Commerce News and Deals Writer, Food Vertical

Title: Commerce News and Deals Writer, Food Vertical

Location: US National

Contract / Freelance

About Your Role

The Commerce News and Deals team at Dotdash Meredith is looking for a smart writer to cover timely, food- and lifestyle-related shopping content, including sale roundups, celebrity-approved items, single-product reviews, and editor-loved pieces. We need someone who understands online shopping, affiliate content, and the voices of our food brands, including EatingWell, Serious Eats, Food & Wine, Allrecipes, and more.

They will pitch and write multiple stories per week from an editorial point of view, telling readers about the products chefs, home cooks, dietitians, and editors use, plus amazing deals they’ve found on the things our readers love most. Most importantly, they’ll use affiliate links in these stories so that customers can purchase those products. The right candidates will be knowledgeable about shopping online, parsing data to make informed pitch decisions, and search keyword-driven content.

This is a 40-hour/week contract position with an hourly rate within the range of $28-$33/hour. The right candidate will have the option to continually extend their contract and may have the opportunity to join the team full-time. Writers must be based in the U.S. and be comfortable working remotely.

Your day-to-day:

• Write at least two shopping stories per day, moving quickly to keep up with the pace of news and making timely decisions that keep the needs of the team moving forward.
• Craft creative and thoughtful pitches related to timely topics, food news, sale events, test results, and more.
• Build partnerships and work collaboratively with writers and editors (both editorial and commerce) on various teams to meet shared objectives.
• Reach out to experts and editors to provide background information and quotes as needed.
• Attend and participate in weekly team meetings.
• Pitch and film commerce iPhone videos for social, working with our video editors who provide training and best practices.

You are:

• A strong editorial writer well-versed in a variety of product categories, especially food, fitness, and nutrition.
• Knowledgeable about shopping, cooking, and the voices of Dotdash Meredith food brands, particularly Serious Eats and EatingWell.
• An experienced home cook who has logged enough hours in the kitchen to know what’s important to look for.
• Experienced with commerce content and affiliate linking.
• Familiar with SEO and affiliate linking best practices.
• Comfortable with digital media tools such as a CMS, AirTable, and Google Analytics.
• Ready to take on new challenges, identify and seize new opportunities, and step up to handle tough issues.
• Culinary school or professional cooking experience is a bonus.
• Skills or interest in social video/being on camera is also a bonus.
• Ideally, you have 2+ years of related experience.

Part of the Commerce team spirit means embodying these core competencies:

• Manage Ambiguity: You can comfortably deal with change and can decide/act without the total picture. You remain calm and productive while dealing constructively with problems that do not have clear solutions or outcomes.
• Nimble Learning: You’re eager to actively learn through experimentation when tackling new problems, using both successes and failures as learning fodder.
• Self-Development: You want to seek new ways to grow and be challenged using both formal and informal development channels. You show a personal commitment to continuously improving, accepting stretch opportunities, and making the most of available development resources.