We were lucky to catch up with Aida M. Toro recently and have shared our conversation below.
Aida M., thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
My parents have been the core pillars in my life and my career. My parents, Colombian immigrants who arrived to the U.S. in the late 1970s, always worked hard to provide my older brother and I with opportunities that fostered life’s essentials and an unlimited array of educational and cultural opportunities.
For instance, my dad was one of my first ever teachers, as he taught me how to read and write at the tender age of four, which inspired me to start writing my own fictional stories in composition notebooks once I entered Kindergarten. At the same token, I developed a fascination for fashion editorials that I would see in my mother’s magazine’s subscriptions, such as Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Vanidades, People en Español, and ¡Hola!. This resulted in my early sparks of writing, which is now my entire writing career.
In 2007, my parents had enrolled me in a high school journalism program for the summer, which was the summer prior to my senior year commencing. This program really hit the nail for me because I was even more hooked to pursuing journalism. As a result, I attended NJCU in Jersey City and pursued Journalism. Fast forward to 2023, my parents continue to positively contribute to my professional and personal life, as they provided me with the opportunity to take a Media Writing course through the New School x Rolling Stones Magazine to enhance my skill sets.
Aida M., love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Aida M. Toro and I am a Jersey bred journalist who considers New York City home and loves cultivating stories within the human interest, fashion, culinary, beauty, interiors, and overall lifestyle verticals. My work has been published in Harper’s Bazaar Vietnam, Real Homes, Hobnob Magazine, Cultivated Magazine, the C-Word Magazine, NOW LA Magazine, NY Gal, Northjersey.com, The Girls Soccer Network and other publications.
To add on, I expanded my skills and delved into brand copywriting, which I currently do for Arezzo & Co.’s sought out brands: Schutz and Alexandre Birman. As the brands’ copywriter, I assist the e-comm team with cultivating product descriptions, emails, social ads, and more, as well as the PR and Marketing teams with campaign verbiage and press releases.
The first time I was ever published was when I landed my first fashion editorial internship at Black Book Magazine. I landed this internship for the Fall 2011 semester, which was the semester prior to me graduating NJCU. I actually landed this role on my own because I really wanted to pursue a career as a fashion and lifestyle journalist. Of course, after persevering, I applied on this amazing resource called ed2010.com and charmed the Fashion Director with an email that when read, portrayed the hunger I had in me to step into this beautiful career. As a result, I landed the internship and learned a whole lot, got some micro stories published, and even got credited for assisting on set for fashion editorial shoots. I didn’t land my first ever paid journalism job til 2016 because apparently I wasn’t as experienced or “well connected” to land a role in a magazine. This first ever role was at a local New Jersey newspaper called The Record aka northjersey.com, which I also landed myself without being connected to anyone. I covered local and breaking news for five municipalities. In addition, I wrote feature stories on residents from the towns I covered as well as on town-wide events. This was a great first stepping stone into my journalism career, even though I wanted to write about high profile celebrities, tastemakers, fashion, and all things lifestyle. I only managed to work for the newspaper for just one year because I was part of a mass layoff that occurred when Gannett resulted in buying out the publication. I then began freelancing for indie magazines and websites such as Hoboken Life, The Hoboken Girl, The Girls Soccer Network, New Face Magazine, and NY GAL. These were independent publications and websites, however, they helped me get my foot in the door, as I was writing pieces that piqued my interest. I started making connections through these writing gigs, especially via New Face Magazine. Work wasn’t as consistent when I was writing for these publications, however, I was hungry and motivated enough to continue writing and grinding,
Fast forward to 2023, and I’ve officially launched my writing business: aidamtoro.com. Nowadays, I offer services all the way from:
-Article Writing: Profile Features, Cover Stories, Q & A’s, Product Roundups, Culinary Reviews and more
-Copywriting: Press Releases, Brand Strategies, Product Descriptions, CRM Email & SMS Marketing Content, Recaps, and more
-Website Copy: Bios, Mission Statements, Blogs, and more
-Editing and Proofreading Text
What I do is cultivate stories with purpose, whether it’s a long-form profile feature, a restaurant review, a product roundup, or a brand’s narrative. I feel what sets me apart is that I write random long form profile features on unexpected high profile individuals or tastemakers that I really admire, which actually end up being cover stories. To include, my editorial and journalistic background also assists me with drafting engaging copy for my brand copywriting clients, which is one of the many reasons why my colleagues at Schutz enjoy working with me.
I really want all of my readers, colleagues, potential clients, and more to know that I love being authentic when it comes to writing any piece, whether it be a cover story, restaurant review, or brand’s narrative.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I feel what assisted me with building my reputation within my market is my personality. Aside from being hungry for the opportunity, I would randomly just connect with people via LinkedIn, Instagram, and even in person when I’d be dining by myself or hanging at random book shops or grabbing a latte at a city coffee shop. I am so passionate about sparking a conversation with anyone about just anything, which results into an opportunity when I share what I do for work. Not to mention, cultivating these relationships have also been a key ingredient for me to have the tight knit creative partners I work with nowadays.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
What I observed about non-creatives is that they think that writers like myself or others who hold creative roles don’t have stability just because we don’t work a typical 9 to 5. If you’re a creative person running your own freelance business, then your schedule isn’t a “set” schedule because you have the flexibility to work at your own pace as long as deadlines are met. With that said, there are days that we as creatives are working late nights just to meet deadlines when some of the nine to fivers are sleeping to wake up the next day to go to work. Also, one thing I learned when taking the Media Writing course through The New School x Rolling Stones Magazine is that it’s not always easy writing about the fluffy stuff, aka: fashion shows, celebrity profiles, restaurant and hotel reviews because thinking of cultivating that catchy opening paragraph to have the reader continue reading is the key to a successful feature for any of the above topics. Writing about celebrities, fashion, and food is not all fun in the sun, as it consists of a lot of creativity and thinking outside the box in order to write a story worth reading.
Overall, being a creative freelancer is not easy, however, you do what works for you as long as you give your 1000% to creating a worthy project and meet deadlines.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.aidamtoro.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aidamtoro/?hl=en
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aida-m-toro-07558744/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/AidaMToro
Image Credits
Feature Image: Jana Schuessler