Shannon McGuigan and Faye Minton
Saying goodbye is never easy, especially to a team that has been such a big part of our lives over the years, but the time has come to finally pass on the baton.
It is bittersweet to be saying goodbye. Over the last twelve months Empoword has grown so much – and oh my what a year it has been for us! But it’s better to leave at your Michael Jordan than to overstay your welcome.
The Last Year
The Dr Seuss quote: “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened,” is something we like to live by. And my gosh, the last year at Empoword has given us so much to smile about. There have been highs and lows, laughter and love, and arguments and tears. But we got there in the end – and became better writers, editors and people because of it.
We wanted to share with you the highlights of the last twelve months, moments that will shine like gold in our memories forever.
Restructuring
We wanted to make our team’s lives, so we entirely restructured Empoword’s internal runnings. We made new systems to streamline the editing process so that we could keep track of your amazing articles and upload them quicker, and just as we expected – our editors took to it like ducks to water.
We introduced policies so our teams would remain consistent and unbiased, retaining our credibility and ensuring the trust of you – our readers – in us, would not be compromised.
Our Growth
Having clear guides and a streamlined system lightened the load off our editors. It also meant we could focus on growing our community and audience. To do this, we did two things: develop an SEO strategy and a strong social media team.
Over the last year, we have introduced tweaks to our articles, carefully selecting our keyphrases with Google Trends, upping our internal and external links and reformatting our articles, meaning we averaged one million impressions for three months.
Also, thanks to the backbone of our social teams, Siobhan – who was helped from Lauren Bryant and then Fran – we were able to establish a solid social media team, taking out total following across all platforms to over 13,600! This has meant more people read your wonderful work and visited the site.
A special mention has to go to the Twitter team for getting us to the 7,000 mark! Let’s hope Threads doesn’t overtake the app too soon! 🙂
A New Sports Section and Podcast
We have felt Empoword has always been at the forefront of diversity and championing marginalised voices in an industry that doesn’t do it enough.
With sports journalism having a renaissance of women dominating the field, we wanted to be a part of it, ushering in a new generation of sports journalists who were from marginalised and underrepresented backgrounds.
We wanted a sports section for women, led by women – and thanks to Faye’s brilliant mind and dedication, that’s exactly what we now have. A strong section set to thrive for years to come!
Additionally, we felt we were out of the loop during the golden age of podcasting, so thanks to Katherine and Eve’s amazing initiative we are excited to see Empoword’s new podcast Pop Babble gracing the airwaves.
The Video Section and Journalism Hub are back
Saying this, we have always recognised that story-telling can’t be done in only one format. So, we brought back our video team – bigger and better than ever. And my have they hit the ground running!
They have been busy editing contributors’ videos and organising info sessions to encourage people to nab those ideas from call-outs and to even pitch their own.
The video section wasn’t the only category to make a comeback this year. A big part of Empoword Journalism is the support and guidance we provide, to be a better support to our community we decided to bring the Journalism Hub black in a big way, updating our Journalism Resources page with an extensive list, as well as hiring an amazing new Journalism Hub Editor.
We also introduced new departments too – such as an overdue PR team. And with Megan Geall’s and both Mia and Aymee’s keen know how we have been able to give our contributors more in-person opportunities.
A booming newsletter and brand-new columns
Our newsletter also made a big splash with its comeback! Our newsletter has been bursting at the seams with so many new subscribers. Lowri and Alanya quickly drove past 450 subscribers, so much so, we are finding a new service that can host the hundreds of weekly emails we send out!
Columns have also made a booming return – and every single one is so exciting. From, tackling sex misinformation and the pitfalls of the digital age, to making sure your 20s are nutritious. Our columnists are really giving you the info you need to know.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Workshops
Now down to the nitty-gritty – workshops. They are essential so we can continue to do the important work we have done for the last three years – platform your incredible stories.
We all learnt a great deal from our successful Equality, Diversity and Inclusion workshops
Thanks to Lauren Bryant and Eleanor’s work we were able to host the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion workshop series, hosting the industry’s finest, who were able to give us insight into what it looks like to break into the industry as a person from a marginalised/underrepresented group.
We wanted to say a big thank you to every single journalist and writer who did a workshop with us. Alongside our editors and our writers, we learnt a great deal and thanks to your generosity Empoword lives to see another year.
We made the news too!
Here at Empoword, we tell the news, but we have also made it too! We were featured in Journalism.co.uk not once but twice this year!
Emma thoughtfully covered the success stories that have come out of Empoword Journalism, and we (Shannon and Faye) were interviewed for their podcast, discussing the challenges women face entering the world of journalism.
We were also ecstatic that our hard work was recognised by the SPA awards, where we were shortlisted for Best Digital Publication.
Thank you
You have given us your all with every word you write and with every article you edit. We felt it was only right to give you exactly the same in return. Through all the long hours, the tears, the stress, the laughter and the joy, we wanted to give you – our wonderful team and writers – as many opportunities as we could possibly facilitate. We wanted to make this the best learning experience and community possible. We hope we did you proud.
It’s only right that we first say a big thank you to Lauren, Sanjana, Eva and Millie. They trusted us with their baby and we hope we did a good job of caring for her these past 12 months.
To our writers, we send a big hug. There are over 1,775 now. 1,775 of you who have trusted us to deliver your stories to the world, and for that we can never thank you enough. Seeing you all grow as writers has been the greatest gift. And with every single one of your articles, we have learnt so much. And we nearly 2,000 have on the site now. We are 40 away to be exact. So I’d like to think you have taught us quite a bit.
But there is no one we want to thank more than our amazing editorial team, and my gosh have you grown! There are now 59 of you.
There is no I in Empoword, and this has been truly a team effort. Our success this year wouldn’t have been at all possible without every single one of you. We thank you for trusting us in our leadership and your endless support. Becoming not only teammates but friends with so many of you has been the biggest gift of all.
To Emma, Lauren, Eleanor and Eve, you will all smash this. You have our endless support – and we are only a message or phone call away if you ever need us. Make sure to protect this gem we have, so we can pass Empoword on to generations of writers for years to come.
Empoword will give you as much as you put in.
Finally to Empoword Journalism, thank you for helping us achieve our dreams. We love you.
For the last time.
Over and out,
Shannon and Faye x
Features image courtesy of Faye Minton
ShannonMcGuigan
Shannon McGuigan is one of our Editor in Chiefs at Empoword. She is a trainee journalist studying the News Journalism MA course at Cardiff University and is also freelancing in her spare time! She enjoys crying about shorthand and going on long walks with her rescue dog.