), everything felt so incredibly natural, and that feeling just continued from there as I met everyone on the Brand team and in the larger marketing organization — all the way to my final culture call.
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What was your journey to becoming a Content Marketing Manager?
Believe it or not, I began my college education with the full intention of becoming an English professor, but I fell into the marketing field. As much as I loved writing and research on an academic level, I wasn’t sure if I could make it as an English professor. Students and faculty are amazing – don’t get me wrong. When it comes to publishing, however, there is a very individualistic mindset in academia. It’s always about establishing yourself as the smartest one in the room. By nature, I’m more of a team player. I am always eager to make something great with my colleagues and build off one another’s strengths.
Once I landed in the SaaS marketing world, I tried to absorb everything I could! I was a bit of a generalist for a while and did a lot of marketing work outside of branding. I was also very proactive about putting myself out there to explore verticals outside of tech and began a marketing consultancy, partnering with local agencies across all verticals — from B2B manufacturing to restaurant, hospitality, and tourism.
If you want to become a great creative, you shouldn’t be afraid to tackle any project with eagerness. I feel like this open-mindedness, combined with my willingness to continue my education outside of a traditional college setting, has made me into the professional I am today. Luckily, it all worked out to where I’m still able to teach through the content I write internally and externally.
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Walk us through a day in the life of a Content Marketing Manager at Bloomreach!
A lot of quiet time, collaborative efforts, and iced coffee! But seriously, one of the perks of working at Bloomreach is that all meetings are scheduled and structured with pure intent. You’ll rarely have useless meetings or go over the time allotted because of these ideologies. I have the perfect amount of focus time to do my tasks, sprinkled with helpful and informative meetings that range from collaborative and strategic sessions to just touching base. By 1 or 2 p.m., I usually have my head down working on assignments, which is great for me, as this is when I am most productive with my writing.
On the Brand Content team, we are structured by the types of content we work on. For me, I handle a lot of our marketing campaigns and sales enablement materials. I love this unique mix because I am focused on demand generation, like most Content Marketing Managers, but I also work closely with inside sales and our partner ecosystem to make sure our Revenue and Partner Channel/Marketing teams have everything they need to succeed.
Since we are a small team, there’s no telling what the day holds when it comes to writing assignments because we help one another out based on our bandwidth. If I had to summarize common formats, though, I’d say I work a lot on long-form guides and whitepapers, blogs, third-party articles, one-pagers, and battle cards — and I’ve just begun dipping my toes into more case studies! I also focus a lot on Bloomreach Discovery (aka our product search, merchandising, recommendations, and SEO modules) and B2B market with my B2B co-conspirator, Jason Hein.
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What is the most rewarding part of your role?
I don’t want to speak for all creatives, but I think many of us feel rewarded when we hit the mark and realize the vision of a request. Nothing feels better than hearing that I’ve nailed an idea for a campaign or the content of a one-pager. In our field, you have to learn how to get the words on the page no matter what, and it can be a challenge, especially when it comes to writing about technical concepts that funnel into our products or starting a piece without every piece of information you might need.
I am also very proud that I have the opportunity to contribute to the powerful brand we’re trying to build at Bloomreach. Our Brand team doesn’t just consist of Content, but it also houses Design and PR & Comms. All of these talented individuals, who I have the pleasure to work with every day, are geared toward a common objective to make Bloomreach a recognizable brand across the globe — and I couldn’t be prouder to add a small part to that big initiative. Oh, and making a living off your chosen craft is never a bad thing!
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What do you consider the most challenging part of your role?
Working on any Brand team can feel like a bit of a fire drill, especially at a high-growth SaaS company. You have multiple teams coming to you with numerous requests that need to be fulfilled to move the needle on company objectives and goals. We’re a super solid Brand team at Bloomreach who react very well to sudden requests, but it can be draining some days — albeit very rewarding (and exciting).
When it comes to writing specifically, it can also be difficult to be creative and productive on a 9-to-5 schedule. Even with strict deadlines, creatives need quiet moments, particularly when trying to wrap our minds around difficult concepts like product technology. Bloomreach provides me with all the resources I need, and I am lucky enough to have an amazingly intuitive manager, Carl Bleich, who works with me whenever I’m feeling stuck, whether I’m working through an idea or concept or figuring out who I need to talk to for a specific piece in a company of 800+ employees.
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What would you say is your favorite thing about working for Bloomreach?
Growing up in New Orleans, community is something that’s always been very important to me. It helped me survive the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In the desolate times when I was displaced and not sure if I would ever make it back home, I saw the beauty of my city flourish through community, activism, and art. Bloomreach is all about community and about being and doing better than it was the day before. It isn’t just a company that says; it’s a company that does.
I knew that culture was a huge priority as I moved into the next phase of my career. From the start, Bloomreach demonstrated that it lived its values, and it reflects in its people and culture. At Bloomreach, I am not only able to progress in my career as a Content Marketer, but I am also able to fulfill my personal missions, particularly in creating a more inclusive environment. Being a member of the DEI committee allows me to continue the work I began in graduate school in the place I spend most of my time, and it means a lot to me.
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What is the best part of being on your team?
So. Many. Things. Everyone on my team will probably tell you this — but I am extremely vocal about all of the amazing artistry on our Brand team. Fortunately, I have many teammates who are the same way. Every week, we have a weekly Brand meeting where we share updates on what we’re working on, and it fuels the creativity of my work when I see how much everyone is rocking it.
We also have a running writing workshop — started by our awesome Senior Editor, Michael Lee — called “The Write Way,” which serves as a great incubator for ideas (or just fun and playful banter) for the entire marketing org. My teammates keep me on my creative toes, and the trust I’m given by leadership to do my job is unlike any I’ve ever experienced professionally. What I mean is the support is unreal!
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In three words, how would you describe the culture at Bloomreach?
- Pivot – Marketing knows what I’m talking about! But the company, in general, isn’t intimidated to try new things — just like we aren’t afraid to scale what is working. Bloomreach recognizes there will be trial and error, and investments need to be made. Perfection is never expected because we know that our moments of tribulation make us stand out and more successful in the long term.
- Empathetic – Bloomreach is people centric, and that’s what makes our company culture so amazing. My boss, for example, is a very empathetic leader, and that’s something that is both treasured and fostered here — all the way up to the C-suite. It’s okay to vent, and it’s normal to have a personal life that will sometimes interfere with work. I think that just makes folks, like myself, want to give it their all.
- Inspiring – Our story and mission are inspiring! Our products are inspiring! Most importantly, our people are inspiring! All of these factors come together in a perfect concoction that inspires you to show up and make your unique contribution to this great company we are building together. Everyone has their role, and it lights my fire every day of the week.
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How do you learn new things applicable to your role?
I would say that there are a few different methods. First, I support my personal growth, so I’m always proactively on the lookout for new webinars, books or downloadable materials, and online certificates. Since our C-suite is always on the move, I like to keep up with the topics they — and other leaders at the company — discuss on different podcasts and panels. It can help ideation or even with a topic I’m currently working on.
Second, I take full advantage of the educational stipend that Bloomreach provides annually to its employees. A few months ago, my colleague and I took a storytelling workshop that helped us align on our customer-focused content strategy. And as a former Barnes & Noble employee back in my college days, I wasn’t afraid to put some of that same spend towards a big stack of books — my favorite so far being Marcus Sheridan’s “They Ask, You Answer” (thanks to Global Campaigns for that rec!).
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Outside of Bloomreach, what are you passionate about?
I am a passionate person, period (blame it on my astrological placements!). Social awareness and justice became very important to me in my graduate work, which focused heavily on theories around race and gender. As a member of a non-binary community (she/they), I try to apply these essential critical lenses — and others — to my life in actionable ways that can make a tangible difference, no matter how small. We should all have the freedom to be and express ourselves. (And that’s why it makes me feel incredibly rewarded to be part of such a valiant effort with my colleagues on the DEI committee.)
I also enjoy fitness (HIIT, Zumba, and Pilates are my go-tos), film (fun fact: it was my minor in college), theatre (and yes, I’m a former theatre kid), music, reading, antiquing, cooking, and food/travel adventures with my long-term domestic partner, who is a professional pastry chef with his own business — catch us at the Farmer’s Market on weekends! We have two dogs, Ellie and Diego, and a whole nursery of cacti and succulents at home. My partner even crossbred two species to create a new plant that he named “Kaitlyn’s Joy” after me! I hold my partner, friends, and family dear to my heart — any time spent with them is a good time.