I’m Ida—a New York-trained and Manila-based lifestyle journalist.
I live out my words by always seeking the latest in shopping, entertainment, travel, wellness, and food.
I have a master’s degree in publishing from NYU and a pretty fun Instagram account, too.
It’s “Ida,” with a short “I.”
I’m a storyteller who’s found her niche in lifestyle content. I’ve written for various verticals for titles like Spot, Cosmopolitan Philippines, Preview, Philstar L!fe, Cebu Pacific’s Smile magazine, as well as U.S. publications such as Insider, Business Insider, and Honeysuckle magazine.
I’m currently the Growth Lead for Affiliate Marketing at Summit Media. I drive the development, implementation, and analysis of the company’s affiliate marketing strategy for all its websites: Cosmopolitan Philippines, Esquire Philippines, Top Gear Philippines, Spot, Yummy, Candy, Preview, Smart Parenting, Real Living, PEP, and SPIN.
I was a Story Production Fellow at Insider, where I liaised between the Editorial and Partnerships teams. I built buying guides, roundups, and product reviews on the CMS and optimized articles for affiliate partners.
Previously in charge of Spot’s Entertainment section, I wrote and edited daily quick-turnaround news articles as well as weekly in-depth features about local and international movies, TV series, and music. I was also appointed as the outlet and country’s official representative to multiple international press junkets for Netflix, Xiaomi, Cebu Pacific Airlines, Singapore Tourism Board, and Royal Caribbean Cruises.
I’ve produced branded content for clients like Samsung, AirAsia, McDonald’s, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Resorts World Sentosa, Toblerone, Bank of the Philippine Islands, and Jollibee.
My love for creating digital content inspired me to pursue a Master of Science degree in Publishing: Digital and Print Media at New York University, which I completed in May 2021. I attended classes taught by the publishing industry’s top executives and my areas of study were in Media Content Development, Media Marketing and Distribution, and Media Profitability.
Outside of work, I keep an active lifestyle through lifting, spinning, boxing, Muay Thai—and a bit of running when I give in to peer pressure. My weekends are spent trying out new cafés (one iced matcha latte with oat milk, please) or driving to the nearest beaches in an attempt to get a tan. At the moment, I’m reading Goodbye to All That, an anthology inspired by Joan Didion’s homonymous essay about writers loving and leaving New York (go figure) and watching Formula 1 races at godforsaken hours (go Mercedes!—and DannyRic).
Data-guided and optimized.
Every piece I produce is based on all available information about the brand—from raw dashboard data to insight reports. My professional experience and educational background have also trained me in SEO practices (Keywords! Metadata! Alt text!) to consistently and organically get the most out of quality content.
But as opposed to being solely data-driven, I also draw from my personal experiences. After all, a lifestyle writer is essentially a cultural curator.
Social- and affiliate-friendly.
In the digital world, content, engagement, and profitability are all dependent on one another. I’m here to turn stories into Instagram Stories (and make enough dough to do it vice versa, too).
My articles are written with shareability in mind to maximize partnerships and conversions.
Editor-endorsed.
I’m an em dash enthusiast—if you haven’t already noticed—an Oxford comma supporter, and a grammar geek. My brain automatically copyedits everything I read and I instinctively check the subject-verb agreement of compound sentences.
Trust that I can get by well even without Grammarly and ChatGPT.
Passionate about journalism.
The heart of my work still lies in my love for storytelling in all its new and different forms.