February 27, 2024 • 35 mins
Are you ready to meet our very first intern?
In this episode of The Talk Freelance To Me Podcast, host Ashley Cisneros Mejia introduces Lauren Cordero, an ambitious freshman at the University of Central Florida who is already pursuing opportunities to gain professional experience. Lauren shares her background and passion for communication through various mediums like writing, photography and design. She also offers her perspective on the evolving state of journalism, social media and content as a student entering these fields. Tune in to learn more about Lauren and how she plans to apply her creativity and skills to serve our Talk Freelance To Me community!
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- More about our new intern Lauren Cordero
- About a Gen-Z student’s perspective on the current state of journalism, social media and content as she learns about these fields in 2024
- More takeaways from Ashley and Lauren’s experience at PodFest Expo
ABOUT LAUREN
Lauren Cordero is our very first intern here at Talk Freelance To Me! A current undergraduate student at the University of Central Florida here in Orlando, Lauren is charting a path toward a dynamic career in advertising and public relations. A native of Miami, Florida, Lauren has a passion for travel, cultural exploration, and fashion. She actively participates in the Quotes and Fashion Societies at UCF, and embraces every opportunity with enthusiasm and dedication. Connect with Lauren on LinkedIn.
Full show notes here.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ashley Mejia (00:00):
I'm welcome to talk freelance to me, the
(00:03):
podcast for women freelancewriters, 1099 independent
contractors and solopreneurs.
I'm your host, Ashley Cisneros.
me here. For more than 20 yearsI've worked as a journalist and
freelance writer. Today as a momof three kids. I'm passionate
about helping other womenleverage the freedom that
freelance offers. On topfreelance to me, we're all about
(00:25):
the business of freelancing. Ifyou want to learn how to
monetize your talents, makemoney on your own terms, and
design a flexible work life thatactually works for you. This
show is for you. Before we getstarted, don't forget to follow
us on your favorite social mediaplatforms. Review us on Apple
podcasts or wherever you listen.
And don't forget to share thisepisode with a friend. Visit our
(00:47):
website at talk freelance tome.com for free resources, join
our email list to be the firstto know about our latest offers.
Thanks for tuning in and let'sget into the episode. Hello and
welcome everyone to anotherepisode of the talk freelance me
podcast. I'm your host AshleyCece, notice me here and today I
(01:07):
am super excited to introduce toyou the very first intern that
we've ever had at Tuck freelanceto me, the amazing Lauren
Cordero Lauren, how are youtoday?
Lauren Cordero (01:22):
I am great. How are you?
Ashley Mejia (01:24):
I am so excited.
I'm so good. I'm so excited tointroduce you to our community.
And in this conversation to justlearn more about you and to talk
about what amazing things wehave in store for our community.
So, freelance fam I alwaysintroduce our guests with a
little bit of information fromtheir bio, so I'll do that now.
(01:44):
Lauren Cordero is our very firstintern here at Tuck freelance to
me. I current earns aundergraduate student at the
University of Central Florida inOrlando. Lauren is charting a
path toward a dynamic career inadvertising and public
relations. A native of Miami,Florida, Lauren has a passion
for travel, cultural explorationand fashion. She actively
(02:07):
participates in the quotes andfashion societies at UCF, and
embraces every opportunity withenthusiasm and dedication.
Lauren, you rock. I'm so gladthat you're here. That was your
formal bio. Do you want tointroduce yourself to the
community? Tell us more aboutyourself? Sure.
Lauren Cordero (02:28):
Yeah. So I'm currently a freshman at the
University of Central Florida. Iwas born in Puerto Rico, but I
grew up in Miami, so very kneedeep and culture over there,
which I think is kind of where Ifound my love for that. And I
moved here to Orlando last year.
And it's been the biggest changeof my life so far, but I think
it's going to be great.
Ashley Mejia (02:50):
I am so excited for you. I'm so happy for you
for being like at this chapterin your life. Like it's just
there's so much it's just allpotential. It's all, you know,
future looking, and just howexciting. Thank you. I just
gotta give you your props tobecause you really impressed me
in all of your materials in allof our interactions. So far. I'm
(03:13):
excited. The fact that you are afreshman and you're already
doing an internship, I feel likedeserves a round of applause. I
don't know for anybodylistening. You know, if you guys
did internships when you were incollege, I did some but they
were later. I think it was myjunior year, my freshman year,
but the fact that you're, you'relooking for these opportunities
(03:34):
to get your professionalexpertise. So early in your
college career is very cool. SoI'm excited for you. So can you
tell me a little bit? Why didyou choose advertising as your
major at UCF?
Lauren Cordero (03:48):
Well, as someone who's always loved being
involved, definitely throughhigh school, I found that I
thrived the most in groupprojects, group activities,
taking in those extracurricularactivities. I really loved being
in a position, especially aleadership position in those
things where I can lead a grouptowards a shared goal. Within
(04:10):
those activities. I eventuallybegan finding my passions for
writing for photography, anycreative project anywhere where
I can express that creativityand that outlet within
literature and just all forms ofart. I found that I loved it. So
when looking at the majors forUCF, I was definitely interested
(04:32):
in either advertisingjournalism, something within the
School of Communications, Ithought that was my calling. But
I think the deciding factor forme was definitely being in the
social media program at my highschool and drama Academy. The
social media program is run bythe amazing Miss Alvarez. She's
(04:52):
great. She's so talented, andshe really instilled in me and
all her students, just the powerhave creativity and
communication and how importantit is. I've always been an
ambitious student. And withinthat she really always supported
me. And she always encouraged meto try different things if I was
ever interested in them. Sobeing a part of that program
(05:16):
really enabled me to kind ofnarrow down on what I wanted to
do. And I really found thatthrough advertising, I can
express my passion for writing,but also maintain that creative
eye and apply that in designsand things like that.
Ashley Mejia (05:34):
I love it. I love it. I love your background, too.
I know when you were talkingwith me, you know about the
internship, you were sharingthat you had competed in the
Florida Scholastic PressAssociation, which I did way too
long ago, which is very cool. Soyou definitely have like the
(05:54):
writing skills. I mean, that'sso cool. And then I loved that
you had this graphic designinterest, too, in communicating
visually, which as we can see,for anyone listening, you know,
your, whatever your service thatyou're offering, that, that need
to communicate what you dovisually, like on Instagram, or
(06:17):
you making Facebook informationfor your clients, all of that is
so necessary. And I love Lauren,that you can do both that you
can communicate through words,and then also through graphics.
I think that's really cool.
Thank
Lauren Cordero (06:29):
you. Yeah, I definitely love using the
different mediums, whether it'sphotography, or writing,
specifically, I think there'ssuch a power in what's said, and
what's not said. And reallyenticing an audience through a
picture is so powerful to me, orbeing able to connect with
people through my words, issomething I've always loved,
(06:50):
which is why I've always beendrawn to literature reading and
things like that. That's supercool.
Ashley Mejia (06:56):
I love it. So we talked about you done, you did
the social media program at yourschool, you also did the Florida
Scholastic Press Association.
How do you perceive the state ofjournalism, content? Social
media? Like what are younoticing? As a student that
studying all of this? How do yousee it in terms of like your own
(07:20):
professional aspirations, likewhat you plan to do after
college? How would you describeit,
Lauren Cordero (07:28):
being a student, and really narrowing down the
focus on what I've loved?
Learning about it was reallyinteresting. Because as a
student, you're not only shownthe positives, you're also shown
the negatives of what it is thatyou want of your intended field.
And it was really eye opening.
(07:50):
Because as social media ischanging, as that change
precedes, it can be veryoverwhelming. My perception of
social media definitely changed,because I realized how
misleading it can be. While itdoes have its amazing benefits
as far as communication andconnection, there's also a lot
(08:10):
of misinformation out there. Andit's really difficult to tell
what's real and what's not. Asfar as journalism, I also got a
chance to learn about the stateof it, its evolution, and then
how it's changed. It was veryinteresting to see how a lot of
journalists at this day and age,a lot of them want to get the
(08:32):
job done, which is so differentfrom what I was taught
journalism to be. I've alwaysloved being able to put your own
perspective on a story and haveit reach millions of people. I
think now, with so many falseclaims and biased opinions, it's
really easy to narrow down onone side of social media, when
(08:54):
it's so diverse. And gettingthat first hand experience
learning about it has been sointeresting to me. I think the
state of journalism andadvertising and social media for
what it is today. It's very, Idon't even know if I can put a
word on it because there's somany different things that come
(09:16):
to mind. It's great for the waysthat we've always mentioned for
its connection for bringingpeople together, but at the same
time, it's very easy to crossthat fine line and have it be a
dangerous thing. For someonegoing into the industry, I am
definitely taking account ofthat. And really focusing on my
(09:41):
goals and just what I want toget out of this industry and
having that be my path forward.
Rather than noticing everythingeveryone else is doing when it
comes to social media andgetting the job done as a writer
journalism will always beimportant to me and always love
it. And I've always loved seeingits evolution. I only hope that
(10:04):
people similar to us that lovewriting that love the integrity
of journalism, I hope that itjust maintains the same for
years to come.
Ashley Mejia (10:17):
I love that. They love that so much. And it's so
interesting to hear you, you inyour classes, learning about
that evolution, because for me,you know, when I was in college,
I remember I took like a verybasic intro to HTML class. And
we had to make, you know, theselittle websites for ourselves.
(10:37):
It's like portfolio. And Iremember, I think that that was
my senior year in 2004. That'swhen Mark Zuckerberg founded
Facebook. And I know Facebookwas not the first social media.
There were several before like,I was on MySpace. Like when I
grew up. I remember going afterschool and middle school and
high school and being in the AOLchat rooms. That was kind of my
(11:00):
first use of the Internet backthen, you know, we had like
these AOL CDs, like you wouldput a CD ROM in there. It was
dial up, like the internet wasjust then it's toddlerhood if
it's it started in like the 90s.
So then by the time I was inschool, it was like in its
toddlerhood and it's adolescent.
And I remember when Facebookcame out, at that point, it was
(11:22):
only available to collegestudents. And it wasn't even
available to all collegestudents they had they rolled it
out. I think it was the IvyLeague schools first and then it
was other schools. And then youhad to have like, you would have
to have your UCF email, youwouldn't it wouldn't just be
open to everybody. Your personalYeah, like just Gmail, like just
(11:43):
a person. So it was just forcollege. And it was the friend
who told me about that. And theywere like, Hey, have you heard
of this new app called Facebook?
Or this wasn't even called anapp? Because there was no
iPhones yet? It was, have youheard of this website? Right?
And I was like, what can you doon this? And he was like, Oh,
well, like it has pictures andprofiles of your classmates. I'm
(12:03):
like, this is never gonna last.
Like, I don't want to know thesepeople. I already see these
people in class. And you know,they're letting me down on the
group projects. And it was sofunny to hear to think about how
I was like, this is never gonnalast. And now. I am one of those
(12:26):
people. On Facebook, I have,yeah, I would have if you would
have told me back then when Iwas 19, that this would be a
thing. And that means that Iwould actually have a business
because of what social mediacreated and made possible, I
(12:47):
would have never, I would havenever believed you understood
what you've been meant. Like2006 is when YouTube came out.
So I was already out of school,then Instagram, I think was oh
six or seven. I can't remember.
There was no tick tock tick tockdidn't come yet. Snapchat didn't
come yet. Even LinkedIn,LinkedIn, I can't remember. I
think it was around that sametime. But there was this
(13:08):
renaissance, or this creation,this boom of social media. And
at that point, like there arewhole jobs that are out there
for you now, that when I was incollege, when there was no
social media manager job, likethat Job didn't exist, there is
no like, it's just It boggles mymind. And also, when we look
(13:32):
about, like, all of the rippleeffects, right, so these, like
you said, that connection, andthat community, I love how you
mentioned those two things, asthings that the social media has
allowed us to have, right. Butthen, knowing when I was 19, and
hearing about Facebook,understanding that social media
(13:54):
could overthrow governments,that social media could help
people, you know, in othercountries, right themselves, the
power, the power, or even an usin our country, the
misinformation, the whole likebots, and fake interference from
other countries coming and whatthat effect would be on
(14:18):
elections in our country and onthe political space in our
country, in even like how weassociate or don't associate the
unity of our country, and howsocial media played a role like
the how we would have wholeconversations on what is fact.
And that for me again, when Iwas 19, and I was learning about
(14:39):
communications this way thatyou're learning about
communications now. Again, Iwould have been like what a fact
is a fact is a fact. Not thiswhole term, fake news.
Alternative Facts. What's reallylike the fact that we're even
talking about that now it's whenyou talk about the good thing
means that social media has madepossible the fact that women
(15:02):
like me and you, we go onAmazon, and we buy a mic, we can
talk to the world, right? Thatdoesn't exist for our
grandmothers, and you camebefore us. But the trade off is
with the same technology thatcan allow women to be business
owners and create businessesfrom their home is the same
technology that can also topplegovernments, like, yeah, that's
(15:25):
a crazy trade off, isn't it?
Yes,
Lauren Cordero (15:30):
it really is.
It's incredible to see the powerthat's been given to social
media for both the good and thebad. Social media can be used as
a tool for growth forbusinesses, for women who don't
have the flexibility to be ableto work in an office and want
have this creative aspirationand want to make a business out
(15:52):
of it. It's amazing how thatcould be used as a tool and used
to generate an income for youfor your family. It's also at
the same time incredible how itcan overthrow a government and
how if enough people arepassionate about the same
person, or the same topic or thesame idea, it can really be an
(16:15):
uprising, a social uprising, itcan cause protests, like it's
been leveraged so heavily. Yeah,for the good and for the bad. So
that's why I kind of mentionedit's a little scary, sometimes
digital age. That's why I hopepeople use the tools to their
(16:36):
advantage and effectively andyou know, within good reason,
not let it be so consuming. It's
Ashley Mejia (16:45):
so interesting, even today. So I just finished a
political campaign, we're goingto have an episode about
political communications comingup about things that I've
learned, but even just rightnow, and we live in Florida. So
our legislative session ishappening right here right now
while recording. And one of thebills that I think just passed
(17:06):
was to limit social media usefrom anybody, I think it's
younger than 16. Right. And it'sfunny, because when we were just
talking, I mentioned that when Iwas in middle school, me and my
cousin would race home afterschool, we were latchkey kids,
our parents were working, youknow, to provide for us. So we
would go on aol.com. And then,you know, it was chat rooms. So
(17:30):
people would put a forward slashs forward slash L. A. S l. Mal
was an acronym for age, sexlocation.
Lauren Cordero (17:38):
Oh, wow.
Ashley Mejia (17:39):
Talk about dangerous because, you know, 12,
we were 13. We were whatever.
And so we would be like, we'reage, whatever, we're girls, and
we're in Florida, you know,business being, and we would
maybe lie about our age to beolder than we were cooler than
we were. And now, you know,there was no guardrails, right,
because it was it was the wildwild west of the internet. Fast
(18:02):
forward to now, there'slegislation like there's
countries, I think Montanaoutlawed tick tock because the
Chinese government owning it,there's been, you know, Mark
Zuckerberg has had to go andtestify in front of Congress in
Washington, DC, because of howFacebook the role it played in
the elections. And then now,like, I have a nine year old, I
(18:25):
have a six year old and a fouryear old. And you know, of
course, they're I think they'retoo young for social media. But
now the government is tellingparents, no, it's not legal.
Like we don't really even carewhat you feel for your own kids.
You're not allowed in the stateof Florida, to for your kids to
have social media. And I'm notsaying I'm not I'm not
(18:46):
critiquing whether a young childshould be on social media. But
it's so interesting, how it'sfar it's come in just 20 years,
like the applications in theripple effects of this
technology, right, how it playsinto business, how it played
into journalism, its impact onpolitics, all of it. It's kind
(19:07):
of like to sit and to thinkabout it and reflect on it.
It's, it's a lot. It is a lotand even just advertising like
my kids. We pay for their apps.
So we pay for Disney plus, andthey're on Netflix for kids and
all of these things. So they'renot even used to watching ads or
(19:29):
hearing ads, because they're notfrom our younger generations
like me, you know, we had towatch the commercials and wait
for one episode of a show. We'dhave to wait a whole other
industry to come on like TGIF weused to wait every Friday for
this series of shows that wouldshow every Friday night and it
was like our routines and weused to wait a whole week to
(19:52):
watch family matters to see whatwas gonna happen. And there was
no like binging you know, likeeven my kids, they believed
compass is dangerous. Theybelieve commercials so much,
because they don't have thecontext of watching commercials
enough to understand that acompany is paying to have this
message. Right that it's notgospel truth like my kids like
(20:15):
MMA, or those napkins thequicker picker uppers are those
bouncy or not bouncy if you wantto sponsor the show. Dollar
right here.
Lauren Cordero (20:25):
But yeah, but I was like what
Ashley Mejia (20:27):
it my little son's like, Mommy, we got to get
chewy.com for the cats, the catsneed chewy.com They'll deliver
the cat food right to her house.
And I'm like, What are yousaying? Oh, because they had
they had real TV. And it wastheir first they don't watch
commercials. They don't knowwhat commercials are. So they're
absorbing it. And they're like,well, the TV said to do that
(20:48):
quicker picker, upper bound teatowels are the best. So that's
the kind of money to buy. AndI'm like, Oh my God, you little
kids. You have no idea. But theworld you know, yeah, it was
just crazy. It's
Lauren Cordero (21:01):
crazy. It is and the way that they're being
introduced to it. Now there's somany younger kids on iPads. And
you know, at the dinner tablewhen you're in a restaurant.
Yeah, which personally I didn'tgrow up with that. I mean, we
had growing up like we hadiPads. But I wasn't really
introduced to any social mediaor any technology like that
(21:24):
until I entered Middle School.
Because I was switching to abigger school. And where I went
to school, it was a middleschool and a high school all in
the same buildings. Wow. And itwas like four or five different
buildings. So we were, we wereall kind of mixed together. So
that's kind of when I wasintroduced to social media,
seeing how early kids areintroduced to it now and seeing
kids on the app like 1011 12 onTik Tok and seeing the videos,
(21:48):
it's really surprising to meseeing the difference on how I
was brought up and how I wasgrowing up, I would never have
any form of technology at thetable. Like my mom was very
adamant on having it be ourfamily time. If anything, we
could watch TV watch, likesomething we're all watching
together. But it's reallyinteresting to see how kids are
(22:10):
being introduced to it now atsuch a young age, but how
they're so susceptible to thingslike advertising. And things
like social media that they seethat they obviously don't know,
is fake or may not have the bestintentions. They don't know
better than to question it. Oh,my God.
Ashley Mejia (22:29):
So I just had to have a conversation with my
daughter about about news evenabout, like, I think because of
what we're seeing the trade offof all this technology and how
people have used it forpropaganda for misinformation. I
feel like there needs to be aclass in school about how to
critique how to critically lookat a piece of information and
(22:53):
detect if it's factual or not.
And based on the source, like Ihad to have a conversation with
my daughter about how todetermine if what she's reading
is news, or opinion, or lookingat websites and say, looking at
the address to see if it's a.govversus you know.edu versus calm.
And then thinking about okay,well who benefits by this
(23:16):
information? Who's paying forthis information if this
information is true, or if it'spresented as true, and accept
that as fact, who benefits bythat? If there's somebody that
benefits, maybe we need to lookat, like, what is who's saying
this information deeper, lookingdeeper. It's true. My daughter
even I mean, she's, she doesn'teven use social media. She's
(23:39):
still young, and I want to keepher she's begging for a phone.
She's nine years old. She's infourth grade. And she's like,
all my friends have a phone likeokay, well, you're not gonna
have a phone. Sorry. And sheeven there's like this whole
thing that I'm seeing on socialmedia about really young girls
like 10 Lebbon into skincare,and they're going to Sephora and
(24:00):
Ulta. All right, yes. Yeah, shecame into my bathroom. I had two
bottles of this face wash. Ican't even tell you because
again, I'm, I just buy what's onsale. And it was some kind of
like, facewash and she's like,Oh, I liked the Spacewatch. Can
I have the one that's prettymuch empty. And it had higher?
Higher Lonneke acids. Yeah, I'myou know how to send her on acid
(24:22):
that this is I'm 41 and I can'ttell you about the skincare
stuff and I really need to becareful with the skincare stuff
in she's like, Yeah, Mommy, Ineed to take this. Can I have
this in my shower? And I'm like,yeah, and then I'm thinking,
you're nine years old, like youdon't hire long ago.
Lauren Cordero (24:40):
I've had first hand experience with the 10 and
11 year olds at Sephora. Really?
Yes, I went, I was with my mom.
And I had gone in because forChristmas. I had gotten a gift
card. So I was like, okay, youknow, I was and I was working
right next to the Sephora. So Iwas like okay, I'll go in really
(25:00):
quick, just grab something, Iwasn't sure what I was gonna
grab. But nevertheless, and Iwent in, and there were so many
10 and 11 year olds, and they'reall going after the same brands,
which, actually, I saw anarticle about it. I don't know
if it's true or not, but theywere one of the skincare brands
(25:22):
had published a statement sayingthat children under the age of
14 weren't allowed to getcertain products anymore,
because there were girls usingreally intense products that me
being 18. I've tried, andthey've been way too intense for
me, and I put them down andthey're using them at 10 or 11
(25:42):
years old when they don't haveany, like, they don't have any
acne, they don't have things tobe using them for. This is
crazy. Yes, it's crazy. But Ithink it's, it's definitely just
another ripple effect of socialmedia. In the algorithm, at
least for Tik Tok, a lot ofpopular videos are get ready
with me's. And when girls aregetting ready in their early
(26:06):
20s, that may look a bityounger, using those products or
using that skincare, which isgreat for them. But then when
you have the younger girlswatching them, they want to
embody the person they see onthe screen, they want to have
their same skin. So they go andthey search for the same
products. It's reallyunderstandable in the sense that
(26:27):
they don't know better. Yeah,and how social media has
affected that. But at the sametime, like seeing that from an
outside perspective, or maybefrom like an older mindset. Kind
of it's, it's really surprising.
It
Ashley Mejia (26:41):
is it's incredible. I you know, it's
this constant battle with mydaughter to just encourage her
just enjoy being young. I mean,I know I understand, because I
remember being young, and onewanting to be older, wanting to
be older is so bad, because youcan do so much more. And I just
tried to tell her look, Ipromise you, you don't want to
(27:01):
be doing you're doing whateveryou're doing work. This kind of
stinks. I'd rather be playingwith my Barbies. You know them
working all the time. But I lovethis conversation. Lauren, it's
so, so cool. I did want to touchreally quick on an experience
that we had together. On podfest Expo. It's a podcasting
conference. Listeners, you mayhave heard me talk about it,
(27:22):
because I went to it last year.
Lauren and I got an opportunityto go. It was I think last week
it was it's only been a coupleof days. So Lauren, can you
share with our audience, maybethree takeaways from your
experience at pod fest?
Lauren Cordero (27:37):
Yeah, of course, there was so much good advice at
pod fest for someone who's justdiving into the industry now and
getting acquainted with howpodcasts work and all the things
that go into it. There was a lotof meaningful information that
came out of it. I think thefirst and biggest thing I
(27:59):
learned was the importance ofauthenticity, and being
vulnerable with your audienceand incorporating that into your
storytelling. Because as anaudience member, as a listener,
when listeners really get tohear who you are, as a person,
aside from whatever it is you'retalking about. It evokes an
(28:22):
emotional connection andemotional appeal, that they can
just bond to so much more versusjust rehearsed content. That was
definitely one of the biggestthings was encouraging
authenticity, and whoever youare, as a person, having that
translate into the contentyou're putting out was one of
(28:43):
the biggest takeaways I got. I'dsay the second one is
establishing your why why areyou a podcast? Or why are you
creating this type of content?
Why did you start podcasting,establishing your why and having
that communicated to youraudience, saying, Hey, I'm
Lauren Cordero, and I'm makingthis podcast on this, because I
want you guys to benefit fromit. And I think I am a credible
(29:05):
source, I think I can help youguys. Having that established
and in the forefront of yourmind always when coming into the
podcast space was another thinga lot of mentors touched on that
I found really interesting. If Ihad to choose one more, I think
it would be buildingrelationships and meaningful
(29:27):
connections with the people thatyou interact with, whether it's
co workers, even yourcompetition, people who are in
the same area and workspaces youbuilding meaningful
relationships with them andcollaborating with them. Not
really looking at them as anopponent, rather as a
collaborator, someone who istrying to do the same thing
(29:48):
you're doing, developing ameaningful relationship with
them. And also with youraudience getting more engagement
online is a directory of howyour audience feels with you and
your content. And what you'reputting out the kind of person
or creator you are, if you'rebuilding those meaningful
(30:08):
relationships with both youraudience and the people you work
around, I think that overall wasone of the bigger topics covered
as well. That
Ashley Mejia (30:23):
is so good. I love all of what you said, I
especially love the part aboutcollaboration, and connecting
with people. Because I thinkthat that's so true, I have so
many experiences. Once I had amarketing agency, some people
will know from the community, Ihad to actually. And I remember,
(30:45):
by starting it with a businesspartner, the first one and 2012.
And I remembered we had ourheads down for many years. And
we're just working deliveringfor our clients working,
delivering growing so on. And itwasn't until later when we would
go to these like networkingevents, or we would go to more
like industry conferences, likewe had a little bit more time to
(31:05):
because we were out of thatstartup mode, we would hear
about all of these otheragencies that were very similar
to us that we're doing the sameamount of work, some of them
were even started around thesame time that we were, had
started. And it would boggle mymind. Because I would say oh my
gosh, there's look at all of us.
We are all working and busy andhappy and thriving. And we
(31:30):
didn't even know about eachother. And look, we're not
limiting each other, there wasenough for all of us, we're all
shining, we didn't even knowthat each other existed. Because
we're all there's enoughbusiness for us. And I remember
feeling like there's gonnathere's more business, the world
is expansive, and abundant. Andthere will never be a lack of,
(31:52):
of work or people that need ourservices need our help. So I
just I love that. I love thatthat you mentioned that very
cool, we're going to be inbasically implementing a couple
of the things that you talkedabout, we're gonna be doing some
more things like Instagramlives, some more just live
offerings, where our community,our listeners can talk to us
(32:15):
about things that we're seeingin the industry, trends, best
practices, and so on. So havingmore of that connection, I love
that you brought that out,because that's something that is
a goal, I think, for us for thisnext season of talk freelance to
me. So I'm so excited thatyou're here, Laura, and I'm so
excited to grow this new chaptertogether with you. Is there
(32:37):
anything else that you want toshare with our listeners about
your journey about what you'relearning, or your goals?
Lauren Cordero (32:46):
I think just emphasizing the importance of
culture and communication andhow that plays into anyone's
role if they're creatingcontent, or if they're writing
for someone who creates content,I grew up noticing the
significance of communication,and how it plays such an
(33:07):
important role in everyday life.
So I think to anyone who'slistening, that's creating
content writing, if you can takea step back and kind of like
reevaluate everything thatyou're putting out into the
world, and see how it alignswith you and how it's benefiting
your audience by doing that, andreally making sure whatever
(33:29):
you're putting out ismeaningful, and positive and is
really more of a shining light,rather than something that
brings people down. I thinklooking at that is the best way
to grow not only as a creator,but just as a person as well.
Being able to communicate withso many people at a time is so
(33:51):
important. And it's so amazingthat we get to call this a job
that I get to call this aninternship. So I think just
being able to do that and takinga step back looking at
everything from a differentperspective, maybe because it
gets so hectic sometimes is thebest thing I can kind of end
(34:12):
this off with if I can encourageanyone to do anything. It's just
to take a step back reevaluateand focus on all the good and
the positivity that you can putout into the world being in the
space.
Ashley Mejia (34:27):
Love that. Thank you so much, Lauren, I
appreciate you being on the crewon the team and participating in
this podcast together. So lookout for more from us talk
freelance to me, we appreciateyou guys. And with that we've
come to the end of anotherepisode please make sure you hit
subscribe and give me a fivestar review on Apple check out
(34:49):
the show notes and grab my freeniches get rich as freelance
writing worksheet to brainstormthe best niches for your writing
business. Until next time, thisis Ashley C. snaps me here.
Don't forget y'all get this oneprecious life. Don't constrain
yourself to a box that you arenever meant to fit in. It is
your right to profit from yourown creative gifts. Our music
(35:13):
was composed by Donna Rafael ofworld instrumentals talk
freelance to me it's a productof Fenix Creative Studios.
I'm welcome to talk freelance to me, the
(00:03):
podcast for women freelancewriters, 1099 independent
contractors and solopreneurs.
I'm your host, Ashley Cisneros.
me here. For more than 20 yearsI've worked as a journalist and
freelance writer. Today as a momof three kids. I'm passionate
about helping other womenleverage the freedom that
freelance offers. On topfreelance to me, we're all about
(00:25):
the business of freelancing. Ifyou want to learn how to
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And don't forget to share thisepisode with a friend. Visit our
(00:47):
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our email list to be the firstto know about our latest offers.
Thanks for tuning in and let'sget into the episode. Hello and
welcome everyone to anotherepisode of the talk freelance me
podcast. I'm your host AshleyCece, notice me here and today I
(01:07):
am super excited to introduce toyou the very first intern that
we've ever had at Tuck freelanceto me, the amazing Lauren
Cordero Lauren, how are youtoday?
Lauren Cordero (01:22):
I am great. How are you?
Ashley Mejia (01:24):
I am so excited.
I'm so good. I'm so excited tointroduce you to our community.
And in this conversation to justlearn more about you and to talk
about what amazing things wehave in store for our community.
So, freelance fam I alwaysintroduce our guests with a
little bit of information fromtheir bio, so I'll do that now.
(01:44):
Lauren Cordero is our very firstintern here at Tuck freelance to
me. I current earns aundergraduate student at the
University of Central Florida inOrlando. Lauren is charting a
path toward a dynamic career inadvertising and public
relations. A native of Miami,Florida, Lauren has a passion
for travel, cultural explorationand fashion. She actively
(02:07):
participates in the quotes andfashion societies at UCF, and
embraces every opportunity withenthusiasm and dedication.
Lauren, you rock. I'm so gladthat you're here. That was your
formal bio. Do you want tointroduce yourself to the
community? Tell us more aboutyourself? Sure.
Lauren Cordero (02:28):
Yeah. So I'm currently a freshman at the
University of Central Florida. Iwas born in Puerto Rico, but I
grew up in Miami, so very kneedeep and culture over there,
which I think is kind of where Ifound my love for that. And I
moved here to Orlando last year.
And it's been the biggest changeof my life so far, but I think
it's going to be great.
Ashley Mejia (02:50):
I am so excited for you. I'm so happy for you
for being like at this chapterin your life. Like it's just
there's so much it's just allpotential. It's all, you know,
future looking, and just howexciting. Thank you. I just
gotta give you your props tobecause you really impressed me
in all of your materials in allof our interactions. So far. I'm
(03:13):
excited. The fact that you are afreshman and you're already
doing an internship, I feel likedeserves a round of applause. I
don't know for anybodylistening. You know, if you guys
did internships when you were incollege, I did some but they
were later. I think it was myjunior year, my freshman year,
but the fact that you're, you'relooking for these opportunities
(03:34):
to get your professionalexpertise. So early in your
college career is very cool. SoI'm excited for you. So can you
tell me a little bit? Why didyou choose advertising as your
major at UCF?
Lauren Cordero (03:48):
Well, as someone who's always loved being
involved, definitely throughhigh school, I found that I
thrived the most in groupprojects, group activities,
taking in those extracurricularactivities. I really loved being
in a position, especially aleadership position in those
things where I can lead a grouptowards a shared goal. Within
(04:10):
those activities. I eventuallybegan finding my passions for
writing for photography, anycreative project anywhere where
I can express that creativityand that outlet within
literature and just all forms ofart. I found that I loved it. So
when looking at the majors forUCF, I was definitely interested
(04:32):
in either advertisingjournalism, something within the
School of Communications, Ithought that was my calling. But
I think the deciding factor forme was definitely being in the
social media program at my highschool and drama Academy. The
social media program is run bythe amazing Miss Alvarez. She's
(04:52):
great. She's so talented, andshe really instilled in me and
all her students, just the powerhave creativity and
communication and how importantit is. I've always been an
ambitious student. And withinthat she really always supported
me. And she always encouraged meto try different things if I was
ever interested in them. Sobeing a part of that program
(05:16):
really enabled me to kind ofnarrow down on what I wanted to
do. And I really found thatthrough advertising, I can
express my passion for writing,but also maintain that creative
eye and apply that in designsand things like that.
Ashley Mejia (05:34):
I love it. I love it. I love your background, too.
I know when you were talkingwith me, you know about the
internship, you were sharingthat you had competed in the
Florida Scholastic PressAssociation, which I did way too
long ago, which is very cool. Soyou definitely have like the
(05:54):
writing skills. I mean, that'sso cool. And then I loved that
you had this graphic designinterest, too, in communicating
visually, which as we can see,for anyone listening, you know,
your, whatever your service thatyou're offering, that, that need
to communicate what you dovisually, like on Instagram, or
(06:17):
you making Facebook informationfor your clients, all of that is
so necessary. And I love Lauren,that you can do both that you
can communicate through words,and then also through graphics.
I think that's really cool.
Thank
Lauren Cordero (06:29):
you. Yeah, I definitely love using the
different mediums, whether it'sphotography, or writing,
specifically, I think there'ssuch a power in what's said, and
what's not said. And reallyenticing an audience through a
picture is so powerful to me, orbeing able to connect with
people through my words, issomething I've always loved,
(06:50):
which is why I've always beendrawn to literature reading and
things like that. That's supercool.
Ashley Mejia (06:56):
I love it. So we talked about you done, you did
the social media program at yourschool, you also did the Florida
Scholastic Press Association.
How do you perceive the state ofjournalism, content? Social
media? Like what are younoticing? As a student that
studying all of this? How do yousee it in terms of like your own
(07:20):
professional aspirations, likewhat you plan to do after
college? How would you describeit,
Lauren Cordero (07:28):
being a student, and really narrowing down the
focus on what I've loved?
Learning about it was reallyinteresting. Because as a
student, you're not only shownthe positives, you're also shown
the negatives of what it is thatyou want of your intended field.
And it was really eye opening.
(07:50):
Because as social media ischanging, as that change
precedes, it can be veryoverwhelming. My perception of
social media definitely changed,because I realized how
misleading it can be. While itdoes have its amazing benefits
as far as communication andconnection, there's also a lot
(08:10):
of misinformation out there. Andit's really difficult to tell
what's real and what's not. Asfar as journalism, I also got a
chance to learn about the stateof it, its evolution, and then
how it's changed. It was veryinteresting to see how a lot of
journalists at this day and age,a lot of them want to get the
(08:32):
job done, which is so differentfrom what I was taught
journalism to be. I've alwaysloved being able to put your own
perspective on a story and haveit reach millions of people. I
think now, with so many falseclaims and biased opinions, it's
really easy to narrow down onone side of social media, when
(08:54):
it's so diverse. And gettingthat first hand experience
learning about it has been sointeresting to me. I think the
state of journalism andadvertising and social media for
what it is today. It's very, Idon't even know if I can put a
word on it because there's somany different things that come
(09:16):
to mind. It's great for the waysthat we've always mentioned for
its connection for bringingpeople together, but at the same
time, it's very easy to crossthat fine line and have it be a
dangerous thing. For someonegoing into the industry, I am
definitely taking account ofthat. And really focusing on my
(09:41):
goals and just what I want toget out of this industry and
having that be my path forward.
Rather than noticing everythingeveryone else is doing when it
comes to social media andgetting the job done as a writer
journalism will always beimportant to me and always love
it. And I've always loved seeingits evolution. I only hope that
(10:04):
people similar to us that lovewriting that love the integrity
of journalism, I hope that itjust maintains the same for
years to come.
Ashley Mejia (10:17):
I love that. They love that so much. And it's so
interesting to hear you, you inyour classes, learning about
that evolution, because for me,you know, when I was in college,
I remember I took like a verybasic intro to HTML class. And
we had to make, you know, theselittle websites for ourselves.
(10:37):
It's like portfolio. And Iremember, I think that that was
my senior year in 2004. That'swhen Mark Zuckerberg founded
Facebook. And I know Facebookwas not the first social media.
There were several before like,I was on MySpace. Like when I
grew up. I remember going afterschool and middle school and
high school and being in the AOLchat rooms. That was kind of my
(11:00):
first use of the Internet backthen, you know, we had like
these AOL CDs, like you wouldput a CD ROM in there. It was
dial up, like the internet wasjust then it's toddlerhood if
it's it started in like the 90s.
So then by the time I was inschool, it was like in its
toddlerhood and it's adolescent.
And I remember when Facebookcame out, at that point, it was
(11:22):
only available to collegestudents. And it wasn't even
available to all collegestudents they had they rolled it
out. I think it was the IvyLeague schools first and then it
was other schools. And then youhad to have like, you would have
to have your UCF email, youwouldn't it wouldn't just be
open to everybody. Your personalYeah, like just Gmail, like just
(11:43):
a person. So it was just forcollege. And it was the friend
who told me about that. And theywere like, Hey, have you heard
of this new app called Facebook?
Or this wasn't even called anapp? Because there was no
iPhones yet? It was, have youheard of this website? Right?
And I was like, what can you doon this? And he was like, Oh,
well, like it has pictures andprofiles of your classmates. I'm
(12:03):
like, this is never gonna last.
Like, I don't want to know thesepeople. I already see these
people in class. And you know,they're letting me down on the
group projects. And it was sofunny to hear to think about how
I was like, this is never gonnalast. And now. I am one of those
(12:26):
people. On Facebook, I have,yeah, I would have if you would
have told me back then when Iwas 19, that this would be a
thing. And that means that Iwould actually have a business
because of what social mediacreated and made possible, I
(12:47):
would have never, I would havenever believed you understood
what you've been meant. Like2006 is when YouTube came out.
So I was already out of school,then Instagram, I think was oh
six or seven. I can't remember.
There was no tick tock tick tockdidn't come yet. Snapchat didn't
come yet. Even LinkedIn,LinkedIn, I can't remember. I
think it was around that sametime. But there was this
(13:08):
renaissance, or this creation,this boom of social media. And
at that point, like there arewhole jobs that are out there
for you now, that when I was incollege, when there was no
social media manager job, likethat Job didn't exist, there is
no like, it's just It boggles mymind. And also, when we look
(13:32):
about, like, all of the rippleeffects, right, so these, like
you said, that connection, andthat community, I love how you
mentioned those two things, asthings that the social media has
allowed us to have, right. Butthen, knowing when I was 19, and
hearing about Facebook,understanding that social media
(13:54):
could overthrow governments,that social media could help
people, you know, in othercountries, right themselves, the
power, the power, or even an usin our country, the
misinformation, the whole likebots, and fake interference from
other countries coming and whatthat effect would be on
(14:18):
elections in our country and onthe political space in our
country, in even like how weassociate or don't associate the
unity of our country, and howsocial media played a role like
the how we would have wholeconversations on what is fact.
And that for me again, when Iwas 19, and I was learning about
(14:39):
communications this way thatyou're learning about
communications now. Again, Iwould have been like what a fact
is a fact is a fact. Not thiswhole term, fake news.
Alternative Facts. What's reallylike the fact that we're even
talking about that now it's whenyou talk about the good thing
means that social media has madepossible the fact that women
(15:02):
like me and you, we go onAmazon, and we buy a mic, we can
talk to the world, right? Thatdoesn't exist for our
grandmothers, and you camebefore us. But the trade off is
with the same technology thatcan allow women to be business
owners and create businessesfrom their home is the same
technology that can also topplegovernments, like, yeah, that's
(15:25):
a crazy trade off, isn't it?
Yes,
Lauren Cordero (15:30):
it really is.
It's incredible to see the powerthat's been given to social
media for both the good and thebad. Social media can be used as
a tool for growth forbusinesses, for women who don't
have the flexibility to be ableto work in an office and want
have this creative aspirationand want to make a business out
(15:52):
of it. It's amazing how thatcould be used as a tool and used
to generate an income for youfor your family. It's also at
the same time incredible how itcan overthrow a government and
how if enough people arepassionate about the same
person, or the same topic or thesame idea, it can really be an
(16:15):
uprising, a social uprising, itcan cause protests, like it's
been leveraged so heavily. Yeah,for the good and for the bad. So
that's why I kind of mentionedit's a little scary, sometimes
digital age. That's why I hopepeople use the tools to their
(16:36):
advantage and effectively andyou know, within good reason,
not let it be so consuming. It's
Ashley Mejia (16:45):
so interesting, even today. So I just finished a
political campaign, we're goingto have an episode about
political communications comingup about things that I've
learned, but even just rightnow, and we live in Florida. So
our legislative session ishappening right here right now
while recording. And one of thebills that I think just passed
(17:06):
was to limit social media usefrom anybody, I think it's
younger than 16. Right. And it'sfunny, because when we were just
talking, I mentioned that when Iwas in middle school, me and my
cousin would race home afterschool, we were latchkey kids,
our parents were working, youknow, to provide for us. So we
would go on aol.com. And then,you know, it was chat rooms. So
(17:30):
people would put a forward slashs forward slash L. A. S l. Mal
was an acronym for age, sexlocation.
Lauren Cordero (17:38):
Oh, wow.
Ashley Mejia (17:39):
Talk about dangerous because, you know, 12,
we were 13. We were whatever.
And so we would be like, we'reage, whatever, we're girls, and
we're in Florida, you know,business being, and we would
maybe lie about our age to beolder than we were cooler than
we were. And now, you know,there was no guardrails, right,
because it was it was the wildwild west of the internet. Fast
(18:02):
forward to now, there'slegislation like there's
countries, I think Montanaoutlawed tick tock because the
Chinese government owning it,there's been, you know, Mark
Zuckerberg has had to go andtestify in front of Congress in
Washington, DC, because of howFacebook the role it played in
the elections. And then now,like, I have a nine year old, I
(18:25):
have a six year old and a fouryear old. And you know, of
course, they're I think they'retoo young for social media. But
now the government is tellingparents, no, it's not legal.
Like we don't really even carewhat you feel for your own kids.
You're not allowed in the stateof Florida, to for your kids to
have social media. And I'm notsaying I'm not I'm not
(18:46):
critiquing whether a young childshould be on social media. But
it's so interesting, how it'sfar it's come in just 20 years,
like the applications in theripple effects of this
technology, right, how it playsinto business, how it played
into journalism, its impact onpolitics, all of it. It's kind
(19:07):
of like to sit and to thinkabout it and reflect on it.
It's, it's a lot. It is a lotand even just advertising like
my kids. We pay for their apps.
So we pay for Disney plus, andthey're on Netflix for kids and
all of these things. So they'renot even used to watching ads or
(19:29):
hearing ads, because they're notfrom our younger generations
like me, you know, we had towatch the commercials and wait
for one episode of a show. We'dhave to wait a whole other
industry to come on like TGIF weused to wait every Friday for
this series of shows that wouldshow every Friday night and it
was like our routines and weused to wait a whole week to
(19:52):
watch family matters to see whatwas gonna happen. And there was
no like binging you know, likeeven my kids, they believed
compass is dangerous. Theybelieve commercials so much,
because they don't have thecontext of watching commercials
enough to understand that acompany is paying to have this
message. Right that it's notgospel truth like my kids like
(20:15):
MMA, or those napkins thequicker picker uppers are those
bouncy or not bouncy if you wantto sponsor the show. Dollar
right here.
Lauren Cordero (20:25):
But yeah, but I was like what
Ashley Mejia (20:27):
it my little son's like, Mommy, we got to get
chewy.com for the cats, the catsneed chewy.com They'll deliver
the cat food right to her house.
And I'm like, What are yousaying? Oh, because they had
they had real TV. And it wastheir first they don't watch
commercials. They don't knowwhat commercials are. So they're
absorbing it. And they're like,well, the TV said to do that
(20:48):
quicker picker, upper bound teatowels are the best. So that's
the kind of money to buy. AndI'm like, Oh my God, you little
kids. You have no idea. But theworld you know, yeah, it was
just crazy. It's
Lauren Cordero (21:01):
crazy. It is and the way that they're being
introduced to it. Now there's somany younger kids on iPads. And
you know, at the dinner tablewhen you're in a restaurant.
Yeah, which personally I didn'tgrow up with that. I mean, we
had growing up like we hadiPads. But I wasn't really
introduced to any social mediaor any technology like that
(21:24):
until I entered Middle School.
Because I was switching to abigger school. And where I went
to school, it was a middleschool and a high school all in
the same buildings. Wow. And itwas like four or five different
buildings. So we were, we wereall kind of mixed together. So
that's kind of when I wasintroduced to social media,
seeing how early kids areintroduced to it now and seeing
kids on the app like 1011 12 onTik Tok and seeing the videos,
(21:48):
it's really surprising to meseeing the difference on how I
was brought up and how I wasgrowing up, I would never have
any form of technology at thetable. Like my mom was very
adamant on having it be ourfamily time. If anything, we
could watch TV watch, likesomething we're all watching
together. But it's reallyinteresting to see how kids are
(22:10):
being introduced to it now atsuch a young age, but how
they're so susceptible to thingslike advertising. And things
like social media that they seethat they obviously don't know,
is fake or may not have the bestintentions. They don't know
better than to question it. Oh,my God.
Ashley Mejia (22:29):
So I just had to have a conversation with my
daughter about about news evenabout, like, I think because of
what we're seeing the trade offof all this technology and how
people have used it forpropaganda for misinformation. I
feel like there needs to be aclass in school about how to
critique how to critically lookat a piece of information and
(22:53):
detect if it's factual or not.
And based on the source, like Ihad to have a conversation with
my daughter about how todetermine if what she's reading
is news, or opinion, or lookingat websites and say, looking at
the address to see if it's a.govversus you know.edu versus calm.
And then thinking about okay,well who benefits by this
(23:16):
information? Who's paying forthis information if this
information is true, or if it'spresented as true, and accept
that as fact, who benefits bythat? If there's somebody that
benefits, maybe we need to lookat, like, what is who's saying
this information deeper, lookingdeeper. It's true. My daughter
even I mean, she's, she doesn'teven use social media. She's
(23:39):
still young, and I want to keepher she's begging for a phone.
She's nine years old. She's infourth grade. And she's like,
all my friends have a phone likeokay, well, you're not gonna
have a phone. Sorry. And sheeven there's like this whole
thing that I'm seeing on socialmedia about really young girls
like 10 Lebbon into skincare,and they're going to Sephora and
(24:00):
Ulta. All right, yes. Yeah, shecame into my bathroom. I had two
bottles of this face wash. Ican't even tell you because
again, I'm, I just buy what's onsale. And it was some kind of
like, facewash and she's like,Oh, I liked the Spacewatch. Can
I have the one that's prettymuch empty. And it had higher?
Higher Lonneke acids. Yeah, I'myou know how to send her on acid
(24:22):
that this is I'm 41 and I can'ttell you about the skincare
stuff and I really need to becareful with the skincare stuff
in she's like, Yeah, Mommy, Ineed to take this. Can I have
this in my shower? And I'm like,yeah, and then I'm thinking,
you're nine years old, like youdon't hire long ago.
Lauren Cordero (24:40):
I've had first hand experience with the 10 and
11 year olds at Sephora. Really?
Yes, I went, I was with my mom.
And I had gone in because forChristmas. I had gotten a gift
card. So I was like, okay, youknow, I was and I was working
right next to the Sephora. So Iwas like okay, I'll go in really
(25:00):
quick, just grab something, Iwasn't sure what I was gonna
grab. But nevertheless, and Iwent in, and there were so many
10 and 11 year olds, and they'reall going after the same brands,
which, actually, I saw anarticle about it. I don't know
if it's true or not, but theywere one of the skincare brands
(25:22):
had published a statement sayingthat children under the age of
14 weren't allowed to getcertain products anymore,
because there were girls usingreally intense products that me
being 18. I've tried, andthey've been way too intense for
me, and I put them down andthey're using them at 10 or 11
(25:42):
years old when they don't haveany, like, they don't have any
acne, they don't have things tobe using them for. This is
crazy. Yes, it's crazy. But Ithink it's, it's definitely just
another ripple effect of socialmedia. In the algorithm, at
least for Tik Tok, a lot ofpopular videos are get ready
with me's. And when girls aregetting ready in their early
(26:06):
20s, that may look a bityounger, using those products or
using that skincare, which isgreat for them. But then when
you have the younger girlswatching them, they want to
embody the person they see onthe screen, they want to have
their same skin. So they go andthey search for the same
products. It's reallyunderstandable in the sense that
(26:27):
they don't know better. Yeah,and how social media has
affected that. But at the sametime, like seeing that from an
outside perspective, or maybefrom like an older mindset. Kind
of it's, it's really surprising.
It
Ashley Mejia (26:41):
is it's incredible. I you know, it's
this constant battle with mydaughter to just encourage her
just enjoy being young. I mean,I know I understand, because I
remember being young, and onewanting to be older, wanting to
be older is so bad, because youcan do so much more. And I just
tried to tell her look, Ipromise you, you don't want to
(27:01):
be doing you're doing whateveryou're doing work. This kind of
stinks. I'd rather be playingwith my Barbies. You know them
working all the time. But I lovethis conversation. Lauren, it's
so, so cool. I did want to touchreally quick on an experience
that we had together. On podfest Expo. It's a podcasting
conference. Listeners, you mayhave heard me talk about it,
(27:22):
because I went to it last year.
Lauren and I got an opportunityto go. It was I think last week
it was it's only been a coupleof days. So Lauren, can you
share with our audience, maybethree takeaways from your
experience at pod fest?
Lauren Cordero (27:37):
Yeah, of course, there was so much good advice at
pod fest for someone who's justdiving into the industry now and
getting acquainted with howpodcasts work and all the things
that go into it. There was a lotof meaningful information that
came out of it. I think thefirst and biggest thing I
(27:59):
learned was the importance ofauthenticity, and being
vulnerable with your audienceand incorporating that into your
storytelling. Because as anaudience member, as a listener,
when listeners really get tohear who you are, as a person,
aside from whatever it is you'retalking about. It evokes an
(28:22):
emotional connection andemotional appeal, that they can
just bond to so much more versusjust rehearsed content. That was
definitely one of the biggestthings was encouraging
authenticity, and whoever youare, as a person, having that
translate into the contentyou're putting out was one of
(28:43):
the biggest takeaways I got. I'dsay the second one is
establishing your why why areyou a podcast? Or why are you
creating this type of content?
Why did you start podcasting,establishing your why and having
that communicated to youraudience, saying, Hey, I'm
Lauren Cordero, and I'm makingthis podcast on this, because I
want you guys to benefit fromit. And I think I am a credible
(29:05):
source, I think I can help youguys. Having that established
and in the forefront of yourmind always when coming into the
podcast space was another thinga lot of mentors touched on that
I found really interesting. If Ihad to choose one more, I think
it would be buildingrelationships and meaningful
(29:27):
connections with the people thatyou interact with, whether it's
co workers, even yourcompetition, people who are in
the same area and workspaces youbuilding meaningful
relationships with them andcollaborating with them. Not
really looking at them as anopponent, rather as a
collaborator, someone who istrying to do the same thing
(29:48):
you're doing, developing ameaningful relationship with
them. And also with youraudience getting more engagement
online is a directory of howyour audience feels with you and
your content. And what you'reputting out the kind of person
or creator you are, if you'rebuilding those meaningful
(30:08):
relationships with both youraudience and the people you work
around, I think that overall wasone of the bigger topics covered
as well. That
Ashley Mejia (30:23):
is so good. I love all of what you said, I
especially love the part aboutcollaboration, and connecting
with people. Because I thinkthat that's so true, I have so
many experiences. Once I had amarketing agency, some people
will know from the community, Ihad to actually. And I remember,
(30:45):
by starting it with a businesspartner, the first one and 2012.
And I remembered we had ourheads down for many years. And
we're just working deliveringfor our clients working,
delivering growing so on. And itwasn't until later when we would
go to these like networkingevents, or we would go to more
like industry conferences, likewe had a little bit more time to
(31:05):
because we were out of thatstartup mode, we would hear
about all of these otheragencies that were very similar
to us that we're doing the sameamount of work, some of them
were even started around thesame time that we were, had
started. And it would boggle mymind. Because I would say oh my
gosh, there's look at all of us.
We are all working and busy andhappy and thriving. And we
(31:30):
didn't even know about eachother. And look, we're not
limiting each other, there wasenough for all of us, we're all
shining, we didn't even knowthat each other existed. Because
we're all there's enoughbusiness for us. And I remember
feeling like there's gonnathere's more business, the world
is expansive, and abundant. Andthere will never be a lack of,
(31:52):
of work or people that need ourservices need our help. So I
just I love that. I love thatthat you mentioned that very
cool, we're going to be inbasically implementing a couple
of the things that you talkedabout, we're gonna be doing some
more things like Instagramlives, some more just live
offerings, where our community,our listeners can talk to us
(32:15):
about things that we're seeingin the industry, trends, best
practices, and so on. So havingmore of that connection, I love
that you brought that out,because that's something that is
a goal, I think, for us for thisnext season of talk freelance to
me. So I'm so excited thatyou're here, Laura, and I'm so
excited to grow this new chaptertogether with you. Is there
(32:37):
anything else that you want toshare with our listeners about
your journey about what you'relearning, or your goals?
Lauren Cordero (32:46):
I think just emphasizing the importance of
culture and communication andhow that plays into anyone's
role if they're creatingcontent, or if they're writing
for someone who creates content,I grew up noticing the
significance of communication,and how it plays such an
(33:07):
important role in everyday life.
So I think to anyone who'slistening, that's creating
content writing, if you can takea step back and kind of like
reevaluate everything thatyou're putting out into the
world, and see how it alignswith you and how it's benefiting
your audience by doing that, andreally making sure whatever
(33:29):
you're putting out ismeaningful, and positive and is
really more of a shining light,rather than something that
brings people down. I thinklooking at that is the best way
to grow not only as a creator,but just as a person as well.
Being able to communicate withso many people at a time is so
(33:51):
important. And it's so amazingthat we get to call this a job
that I get to call this aninternship. So I think just
being able to do that and takinga step back looking at
everything from a differentperspective, maybe because it
gets so hectic sometimes is thebest thing I can kind of end
(34:12):
this off with if I can encourageanyone to do anything. It's just
to take a step back reevaluateand focus on all the good and
the positivity that you can putout into the world being in the
space.
Ashley Mejia (34:27):
Love that. Thank you so much, Lauren, I
appreciate you being on the crewon the team and participating in
this podcast together. So lookout for more from us talk
freelance to me, we appreciateyou guys. And with that we've
come to the end of anotherepisode please make sure you hit
subscribe and give me a fivestar review on Apple check out
(34:49):
the show notes and grab my freeniches get rich as freelance
writing worksheet to brainstormthe best niches for your writing
business. Until next time, thisis Ashley C. snaps me here.
Don't forget y'all get this oneprecious life. Don't constrain
yourself to a box that you arenever meant to fit in. It is
your right to profit from yourown creative gifts. Our music
(35:13):
was composed by Donna Rafael ofworld instrumentals talk
freelance to me it's a productof Fenix Creative Studios.
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