Melanie Notkin is America’s premier “Savvy Auntie” and the leading voice of the nearly 50 percent of American women who are childless.
Notkin launched SavvyAuntie.com, the first online community for aunts and godmothers, in the summer of 2008 to wide-acclaim. The award-winning website includes expert content designed specifically for aunts, activities, community and trendy gift ideas for nieces and nephews. Notkin has accumulated a large and influential social media following, nearing 80,000 Likes on the Savvy Auntie Facebook Brand Page and 18,500 Twitter Followers, including celebrities, journalists and bloggers. Notkin has been ranked among the Top 100 Most Powerful Women on Twitter (Grader) and is a Top 10 Woman in Social Media (genConnect/YahooShine).
Her first book, SAVVY AUNTIE: The Ultimate Guide for Cool Aunts, Great-Aunts, Godmothers and All Women Who Love Kids (Morrow), debuted on April 26, 2011 and is a Wall Street Journal best-seller. The book was also the Amazon.com #1 Best-Seller, Mother’s Day Gift Ideas in Books, May 2011.
As the leading voice on aunthood and childless women, Notkin has been featured on CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, CW, and Better TV, as well as on NPR and the BBC. Notkin also pens a popular column on Huffington Post Women and PsychToday.com on childless and/or single women.
As a marketer, Notkin identified an overlooked influential segment of women, the nearly 50 percent of American women who are childless, and dubbed it PANKs® – Professional Aunts No Kids. She has attracted leading brands including Hasbro, Disney, Hallmark, Tropicana, JCPenney, Yoplait, Sprout and Scholastic as sponsors. Her groundbreaking and effective advertising campaigns have been featured in Mashable.com, The New York Times, Advertising Age and The Wall Street Journal where she’s been lauded as a ‘trusted source’ and spokesperson for America’s top brands. Her first B2B marketing conference to help marketers reach PANKs will debut in the fall of 2012.
On July 26, 2009, Notkin launched AUNTIE’S DAY®, the first national holiday to honor and celebrate aunts and aunthood. The fourth annual Auntie’s Day will take place on Sunday, July 22, 2012.
As a toy expert, Notkin launched the SAVVY AUNTIE COOLEST TOY AWARDS in the fall of 2009 to help secondary caregivers become aware of the cool toys kids crave every holiday season. She serves on the Toy Industry Association Toy of the Year Nomination Committee and is a former contributing editor at Toy Wishes Magazine.
As a successful business woman, Notkin lectures at various conferences inspiring women, students and entrepreneurs on launching the businesses of their dreams and leveraging social media to do so. She was a regular panelist on FOX News Live Business Hour and has been featured in Business Week, Inc Magazine and Huffington Post for her work as an entrepreneur, as well as in white papers for Forrester Research and Marketing Profs.
Before developing Savvy Auntie, Notkin was an award-winning, senior level interactive marketing and communications executive for global Fortune 500 companies, including The New York Times and American Express, as well as L’Oréal. She is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal, Canada where she was born. She is fluent in French.
Notkin is a Savvy Auntie and Auntie by Relation (ABR) to a number of wonderful children who are the loves of her life. She is also an Auntie By Choice (ABC) to all of her friends’ kids, who come in a very close second. Notkin resides and works in New York City.
AWARDS and ACCOLADES
2011 Forbes Top 100 Websites for Women
2009 Webby Award nominee for Best Family/Parenting site
2008 Springwise.com Top 10 Lifestyle and Leisure Business Idea
Top 100 Most Powerful Women on Twitter (Twitter Grader)
Top 20 Twitter Elite in New York City (Twitter Grader)
Top 10 Women in Social Media (Yahoo Shine)
Top 5 Social Media Super Female Heroes In North America (The Next Woman)
Mashable.com Top 5 Start Ups in New York City’s Social Media Hub (2009)
Wall Street Journal Best-Sellers List, May 2011
Amazon.com #1 Best-Seller, Mother’s Day Gift Ideas in Books, May 2011
Klout: 68
MOST NOTABLE PRESS
CNN American Morning, The Today Show, ABC News Now, Fox News Live, Good Day NY, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Star Ledger, The Dallas Morning News, Better Homes and Gardens, More Magazine, Elle Italy, NPR, BBC, Mashable.com, TechCrunch.com, AdAge.com, Inc.com, BusinessWeek.com, Glamour.com, MarieClaire.com, LadiesHomeJournal.com, GoodHousekeeping.com, iVillage.com and more.
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