Beep! “Nate Cartwright has successfully clocked in.” This is the message I’m greeted with every day when I arrive at RIPT Apparel at 10amand clock in through the fingerprint system. It makes you feel like a secret agent scanning your finger every day before work. The first floor features the break room, the warehouse, and the order fulfillment center. I head upstairs to where the RIPT offices are located. I use my FOB to unlock the door to the office. I pass one of my three bosses who’s in charge of art selection as I make my way to my desk in the middle of the room. The office environment is cozy, welcoming, and usually pretty quiet in the morning. My desk is in the center of the room and from it I can see the artists working on new designs, the designer working on graphics, and my fellow interns handling social media. Down a hallway my other two bosses have offices, as does the director of operations. Together, along with the production and fulfillment crew downstairs, we comprise RIPT Apparel, and online apparel business that sells pop-culture t-shirts.
I hold the title of marketing assistant at RIPT Apparel. Once upon a time, over a year and three months ago, I was hired as a marketing intern. After three months of work I interviewed to become a marketing assistant. While it didn’t come with a pay raise, it did come with added responsibilities and no end-date to my time at RIPT. My day-to-day activities at RIPT have ranged widely during my time at the company. I’ve been involved in photo shoots, written blog posts, designed marketing graphics, performed search engine optimization, and worked at conventions running our marketing booth among other things.
But what do I do on a daily basis these days? Well, for one I schedule marketing graphics on social media platforms. We release new designs every day so it’s important that every social media platform is posting about them at midnight when they’re released. Onlypult, Viraltag, Hootsuite, and Facebook are all platforms used in scheduling social media content. I also create social media content, whether that involves taking product shots or creating engagement posts. On top of that, I track and analyze key metrics across platforms to see how well they’re performing. I hold giveaways on Instagram to increase engagement and followers. I’m also involved in email marketing. I use a platform called Klaviyo to build and schedule emails. This is a very important part of our selling process, as email generates around 40% of the company’s revenue. I have to choose which segments receive the emails and I also A/B test emails to find the best open rates.
The company is very small, less than 20 total employees, but it makes it feel like you’re a part of a family. They’re all super friendly and easy to talk to, and multiple people bring their dogs into work. In fact, one of my favorite parts of the day is seeing my boss’s dog, Nellie. She’s an adorable golden retriever who wants nothing more than to be your best friend and get pets. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you can never give Nellie enough pets. But in all seriousness, I’ve learned a lot there. Not only about social media scheduling, email marketing, or blog writing, but about personal responsibility, time management, self confidence, and getting things done on schedule. If something is late, there’s no extension at RIPT Apparel, and it teaches you to stay on top of your work so nothing slips through the cracks. All in all, it’s been a fantastic experience and I strongly recommend working here, particularly if you’re looking for a friendly yet educational environment where you can push yourself while having a support network to help you grow.