Alison Zaccone
Welcome to the latest installment in our series on the “Day in the Life” of nonprofit communicators, where we ask you to describe your day in your own words.
We’d love to feature YOU in this series! Don’t be shy – tell us what you do in a typical day as a nonprofit communications pro.
Alison Zaccone is a seasoned Public Relations and Communications Professional with more than 12 years of experience in the field. Before joining Bottomless Closet as Director of Communications in January 2017, Alison spent nearly 10 years at the ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) where she handled public relations and media outreach for many of the ASPCA’s national programs as Director of Media & Communications.
And this is her typical day:
Before 8:00 a.m. – Yes – I check email AND social media first thing when I wake up.
8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m – Typically my work day begins by scanning the local dailies and doing another check of my email and our social media channels to see what everyone’s talking about.
Then I begin whatever is at the top of my priority list for that day — writing press materials, pitching the media, and engaging with our followers on social media.
A few times a week, we also have meetings to discuss what we’re working on and strategize.
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – Lunch is almost always at my desk, while I am working.
Sometimes I will also take a quick walk through our “boutique” to see what’s happening — how our clients are doing on their appointments, what interesting donations we’ve received, and what kinds of donations we’re running low on. I’ll also snap photos of anything I see that’s interesting or unique.
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. – I do another quick check of the news after lunch to see what’s going on in the news and how it might impact my pitching. Then I continue with more of the same — writing press materials, pitching the media, and engaging with our followers on social media.
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. – In the afternoon, it’s more of the same — writing press materials, pitching the media, and engaging with our followers on social media.
After 4:00 p.m. – I take a look at my to-do list and make sure I’ve crossed off all of my high priority items for the day, and begin to close any remaining open loops I need to close.
Thanks for sharing your day, Alison!
Want to be featured in this series? Tell us what you do in a typical day as a nonprofit communications pro.
