Then and now: How this editor felt on Day 1 vs Day 365

My name is Tyesha Ferron, and I've been an editor at Coupons.com since February, 2023. In my day-to-day, I manage the pages of some of your favorite retailers, verify coupons, and, along with my team, I work directly with brands to bring you the best deals possible. It's been quite the journey from Day 1 to now.

Before I sent in my application, I didn’t even know that being an editor on a coupon website could be a job. At the time, being an editor to me meant reading through blog posts line by line, following up on leads, and keeping up with a content calendar. I considered couponing to be something completely separate, a hobby for frugal people, not a profession.

I had no idea that somewhere in Atlanta, there was a room full of people hard at work finding coupons, researching how to save money, and directly communicating with retailers of all sizes on the internet to put savings on display.

Then, I got the job. And I found out that the want to save people like you money develops quickly and runs deep. I learned about a whole industry and a team working hard within it that I now can’t imagine life without. Let me tell you what that journey’s been like. 

That first day feeling

Walking into the office on my first day, I remember feeling pretty intimidated joining a team where everyone was already familiar with each other. An old meme came to mind, a screenshot of a post saying, “Being new at a job is so embarrassing for no reason.”

Of course, it’s not really embarrassing, but that post spoke to a particular anxiety and vulnerability that felt a lot like embarrassment. I was suddenly in a situation where I was the only person who didn’t know how to do something in a room full of people who knew it very well. 

Fortunately, once I started getting settled in, that feeling didn't last very long.

All aboard onboarding

My onboarding was all hands on deck. I’ve been at jobs where I was thrown into the deep end on my start date. I’ve been at jobs where onboarding was sitting alone in a room watching training videos. That wasn’t the case here.

At Coupons.com, I had a team of my coworkers and people of all levels taking turns to train me on every aspect of what would soon be my day-to-day. 

Within the first few hours, my manager at the time, Rachel, taught me how to publish coupons on our site. Maggie helped me understand how to use our content system and the best ways to update our pages. Jacey showed me how we write savings tips for our retailer pages, teaching readers like you ways to save money aside from just using coupons. 

Throughout it all, Ingrid was my onboarding buddy, a coworker assigned to guide me through my first weeks and answer questions as someone who was already doing the job I was stepping into. I learned so many other things from other teammates, too, far too much to list here. I was learning directly from the people who knew this work inside and out, so I knew I was in good hands.

By March, when I had gained enough knowledge about the savings possibilities at various stores, and I was given my own portfolio of retailer pages to maintain, and I was beyond ready to run with them.

My first year in full swing

The months that followed were a blur of free snacks, bonding activities, checkout screens, and more coupons than I can count.

Eventually, it was time to prep for my very first Black Friday as an editor. At a lot of places, the onset of autumn means that a holiday break is around the corner. But here, Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday is our time to shine.

I’ve worked Black Friday before, but only in-person in-store, back when I worked retail. At a clothing store, I knew to expect a crowd of customers hungry for our lowest prices of the year. I’d soon find out what this period looked like in the digital world.

It turns out Black Friday for a coupons site means monitoring hundreds of retailer promotions, sifting through an incredible number of emails, verifying codes as they're released, updating content in real time, and making sure our readers have accurate information ready and waiting for them. 

The pace is intense, but it's also when the work feels most purposeful. People are relying on our hard work to make smart purchases during one of the biggest shopping events of the year.

Day 365

After the dust from my first Black Friday had settled, there was the office Christmas party (a gingerbread house competition that I should’ve won!) and holiday breaks. Then the new year was here, and we were back to business as usual. Before I knew it, it was February again.

A full year had passed, and I wasn’t just working my portfolio like a pro; I was a pro. But what I also loved was that while I’d begun to master the art of being a Coupons.com editor, I was learning more and more about the industry.

Since I started working here, my perspective on couponing has completely shifted. On Day 1, I thought coupons were just codes people found lying around the internet. By Day 365, I understood that behind every code on our page was someone who had verified it, negotiated with retailers for it, or tracked down the exact terms and conditions. What looked simple to users was actually the result of constant communication, fact-checking, and strategic partnerships.

When starting out, I remember worrying that the work might be repetitive: find code, post code, repeat. Instead, I learned that the best deals come from ongoing partnerships with retailers, understanding their marketing cycles, and advocating for our users to get better offers. The work required editorial judgment I hadn't anticipated, and presented challenges that I loved to tackle (and still do!).

Within the couponing industry, there are always new things to learn that continue to keep me on my toes, and looking back, I’m glad for it.

Part of a team

So much has changed between Day 1 and Day 365 to even now (Day 1095 or three years!). Our team has evolved, our office has changed, our workflow has been fine-tuned, and even the website is pretty different from what it was on that first day.

However, what's really stuck with me is realizing there were always people behind all the coupons I was using and deals I found before I got my job at Coupons.com. I became one of those people, too, and that's changed how I see both this industry and my role in it.

The Clip is where the people behind Coupons.com get to speak plainly. No press releases. No corporate polish. Just honest stories from people who think hard every day about helping you spend less and keep more.