BRENNA SWANSTON
Editor.
Storyteller.
Lifelong learner.
About Me
My name is Brenna Swanston (she/her). I'm an editor and writer with more than eight years of experience in journalism, SEO, and content marketing. I currently work as a freelancer, but I'm on the lookout for my next full-time gig.
I earned my Bachelor of Science in journalism from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. As a journalist, I covered education, environmental issues, immigration, agriculture, and religion. I've since pivoted to the SEO content space with a focus on higher education and brand marketing for tech companies.
From 2017 to 2020, I traveled full time, backpacking solo through Europe, South America, and Australia and New Zealand. I returned to my home state of California in 2020 and have made my home in San Francisco, but travel is still one of my top priorities in life. I aim to see as much of the world as I can.
Work Experience
FREELANCE WRITER AND EDITOR
Various Clients | Freelance | Remote | July 2014 - Present
Recent notable projects include:
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For Slack (2022 - present): Write and edit articles, ebooks, blog posts, and marketing emails to drive awareness of Slack tools, integrations, and new features
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For various tech companies (2022 - present): Ghostwrite articles on behalf of executives for placement in publications like Human Resource Executive and CMSWire
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For Assurance IQ (2023 - 2024): Wrote and edited long-form SEO web articles covering health, life, and homeowners insurance
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For Queen City Nerve (2018 - 2019): Wrote a three-part series exploring racial and socioeconomic segregation in North Carolina schools (placed second for long-form news story at the AAN Awards, second for education reporting in the NCPA Editorial and Advertising Awards)
DEPUTY EDITOR
Forbes Advisor | Full-Time | Remote | May 2022 - June 2024
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Collaborated with the education vertical’s managing editor and SEO team to ideate, outline, and assign 60 long-form articles per month covering higher ed degrees, career paths, alternative education options, and college rankings
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Edited all education content to ensure accuracy, clarity, and compliance with style, grammar, and SEO best practices
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Managed the updates editor and oversaw content optimizations to ensure all education articles stayed fresh and accurate
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Nov. 2023 - April 2024: Backfilled for the managing editor during her leave; saw record growth on vertical from ~114,000 weekly sessions to ~206,000 weekly sessions
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Dec. 2023: Led a content optimization project to update 200+ legacy education articles in one month, contributing to 37.7% SEO growth rate month over month
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Worked with the PR team to produce stats pages and other data-driven content, securing 228 backlinks in 2023 with an average link score of 79.53
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Supported the data team in designing and applying methodologies for articles ranking the best online universities, degree programs, and coding bootcamps
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Managed a globally distributed team of ~20 freelance writers and editors
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Created and maintained the education team’s style guide
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Impacted by layoffs in June 2024
COPY EDITOR
Red Ventures Education | Full-Time | Remote | Aug. 2021 - May 2022
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Copyedited SEO and news content for Red Ventures Education (EDU)
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Maintained and continually updated EDU style guide
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Created and continually updated EDU's conscious language guide to ensure the use of inclusive, appropriate language across all EDU content
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Developed training and feedback system for EDU writers to keep them current on EDU's style guide, sourcing best practices, and other writing processes
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Helped develop quality control process by which EDU copy editors audit published content across domains on a monthly cadence
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Promoted to manager after exceeding goals and demonstrating leadership skills
STAFF WRITER
The Sun | Full-Time | Santa Maria, California | Jan. 2016 - June 2017
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Wrote long-form news articles and short-form briefs each week covering education, agriculture, immigration, religion, and environmental issues
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Copyedited the paper’s news section every week
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Backfilled for proofreader and managing editor when OOO
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Won first for agricultural reporting at the CNPA Better Newspapers Contest; earned honorable mentions for profile feature story and education coverage
Awards
ASSOCIATION OF ALTERNATIVE NEWSMEDIA (AAN) AWARDS 2020:
Second Place: Long-Form News Story
NORTH CAROLINA PRESS ASSOCIATION EDITORIAL CONTEST 2019:
Second Place: Education Reporting
CALIFORNIA NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION (CNPA) BETTER NEWSPAPERS CONTEST 2016:
First Place: Agricultural Reporting
Honorable Mention: Profile Feature Story
Honorable Mention: Coverage of Education
COLLEGE MEDIA ASSOCIATION PINNACLE AWARDS 2015:
Third Place: Arts & Entertainment Story
CNPA CAMPUS EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM CONTEST 2015:
First Place: Profile Feature Story
Find my full resume in a PDF here.
My Writing
History Is Now: Segregation in Charlotte's Public Schools
Queen City Nerve
First Installment | Second Installment | Third Installment
Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) — Charlotte, North Carolina's public school district — has led and reflected national segregation trends for generations. Nearly 50 years ago, a Supreme Court case involving CMS sparked a wave of busing policies and reintegration efforts across the United States. Now, the district is again one of the country's most socioeconomically and racially segregated.
In this three-part series, I explored the historical role of CMS in school segregation nationwide and how segregation still pervades in the district today.
This series placed second for long-form news story in the 2020 Association of Alternative Newsmedia Awards. It also placed second for education reporting in the 2019 North Carolina Press Association Editorial Contest.
Slack Blog Posts
Collaborative Intelligence: People and AI Working Smarter Together
Sales Prospecting Tips and Tools for the Modern Org
A Guide to Maximizing Productivity in the Workplace
The Best Collaboration Tools for Remote Teams
Use Knowledge Sharing To Work Smarter
A Guide to Client Communication for the Digital Age
I offer guides, tips, and resources for remote and hybrid corporate teams via SEO-driven blog posts on Slack's website, often highlighting Slack features and integrations.
For Forbes Advisor, I compiled a college application checklist organized according to common application deadlines, complete with a printable PDF to help applicants keep track of their progress. This piece is meant to guide prospective college students through the year leading up to their first year of higher education.
Best Online Colleges for Pell Grant Recipients
Forbes Advisor
We used federal data measuring enrollment rates and educational outcomes for Pell Grant recipients to rank the most economically diverse online colleges in the United States. I framed this ranking with information on college costs, Pell Grants, and the future of economic diversity in higher education.
City Farm SLO: A New Way of Farming
Central Coast Living Magazine
I volunteered for City Farm SLO, a nonprofit regenerative urban farm in San Luis Obispo, California, from 2020 to 2023. In August 2021, I wrote a profile on the farm for Central Coast Living Magazine, a small local publication.
When Los Padres ForestWatch released a report detailing the harms of recreational shooting on health, safety and natural resources, I took a deeper look. My reporting explored the impacts of unmanaged shooting, along with potential solutions.
The New Workforce
The Sun
I looked into local controversy surrounding H-2A, a federal program for temporary foreign farmworkers. This program draws sharp criticism from community members and farmworker rights activists, and it has created housing issues in Northern Santa Barbara County and all along the Central Coast.
This story won first place for agricultural reporting at the 2016 California Newspaper Publishers Association Better Newspapers Contest.
The Bully Effect
The Sun
When a local mom approached the Sun with gruesome stories of how her daughter was bullied and the school district didn't appear to be taking action on the matter, I took a deeper look at why kids bully and how schools might address it.
This story garnered an honorable mention for coverage of education at the 2016 California Newspaper Publishers Association Better Newspapers Contest.