16. Website Management: Remember the “Coding” section above? Being able to manage a basic website means being able to roll up your sleeves and jump into source code now and then for minor adjustments that aren’t worth your developer’s time. Platforms like Wordpress and HubSpot make this really user friendly for you. Remember, if you are in source code, always save a copy of the original code just in case you break anything, so you can revert back to the original. Also, working on website updates on off-business hours can be helpful too to minimize disruptions, and it’s always a good idea to preview before you publish.
Resource: Web Development courses on Udemy
17. People Management: Even if you are a one-man marketing team, you will still have a level of people management required with your day to day, whether it’s with vendor management, sales support, or working with a new intern. If you have a team, that’s an even better reason to keep your people management skills sharp. Constantly ask for feedback and give feedback since this is the quickest way to develop as a people manager. There are countless books, lectures, online courses, and seminars on this topic that can help develop you further. Show your boss that you're committed to developing your people management skills whether it is company paid or not and it will speak volumes of your commitment to growth and investment in the company.
Resource: Managing and managing people course on OpenLearn
“In the race for buyers’ attention marketers cannot escape the law of diminishing returns and must start thinking about value, not volume." WHICH-50
18. Networker: What better way to build brand awareness and create long lasting relationships than networking. Networking is almost a taboo word these days and many people cringe at the thought of it. Networking is not sales, which is why the marketing department should be involved in any events that are relevant to them. This also encourages employee loyalty, and mingling with like-minded people or diverse industries could also spark your next big idea. Don’t look at networking as handing out business cards. Just have genuine conversations with people with your brand in mind. If there is mutual value for you and a person to continue talking via email, great! If not, you’ve made a meaningful connection with someone without having to recite your company's elevator pitch.
Resource: Meetup.com
19. Time Management: Time management is a must in this industry as it is with most others. As you can see, the day-to-day of a modern day marketer is complex, fast paced, and multi-faceted. Have a daily plan of what needs to be accomplished and keep in mind your weekly and monthly goals and your OKR’s (Objectives and Key Results). If you can get into a daily schedule, then this can be helpful with time management, but many cannot due to multiple projects and action items that land on a marketer's desk to be completed by EOD. Prioritize accordingly, shut your office door when you need to (or put headphones on), or track your time with an online tracking tool to help you stay on track.
Resource: Time Management Toolkit
20. Extremely Curious: Extreme curiosity is what separates the amateurs from the professionals in this field. Do you see an insanely successful marketing effort that went viral this week? Why did that happen? What did they tap into to make their message go viral? You should always be asking questions both internally and externally. You can ask your customers for the NPS (Net Promoter Score) now and then to get a sense of their satisfaction or lack thereof. If you have a good relationship with a client and they leave you, you should try to figure out why and what you could have done better. Extreme curiosity with feelings aside will only accelerate your company's growth.
Resource: Ted Talks
21. Critical Thinker: We have been taught “critical thinking” since elementary school, but how does its real world application work in relation to marketers? You must constantly think: How is success defined? What are the primary metrics? How do we collect data? How do we measure ROI (return on investment)? Also, it’s important to define the problem before finding a solution, and finally, engage in active discussions with your team and managers to fuel critical thinking.
Resource: Luminosity.com
22. Leadership: If your goal is to be a CMO or eventually VP/President, you must be a business leader first and a marketer second. Leadership also starts with knowing how to delegate items to your team, not only knowing a human’s limits, but being an inspiration to them and encouraging their professional and personal development. As a marketing leader, you will also need to manage the marketing budget have. Know your numbers, as they will be tied in with reporting and performance.
Resource: 12 Podcasts That Will Make You a Better Leader
A good marketing leader = revenue ownership and accountability
23. Wire Frame Knowledge: First, know what UI/UX is. Second, learning how to build out a basic wire frame will be very important in communicating with your web designers. This can be built in sketch or Photoshop. This will make you more cross communicational to other teams and ultimately enhance users’ digital experiences.
Resource: Wireframing Training and Tutorials on Lynda
24. Know A/B Testing: This is helpful for conversion rate optimization. Don’t rely on other teams for A/B testing; you can do this on your own. You can work with A/B testing in email campaigns, paid advertisements, direct mail, and many more outlets. Make sure you have a good way to track results and pivot when necessary. A/B testing is always relevant, and what worked last quarter may not work now, so it’s imperative to continue to test and be agile.
Resource: A/B Testing by Google Course on Udacity
25. Photographer: As a marketer, you have to have a “good eye” when it comes to all things design. Photography plays nicely into this. As a startup or small business, you will add tremendous value and save money by taking many photos yourself. If you have access to an SLR camera, even better, or have the company invest in a low cost, high quality camera. Watch a few tutorials on taking professional looking photos and take note of competitors with awesome Instagrams to get pointers from them.Taking photos at company events is a great way to showcase company culture on social sites and can even assist with recruiting efforts. Even snapping a daily photo for a photo bank is helpful to have when you just can’t decide what to post on a Monday. Photography is fun and rewarding, so jump in!
Resource: The Best Free Online Photography Courses and Tutorials
“Few things in life are black and white. The more you can question, scrutinize and analyze, the more information you will have to do your job effectively. As marketers, we need to make the effort in order to produce better results for our clients.” - Marketing Land
26. Editing and Video Production: Social shareable videos are on the rise, and they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Get familiar with shooting short videos and editing them. This is a huge value add and money saver for your employer. It is also a project to take on to break up the work week and get away from your desk. Ps. you don’t need any fancy video equipment to get started. A new smartphone with a clean lense is enough to get you started.
Resource: Video Editing Training and Tutorials on Lynda
27. Graphic Designer: I recommend getting the Adobe Suite if you're going to be responsible for a lot of graphic design. If you’re doing light graphic design there are many online tools. Make sure you present many designs, and variations to the decision maker and get tons of feedback to save you tons of time.It’s crucial to know how to resize and compress images. Know all file types you may be frequently working with (example PNG,JPG, AI). Finally, please know how create and edit screen captures. Keep in mind, DPI= Dots per inch.DPI for printed material (300 DPI is recommended) and PPI = Pixels Per Inch, but 72 DPI recommended for all digital/web. Also, don’t confuse image size with file size.
Resource: 10 Sites to Find Free Graphic Design Courses Online
28. Influencer: Your brand should be an online influencer and thought leader in the industry. You can perfect this through high quality original content, participating and speaking at industry events, hosting webinars, writing and posting ebooks, partnering with company’s or individual to increase brand awareness, host lunch and learns, speak on panels, host events in your space, answer industry Quora questions, and engage with thought leaders online.
Resource: Why You Need to Take Advantage of Influencer Marketing Article
29. Personal brand expertise: This point ties in with being an influencer. For credibility purposes and exposure it’s helpful to master your own personal brand. Many marketers have their own website that showcases their projects, writing samples, or vlogs. Their are some marketers out there that are always online and tapped in, and want to be completely off social media in their private life. This is ok too! However, when hiring, many companies like to look at an individual's online brand to see if it will be a good hire. And hey, if you’re marketing for a company, why not market yourself simultaneously.
Resource: The Complete Guide to Building your Personal Brand Infographic
30. Quick Learner: The landscape for marketers is quickly changing and adapting, to stay relevant you have to be a fast learner. You will be pulled in many directions and expected to be proficient in a many skill sets, therefore, find a company you love, work really hard, and learn quick, and excell forward.
Resource: Life.
*Note: Do I need all these to be successful? Obviously not, but it definitely won’t hurt your success.
This piece was written with inspiration from:
Personal experience
