Melissa Lafsky Wall has quite the resume, with past stints that include practicing law, writing for the New York Times, and running branded content for startups. With all of these varying experiences under her belt, Lafksy Wall and co-founder Meghan Graham started Brick Wall Media in 2013 to help brands customize their content strategy. Here she shares some of the wisdom she’s gained in the wide world of content, and lays out where she sees the industry heading.
Position: Co-Founder and President, Brick Wall Media
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Past jobs: Director of content at HowAboutWe.com; Newsweek editor; branded content consultant; editor in chief of Infrastructurist.com; deputy web editor at Discover Magazine; editor of the Freakonomics Blog on NYTimes.com; associate editor at The Huffington Post; lawyer
Hometown: Washington, DC
Education: BA in English from Dartmouth; JD from University of Virginia School of Law
Why did you decide to get into branded content?
I had experience as a digital editor/editorial director and I’d launched digital products like Newsweek’s iPad edition. So I was always very interested in launching new media products and experimenting in digital. In 2013 it became clear that new opportunities were opening in branded content, and enough dollars were being spent on it to launch really cool things and produce some exciting content.
How did you navigate the move to branded content?
Newsweek went under (and was eventually resurrected, but by then it was a totally different publication) so I was looking for my next move. I started out working with startups on their content strategies, creating and training their editorial teams and helping them understand what role content could play in their marketing/businesses. Then I launched Brick Wall Media and took on a full roster of clients, from mid-stage startups to Fortune 100 brands.
How does writing branded content differ from the work of a reporter?
It totally depends on the brand, and the type of content they create. Some of the branded content Brick Wall creates will involve original reporting, so we work with veteran reporters who do a fantastic job. Plenty of articles don’t take those kinds of skills—just as they don’t in mainstream media.
Do you think that the two worlds will find more overlap in the future?
Media and content marketing are at the beginning of an arranged marriage. Given that it wasn’t totally voluntary on both sides, it’s an understandably rocky relationship right now. But all signs point to it stabilizing in the future, and even becoming amicable, perhaps even happy.
What advice do you have for anyone looking to get into branded content writing?
You need all the core skills of any other writing job—very strong writing, reporting, and analysis abilities, impeccable attention to detail, and a lot of talent and appetite for the business.
Be willing to learn skills outside your comfort zone as well. The reality of the industry is such that it’s very, very difficult to make a living as just a writer—and if you don’t have additional skills, be they editing or branding or project management, the list goes on, then you’re in a tight spot when it comes to differentiating yourself from the crowd.
Can you share something you’ve done in your writing career to get ahead?
I would always, always find a great editor to offer edits on every piece I’d written before it ever went live. Having an inexperienced editor, or no editor at all, is a detriment to anyone with a byline.
What’s a major lesson you learned as you were starting your own business?
If you don’t have the desire to face your biggest fears and insecurities on a daily basis, and do a million things every week that you’ve never done before and never thought you could do, then I absolutely do not recommend starting your own business.
What challenges might someone encounter when trying to transition from traditional journalism to branded content?
The biggest trap we see both brands and writers fall into is that neither one truly understands the other. Brand journalism is not the same environment as straight journalism—you’re now an employee in the marketing division of a company that does not produce content as its core business. So it’s going to be your job to educate your employer on how content is produced, managed and distributed. Where we come in is in supporting many content managers or brand editors in teaching their teams or bosses these lessons, and building support for content as an investment.
What can writers and editors do to get hired by a brand? Do you think most brands look to hire in-house?
We work with all our clients so they only hire for what they need, when they need it. But in general, a very common mistake we see brands make is to just “hire someone to take care of content” with no understanding that editorial director, managing editor, writer, project manager, content strategist and marketing manager are all separate jobs and skillsets. You can’t simply hire someone with editorial experience and expect them to know all of these things.
Writers looking to get hired by a brand are better off staying freelance if writing is all they want to do. Going in-house means taking on a host of other responsibilities, just as it does at a typical editorial publication.
Looking to get your foot in the door and launch your career in content strategy? Mediabistro’s class, Digital Content Strategy, covers all the fundamentals, from identifying strategic goals to tracking analytics and key metrics to measure your success.
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