Holly Jennings is the deputy crypto editor and updates writer at Finder, working with writers across all niches to deliver quality content to readers. She’s edited hundreds of financial articles ranging from credit cards to investments. With empathy at heart, she especially enjoys content that breaks down complex financial situations into easy-to-understand information. Prior to her role at Finder, she collaborated with dozens of small businesses to maximize the reach and impact of their blog posts, website copy and other content. In her spare time, she is an award-winning author for Penguin Random House, writing about virtual reality worlds, magical girls and lasers that go pew-pew.
We asked Holly to flex her expertise by answering some questions about how Finder approaches editorial independence and advocates for its readers.
As an author, I’m all about voice. It’s what changes plain, boring text that can feel like a lecture into a conversation with a friend. With the topics we cover and facts we need to get right, it can be difficult not to slip into industry jargon. So it’s important to remember it’s all about the person at the other end of the article. They want to learn while feeling they’re a part of the conversation. A big key to accomplishing this is to really know your topic to the point where you’re having fun with it. The reader will feel that on the page.
I come from a background of writing and editing science fiction, which might sound like it doesn’t relate at all. But in sci-fi, you need to train your brain to look at the writing objectively and ask yourself, “If I wasn’t the one creating this new technology or alien species or whatever, would I understand the context by what’s on the page?” It’s the same with financial topics. You want the reader to feel like they understand it without talking down to them or beating them over the head with it.
