Lyz Mancini
Q What do you do?
“Copywriter, brand voice expert, and fiction writer.”
I have experience creating or refreshing voices for start-ups and global heritage brands, full 360 campaigns, and building loyalty and excitement through storytelling across any and all touchpoints. Messaging hierarchies, product and brand naming, visual merchandising, out-of-home, PR materials, email marketing, social, and more. Beauty, lifestyle, and really fancy candle brands have a special place in my heart. I also write murder mysteries.
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
My career started in 2008 as an unpaid Nylon Magazine intern -- a dream, where I mostly wrote about beauty, fashion, and music. From there I bounced around working at other magazines (all unpaid, because recession) while waitressing, before quitting it all together and joining an immigration law firm to help creatives get visas and green cards for a few years. I started to get jealous of their creativity and then left to write copy and speeches for the lauded makeup artist Pat McGrath -- as beauty is a major love of mine as well. From there, I worked at Real Simple under Time Inc. as the brand's only copywriter, then at Jet.com after Walmart acquired the brand as their Senior Editorial Lead -- this is where I discovered my love of product naming and messaging hierarchy. Fully harnessing all my loves, I then moved to Clinique under Estee Lauder Companies as their Director of Copy & Brand Voice to rework the entire voice of the brand while overseeing the copy department. After a few years of overseeing product naming, visual merchandising, and full global copy hierarchies, I went out on my own as a full time copy consultant. Since then I have worked with brands like K18 Hair, Ever/Body, Jaclyn Cosmetics, Heritage Store, bumble & bumble, and more to refresh their brand voice or execute their voice across all platforms. I also am a fiction writer, currently working to sell my first thriller novel.
Q How do you stand out in your field?
I see brands as fully-developed characters or worlds to communicate to the public, similar to a short story or novel. With both a taste for low and high brow goods (La Mer and a Big Mac), I'm able to speak to a variety of demographics in a way that is benefit and positivity driven while helping them find solutions to problems. I also am passionate about understanding different generations of consumers, and finding both a specific and broad way to speak to them and feel understood.
Q What are you working on right now?
Right now I am working on a highly buzzed-about collection for a major makeup artist -- I am working on creating an iconic product name, shade names, and educational material on the product, along with then a complete 360 campaign that includes visual merchandising in retailers like ULTA, video scripts, site, email, and social. The bar is high for this specific creator and product and I am beyond excited to see it launch and thrive.
Q What’s your style?
In general I would say my style is upbeat with an edge. I would love to be able to explore the edge a bit more -- find a balance between Clinique and a truly risque brand like Isamaya French.
Q Out of all your slashies, which one do you wish you could do more often?
I'd love to build out work for the agency side more -- I love working on the brand side but have the goal this year to connect with more creative agencies and expand my work in that way.
Q What is frustrating you right now?
Because I am freelance, it can be isolating at times -- which creates a wall in brainstorming sometimes. I miss the camaraderie of sitting in a room with a bunch of creatives and throwing out ideas until the right one comes to light. You can only go so far with your own brain.
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
Literally have them pick up after me -- folding blankets, putting the sriracha back in the fridge, etc.
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
I would go back to my early twenties and tell myself that life is long, and to stop caring so much about what other people think of you -- that's none of your business. I was so ambitious and scared that if I didn't work every hour of every day I wouldn't get anywhere. I would tell myself that you will live many lives, and they're all organic to you -- let go a little.
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
How to maintain insight and a grasp on the culture as it shifts and changes as we age.
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
I am ultimately looking for two kinds of opportunities right now -- large rebrands of voice guidelines, and lower-funnel executional copy projects. I love both -- thinking big and thinking small. I'd also love to push the kinds of brands I work for, to go outside beauty or a brand that is taking a lot of risks.
Q Describe your ideal job/client/collaboration.
My ideal job is one that's very collaborative and positive -- where team members work together to develop truly innovative and fun concepts and that energy is injected into the work. I love presenting my work with my design counterpart, then working from there to create messaging or a look where everyone is thrilled about it.
Q What is your rate?
My average hourly rate is $100-150 but this depends on the kind of work. A full brand book refresh might be a higher flat rate -- or if the projects are more guaranteed hourly and executional I am open to negotiate as well.
Q How should someone approach you about working together?
www.lyzmancini.com
lyz.mancini@gmail.com
Email is best! Please include a little about your company, the scope of work, and what you like about my work.
Q Who is a creative you admire?
Diana Weisman
Kelly Shea
Colleen Lennon
Melissa Knapp
Tiffany Davis
Ellen Siebers
Q Oh! and… how do you stay creative?
Get outside and touch grass.
This member profile was originally published in February 2023