I don’t mean to brag, but I took a marketing class in college to meet the requirements for a Business Administration minor. As useful as an English degree is, I thought having some semblance of business acumen to support it would be a good idea. That decision has paid off. So I know a little bit about marketing and branding.
And I’m not going to sit here and talk about how when I started blogging, it was done on LiveJournal, and it was the domain of angsty teenagers because frankly I’d rather not drudge up those memories. And the long string of neglected URLs out there with one of my email addresses attached to them is testament enough to my level of commitment to those outlets.
But I did some great writing under the guise of The Crafty Polymath, and I didn’t want to shove it into a closet to collect dust. It’s just not valid anymore – I don’t spend my weekends at a desk adorned with fabric and a sewing machine. I spend it in front of a tv with a PS4 controller in my hands, to be 100% honest.
What is valid, though, is what I do at least 5 days a week.
Scroll down to my last post; I’ll wait. You didn’t scroll, did you? Rebel. I mention a new job, and the funny thing is that since that new job, I started another new job with the same company.
Enter Salesforce, stage right and Marketo, stage left. They meet in the middle and integrate surprisingly well.
That was almost 2 years ago, and I am swallowing my embarrassment here to try this again.
This whole thing – the job, Salesforce, Marketo – has been an unexpected delight. It’s kind of right up my alley because my title, Marketing Data & Systems Analyst, is vague enough that if there’s something I want to do, I can pretty much do it. I manage various software systems; I analyze data; I help plan marketing strategies; I write and edit content sometimes; I design landing pages and make emails responsive. In other words, ladies and gentlemen, I’m paid to be a freaking polymath.
I feel like the name of this blog should give away how exciting that is for me.
It also has opened up a door to an actual, honest-to-God career path, complete with professional development, built-in networking, and recognition for knowing what’s what.
Case in point: I started the West Michigan Women in Tech Salesforce User Group. Admittedly, the name is a bit of a mouthful. But this lady here, who only ever joined clubs that encouraged solo work, is getting involved. With people. And events. It’s a big deal. And within this process, some new-found friends (all of my new-found friends) have asked me “do you have a blog?”
Cue my awkward, “well, yeah, kinda, but it’s…I mean…please don’t go there. I haven’t posted in two years.”
And honestly, it’s a thing with Salesforce. We write stuff, we admins and developers. We shout about Salesforce all the time. That is not even an exaggeration; I’ve been trying to recruit my mom for a month. And my husband has had to sit through me endlessly gushing about validation rules and formula fields and “did you know Salesforce can do this?!”
I’m not going to make any promises here about posting every week. Not yet. Let me sink my feet in a little and get this rolling. Let me find my rhythm, my words. Let me make peace with the fact that, as an admin in a kind of marketing role, I might have a unique and interesting perspective to share.
But if you have a spare minute, here or there, and if you enjoy self-deprecating humor, then my friend…this isn’t a bad place to find yourself.
Consider the Crafty Polymath officially rebranded.
You say Polymath like it's a bad thing... 
How exciting! 😀 I am looking forward to future posts!