Tesnim Zekeria ’19

Juniors Read, Washington, DC

This summer, I had the immense pleasure of interning with Juniors Read—a Washington, DC based children’s multimedia company. Founded in 2013, Juniors Read caters to girls of color between the ages of two and eight years old and is deeply committed to empowering them through literacy, love, and culture. To offer some context—in 2016, only 22% of children’s books included protagonists that were people of color. In fact, there were 4.9% more books about animals and trucks than Africans/African Americans. These staggering numbers reveal an uncomfortable truth about children’s literature and media. In the face of such troubling data, however, companies like Juniors Read offer us a semblance of hope. Needless to say, as someone who’s extremely interested in publishing, multicultural literature, and media diversity, I was immediately drawn to their mission of empowerment.

The promotional hand out that Tesnim created while working at Juniors Read.
The promotional hand out that Tesnim created while working at Juniors Read.

As an intern, I was tasked with developing and executing the company’s marketing strategies. Although Juniors Read had published their first children’s book in November of 2017 and were quite successful in garnering a base of interested and loyal customers, they were still in need of a marketing strategy that would sustain and grow their customer base. With this in mind, the other intern and I, set out to build a new email marketing campaign from the ground up. We segmented our subscribers into particular groups, wrote emails that were particularly relevant to each group, and excitedly sent them off. A week later, however, we were shocked to discover through our email data analytics that only 3% of the emails had been opened. We failed to consider the reality that people are typically flooded with emails on a daily basis and, therefore, are probably not opening every single one. This meant that along with being more intentional about the content of the email, we also had to pay attention to some of the details we overlooked in the first round—the subject line, the color scheme, the layout, the images. We began to ask ourselves: Why would a customer want to read the email? What information would a customer find valuable? How can I make this email something worth reading? Luckily, as we grew more mindful of email marketing dos and don’ts, we saw a steady increase in the percentage of emails being opened. By the end of the summer, our rate hovered around 24%—which although seems quite low, is pretty impressive in the email marketing world! Overall, though we definitely had a rocky start, this experience was very much needed—I learned how to balance the small details with the big picture, had an opportunity to apply my storytelling capabilities when crafting the emails, and discovered that although I had a knack for email marketing this wasn’t something I’d really be interested in pursuing in the future.

Aside from helping launch the email marketing campaign, I was also responsible for finding new bookstores to enter. I created a database of independent bookstores in the DMV region as well as the U.S. at large, and began contacting them one-by-one to negotiate and implement consignment agreements. While certainly challenging, this part of my summer was definitely my favorite! I not only familiarized local bookstores with the brand—thereby increasing Juniors Read’s exposure—but also helped the company establish a firm foothold in the community. By organizing a few in-store book readings and finding opportunities for community involvement at museums, community centers, schools, etc.—I was able to help the company get in contact with some key community players and lay the groundwork for potential partnerships in the future. As well as this was all going, however, I quickly realized that there really aren’t that many bookstores in the DMV region. This meant that Juniors Read couldn’t solely rely on bookstores for sales. Because Juniors Read is a company that prides itself in reinventing the wheel in all regards, I advised the founder to consider selling their products in alternative spaces such as churches and hair salons. While those spaces aren’t the first place that comes to mind when thinking about where to purchase a book, they are still important gathering spaces in Black communities. I realized that many of the independent bookstores we were working with were located in the wealthier, white neighborhoods of DC. This meant Juniors Read products were still largely inaccessible to many of DC’s black residents. I figured that by going into these black spaces—and, ultimately, by going to the targeted customer directly—Juniors Read is able to foster relationships with some of its most important customers and familiarize DC’s black community with the brand on intimate levels. Sadly, as excited as I was for this idea, the summer was over before I could see it through. Nonetheless, it helped me realize that moving forward this is the type of work I hope to perform—creatively offering solutions to particular challenges and reinventing the way things are typically done. While I recognize that this is super broad and I’m not quite sure whether innovation consultants are a thing, I’m fortunate that my internship allowed me to stumble upon this realization. I’m even more fortunate to have had a boss who encouraged me to always share my ideas and am extremely grateful for the supportive environment he created.

I also really appreciated the flexibility and fluidity of the internship for it meant that I was able to perform other tasks beyond what was outlined in my offer. For instance, I had the opportunity to edit and review a proof copy of an upcoming book for layout, typography, art, and grammar. I also conducted market research at several points during the summer and leveraged consumer feedback to identify new sources of revenue for the company. In particular, I recommended that the company look into creating Juniors Read-themed school supplies. Because most children’s goods have gone digital in some way or another, school supplies are one of the few non-tech goods that parents are still purchasing for their children.

In the end, my internship was an extremely rewarding experience. Although, it made me a bit hesitant about entering the publishing industry, it gave me a better sense of my priorities and illuminated my strengths and weaknesses in the workplace. This internship also kindled my entrepreneurial spirit. Indeed, the founder asked if I’d be interested in writing a book for Juniors Read. I respectfully declined since my senior year schedule would certainly not permit that—however, I eagerly informed the founder that I’d love to revisit the idea after graduation. Perhaps the most important thing of all is that it taught me how to thrive in ambiguity. As you can imagine, part of working for a start-up meant that I quickly learned how to color outside the lines and embrace the unknown. Moving forward, these are skills I’m excited to carry with me as I embark on future endeavors and tackle my senior year. Words cannot capture my excitement for the future as well as my gratefulness for being granted such an opportunity. Specifically, I’d like to sincerely thank the ’68 Center for Career Exploration as well as Bruce C. Davey ’44 Internship Program for this experience.