Valerie Ott

With 20+ years of experience, my career journey reflects a passion for crafting compelling brand and product marketing messages; expertise in marketing strategy & content planning; and a talent for developing editorial standards. 

I build and lead high-performing teams by taking a personal and professional interest in each individual’s well-being, fostering a culture of creative problem-solving, and connecting our work to the brand goals and objectives.

Editorial Director, JOANN Aug 2020 - Mar 2025

• Brand & Product Storytelling: Collaborated cross-functionally to build brand-level marketing messages and go-to-market strategies to support campaign objectives.
  Creative Execution & Production: Led a team of copywriters and content creators in developing messages tailored for the audience and ensured the work met strategic objectives. Maintained style standards & preserved brand integrity by applying a consistent voice, look and feel to all tactics.
• Content Marketing & Strategy: Developed and oversaw the editorial calendar for all channels, ensuring alignment with company initiatives. Built business cases and wrote creative briefs to support marketing strategies and gain support from stakeholders to develop campaigns. Wrote reports and developed presentations to communicate strategy and performance.
• Team Development: Led & developed a high-performing team in supporting the business while mentoring their professional growth.

Copy Chief, JOANN Jun 2016 - Aug 2020

• Editorial Storytelling: Led a team of copywriters to create compelling brand and product stories across digital, print, and social media.
  Brand Storytelling: Collaborated on a wholesale brand refresh, including a brand manifesto and customer-focused storytelling. Using consumer insights, wrote customer profiles for key psychographics to assist with targeted marketing and customer segmentation.
• Grammar, Style & Editing: Overhauled the company’s Voice Style Guide and established copy standards and processes to aid in cross-functional collaboration.

Writer & Content Creator, Home Made Modern Jun 2007 - Jun 2016

• Content Strategy & Creation: Built & maintained a successful DIY blog with 45K monthly views. Planned, executed, and published articles, gaining features on Better Homes & Gardens, Apartment Therapy, and Buzzfeed. Partnered with brands to review and promote their products.
• Writing, Editing & SEO Optimization: Monitored trends and utilized web analytics to write posts optimized for growth and engagement. Designed an electronic newsletter to engage readers.

Writer, The Spruce Jan 2014 - Jan 2017

• Writing, Editing & SEO Optimization: Created original articles with SEO best practices, driving high engagement.
• Content Strategy: Researched trends to build an authoritative library of highly-searchable, relevant content for a broad audience.

Editor, N2 Publishing Jun 2014 - Jun 2016

• Content Planning: Managed content calendar, assigned story leads, and reviewed editorial submissions.
• Writing, Proofreading & Editing: Edited and refined content to align with audience interests and publication standards.

Editor, American Library Association Jan 2006 - Jan 2008

• Content Planning: Developed an annual editorial calendar, solicited content, and managed the refereeing process.
• Writing, Proofreading & Editing: Edited manuscripts, prepared publication content, wrote an editorial note, and secured copyrights as needed for articles and images. Prepared bi-annual reports for the Board of Directors.

Reference Department Manager, Wadsworth Public Library Aug 2001 - Jun 2007

• Collection Management: Managed library collections and created digital content to engage patrons.
• Budget Management & Project Planning: Secured outside funding for literacy programs with proven grant-writing skills. Oversaw the budget, planned events and spearheaded the marketing for community literacy projects.
• Customer Service: Conducted in-house training and provided superior reference service to the public.

BA in English from Xavier University (1998)

MLIS from Kent State University (2001)