Better Homes And Gardens Digital Editor

Media + Arts

An Interview With Kaelin Zawlinski, Digital Editorial Manager at Better Homes And Gardens

Kaelin Zawilinski, 30, is no stranger to the Better Homes and Gardens brand—and she is no stranger to them. Even before graduation, as a student ambassador, Kaelin had made herself irreplaceable to the magazine. So when the magazine started to dabble in digital expansion, Kaelin was ready to jump at the opportunity, later spearheading a complete overhaul of the magazine's website. This is one woman whose heart truly lies with her readers, and lucky for us, her instincts are always on point.

As Digital Editorial Manager, Kaelin acts as liaison between the digital team and the rest of the magazine, developing multiplatform social media strategies and utilizing broad spectrum digital media to keep one of the country's oldest magazines both fresh and current. Between her management of the e-commerce section of the website, tailoring stories to her online readers and conferring with the tech and advertising teams, Kaelin is juggling quite a few pieces of the BHG puzzle—yet she's clearly loving every second of it.

Even more impressive than her ability to balance the responsibilities of her job is her ability to stay inspired. Kaelin keeps her creativity mobilized thanks to social media, but more importantly, thanks to the strong and supportive community she's created at work. The digital world is constantly changing, and Kaelin is right on the forefront of it all.

Her Starting Point

You started out at Meredith Corporation as a Decorating and Crafts Editor for BHG.com. What did you learn about yourself from that job? What has it been like to work for the same company throughout your career?

I was very lucky to get my job at BHG.com fairly quickly (in terms of a journalism major) after I graduated—BHG.com was really starting to rapidly expand in terms of content and strategy. I was on the team from the early stages and really grew up with the site, learning the ins and outs of digital media. I also quickly realized that I loved working in digital.

It's been amazing to work for Meredith throughout my entire career. In 2009, I moved to the Parents.com team for a brief stint, which was a great learning experience to meet more people within the company and expand my knowledge as an editor. Meredith is split between our original offices in Des Moines, Iowa and then a New York City office. I've been able to meet and work with people in both places, and get to travel to NYC often for meetings and events. It's really the best of both worlds!

How did you come to work at Meredith Corporation, specifically Better Homes and Gardens? What do you love most about the company?

I started working for BHG when I was in college as a student apprentice that my school, Drake University, has in place with Meredith. Throughout my junior year, I was paired with an editor in the special interest media group and she was the ultimate mentor. I was given writing assignments, stories to produce and be on the photo shoots, and most importantly I was able to see how a magazine came together—the good, the bad and the ugly (mostly the good)! It was an amazing opportunity and really made me realize that I not only wanted to work in the magazine industry, but that I wanted to focus on home/lifestyle publications.

Meredith, and especially the Better Homes and Gardens brand, is made up of so many creative and inspiring people that I'm lucky to call my co-workers. It's truly amazing to see their average weekend projects from around their own homes or recipes they are cooking up! Most importantly, everyone is so genuine that it makes coming to work fun every day.

How did you learn the ins and outs of editorial management? What type of training would you recommend to aspiring editors?

I'm lucky to have had my career grow up as digital media has become more and more important to brands. I have a strong background in editing, and I have had to learn about the digital side of the business as it continues to grow, then determine the best way for the BHG brand to embrace that. When I started in my job, Facebook was still a site only used by college kids, and now it is one of the best forms of digital marketing for brands. I report to both our editor in chief and our digital general manager, so I'm able to learn both sides of the business from them and, believe me, I learn so much every day!

For people who are looking to get into the magazine world, I definitely recommend getting hands-on experience. Internships are key when it comes to getting a journalism job. Also, make sure that you understand all elements of the business, both the print and digital sides. If you're already out of school and trying to get into the business, start with freelance projects. It's a great way to show an editor your skills while getting a clip for that brand. It really comes down to good networking, but then having the skills to back it up!

Her Big Break

If you could pin your success down to one thing or one moment, what would that be ?

It's hard to pin down one moment, but in 2010 when I had moved back to Better Homes and Gardens after working at Parents for a little over a year, I led the redesign for BHG.com. At the time, I was the digital lead for our home design team, but it was a great experience to be involved in a project of that size for the brand. It also connected me with a lot of different groups that I work with now day-to-day—our tech team, digital marketing group and advertising team. I was truly able to see how all of these elements must work together to make the best product for theBetter Homes and Gardens readers. After that, they created the position that I'm in now.

Tell us about the tasks and responsibilities of an Editorial Manager.

I am kind of the glue that helps connect the digital team to everyone else. I directly oversee our social media strategy (all the platforms, as well as our growing relationships with bloggers) and e-commerce strategy. I'm the go between for our digital editors and our tech team, digital marketing and advertising teams. I also get to work very closely with the print editors on major initiatives that go across platforms. Another duty is to help everyone on theBetter Homes and Gardens brand stay in the loop with digital and social advances and how we can apply it to our day-to-day jobs. There are a lot of pieces to my job, but it keeps my days very exciting and a new project is always on the horizon.

The digital media industry is very competitive. How does BHG.com set itself apart, and what do you do to gain readers?

Better Homes and Gardens is a brand that has been around for 92 years, the Red Plaid cookbook is the most sold book in America after the Bible. We've really been able to use digital media to appeal to the younger generation of readers who trust the brand because it's always been a staple in their lives, and now we are able to deliver them fabulous content on all the platforms that they are on now. We really saw this through the emergence of Pinterest—we have beautiful content that is achievable and perfect for this inspiration-driven platform. We want to provide inspiration to all of our readers no matter if they are reading the print issue, finding it on BHG.com or through our social outlets.

How do you develop content for BHG.com? Can you describe your creative process? Where do you turn for inspiration?

Our digital content development supports our e-newsletters, social promotions as well as making sure that we are covering major topics that people are looking for in search. Our editors are able to tap into our massive photo library to create content that best fits what our editors are looking for. We are a very analytical editorial team (something that I never thought I would need when I was in journalism school). We are constantly looking at the data to determine what content is needed, what should be updated and how we can fill gaps that our readers are looking for. It's amazing the amount of information we can get that really helps us direct our editorial plans.

We often turn to blogs and designers for inspiration. There are so many creative people doing amazing projects that we glean a lot of inspiration from for the site and projects that we can't wait to feature in the magazine.

How connected is BHG.com to the print version ofBetter Homes and Gardens? How does the process for content development differ in terms of scheduling and features?

The print and digital teams are very connected—we all sit on the same floor and I'm in meetings with a mix of editors almost every day. While most pieces from the print issue end up online, it's not an exact replication of the story. We recreate the story to make sense for our digital readers. The digital editors are on their own schedule for content development, but we do try to cross-over our editorial calendars when it makes sense.

Her Perspective

What is your favorite part of your job? What is the most challenging?

My favorite part of my job is also the most challenging—with the digital space always changing, I never know what the next big thing is going to be. It's fun to get ahead of the digital trends and platforms, and incorporate BHG into them. At the same time though, there is always something new! I never get bored, that's for sure!

If we had the chance to peek at your schedule, what would an average day look like?

Meetings, meetings and more meetings. I try to block out time on my calendar to catch up on email and work, but often that happens before 8:00 a.m. or after 5:00 p.m.

What's next for you? How would you like to see your career evolve?

I truly don't think my next position even exists yet. That's the fun part of working in the digital space—you never know what is next. I know that I will want to stay in the creative space, but it will be fun to see where my journey takes me. In the meantime, I'm excited to keep working for this amazing brand that has been around for a long time, and continue to watch it grow in the digital space!