Meet the Media: Jessica Booth

On this week’s edition of Meet the Media, we are so excited to introduce Jessica Booth, freelance writer and expert in all things lifestyle. As a writer, Jessica has bylines at Insider, HelloGiggles, Delish, The Daily Beast, Bustle, and FabFitFun. She majored in print journalism at Hofstra University in New York. She is a talented journalist, and we are so honored to have interviewed her for our series.

Please welcome Jessica to BLND!

Introduce yourself.

Hi! I’m Jessica and I’m a freelance writer from New York.

How did you get into journalism? Was this always where you saw yourself?

I’ve known that I wanted to write lifestyle content since I was in high school, where I was the editor for the Lifestyles section of our newspaper. My dream was to write for the magazines I had grown up reading. As journalism shifted to online content, I shifted my goals as well and grew to love writing for the ever-changing world of the internet.

From your experience, what makes a great story?

My top performing stories have always been relatable to a specific group of people. People like to feel like they aren’t alone and love to read essays about someone who is going through something they’ve been through.

What’s an accomplishment you consider to be the most significant in your career so far?

I think making the shift into becoming a successful freelance writer! For nearly eight years, I was the editor of a site for young girls, Gurl.com (it’s unfortunately defunct now). My dream was to be an editor, but when the company shut down, I was laid off and my dream job was taken from me. I immediately shifted gears to become a freelance writer and I turned it into a successful full-time career instead of just a temporary job until I found something else, and I could’t be happier.

What is one thing you wish the public knew about your job?

Writing for various websites online requires you to constantly be in-the-know with everything from silly social media trends to hard news. I spend most of my life reading the news, staying on top of each social media platform, and listening to what others have to say. It’s harder and more time-consuming than it seems!

Morning routine?

Every day, I get up early, work out for 30-45 minutes, take a quick shower, wake up my daughter, make coffee, and then try to simultaneously play with her and catch up on emails and the day’s news so far.

What’s one piece of career advice you’d give a young person looking to follow in your footsteps?

Be open to every opportunity. I have written for many websites that weren’t exactly what I imagined in order to solidify working relationships, ramp up my resume, gain experience, get my name out there, and, of course, make money. Don’t turn things down because they don’t seem exciting. You never know where one freelancing gig could get you.