This fall I had the opportunity to intern at Marleylilly as the marketing and creative team intern. Before interning here, I had no idea how many hands went into creating the beautiful personalized products that we all know and love. From product development to the people packaging and shipping each order, there is a long line of hard working individuals making sure that our customers love their new monograms. Below, I’ve put together a list of things I’ve learned about the company, as well as myself, over the last 5 months while at #MonogramHQ!

The thing that makes this company so great is the people. Everywhere you look there is a full-time employee eager to answer your questions and push you to dig a little deeper in order to produce the best possible flatlay, photo, Instagram graphic, product video, or blog post. There were days where I felt like a task was too big for me to handle alone and my self doubt was quickly combated with an encouraging word. 

We spent most days working hard but never passed up the opportunity for some team bonding. From Halloween parties, to intern dinners, to accidentally twinning “groutfits” with Cliff, I was made to feel like a valued member of the team. I’m biased but I definitely think that we had the best group of interns. Having people to learn the company at the same time as me made for great collaboration opportunities and bonding experiences.

My number one tip for anyone working in marketing is to be flexible. A typical day for me consisted of creating social media posts, taking photoshoot footage, producing videos, and sometimes modeling shoes, jewelry, bags, and tops (see above). Having a role in all of these processes gave me a deeper understanding of how lighting, product placement, angles, and color contrast work together to make our products look the most realistic on your computer screen. 

I was also tasked with launching and running our Tik Tok and Reels accounts (bottom right). This was quite the learning process as social media algorithms are constantly changing and updating. It became a trial and error adventure as we learned what type of content our followers like to see. I am no social media expert, but after watching trends and researching content, I definitely see why our social accounts are booming. 

What’s the absolute best thing about Marleylilly? Puppies! Puppy shoot days are like Christmas at #MonogramHQ. News of puppies in the building sends everyone flocking to them for some puppy love. They’re definitely not the easiest models to work with but they do sell the most products! Here are a few sweet pup pics from random photoshoots. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to show off their sweet faces! 

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Interning at Marleylilly has been the best experience and I am so thankful that I was allowed this opportunity. Leaving, I know that my marketing IQ is one hundred times higher and I am excited to apply what I’ve learned to a job in the near future!