As the sun rises over the city of Chicago, I settle into my home office inside my two-bedroom apartment and log onto my computer. Polaroid photos of my husband and cats scatter my desktop. Trade magazines pile up on my floor, post-it notes with scribbled musings sticking out of the tattered pages.

I moved back to Chicago this summer after living in Peoria, Illinois, for three years. The last time I called the Wicker Park/Bucktown area of Chicago home, a “day in my life” looked very, very different.
I’m still a storyteller. I still research, interview, and write as part of my daily work. But who I’m writing for and what I’m writing about has changed drastically.

From 2019-2021 I was a local news reporter for Block Club Chicago, where I covered anything and everything happening in my local neighborhood; property taxes, crime, local businesses, music, historic buildings, COVID-19 – the list goes on. Before that I covered local news in Charleston, South Carolina. In Peoria, I reported for the local NPR affiliate in Peoria, where I hosted a daily news podcast in addition to storytelling.

In May of 2022, after a year with NPR, I decided I needed a change. I wanted a break from the 24-hour news cycle. I craved a job in which I could sink my teeth into a complex topic over the course of weeks, instead of turning a story around on a day’s deadline.

And that’s exactly what I found.

Today I am the Content Lead for Regal Rexnord, a $6.5b global power transmission and industrial automation manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, WI. From my remote office in Chicago, I manage a team of writers, collaborating with strategic marketers and media partners to create and execute meaningful content that tells the story of our growing company.

Instead of interviewing neighborhood artists or chasing down politicians, I research manufacturing industry trends and interview engineers. In the last two years I’ve attended over a dozen industry tradeshows, from Workboat to Heli-Expo to TPS. I’ve immersed myself in the challenges and pain points affecting key industries, from mining and metals production to food and beverage processing. I’ve learned how a speed reducer transfers torque and how a coupling absorbs vibration.

I’ve written countless whitepapers, articles, case studies, and blog posts. I’ve guided messaging strategy for lead generation and brand awareness campaigns. This year I’ve worked on some internal communications, from creating a monthly seller newsletter to advising on brand voice for our in-house AI bot, RRXy.

Every day is different, and every project is intellectually stimulating. I still feel like a journalist – only now, instead of covering news for the public, I’m using my skills to help a rapidly growing company tell its story to customers. Unlike in journalism, however, my work is largely “behind the scenes” … Not one of my many whitepapers or articles has had my byline. In fact, this blog post will be the first piece “Hannah Alani” has published in years. (Hello again, world!). I’m an active member of several professional associations, which keeps me connected to the broader communications and journalism communities.

My role requires a deep understanding of both the technical aspects of our products and the needs of our audience, whether that’s an OEM, an end-user, or a distributor; whether the audience is reading our content from inside a steel mill or at a medical robotics factory. When working on a new piece of writing, I always encourage our engineers, “Show, don’t tell.” And that’s a philosophy I try to live by.

As a journalist I used to say, “No news happens in the newsroom”. That’s a philosophy I still live by today, in this job. Whenever possible, I leave my little remote office in Chicago to see our innovations and meet our customers in real life – whether that’s at a tradeshow, in our headquarters in Milwaukee, or at one of our many design and manufacturing facilities.

While every day as Content Lead looks different, each day is dynamic and intellectually stimulating. From using AI tools to collaborating with external agencies, our collaborative Marketing Department is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in B2B marketing.