Melanie Deziel’s background in journalism makes her take a less branded and more journalistic audience-first approach, which helps create more credible and compelling content.

Melanie Deziel

Melanie is a Journalist Melanie is a Speaker Melanie is a Coffee Lover Melanie is a Professor
Journalist
Speaker
Coffee Lover
Professor
Melanie Deziel
Melanie as a child

As a child, Melanie used to say that in the future, “I want to write until I run out of words.”

untilirunoutofwords was even her screen name at one point.

Melanie still loves to write and tell stories, but now she likes to help others do it too. Nowadays she’d probably say “I want to help people access their creativity and create better content,” even though that’s a bit too long for a screen name.

Melanie Deziel Signing books

She has a passion for teaching creativity and content creation.

She’s supported 32 of the Fortune100 companies with their content (so far!), given keynotes and workshops around the world, and has developed courses for several universities.

She co-founded The Creator Kitchen membership for creatives with fellow marketing speaker Jay Acunzo to help experienced creators continue to pursue creative growth and mastery of craft.

Melanie speaking about content creation
Melanie speaking about content creation

From the first-ever editor of branded content at The New York Times, to a leading keynote speaker in content marketing

Melanie brings a wealth of knowledge and experience on how content can be used as a strategic tool, and how processes can help unlock the creativity needed to tap its power. 

The first-ever editor of branded content at

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A founding member of the brand storytelling team at

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The director of creative strategy for the 35 US magazines of

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Melanie created industry-leading and
award-winning work for these companies.

After several years speaking at conferences about the work she was doing for these renowned media companies...

...Melanie realized she could have a bigger impact if she were out on her own, spending more time speaking to educate marketers on how to create better content and working directly with brand content teams to improve their efforts.

Since 2015, she has worked with some incredible brands and spoken on stages around the world at leading conferences, building her reputation as one of the leading voices in content marketing.

Melanie speaking at Content Marketing world 2018

Melanie was the top-rated of 100+ speakers at Content Marketing World 2018, and keynoted CMW20 and CMW21.

She knows how to bring her journalism experience to the world of content creation for business.

Melanie has spoken for our events several times. She always got top-tier reviews. It's no surprise. She is smart, savvy, fun, and takes her craft seriously.

Phil Mershon
Social Media Marketing World

Social Media Marketing World

Not only did she bring a compelling perspective from her past experience as a journalist and...

...current experience in content creation, but she was a pleasure to work with. She was professional, kind, responsive and all-around, a great addition to our speaker lineup.

Megan Linebarger
Managing Partner at Zazil Media Group

Managing Partner at Zazil Media Group

Melanie is frequently honored with placement on lists of industry leaders, including:

10 Rising Stars of the Marketing World To Follow

50 Social Media Marketing Influencers to Follow

25 Content Marketing Thought Leaders to Pay Attention To

Books

Melanie Deziel is frequently named on as a top influencer, expert, and person-to-follow in marketing.

You can access her practical insights in paperback, e-book or audiobook form:

A woman holding a copy of Content Fuel Framework

The Content Fuel Framework

Learn a foolproof system to brainstorm content ideas quickly and easily.

A signed copy of Prove it on a desk with a keyboard and mouse

Prove It

Melanie Deziel and Phil M Jones show you exactly how modern marketers earn trust.

Melanie fills in the blank...

You can almost always find me...
In a coffee shop. There’s something about the smell of coffee and the hustle and bustle of productivity that just works for me when I’m trying to write or get work done.
Yep, you guessed it: in coffee shops. And a couple of hotel lobbies and airports, but mostly at a trio of favorite coffee shops in my then-home of Jersey City, NJ.
My first book was written...
A few things most people don’t know about me...
I know American Sign Language, was one of the top 5 javelin throwers in my state in high school, and am almost always down to have ice cream. (Ice cream is my kryptonite.)
Melanie Holding a coffee
I love working for myself because...
I have the freedom to chase my own crazy ideas! When I have an outside-the-box idea, I have the authority to say “let's see if we can make it happen...” and I often DO make it happen! Like getting an artist to spray-paint my book cover on a wall as part of the launch.
Some causes close to my heart are...
Literacy and access to education, preservation of our oceans and other natural environments, supporting local businesses, and fighting for the rights of minority groups of all kinds.
I'm driven by the desire to...
Have a positive impact. I consider myself blessed to have been born when and where I was and to have received the education I did, and I want to pay that forward.
A muralist painting a copy of prove it

In addition to delivering keynotes, Melanie...

  • She has developed and taught graduate-level content marketing courses for both Fairleigh Dickinson University and City University of New York, and frequently guest-lectures for the many universities that use her books as texts including NYU, Syracuse, Temple and the University of Connecticut’s Werth Institute of Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

  • The Creator Kitchen is a membership program, created in partnership with Jay Acunzo, to help experienced creators achieve creative growth.

    Melanie was also a co-founder of GroupsUps, a B2B marketplace that help small businesses save money, so they can invest more in themselves and their communities.

  • ...where she provided content strategy insights and training to BRaVe's portfolio companies and advisory clients, including Viacom, Turner, Discovery Communications, The Oprah Winfrey Network and more.

  • Telling big stories is fun, but Melanie also enjoys making miniature dioramas.

    She creates some of these scenes just for fun, like a creepy study belonging to a witch, purely based on imagination.

    But she has also created miniature versions of real places, like Wanderlust Book Store in Raleigh, NC.

    See more Minis by Melanie here.

  • After being diagnosed as Autistic in adulthood, Melanie has become an advocate not only for herself, but for the generation of autistic women like her who fell through the diagnostic cracks. She writes a biweekly newsletter on Substack called The Late Diagnosed Diaries.

  • She received the 2018 GenNext Award for emerging leaders from She Runs It. She also authored the T Brand Studio branded content pieces that won the OMMA Award for "Best Native Advertising Execution" in 2014 and 2015, including the acclaimed “Women Inmates” piece for Netflix.

    She’s been selected to judge multiple industry awards, including the Content Marketing Awards, Native Advertising Awards, and Digiday Awards.

  • While at UConn, Melanie focused on investigative reporting and worked as the Editor in Chief of the 9,000-circulation daily student newspaper, The Daily Campus.

    In Syracuse, Melanie was the Executive Producer of the award-winning Newshouse.com. She was one of just 50 SU alums honored at the Newhouse School's 50th Anniversary Gala in 2015, alongside broadcaster Bob Costas, FourSquare Founder Dennis Crowley, and former USA Today Publisher Larry Kramer.

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