Many Designity creatives find that they discover their passion for design in different ways; some by experimenting with new tools and others by stumbling upon unexpected opportunities along their journey.
But for Nilmari S, the exact opposite is true!
This Puerto Rico native started her career determined to be the best graphic designer she could be, only to discover that her true passion lay elsewhere — copywriting and digital marketing!
Now, through years of experience in advertising, strategy, and content creation, she’s found her place at Designity and is hard at work helping her clients tell their stories and connect with their audiences better than ever before!
So, if you’re ready to see how Nilmari made the switch from aspiring designer to marketing strategist and copywriting pro, then here’s your chance. Today’s blog is your backstage pass to a 1:1 with rising Designity star, Nilmari S. so she can share her story, her amazing work, and what fuels her passion for writing and strategy!
Get ready because it’s time to meet Nilmari!
How did you get into copywriting and digital marketing? What’s your origin story?
I actually studied graphic design first, and I didn’t like it at all!
I got my bachelor’s in graphic design at Full Sail University and then I did my master’s in business, focusing on the marketing side of business.
Then later, I worked in an advertising agency as an account manager and that’s really where I learned what I like about being a creative.
I’ve always liked writing personal stuff, like for my own journals and meditation, but one place I worked was a startup and with a startup, you have to do everything. The marketing department was a one-person show and so I started copywriting for healthcare. I had to write blogs and social media and, since then, I decided to focus more on being a freelance copywriting marketer.
It’s been a whole journey of 12 years of experience. Since about a year or two ago, I’ve been fully focused on copywriting more than anything. So, that’s how I’ve come to be here.
What was your first creative job?
My first job was a graphic designer at Telemundo.
I did my internship with Telemundo and then went to the advertising agency. Then I worked for a fashion designer. That’s where I started doing social media and went all the way up to marketing director.
How did your career take you to Designity?
Then 2020 came and I started doing my own stuff, freelancing and starting my own small business.
Then, I started working in the healthcare insurance industry, and then I worked for a bit with a children’s book publisher and then I found Designity on LinkedIn!
What really caught my eye when I saw the position was the flexibility to not only work from home but to have the flexibility to choose your own clients that you want to work with.
And it was so interesting. I’d never heard of Creative as a Service. But that’s what we all do. And not having to invoice people or have to get my own clients, that really caught my eye for sure!
What’s been your experience with Designity so far?
It’s like a complete 180 from working in-house and in an advertising agency.
I’ve really enjoyed working with all the Creative Directors. So far, I haven’t had a bad experience whatsoever. I think all of them have been incredible.
The fact that they look for people that are specialized in certain areas. Like I do copywriting, but I can specialize even more in writing for SEO or email marketing. I like that the Creative Directors take the time to look for those specificities. That way I can do something I love to do instead of doing something I don’t like.
I love the growth plan that Designity has too. I think it’s very interesting and very different from a lot of other companies. I also enjoy getting feedback directly from the Creative Director and seeing different perspectives from each person you work with.
For sure, it’s been a whole other experience.
Do you find yourself working on more copywriting projects or digital marketing projects at Designity?
I’ve done both. Copywriting and marketing audits.
Right now, I’m working on a project with Molly. I did a social media audit and strategic plan for that brand and now I’m doing the content writing for them too.
Same thing with a project for J.D.; I did a marketing audit for him and then I wrote a script for one of the videos they made.
Do you ever pick up graphic design jobs?
No, and I’m not interested in doing design whatsoever.
That’s where I draw the line!
What is your favorite kind of project to take on?
Any time I get started with a marketing audit.
I did a marketing audit with Emily and then I started working on the strategy and then creating the content. So, just being able to start something and seeing the finished product, those are the parts that I like the most because I feel like I can be accountable for the success of the project.
Or if it’s not successful, to see what I can improve on.
What kind of projects are most challenging for you?
When I'm writing and the brand doesn't have a guideline or doesn't have their target personas or the value proposition. It's like stars and rainbows, it doesn't make any sense. Those are the hardest!
I like to think as if I’m the target persona when I write or, if that's not defined, at least tell me what you do. If I don’t have that, it makes those projects very, very hard.
For example, I had one project where I was working on their brand guide. And I was making the target personas and when I asked them for the value proposition, they just said “we make people better.” And I was like, “By doing what?! I don't understand what you do!”
And so those are the most challenging. It requires me to do more research and try to understand better and ask more questions. So, those are the hardest, but they're also interesting.
How do you keep yourself up to date with marketing trends as they come and go?
I’m subscribed to a few newsletters that I like to keep up with that send weekly updates; either marketing stack programs or if Instagram changed their algorithm again.
I have another one which is all about courses, so if SEMrush drops a new course or HubSpot drops a new course, then I like to take those courses.
I am certified in HubSpot, so when they update a course, I usually take them just to be up to date with what they have on their platform, because when I do freelance, I do have a couple of clients that use that platform.
So, just by newsletters really. And I also use LinkedIn a lot to stay up to date.
Do you have a certain industry you like working for the most?
The one I enjoy the most is children's books or just publishing. Those I enjoy the most, just creating content for them.
I’m working on a client that has an AI children’s book — they created a children’s book with AI — so the fact that I get to go back to children’s book publishing, I’m pretty excited.
One of my dreams would be to write a children’s book one day, but I’m not there yet!
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
I'm always taking a class or a lesson on something. Right now, I just started doing piano lessons.
My husband does music; he has a band with his friends. He loves to make music, and he plays the electric guitar, but he’s never taken a class. He just listens to something, and he can just play it. So, for Christmas, I bought him some lessons and now he’s got a teacher and he’s learning so much and wanted me to take piano lessons because I've always wanted to learn. And now I guess we're going to be a duo or something!
I like to play video games too. I like cozy games a lot, but now I’m playing Hogwarts. I am addicted to that game. But I'm mostly about cozy games. At the end of the night, I’ll just play a little bit of Animal Crossing or something.
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Do you have any words of inspiration for aspiring creatives?
Never doubt yourself. Just put yourself out there and be open to receiving feedback.
I think that's really the only path to growth is just putting yourself out there, because you never know.
