VP Marketing at SparkToro | Can keep hydrangeas alive in a vase for 10 days

I'm currently VP Marketing for audience research startup, SparkToro. I also send a personal newsletter on Substack, and I'm working on a book due out this summer! (More to come on that.)

I've spoken at conferences like AdWorld, MozCon, and SaaStock. I've guest lectured at Columbia Business School, Cornell University, Stanford University, and University of Washington. In my spare time, I do marketing/content consulting, and I teach Content Marketing 201 on Maven. I'm also a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef, and a former journalist.

Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of my profile to see the top 100 lists that I am not in.

Amanda Natividad

Hi, I’m Etashe, a content partner and community designer. 

Over the past five years, I’ve developed content for companies in the data, cybersecurity, and AI spaces, managed content strategy for editorial and e-commerce projects, and led community design for a marketing-career brand.

✨ I care and share a lot about…

→ Creating frameworks for content production.
→ Using insights from community behavior to inform content and product development.
→ Improving operational systems in content teams using workflows, collaboration hubs, and more.
→ Human behavior and how language influences it.

Outside work, I muddy my hands with many things: I design sketchnotes, make tickling tea, and write Letters of Consolation—a bi-weekly newsletter for moving towards calm, meaning, and connection as humans—etc, etc.

You'll often find me talking about content/community frameworks, principles, and systems here on LinkedIn.

Want to work together or say hi? Send a direct message!

Etashe Okpola

Here's how I design my work year using two systems: systems for executing and systems for documenting.

Execution systems help me ease into work without friction. They include;
- my brand stack
- my workflows for different project types
- a tools and resources database with 300+ resources
- a data and research library
- a research sources database with links to quality data sources

Documentation systems help me store my ideas, processes, new frameworks I develop while working, work pace, and work observations and lessons.

If you're designing your year, I recommend building systems that support how you work. Both systems simplify getting started at work and keeping tabs on growth.

I share more of my thinking around and templates for work in my newsletter, Craft & Machines. Click 'view my newsletter' in my profile to read if clear thinking and building systems and frameworks are your thing.

Etashe  Okpola

Week one back from the long break, and you're probably still trying to find your rhythm. 

Here’s what I do to return to work without struggling to settle in.

1️⃣ Before the break:

I make a simple list of the things I need to pick up in January. Not a detailed project plan, just enough context so future me isn't scrambling to figure out where to start.

2️⃣ Day 1 back, I:

 - Skim through work emails to note key projects or people to follow up with. 

 - Revisit notes from my last few meetings to help me remember what I committed to.

 - Review my pre-holiday list and make an action plan for the first week or two.

 - Lean on my systems so I can move straight into execution instead of trying to figure things out. (more on the systems I use in my next post).

What helps you ease back into work after a long break?

Lmk in the comments, and happy new year!

taplio

The Battle

Amanda Natividad

Etashe Okpola

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taplio

The Battle

Amanda Natividad

Etashe Okpola

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Etashe Okpola's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreEtashe Okpola's LinkedIn Performance