iVillage’s
Guest Editor Series

What would happen if we let some of our favorite moms publish exactly what they wanted to read? The series lasted 6 iterations, each a week in duration. The guest editors included: Michelle Obama, Alicia Keys, Jessica Simpson, Jessica Alba, Dr. Oz (honorary mom), and Food 52 founders, Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs.

Project

From its incarnation, iVillage was meant to be a community where moms could go for news, advice, and support. Being the premier women’s site has it perks (brand recognition) and problems (relevancy). After 20 years, a brand must start thinking outside its box. The Guest Editor series was an attempt at just that. It was time to get vulnerable and let others decide what kind of content should be on the site.

Role: Senior Editor

Process

• Help guest editor decide on a theme.

• Pitch guest editor ideas around theme and assign the stories. Each editor wound up doing 1-3 stories a day during their week-long stewardships.

• Work with guest editor’s PR to collect assets.

• Project manage each week—overseeing deliverables across each editorship’s life cycle and coordinating with marketing team and homepage editor to ensure proper promotion.