Alyssa Merwin
Brand & Marketing Specialist
East Hampton, NY – soon to be Santa Monica, LA!
www.alyssamerwinmedia.com
instagram @alyssamerwinmedia
instagram @alyssammerwin
Q What do you do?
“I do a lot of different things! Mainly, I help businesses transform into a brand and provide a solid foundation on how to operate as one, too. (Yes, there is a HUGE difference!!)”
I do this in three different ways, and sometimes merge these ways together depending on what the client needs.
Sometimes that's through social media management; by organizing and scheduling posts on multiple social platforms, creating engaging content like instagram posts, and captions, creating a cohesive extension of what the brand looks & feels like through social media platforms, increasing brand awareness and engaging with the brands audience.
Other times it's through creating community-oriented brand strategy that provides a step-by-step plan on not only how to make long-term visions into a reality, but to also be used as a guide on how to see bigger returns by collaborating with the people and other brands around them.
Through this process we get really clear on what the brand looks like, (logo, font, voice, color palette, social media posts, & other marketing assets), its current audience, and long term goals. From there, we assess what's working, what's not working, what's missing and what's the main thing the client wants to bring in? Depending on the client and brand, sometimes the target audience changes, or we change up long-term goals and visions. After all the assessments and having gained clarity, we get down to the nitty-gritty and create a step-by-step one year plan that details campaigns, collaborations, marketing assets and actions to take to achieve those goals. A brand guideline book is also provided during this process so any team member can be enrolled and there's a reference to use as a filter when creating any kind of marketing asset, event, social posts, etc. Lastly, I'll develop websites for emerging or existing brands that are used as a hub for their audience to get to know them on a deeper level. Within the website development process, I focus on showcasing brand values, and voice through copy-write, and the brands logo, color palette and overall aesthetics through design making sure that the website is completely tailored to how the client and brand want to be seen and offered to their audience.
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
It began with doing social media at a retail store I was working at, then when I started teaching yoga I offered social media management to the studios I taught at and from there I started to do research on what was most effective on social media platforms for growing a brand.
Q How do you stand out in your field?
I approach everything I do with connection in mind. I stand behind my belief that community-oriented strategies are some of the most powerful strategies out there. As a business or brand, when you can make your target audience feel seen, heard, and inspired you've done everything you need to do. I believe that we all need each other to achieve the success we aspire to have, maintain our dreams and spark our creativity. While it's important to achieve results, sell your product or service, it is ten times more important that there's a feeling attached to it - that is what gets people to keep coming back!
Q What are you working on right now?
Right now, I'm working on starting a freelance career and finding fun, inspiring projects or clients to work with! I just finished making my website, and it really sparked my creativity and reminded me of how much of a flow I get into when I'm just creating and having fun doing it. I'm hoping to have more fun projects ahead of me before the year ends!
Q What’s your style?
I'm very attracted to what I call 'bold minimalism' a style that is simple, yet gets the point across. I love creative, big, almost retro fonts paired with very neutral, modern accents. At the moment, I don't have a project that accurately represents my style/perspective/taste and I think it's still developing, but here are two creatives whose work I admire tremendously and really love the simplicity of what they create: Aether & Grey and Gold Creative
Q Out of all your slashies, which one do you wish you could do more often?
Definitely brand development/strategy! I just really love being able to work alongside a client in creating a new brand with them in the early stages of things and helping to build a strong foundation for them to grow. I also would love to spend more time learning photography, it's been a hobby of mine for over 10 years and I have always wanted to dive deeper into it.
Q What is frustrating you right now?
My biggest frustration lies in just knowing where to find freelance jobs, and having one place where I can look/apply for jobs. I find it's the constant contacting/cold emailing brands/people to showcase my work and offer my services that lands at the bottom of my to-do list.
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
Develop client leads for me! Sending out my portfolio and website to potential clients and continuously following up for me.
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
In January of this year 2021, I wish I told myself that it was okay to leave a job that doesn't make you happy and doesn't appreciate the work you do. I'd also say that ANYTHING is possible!! That whatever I feel truly called to and however I envision the way I want my life to be and what I want working to look like can become a reality. It is all possible, believe in yourself, you're a freakin' badass!
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
How to create packages for my services and how to price them. Pricing and packaging is something I find I am always going back and forth on, and I always appreciate talking to other freelancers to see what they are doing and charging, but I would love to gain some insight from an expert on how to go about creating that.
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
Primarily I'm looking for social media management projects right now, with brands I can work with consistently on using social media to execute their marketing strategies and would also like some brand development jobs that include helping people turn their idea into a meaningful, defined brand through website design, brand strategy and content creation.
Q Describe your ideal job/client/collaboration.
My ideal client is someone who really wants to create community, and connection through the work they are doing or the business they have, ideally this would be a client in the health, wellness, fitness or beauty industry that is selling a product or service. They have a very clear vision for what they want to create, but struggle with how to translate that to social media, website and strategy. They believe in collaboration with other brands, influencers or people to expand their audience, and want to have content that their audience will resonate with or enjoy - not posting just to post!
Q: What is your rate?
My hourly rate is $70. For a monthly social media management retainer I start at $2,000, and for website design I start at $3,000. I am definitely open to working with first-time entrepreneurs at a discounted rate.
Q How should someone approach you about working together?
Contact me through my website: or email me directly - in the intro I'd like how they heard about me, what they are looking for, what areas of their business/brand they are struggling with the most, what their budget is and a brief background about them and their business/brand
Q Who is a creative you admire?
Grey & Gold Creative (first name Bryn)
instagram @greyandgoldcreative
Q Oh! and… how do you stay creative?
Intuitive Movement. Nature. Traveling. Writing.
This member profile was originally published in November 2021.