Why I Joined Mint Studios: Michelle Maiellaro

As a person who bores easily, I've held 14 different jobs since I was 17.

My longest stint was when I worked in the travel industry at Booking.com for 13 years. It was one of my favourite places to work because it was dynamic, stimulating and fun. 

Unfortunately, I had a 2-year absence from the company due to leukaemia and a subsequent bone marrow transplant. Returning to a fast-paced workplace after a serious health challenge that had left me drained both emotionally and physically was overwhelming. I was lucky to be in a work environment with people who recognised my challenges and allowed me to slow down and work part-time. 

Then in 2020 Covid-19 hit and changed everything. While every industry felt the blow, travel suffered the hardest as countries locked down and tourism came to a halt. 

Leaving a company where I had thrived and grown wasn't an easy choice. I had spent my most formative years there, working my way from content editor to senior account manager before cancer halted my path. 

But even before my illness and before Covid-19, I knew it was time to leave. As the size of the company grew each year, I felt more like a number each day and questioned if I was making any impact.  

I decided the time was right to start a new path and follow my first love: writing. My entire life I had doubted my own creative nature. This time, armed with an action plan, I took a content marketing course and landed my first freelance gig in less than 6 months' time after leaving the company. 

My first gigs were wonderful, providing me with valuable feedback that helped me improve as a writer and provided me with the validation that I can indeed write.

However, as I saw my articles published, I wondered if any end customers actually read them. My same doubts about making a difference returned.

As a freelancer working for content agencies, assessing your impact isn't easy – I didn't have any performance statistics for my articles. Sure, I could check the rankings myself. But what about the traffic? And once someone landed on my article, how would I know if anyone actually read it or found it useful? 

Then I stumbled upon a job offer from Mint Studios. For the paid test piece, Mint Studios provided me with ample information, including details about bottom-of-the-funnel content and how Mint Studios works. I even had a sample questionnaire to use against my test piece because, for the first time, I was going to create my own outline instead of being handed a brief! 

But what intrigued me the most was that Mint designs content that turns into leads. 

Finally! Content writing wasn't going to be just about traffic. It was no longer top-of-the-funnel articles answering "What is XYZ?" I was finally going to write articles for potential customers looking for a fintech service or product to buy. 

When I passed the test, I accepted the job offer immediately. I started writing in-depth, technical articles that really explained the features, benefits and advantages of a company's product. I understood each company's products and services better because I received interviews with internal subject matter experts (SMEs), which ranged from the company founders and C-Suite to product managers and sales managers. Each Mint Studios article stands out from the majority of rehashed Google-bred content. 

After a couple of months, Araminta (Mint Studios' founder) invited me to learn bottom-of-the-funnel strategy with a course from Grow and Convert.

In addition, she has been by my side remotely from day one – always there answering my myriad of questions, letting me know how my posts were performing, and giving me both developmental and motivational feedback promptly. Plus she's just as much of a structure freak as I am – there are complete guides on how Mint Studios works, internal processes, writing examples and more on an internal Notion board. 

I've been writing, working on strategy, and managing a few Mint Studios' clients for nearly a year now. I'm much more confident with my newfound skills as they complement my problem-solving and creative-thinking abilities. 

As a person with health issues, the fact that Mint is flexible with my part-time working hours allowing me to work remotely when I want and where I want is exactly what I was looking for. 

I never thought I'd find myself in a scenario as a team member where I'd have the support, flexibility and opportunity to grow and learn as I do with Mint. It ticked all the boxes that I'd expect to find in a full-time, permanent position. I'm lucky to be part of this team. 

What's not to love about Mint Studios? Maybe the fact there aren't more companies like it.