Your content management is my business.

Whether you call me a graphic designer, an editor, a webmaster, a social marketer, a virtual assistant—they all mean the same thing to me. Your content is my business, along with all the things that go into marketing it to your ideal audience.

How’d a nice graphic designer like me end up as a content manager, anyway?

I graduated in Graphic Design with the Highest Recognition Award from NSCC in 2015 with radical ideas for my life that included working in my PJs and getting to make as much coffee as I wanted—judgement-free—from the comfort of my home. Unfortunately, this was way before that was considered a normal working situation and the first few companies I worked for had different ideas. I worked in print shops, with tech companies, and not-for-profits, but none of them made me light up like picking up small jobs on the side from freelance designers in the city.

When my last 9-to-5 with a Startup ended abruptly in a boardroom for half the company a week before Christmas—I was officially done with the traditional employee lifestyle. 

I tipped my hat, waived sayonara to ‘secure’ employment and started Crystal Picard Design & Marketing in January 2017. Even through all the ups and downs of owning a business, I’ve never looked back since. 

These days I work with small business owners who have too much on their plate to spend time marketing their own businesses. From drafting content to deploying blog posts and newsletters, I work on every aspect of the content strategy so my clients have quality digital marketing working for their business.  

Every day is something new & exciting

After nearly a decade as a freelancer, I’ve been saying ‘yes’ to every aspect of content marketing online until all those ‘yes’s piled into a stack of skills that make me uniquely qualified to be your right-hand-woman. For example:

Graphics support

Sometimes all you need is someone to create monthly graphics for your social media and make some edits to your website like this client.

Monthly Strategy

Or maybe you need help with editing content and putting it online because you have other assistants to help with smaller tasks like this client.

Content Management

Otherwise, you might need a content manager to write captions, create graphics, write and schedule newsletters and get it all online like this one.

Um, I have a question.

  • A content manager is a skilled freelancer (or full-time employee if you’re into that kind of thing) who manages all of the content that goes into online marketing. Some content managers only schedule content on your various platforms, and others—like me—do a little bit of everything. In my case, I help with every step of the way from writing the content to making sure it’s distributed online to land in front of your ideal audience.

  • I’m still a graphic designer, it’s just that not every content manager is. A content manager can be from any background as long as they have the skills to make your content shine online. In my case, my graphic design background gives me an extra well of skills including:

    • Print Graphics

    • Online Graphics

    • Web Design

    • Social Media Graphics

    • Infographics

    My skills are unique, driven by my insatiable curiosity for all things online. So I can build on most platforms, as well as some online course platforms like Kajabi and Teachable.

    Yea, it’s a lot.

    So ‘Content Manager’ just happens to be a catch-all phrase to explain the skills I offer. To get a full list of everything I can do—just need to book a call to see if we’re a good fit.

  • It’s not as expensive as working with a consultant, but more expensive than working with a virtual assistant (or content manager who doesn’t have a background in design and marketing.)

    People outside of a retainer looking for consulting can expect a rate of $85-$125 depending on the skills they want to use. And people looking for a retainer of hours per month can expect to get their rate as low as $75 an hour.

    In the end, it’s less expensive than hiring 2-3 people to get all the same skills, and you only pay me when I’m actively working. My clock stops when I get up to get a snack and gets turned back on when I’m 100% focused on your project.

  • The short answer is no. 

    Like a lot of people, I moved away from downtown when the pandemic hit and was lucky enough to buy a home in Dartmouth. Public transit requires at least 2-4 hours of my day because I don’t have access to a car from 7 am – 6 pm. 

    If you want to come to pick me up and take me to a coffee shop because an in-person meeting is a must, we can discuss that. Otherwise, it’s Zoom for me. 

    Bonus: My dog is adorable and sometimes he wakes up from his naps long enough to come say hi.  

  • Again, the short answer is no. 

    Before 2020 I was on the road to burning myself out with the hustle lifestyle and I gave a lot of my time away to community events and mentorship and coffee chats. 

    These days, I am a huge proponent of avoiding burnout, not stretching yourself too thin, and not giving from an empty cup. At this time, I keep my cup filled to the brim for my clients so they get my best energy for their projects. 

    In the meantime, I’m happy to grab a coffee if we’re at the same event and you want to chat about your content strategy—because honestly talking about this kind of work lights me up.