Studies in communication, alongside freelance work outside of academia, helped Ben Allee ’21 realize his dream of being called a writer. He further enriched his career by building skills as a content strategist on joining DynamiX, a web design firm based in Kennesaw, Georgia, that was founded at Berry by alum and entrepreneur Jeff Jahn. We touched base with Allee to get his perspective on writing and how it brings value to his role as a content strategist.
How did Berry lead you to your career in writing?
Learning to write isn’t as simple as taking a class. That’s not to discredit the importance of the classroom, though — I can’t imagine writing today without having taken Dr. Bucher’s Intro to Rhetoric and Writing. My experiences writing news as a reporter and producer for Viking Fusion, social media copy as a PR Assistant at Oak Hill and speeches with the Berry College Forensics Union probably taught me the most about what it means to write, and about what writing can do.
How did your work experiences take you to DynamiX?
I’d always wanted to call myself a writer but hadn’t found any opportunities outside of Berry that really pushed that career mission forward. ... I eventually hit my stride with a long-term contract writing for a blog. I learned the basics of search engine optimization (SEO) and put in hours each week, on top of my work and assignments at Berry, from then on until graduation.
I heard that DynamiX had openings for freelancers who were familiar with updating websites. Since I had more experience in website management, SEO and content writing from my jobs as a freelancer and at Berry, I was able to leverage that into a more involved full-time position managing content, rather than just a freelancing role.
Describe your current position. In your own words, what is content strategy?
We redesign sites that might be as small as a couple pages or as large as 20,000+. Either way, someone needs to be in charge of auditing all that content, understanding how it works and why it’s organized the way it is, and figuring out ways to rearrange, optimize and, in some cases, rebuild that content when it comes over to DynamiX for a new site. That’s where I come in.
On any day, I might be analyzing a site’s content for potential SEO improvements, reworking a site’s content structure to improve how users interact with the site’s menu or having detailed discussions with clients about where their brand is going and what their mission, vision and values are, so I can rework pages from the ground up.
What are your parting thoughts for people looking to pursue work as a content strategist or similar career?
Don’t wait to start doing what you want to be doing until a teacher assigns it to you. ... If you’re a writer, see if there are businesses around that could use copyediting or copywriting help, and get a handle on generative AI so you know when to use it, and when not to use it. Both are great things to know. And whether it’s on social media or through a website or video, start working on your public digital presence early!
Story by senior Zach Pishock
